Executive Summary:

My name is Mikella Vermaire. I’m a junior at University Laboratory High School in Urbana. In my time in high school, I have participated in cross country, track, madrigals, and 3 different clubs: Spring Initiative, Pediatric Cancer Awareness Club, and United for Uganda. Outside of school, I’m very active at my church, working in the early childhood department and the elementary school department. I have a passion for working with children and helping them grow. I love being able to see that I’m helping the next generation to rise up and become influential and powerful teachers, students, and citizens. I believe that in order to make the world a better place, we need to instill courage, love, and a sense of morality into the rising generation, so that they can show that courage, love, and morality to the people around them as they become adults. I think it’s important to balance fun and learning for all children. If I’m accepted into this program, I plan to do all of this for children that I wouldn’t normally get the chance to do this for and with.

Needs Assessment:

            I am currently receiving no financial aid for my study abroad. I am a working high school student. I come from a family that is not wealthy. Both of my parents have jobs, but they are not extremely well-paying jobs. I will be paying for the entirety of this trip with scholarships and my own monetary funds. In order to study abroad, I would need to pay to fly to South Africa, pay for my tuition, room and board, and all expenses while I’m there. Before the trip, I am planning to be a working college student, so while I will have money, I won’t have enough money to pay for my college loans and a study abroad trip. 

Why Do We Still Eat Meat?

Anyone could tell you that physical health is an extremely important aspect of a person’s life. We hear a lot about weight, weight-loss, eating healthy, 60 minutes of exercise, etc. but many people are completely misinformed about what exactly is healthy. A common misconception—specifically in America—is that you need an excessive amount of protein. While it’s true that protein is an important nutrient, we do not need nearly as much as people think. Americans eat nearly 6% more protein than we actually need. Because of our misconceptions about protein, many people think that vegetarianism, and even veganism, are both harmful to the body. However, there are many ways to get the proper amount of protein from a vegetarian diet. Meat is not essential. We can get the proper amount of protein from nuts, soya, dry lentils, and more. Plus, not eating meat could help cut down on the overdose of protein that most of us are taking in. Protein isn’t the only nutrient that people think you can’t get from being vegetarian/vegan, but that just doesn’t make sense. Many of the nutrients people get in their diets come from fruits and vegetable or we can get those nutrients from fruits and vegetables—or raw food based products.

Not only are vegetarianism and veganism just as healthy—if not more so—in terms of nutrients, they are healthier in terms of fats and sodium. Meat and dairy have a significant amount of fat. Think about this: milk was MADE by the cow to turn a 60 lb. calf into a 1,600 lb cow. And people are wondering why they’re gaining weight as they drink milk… As well, red meat is known to cause a significant number of health problems, but we continue to eat it.

Speaking of eating meat, things like hot dogs and sausage should be illegal. They are all the discarded parts of an animal that aren’t used for the normal meats.