A Plan to Promote Literacy Everywhere
We are excited about making our communities and world a better place. We are dedicated to service.
Here is a little more about us. Page down to find both of the Biographies.
Photo: (Left) Marissa R. and (Right) Serina Lee -- Photo taken at International Order of Rainbow for Girls meeting. We are very happy to represent Service to our communities.
Biography Information
Marissa R.:
Co-Founder A.P.P.L.E.
Marissa R. is a Junior this year. Marissa is very active in her school and community. She is passionate about bettering her school, community and the country.
Marissa is a Girl Scout, where as a Brownie she earned the Bronze Award for her community service of helping with the creation of several hundred care packages that were given to the teen foster home and ”Kids of the Court” program. She received the Silver Award in Girl Scouts by completing a service project that made over one hundred blankets for the Cancer Unit of their area medical center. Presently, she is pursuing her Gold Award with the very comprehensive and expanding A.P.P.L.E. literacy program. Since low literacy levels are such an issue in southwestern United States, she wanted to find a way to address some of these issues and spread the passion of reading with all youth, especially teens.
A member of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, Marissa, is serving as a state officer for the 2010-2011 year as Grand Representative. Presently she is serving as Associate Worthy Advisor of Ruth Laws assembly. She also participates in many on-going service projects with her assembly, including support of the Ronald McDonald House, Make A Wish Foundation, letters to troops, visits to retirement homes and other causes. A large part of her time has been spent to help form the recently instituted Copper Rose Rainbow Assembly in Silver City, actively helping with the new Pledge and Rainbow Girls of the Assembly. She was pleased to serve as Immortality for the official Institution Day during the Rainbow Institution. She looks forward to Grand Assembly in June and becoming Worthy Advisor of Ruth Laws Assembly in August.
Marissa is active in 4-H. She is presently President of the Silver Clovers 4-H Club and services a Parliamentarian of the Grant County 4—H Council. She is a past District Champion in 4-H for Consumer Decision Making. She participates in projects of interest that include photography, generation celebration, and public speaking.
At her high school, Marissa is President of the school’s F.C.C.L.A. (Family, Career, Community Leaders of America) organization 2009-2010, where she and her friend, Serina, began their look at the literacy issues facing New Mexico children. Their project received them a Gold Award at the state level this spring and, this summer, in Chicago, at the FCCLA National Conference, they earned the Silver Award recognition. The project now is being extensively expanded into the community. This past spring, she competed at the state-level competition for FCCLA in prepared speech where she earned a Silver Award recognition medal.
Also, Marissa is a member of B.P.A. (Business Professionals of America) where she competed at regionals this past year in impromptu speech and earned her the opportunity to advance to the state level. She is also a member of her the school’s reading and writing club because of her passion for reading.
She is a member of Key Club, desiring to work with the Kiwanis to promote this literacy program to other Key Clubs, Builder’s Clubs and K-Kids groups in the region. She looks forward to being a member of Key Club this fall. Last fall, she attended with Serina, the Southwest District Kiwanis Convention in Phoenix, AZ. Marissa is excited about the possibly expansion of the APPLE program even more!
Marissa continues to work hard with all of her organizations, focusing on community service every day. She loves to read and write as well as work with people. She volunteers any place she can. She is highly interested in politics and having a voice in bettering our country. Her long term goals include majoring in Political Science and pursuing a law degree.
Marissa works with teens to encourage reading and writing through her Teen Reading and Writing Club that meets once a month at the Silver City Public Library. It holds for a fun name, Knights of the Random Table, because at any meeting they could be meeting at a different table in the library. She holds the office of President, but each office has its special name. For example, the group’s secretary is called a Scribe. She works hard with the group to promote reading excitement and knowledge about writing with guest presenters and group critiques of writing. She also helps with the library teen section and programs whenever possible.
It is her hope that the APPLE Literacy project will truly make a difference in the lives of others. She looks forward to expanding APPLE, “Take A Book-Leave A Book” and the Teen Reading and Writing Club to involve more teens and activities. She encourages teens mentoring to younger children and works toward any goal that will help raise literacy levels.
Co-Founder A.P.P.L.E.
Also, just this spring Serina earned the highest award of merit for a Girl Scout. She earned her Girl Scout Gold Award for service. Serina has been a Girl Scout since she was Brownie. She also earned the Bronze Award for her community service of helping with the creation of several hundred care packages that were given to the teen foster home and ”Kids of the Court” program. She received the Silver Award in Girl Scouts by completing a service project that made over one hundred blankets for the Cancer Unit of their area Medical Center.
A member of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, Serina is serving as a state officer for the 2010-2011 year as Grand Drill Leader. She is a three-time past Worthy Advisor of her assembly and a Past Grand Officer. This past term, she completed a community service project that included the completion of a cookbook “For Teens, By Teens,” where she collected recipes for fun, healthy choices of foods that are diabetic friendly as well as fun for all to eat and enjoy. She also participates in many on-going service projects with her assembly, including support of the Ronald McDonald House, Make A Wish Foundation, letters to troops, visits to retirement homes and other causes. This past summer Serina returned from Supreme Assembly in Omaha where she was honored to be a member of the Supreme Choir and participate in the beautiful ceremonies/activities of the international conference. Presently, she has been working extremely hard to help organize the Copper Rose Assembly in her town, that was officially "Instituted" March 26th, 2011. She enjoys working with the girls on many additional service projects from care gifts to patients in hospitals to making blankets for the needy and so much more.
Serina just competed at the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair held at the New Mexico Tech University in Socorro. She received the State 3rd Place Medal for a category win with her environmental science project that involves comprehensive research on native grasses and mining reclamation of over 300 abandoned mine-sites in Grant County, NM. This project has also advanced her to attend the International Genius Olympiad in New York at the end of June this summer. She will be participating as one of 159 participants from 46 counties and 37 states at one of the largest environmental conferences of its kind.
Serina is a World Champion horsewoman. She received the World Title honor at the Pinto Horse Championships in Trail. This year, she received the prestigious recognition as “Zone Champion High Point Sr. Youth” from Arizona, California, Colorado, and New Mexico. With a special invitation to compete at the 2010 Pinto Youth Zone Championships, she placed 3rd overall in the World in the Zone World Championships. She serves as the New Mexico Paint Horse Club Youth State President. Serina shows extensively in western and English disciplines of riding and is passionate about promoting the” ideals of good sportsmanship and care of animals.” She actively promotes Horse Rescue in New Mexico through fund raising.At her high school, Serina is member of F.C.C.L.A. (Family, Career, Community Leaders of America) where she and her friend, Marissa, began their look at the literacy issues facing New Mexico children. Their project received them a Gold Award at the state level and this past summer, in Chicago, at the FCCLA National Conference, they earned the Silver Award recognition. The project now is being extensively expanded into the community.
Also, Serina is a member of B.P.A. (Business Professionals of America) where she earned first place in the state for her Marketing-Business Presentation and earned second place on her Business Administration Presentation on Ergonomics. She will be attending the BPA National Conference in Washington D.C. in May, where she will be also honored with the highest award, the Ambassador Torch Award, for her service to community and work within BPA.
She is a member of Key Club, working with the Kiwanis, to promote this literacy program to other Key Clubs, Builder’s Clubs and K-Kids groups in the region. She continues to attend important Kiwanis functions, such as the Southwest District Kiwanis Convention and Division 7 Governor's visit, Serina is excited about the possibly expansion of the APPLE program even more!
Serina continues to work hard with all of her organizations, focusing on community service every day. She loves to paint and write as well as work with people. It is her hope that the CLIMB and APPLE Literacy project will truly make a difference in the lives of others. She works daily on expanding her design of the CLIMB youth program of APPLE in many schools in the southwest, along with expanding “Take A Book – Leave A Book” and APPLE overall.
