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The People
The many friends and family members who have shared with me their love and wisdom remain at the core of every ambition I pursue.
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The Moments
I've always believed in savoring the moments. In the end, they are the only things we'll have.
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The Places
From Columbia, Missouri, to Perth, Western Australia, my surroundings have constantly challenged me to live, learn and grow.
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The Learning
From advertising campaigns to Australian baseball, Music Row to Washington, D.C., I've been grateful to join some brilliant teams for some remarkable learning opportunities.
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FIRST STEP FORWARD
//Mapping out the road ahead.
Ten weeks after I had graduated from the University of Missouri, and just two months after I had moved halfway across the world, I learned that marketing an Australian baseball team wasn't quite for me. As a lifelong baseball fan with a journalism degree and an affinity for vegemite, the experience seemed like the perfect fit, but I would soon learn that I had strayed too far from the facets of life that kept me fulfilled. Soon after that revelation, I returned to the U.S. and restarted my pursuit of a life in public service. Though the adventure is young, I could not be happier with the path down which I am currently traveling. This outlet is to capture my pursuit of this lofty purpose. These are my ambitions; this is my journey.
AT A GLANCE
Name: Zach Parolin
Age: 22
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
College: University of Missouri
Major: Journalism (Strategic Communication)
Current Position: President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (Washington, D.C.)
Previous Position: Major League Baseball International (Perth, Western Australia)
Email: zachparolin@gmail.com
PROFESSIONAL AMBITIONS
I am committed to a career in the public service sector to influence policy and programs related to youth homelessness, public health and social justice issues on the state and federal level. I am interested in not only the research and development of relevant legislation, but also the outreach and implementation efforts to see its purpose through.
I look forward to continuing my work with agencies and organizations who work at the intersection of frontline support and legislative influence.
PROFICIENCIES
//Areas of Interest
Poverty & Homelessness
More than 2 million children and teenagers are estimated to be displaced or homeless within the United States. In working with a handful of these youth throughout college, I've witnessed how a shelter, a friend and some support can provide the foundation for a young adult to stand back up on his or her own feet. An investment in our at-risk youth can, in fact, thwart the rise of homelessness and allow us to develop a healthier, more productive next generation of Americans.
Public Health
A recent study from the National Academy of Sciences confirmed what many of us might have been able to predict: Americans are far more unhealthy and likely to die sooner than citizens of 16 other developed countries. I've helped to tackle the youth obesity epidemic with the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, but I look forward to expanding my knowledge of and involvement within the sector to see through our collective mission of creating a healthier nation.
Social Justice
The U.S. has an unfortunate history of allowing shades of hatred to slow our inevitable climb toward equality. Each generation seems to have sparked its own movement toward global equality, and ours has been tasked with not only solidifying the progress made during the Civil Rights and Women's Liberation movements, but also extending the doormat of freedom to individuals with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community and the many immigrants who have settled within our homeland.
