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Before Bem was born, her parents emigrated from Ethiopia. With understandable language challenges, they depended upon grade-school-aged Bem to help them make sense of their new world. Without realizing what doctors and care providers explained to them in English, Bem’s parents were unaware that Bem’s younger brother was born with Down syndrome. By middle school, Bem spoke three languages: Amharic, English, and the wordless language of sibling affection. She used all three, beginning at age 13, to send emails, schedule doctor visits, and complete paperwork that clarified the medical and social needs of her little brother, signing the documents for her mother.

The empathy, diligence, generosity, and courage Bem displayed on behalf of her family formed the bedrock of a remarkable high school career. In ninth grade, she founded the United Moms Support Group to assist mothers with language barriers in communication with doctors and therapists, serving as co-president throughout her high school years. She regularly and voluntarily tutors refugees in English as a second language (ESL) classes, serves as a volunteer coordinator with UNICEF refugee programs, and built a handicap flowerbed to lead gardening education programs for special needs children. She co-founded Minority Leaders of Impact, is active in Science Olympiad, and consistently achieves academic distinction in a rigorous college-prep curriculum at Jones College Prep. Her teacher said of her, “She is one of the most perseverant students I have taught in my 15-year career. She’s an incredibly selfless human … who impresses and inspires me beyond belief.” She plans to study education.