Palmetto High senior Ellie Zhang is considering a career as a doctor.
“Doctors are an important part of society and it would be important to serve the community like that,” she says.
Last summer, she took a neuroscience class at the University of Miami and this summer she volunteered at a lab at the Diabetes Research Institute.
“I was trained to isolate to DNA from tissue and blood,” she says. “Gradually I began to perform these isolations independently and I performed 80 samples.”
She hopes to volunteer again during winter break. Until then, Zhang will be busy with school activities as the president of the community service club, Interact.
“Last year we made cards at Thanksgiving as a thank you to veterans,” she says. “They were handcrafted. We would draw and write our thank you letters with our own creativity.”
She plans to make cards once again this year.
Later in the school year Interact hosts one of the big annual events, Panthers Got Talent. The proceeds from the talent show are given to charity. In the past, the profits were donated to the Make A Wish Foundation.
“This year we are thinking about Alzheimer’s research,” she says.
Panthers Got Talent usually features about 20 acts. The winning acts are chosen by teachers who volunteer to be judges.
Outside of school, Zhang has been a member of the Pinecrest Youth Advisory Council for the past two years.
“Our biggest project is Relay for Life,” she says.
In advance of Relay for Life, the youth advisory council members raise money for the booth and promote their booth at the Pinecrest Farmer’s Market. There they sell tee shirts and they also accept advance donations. There also have other fundraisers.
“We set up a movie night at the Banyan Bowl (in Pinecrest Gardens),” she says. “We had a lottery. Children would take tickets for a gift. That really helps our booth.”
Youth advisory council members also visit the homeless shelter in Homestead on a regular basis, helping feed those living at the shelter or giving out supplies.
“During Veterans Day I went to Veteran’s Park and talked to and listened to veteran’s stories,” she says. “There were a few WWII vets there.
I was touched about how passionate they were about their country. It’s important to share their stories before they are all gone.”
Each Saturday, Zhang volunteers at the Contemporary Chinese School of South Florida.
“I’m basically an assistant to the teachers,” she says. “I help teach Chinese to other students. I used to be a student of the school.”
When she aged out, she kept on going to help the other students. She practices her Chinese when she visits China every other year. When she’s there she also helps her cousins with their English.
At Palmetto, Zhang is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and the Asian Culture Club. The Asian Culture Club volunteers each year at the Chinese New Year Festival at Miami-Dade College.
“I would face-paint children’s faces and that’s really fun,” she says.
For fun, she used to take water color painting classes.
“I actually have a few paintings that I gave as presents to my grandparents in China.”
She plays violin in the Palmetto orchestra and is good enough to have won several awards and be chosen to play solos.
For college, Zhang says the University of Miami is one of her top choices. Another is Brown, where her sister attends and the University of Florida.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
