I am 19 years old. Female. Latina. From East Oakland.

My parents emigrated from Mexico with little education. My father died when I was 2. My brother got caught up in drugs and gangs.

I just finished my freshman year at UC Berkeley.

At Moscone Center in San Francisco this week, 4,500 people are attending the National Conference on Volunteering and Service to talk about ways that people dedicated to serving their communities can change lives.

I am living proof. One changed my life. She's the reason I'm at UC Berkeley. She's not a tutor or a teacher or a legal advocate.

She's a soccer coach.

Read on...

Zulma Muñoz

June 22, 2009