“There’s a whole lot that goes into a person when you view them as kind. I don’t care if people remember me as the richest person on Earth because you know, rich has one definition, but kind has so many,” said LSE senior, Araya Schroder. 

Schroder has various interests and talents but believes that kindness is the most important trait of all. Being surrounded by supportive people, such as her grandmother, has helped shape this belief. 

“My grandma, she has been the biggest influence in my life, just teaching me overall how to be a good person, have a pure soul, and just overall respect mankind. She is the reason I am who I am and how I see the world today, and I can just truly respect that.”

 In addition, Schroder is very interested in the culinary world and one of her biggest talents is cooking. She especially enjoys cooking Asian and Italian food. Even though she has a passion for cooking, her time working at the YMCA and the people she’s met have helped her discover what she wants to truly focus on in the future. 

“I think that my passion is just that I want to create a safe place for kids and I guess work with them because I feel like they have a lot of power in this world that really isn’t understood fully yet,” Schroder said. “My passion is just making sure that I can create a stable and loving place for them.”