Lizbeth Morales
Univeristy of North Texas at DallasLizbeth Morales is a social innovator, community-driven psychology student, sister, and vice president of the civically-oriented Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority. Concerned that the immediate needs in local low socioeconomic status communities are often overlooked, Lizbeth spends about 250 hours a year devoted to the betterment of her immediate Southern Dallas community. Lizbeth has volunteered with organizations such as Trinity River Mission and Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, to bring resources to her community such as providing backpacks and school supplies to children in need. Through her work with the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, she has been hand-selected by the Director of Forensic Services for an internship to work with abused children and their siblings. At UNT Dallas, Lizbeth is the student project lead for the SUDS (Sustainable Urban Development through Service) of Hope program; an initiative dedicated to bringing access to clean laundry to Dallas ISD students, and their families. Clean laundry is a simple necessity that is not taken into consideration enough. By creating access to clean clothes, this will help boost student's self-esteem and also help bring communities together. The SUDS of Hope team plan's on having community laundry days where they partner with a local laundromat and families can do their laundry at no cost. While families wait for their laundry, the SUDS of Hope team wants to provide additional services such as: homework help, career advancement opportunities, and citizen applications help. Lizbeth has been able to identify her surrounding Dallas community needs by interacting with community members and collecting data. Lizbeth and the SUDS of Hope team have decided on a pilot school where 93.5% of the population are categorized as lo
Personal Statement
Growing up with immigrant parents who were forced to make sacrifices for my benefit, the choices parents in low-income communities have to make is easy for me to understand. We faced financial instability for most of my childhood. Holidays were particularly tough, because needs being met translated to little room for wants. One of my fondest childhood memories is waking up on Christmas morning to local firefighters knocking on our door with gifts. This act of kindness has set into motion a life for me devoted to community service. Reflecting back, community was an integral part of my development. The connection to those around me has helped me realize the essential impact a strong community can have on the growth of an individual. Working with my faculty mentor, Dr. Eimerbrink, I began a journey to create broad social impact and influence social mobility for community members right here in Southern Dallas. Focused on providing local children access to clean clothing in underserved communities, the SUDS of Hope program was created. Our goal is for every child to come to school in a clean uniform has influenced a catalytic project that has brought together schools, parents, community members, and local businesses.