Tiffany Duarte is a 16-year-old junior at Glendale High School. She was born in the Philippines and came to Glendale when she was seven. Tiffany is the current president of The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Club. 

Additionally, Tiffany is a part of ASB as the Junior Class Treasurer. She is also one of the five members of the two-time defending champion GHS Scholastic Bowl team. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys watching action-romance shows and reading, and she does lots of studying. 

Tiffany is the founder of the UNICEF Club at GHS, and she first got involved in the organization because of her love of young people. “I adore children,” she said. “I have three nieces and seven nephews and decided I want to be part of a mission that would help underprivileged kids.”

Tiffany had known about UNICEF for years, but she didn’t know it was part of the United Nations that specifically focused on the welfare of children. Tiffany founded the club because a friend of hers suggested that they join the UNICEF Club at GHS. But they eventually found out that the club no longer existed on our campus, so Tiffany decided to bring a UNICEF Club back to GHS. 

The purpose of the UNICEF Club is to raise money and awareness for children worldwide. This school year, the club is going to raise money and donate it to the actual UNICEF website, by the end of the year. The club has so far raised its money through Round Up and through other community service activities.

During Round-Up in September, the UNICEF Club had thought of offering entertainment instead of food, since most clubs sell things to eat during the event. As a result, the UNICEF Club offered an air hockey table for students, but the club members faced some challenges during the event. Unfortunately, their puck ended up breaking, which made it harder to play. Ultimately, the club did not make as much money during Round-Up as they had hoped, but they learned that perhaps they will go in a different direction next year. 

Tiffany believes students should join the UNICEF Club because her members have lots of fun during community service activities. These community service opportunities do not only benefit the students in earning hours, but they also help other people in need. Tiffany manages to balance school and clubs by working on extracurricular activities over the weekend, and she focuses on academics during the week. Although Tiffany is great at managing her time, she still faces some challenges as a club president. “It’s been really difficult to find organizations and volunteer opportunities nearby that are mostly related to children,” she admits. Tiffany also says that it’s difficult to get the UNICEF Club members to commit to the club, by participating in community service or by attending meetings.

Tiffany believes that a group must be led by someone as passionate about the club’s mission as she is. Therefore, she hopes that whoever leads the UNICEF Club after she graduates is someone who cares about and will try to help underprivileged children.

After high school, Tiffany wants to attend a university, and she’d like to go into a career in forensic science. She might also like to train to be a physician assistant. 

 If you are interested in becoming a member of the UNICEF Club here at GHS, follow them on Instagram: @ghs__unicef. You can also contact their advisor, Mrs. Keefer, at [email protected].