Life Buzz: Teen Hall of Fame ... Arthritis Hero - Amy, a High School Junior

July 25, 2009

Amy Cunha - Turlock High School Junior

Amy sets specific goals and goes after them.

At age 16, she is the president of the AVID club, which stands for

Advancement Via Individual Determination. AVID is a four-year program that

is used to help students meet the University of California entrance

requirements.

She is also the secretary for her school's Anime Club, a member of the golf

team, a member of the Asian Culture Club, and an advocate for the Arthritis

Foundation.

After being diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at age 5, she made

it her goal to inform others and to raise money for other kids to attend

camps for children who have arthritis.

She has traveled twice to Washington to speak with California senators and

Congressmen to help pass the Arthritis Prevention and Cure Act.

Not easily able to play most sports, Amy took up cheerleading at the age of

10. In eighth grade, she decided that she wanted to learn how to play golf.

She made the Turlock girls golf team during her freshman year. She has been

a member of the five-time champion team for two years.

She plays golf three times a week during the off-season, and she partakes in

match play at River Oaks Golf Course on the weekends. This year, she won

first place at the City of Turlock fourth annual Junior Golf Classic.

Amy holds a 4.0 grade-point average. She is waiting to be accepted to

participate in the Modesto Sister Cities foreign exchange program and she

hopes to visit Japan this summer. She wants to learn to speak Japanese.

Her aspiration is to attend California State University, Monterey Bay, and

major in International Languages. After college, she wants to move to Japan

and teach English.

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