STOMP Out Bullying Youth Ambassador Kulin Oak

Kulin Oak
Youth Leader STOMP Out Bullying™

Kulin Oak is a senior in high school will be attending college in the fall. Hailing from Michigan Kulin is an Honor student and enjoys U.S. History and Sciences. He was on the Model U.N. team for 2 years and was also a member of the Student Council.

Kulin volunteered as a member of the “Effective Teens” program, to teach kids in elementary schools the importance of treating others with respect and kindness. He has been learning classical Guitar for the past few years and enjoys several different genres of music. For four years, he has been a percussionist in his school band, has been involved in the community theater and performed in several plays and musicals including youth theater. He is an avid animal lover and has volunteered at the local animal shelters.

Kulin has been consistently involved in increasing awareness for safety and caring. He has volunteered at the local Gleaners Food bank and the Salvation Army to help the underprivileged , has been a part of "Ride of Silence", which is a 12 mile bike ride to increase awareness about road safety (which in effect creates awareness that more powerful car drivers need to be aware of the needs of the weaker but equally important bicyclists).

Kulin believes that the two characteristics that drive people to help others are empathy, and awareness. He was born with a severe overbite which cast a shadow over every aspect of his life growing up. While it was not a life threatening condition, it affected his self-esteem. He knew, however, that he was fortunate that his condition was superficial, and could be fixed after a long, and sometimes painful journey through corrective treatment. He realized that other people may have disabilities or inadequacies that may be more serious, perhaps even insurmountable, and he began to imagine their despair. This fueled a passion in him to do whatever he could to identify and help such people. His work with animals further heightened his awareness. He feels that misery may not be expressed in words, yet it takes a caring person to go out of their way to recognize the plight of another, and lend a helping hand to those who cannot help themselves. He believes that these caring people are the foundation of our society, and that his personal experiences continue to mold him into being such a person. Kulin has been a Youth Leader for STOMP Out Bullying for several years and looks forward to creating awareness about the severe impact bullying can have. He hopes to make a difference in the lives of others.