National English Honor Society (NEHS)

2021 Application
Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Make a copy of this document. Name, Last name in the title.

Personal Information
Full Name: Ana Carolina Lau Cigüeñas

Grade Level: 11

OLA grade point average last semester: 6.1

English OLA grade point average last semester: 7

English Course taken last semester: Innovation Academy

Final English grade from last semester: 7

*Feel free to attach a screenshot of your English teacher’s comment from last semester's report card, if
you feel it compliments you*

Extracurricular Activities
Write down any and all extracurricular activities or clubs you are or have been involved in (both
in and outside of school). Feel free to add as many rows as needed.

Activity Year Hours—Indicate Adult Supervisor’s Name

(Please indicate any (bold all that total, weekly, (if they are not on campus,
offices held) apply) monthly, etc. please provide his/her email)
(Meetings per
week, etc.)
1.5 hours (1 hour
Swim Team 9 10 11 12 during quarantine), Ms. Lucha Villar
2-3 times a week
Book Club 9 10 11 12 45 minutes, weekly Ms. Ducharme (she left)
1 hour biweekly
Social Media Volunteer
(meetings) +
(The Imperfect Art of Living 9 10 11 12 Mr. Corey Topf
miscellaneous time
course)
for tasks
Summer Camp Teacher 4 hours, 5 days a Ms. Marquez (general supervisor)
9 10 11 12
Assistant week Mr. Percy Quiroz (whom I assisted)
3 hours, two Katya Adaui
Writing Classes 9 10 11 12
sessions (tallereskatya@gmail.com)
National English Honor Society (NEHS)
2021 Application
Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Honorable Mention in a
Writing Competition
‘Cuéntame el Futuro.’ (won 9 10 11 12 —
a couple of writing classes
from it)
1.5 hours, once a
week. (Though
during vacations
we met a lot more Mr. Kostial
iGEM 9 10 11 12
outside of Ms. Probst
scheduled
meetings to
complete work)
1 hour meetings,
El Oráculo 9 10 11 12 about once a
month
1 hour meetings,
about once a
NAHS 9 10 11 12 month + a lot of Mr. Kos
group work outside
of them

Applicant Profile & Information

What proposals or ideas would you suggest for the NEHS to embark this year? (150
words max)

Not really sure what specific activities we could do for this, but I really want to create a
safe space for avid readers and writers at the school. Talking to a lot of my peers, the act
of writing or reading—that they used to enjoy just for the sake of it—died out as middle
school and high school continued. We transitioned from a single teacher that worried
over us holistically, to multiple teachers that mainly focused on academic pursuits. These
joys became a means to an end, and for many of us they lost their magic. At least for
me, I was scared to keep experimenting or exploring, since we’re constantly rewarded
for doing what we already do well in, and punished for messing up by trying something
we don’t know. I guess it’d just be cool if we had a group of people, or if we had
scattered activities throughout the year that encouraged students to experiment again, to
have fun, and to help each other out in that process. Something open to anyone no
matter their academic achievements. Cheesy, I know, but what can I do? It appears my
heart here be pumping mozzarella sticks or something. It’s either that or the
sleep-deprivation already got to my brain. Couldn’t be sure.

Why do you want to join the NEHS? How would you be valuable to the NEHS? (250
words max)
National English Honor Society (NEHS)
2021 Application
Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt

I’ve never been a super talkative person. Or emotive person, for that matter. It’s honestly
a miracle I have any friends at all, since I find it so hard to talk to people. I find it hard to
read their signs, to figure out the subtext or their body language. But writing is a tongue I
understand. And it’s one of the only ways where I can really figure out what I’m thinking
and how to express myself. It’s also just super fun, to be honest. So I wanted to join
NEHS to celebrate this passion of mine that I adore. That I rely on. I wanted to meet
other people who understand this, and can help me grow as well. Most of all, I wanted to
get back on my feet. I stopped writing around middleschool and highschool. It sucked.
It’s been a while, still, since I’ve properly sat and written something like I used to. Not
sure if you can tell from reading this, but I’m quite rusty. So I wanna get back into it, and I
figured this would be a proper motivator to keep me on my stuff.

As to what I bring to the table—other than my ravishing good looks, of course—is my

enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge. For learning. As someone who let themselves die
little by little trying not to mess up or make mistakes, I have a lot of built-up exploration
that’s bubbling through. I’m not as scared of messing up anymore because I know the
alternative is much worse. I guess I have nothing to lose. Dang. I’m a real cheery one,
aren’t I? Sorry.

What is a book that you have read in the past few years that has impacted your life?
Why are you passionate about it? (250 words max)

‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ rattled me. It brought me to my knees and set my house
on fire. Sarah J. Maas hasn’t succumbed to narrow-minded rules long established in
writing, refusing to conform to the boring, functionality-driven techniques that we’ve
dubbed ‘normal.’ Inferior writers might follow the old cliché “show, don’t tell,” but that’s
only for novices that don’t know what they’re doing! Maas’s brain is so big, she knows it’s
better to just explain the plot to the reader rather than let them live it. It’s clearer that
way! No room for sticky nuances or interesting interpretations, she made sure
everyone’s on the same page!

Maas is also aware that her reader’s time is important. This is why she did away with
such frivolous things as personality and nuance within the narrative. She cut out all life
from the characters, preventing any semblance of emotional connection to the readers
from forming. She really managed to take away those pesky time wasters, such as
genuine investment in characters or grey morality!

Further than that however, she balances the mountain-loads of words she has stored,
stuffing the pages with words without ever making the story feel full. Nope, her tale is as
National English Honor Society (NEHS)
2021 Application
Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt

empty as they come; reminiscent of a cardboard cut-out that holds nothing behind it. She
can write forever, and yet say nothing. It takes amazing skills to be able to do that!

Though by far the most impressive thing about this book is that it got me out of bed. The
awkward, clambering words of the book certainly set my house on fire and me in the
process. The fog in my brain just burned right off! The suffocating walls of my room
turned to ash! Everything disappeared. And maybe that’s all I really need from a book.

Contribution and background

Attach a writing piece below, it can be a writing previously composed for a class or any other
writing related activity. Be sure to select a piece that showcases the full extent of your writing
capabilities. (If you have a brief rationale attached to the writing piece, as is the case for various
English assignments, we will consider that as well, though its inclusion is not mandatory).
(1000 words max)

Please attach the link to your writing piece below. Make sure the link is live and accessible
(Anyone at FDR can access the link).

Magazine Article
Context: I had to write the introduction article of our IA Interactive Magazine. The magazine itself
followed the mantra ‘You are not alone,’ and each article shed light into the writer’s chosen vulnerability
or struggle. The aim was to connect with teenagers all around by looking at the similarities we share.

This application should be submitted by September 20, 2021. Change your

document’s sharing settings to “Anyone at FDR can access the link”. Submit the
shared application document link to this Google form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScC_D43SNOS_-eAiGefbmrS6eMQdo
K5QIax5GFdjPDZIOPiSQ/viewform?usp=sf_link