CYPRESS — Cypress Ranch High School junior Lily Wachuku is the founder and creator of “Live Life The Girl Way,” an empowerment organization that focuses on positive and uplifting messages for young girls and teens to help them reach their full potential.
School: Cypress Ranch High School
Age: 16
Grade: 11
Accomplishments: Wachuku, through her organization and UNICEF USA, recently launched “Fuel Her Dreams,” which is raising money through a GoFundMe page to educate 20 girls in Malawi for one year. In addition to her organization, Wachuku was recently awarded the Prudential President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Favorite class: “This year’s favorite class is AP English because I can spend an entire hour each day doing what I love to do, which is reading and writing!”
Favorite things to do after class: “My favorite things to do after class are painting, reading, listening to music and working for my organization.”
Favorite song: “Speak Life by TobyMac.”
Favorite website/app: “Other than my own website, I like visiting Food Network’s website to see the cool culinary creations.”
Favorite TV show: “I’m going to sound like an old soul, but I really like watching The Profit and Shark Tank. I love these shoes because it’s really interesting to see different businesses and learn how best to make my own successful company.”
Favorite movie: “I absolutely, positively love The Sound of Music. This movie is the best movie of all time in my opinion because the soundtrack is amazing and the scenery is beautiful.”
Ambition: “I would like to attend an Ivy League university and I would like to continue to take my organization to new heights to support girls globally. I would like to attend an Ivy League university because I would like to challenge myself and go to a school that prepares me to become one of the world’s next impactful leaders. I would like to continue to expand my organization because I am dedicated to empowering and encouraging girls to achieve all of their goals and dreams and to be confident in themselves and their abilities. All girls can dream, succeed and achieve.”
What topics/things are you passionate about?: “I am passionate about health care, the arts, literature and world betterment. I would like to become a pediatric oncologist and hopefully, help further the treatments of cancer patients everywhere.”
What inspires you?: “I am inspired by all of the Generation Z leaders that have taken world betterment into their own hands.”
What three things can’t you live without?: “I definitely could not live without books, the arts and ambition. I think that knowledge is power, the arts are expression and ambition pushes people to strive to innovate and better the world.”