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Community Corner

'I Learned the Meaning of True Happiness from Them'

Oakton native Alice Lu dedicates herself to serving to her community.

When Oakton resident and Georgetown University freshman Alice Lu traveled to Sichuan, China during the summer of 2009 to teach students affected by the 2008 earthquake, her perspective on life changed.

"[The students] had close to nothing, yet they were the happiest kids in the world, content with what they had: their friends, and what remained of their family. Material things were unimportant to them," Lu later wrote in an award-winning essay about her experience in Sichuan. "I learned the meaning of true happiness from them."

With this new outlook in mind, Lu approached her junior year at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology with a goal. Having formed relationships with three of the students she had taught in Sichuan, Lu set out to stay in contact with them and their friends.

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"When I came back to America, they still wanted to keep in contact with me, so I started mailing them letters," Lu said. "Soon after, they mentioned that their classmates wanted letters, too. I figured I couldn’t write to all of them so I decided to start a club at Jefferson so other students could help me with the task."

This club, named the Little Sunshine Project, organized communication between Jefferson students and children in China, Somalia and Vietnam, among other countries, in order to provide emotional support for the children.

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"I’m really happy I started the club," Lu said. "I felt that it needed to be done."

This experience fueled Lu’s passion for public service and international affairs. As a result, she applied for the Asian American Government Executives Network (AAGEN) scholarship in the spring of 2011.

In June, Lu and three other students won the scholarship. As the only high school recipient, Lu was the youngest winner among them.

"AAGEN focuses on public service and leadership in our community, so I think what helped me get the scholarship was my internships with the Senate," she said.

Lu spent two summers as an intern for Senators Patty Murray of Washington and Chris Dodd of Connecticut. In their offices, Lu received calls from taxpayers and assisted them in preparing for hearings.

Now in college and living close to home, Lu holds a reading workshop for first- to third-graders every two weeks in her Oakton home. She works with six or seven students on reading comprehension and engages the students in readings and discussions.

"I enjoy working with kids so it’s not a job for me. It’s really rewarding," Lu said.

Lu is currently considering a major in international business and is still dedicated to public service, believing strongly in the utilization of her strengths and skills to give back to the community.

"I was thinking about bringing the Little Sunshine Project to Georgetown because it’s such an international thing," Lu said, "but I want to do something new too."

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