A Symphony of Service

Sierra High Senior Coordinates Community Event

Sierra High School senior Erfan Ballew wears many hats, impressively balancing school, clubs, sports, and his duties as Manteca’s Youth Focus City Ambassador.

Driven by his faith, family, and intrinsic desire to help others, Ballew often works with local organizations and businesses. From attending Chamber of Commerce meetings to volunteering at Manteca’s Salsa Showdown, his involvement has taught him a lot.

“I've learned that there's a lot of good people out there that want to do great things,” he explains. “It’s easy to get lost in the traffic of daily routines, but when you slow down, you see how many people volunteer their time, their effort, and start their own activities, just wanting to do good for the world.”

This realization moved him to host an event where organizations can have a great time while inspiring and celebrating each other, which is why Ballew has spent the last few months engineering Manteca’s very first Community Unity Benefit Concert.

Despite Manteca being a tight-knit community, it’s also a growing one. Ballew worked hard for this event to be an opportunity for locals to meet and engage with each other – many taking the stage to speak about their own initiatives.

With much of his free time dedicated to extracurricular activities, Ballew was quick to thank his parents for being his biggest supporters.

“I get pretty busy,” he admitted, acknowledging his often 12-hour days.

“My mom is always there to love me and support me and my father is always there to bring me up and make sure that at every moment I'm working towards my best potential and the best that I have to give to the world.”

He also credits his older sister, Yasmin, for being his biggest inspiration.

Looking to the future, Ballew wants to be an innovator, likely in economics or business. With his dedication and enthusiasm for making the world a better place, there is no doubt that Erfan is poised to achieve great things.