Charlotte Chin
Central Coast Region
Chapter 484 – Bishop O’Dowd High School
Adviser Darling Vinavong
Charlotte is a student at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, where she is the founder and president of the school’s Girls Who Code chapter. Charlotte is a percussionist in the symphonic band, and a pianist in the string orchestra, and has performed at numerous live and virtual musical events. She has received the Music in the Parks High School String Orchestra First Place Award, and the California Music Educators Association Excellence Award. Charlotte plays on both the varsity golf team and the varsity lacrosse team, where she has earned awards for her distinguishing herself as a successful scholar-athlete. Charlotte has been a summer intern at the California State Treasurer’s Office, and at the Office of Alameda County Board of Supervisors. As recognition for her service to her community, she received the President’s Volunteer Service Young Adults Gold Award in both 2019 and 2020. Charlotte volunteers as an art apprentice at the Oakland Museum of Children’s Art, and was a founding student organizer of It Takes a Village COVID PPE Project in Alameda.
Darling Vinavong, Charlotte’s CSF adviser, states “Charlotte is an exemplification of our Catholic mission and what it means to live your life in service to others. She doesn’t just volunteer to fluff her resume, she does it because that’s who she is. Charlotte is a prime example of what the youth of today can achieve.”
California State Treasurer, Fiona Ma, wrote a letter of recommendation for Charlotte in which she explains how Charlotte initiated a proposal to reinstate a defunct treasury program which would address food insecurity in her community and in the State of California. Ms. Ma states, “Charlotte’s intellectual curiosity, kindness, and work made her a valuable member of the internship.”
In her personal statement, Charlotte explains how she has gravitated towards choosing extracurricular and volunteer opportunities geared toward tackling social inequality. To this end her internship at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors focused on finding solutions for food insecurity, childhood poverty, and access to affordable healthcare. As a founding youth student organizer of the Oakland chapter of It Takes a Village COVID PPE Project, Charlotte expresses, “I think it really does take a village to make the world a better place, and I’m so glad I could contribute to such a worthy cause.”
Charlotte intends to pursue a degree in Sociology, at either UCLA, USC, or UC San Diego.
