Maria Tawfik

The objective of the research team I am part of is to understand the impact of economic stressors and educational protective factors on cardiometabolic and oral health outcomes among young adult college students in California. It is my job on my campus to organize the club meetings and know our financial limits for the resources we provide on campus. I am also part of organizing the time we meet up which is twice a month.

Serving is the job that honestly made me grow up faster than I expected. At just 20, I’ve had to learn how to stay calm when everything feels chaotic, how to read people before they even say a word, and how a simple act of kindness can completely shift someone’s day. It’s crazy how much something as small as remembering a regular’s order or taking an extra second to listen can make people feel seen. Those little things taught me that service is bigger than food—it’s about connection. That’s why people are always surprised when they find out my age, because the way I carry myself feels older. Serving matured me in ways most people don’t get until much later, and I really think everyone should do it at least once—it teaches you patience, empathy, and communication in a way no classroom ever could.

My internship with Kevin McCarthy’s campaign taught me how important listening and communication really are. In just two weeks I made over 1,000 calls, and while the numbers mattered, what I remember most is how much people just wanted to be heard. Meeting Kevin McCarthy himself and getting to work alongside his team was an honor, and the experience pushed me to grow quickly—teaching me confidence, adaptability, and maturity beyond my age.

My internship at Allen Road Pet Hospital wasn’t just shadowing a veterinarian—it was the moment I realized this is what I want to dedicate my life to. I’ve gone through things that showed me when I needed a human hand, what I often found instead was a paw. That kind of comfort changed me, and since then I’ve owed it back—to be the hand that holds a paw the way one once held me at my lowest. During those years, I learned how to assist with dental cleanings, help with check-ups, make appointments, and comfort pets during scary moments. But more than the skills, I found my ‘why.’ Ricky Gervais once said, ‘Animals don’t have a voice but I do. A loud one.’ That became my own promise: to be that voice, to stand up for animals who can’t ask for help. This was the experience that gave me my clarity—that one day, I want to open my own clinic and spend my life giving back to the very creatures that once gave me hope