MEET ISABEL
NEW YORK, USA
Welcome!
Hi! My name is Isabel DeMarco, and I am a senior at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in New York City. I am half Italian and half Venezuelan and passionate about the Chinese language and culture. I spent a majority of my childhood summers at sleepaway camps tucked in the Andes Mountains, which helped me gain exposure to many socio-cultural differences in comparison to life in New York. During the summer of 2019, I had the privilege of visiting several provinces and cities throughout China, where I was exposed to the lifestyles of people from varying socioeconomic classes.
While reflecting on my international travel and exposure, I wondered how I could create a system to address the problems of my community and those I had visited, in addition to others I have never been exposed to. What if I could create a virtual space that would unite people and inspire masses to institute the change they hope to create and contribute to the well-being of their communities? I wanted to highlight the unsung extraordinary "do-gooders" with unique and creative acts of good. That’s why I decided to create Do Good Everywhere. Do Good Everywhere promotes global wellbeing on a local and international level. Perhaps most importantly, people build community and make new friendships, at home or abroad, connected to common social justice concerns and passions.
ISABEL'S ENGAGEMENTS
Community Service
• Helped Manhattan Mandarin launch their nonprofit, Red Envelope, as an intern
• Volleyball and swim instructor for intercity kids
• Hospital-based volunteer for disabled adults and youth through arts and crafts
• "Midnight Run" – distribute food, clothing, and blankets to the homeless
• "Patriot Project" – veteran outreach program
• "PB&J" – prepare sandwiches for delivery to homeless people
Leadership
• President of Amnesty International school club
• President of P.R.I.D.E., a school LGBTQ+ brave space
Athletics
• Voice in Sport advocate for young female athletes
• 4-year starter on school varsity volleyball team
• National and Regional volleyball player for NYC Juniors Club (2014 - 2019)
• Qualified for Junior National Volleyball Championship (2018)
International Exposure
• Studied abroad in China for two weeks while traveling to a variety of cities and provinces to increase my cultural understanding and develop my Mandarin proficiency (2019)
• Spent my childhood summers in Boconó, Venezuela to visit family, develop my Spanish fluency, and cultural immersion
• Exposure to a variety of international cultures through travel
Extracurriculars
• Yale Young Global Scholars student: Politics, Law, and Economics course (2020)
• Participated in the Global Kids United States in the World Summer Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (2019)
• Member of Global Kids Citywide Leadership Program (2019 - 2020)
• Mobilized a group of students and faculty to watch the African American History: From Emancipation to the Present Yale Online Open Course to discuss content and draw parallels to the Black Lives Matter movement. Initiated a meeting with Dr. Jonathan Holloway, the current president of Rutgers University.
• Participated in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth summer program (2016-2018)
COMMUNITY OUTREACH: COVID-19
I helped build the field hospital in Central Park, NYC, to help Mt. Sinai with the surge of COVID-19 patients. Here, I am helping set up the electrical and oxygen tubes in one of the tents.
Every Thursday, my family would deliver pizzas to our local hospital to thank them for their valiant efforts as essential workers.
The Field Hospital in Central Park, NYC during the set-up; the ICU and critical care tents had beds for 68 patients.
I helped build the field hospital in Central Park, NYC, to help Mt. Sinai with the surge of COVID-19 patients. Here, I am helping set up the electrical and oxygen tubes in one of the tents.
A Moral Imperative
Definition:
A moral imperative is a strongly-felt principle that compels that person to act. It is a kind of categorical imperative, as defined by Immanuel Kant. Kant took the imperative to be a dictate of pure reason, in its practical aspect. Not following the moral law was seen to be self-defeating and thus contrary to reason.
Why is this important?
Although there is a lack of research on the direct correlation between community service and the brain, it is possible to expand our focus and examine the effects and significance of morality within the brain from a cognitive and neurobiological perspective. Morality refers to the way we as a society have come to recognize the practices that procure the health and advancement of the people, over those that erode personal, familial, and social wellness. Morality is both constant as a timeless orienting compass. As humans evolve, the moral imperative to “do good” is fine-tuned in keeping with the times, medicine, technology, and the people. At no time in my lifetime has this been more true than responses to COVID-19.
From a neurological perspective, the human brain may simulate physical sensations to prompt introspection, capitalizing on moments of high emotion to promote moral behavior. Individuals who were told stories designed to evoke compassion and admiration for virtue occasionally reported they felt a physical sensation in response. These psycho-physical ‘pangs’ of emotion are very real, as they are detectable with brain scans, and maybe evidence that social behavior and interaction is part of human survival. I am particularly fascinated by what this study suggests about doing good as a moral imperative with neuroscientific correlation and hope it will fuel my passion for helping my community thrive.