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Bosilika, 17, attends Harvard-Westlake High School
in Los Angeles. Through her strong Vietnamese family
influence, she was raised with the understanding
that giving back is the most important thing someone
can do for another. Despite her fortunate upbringing,
her parents instilled in her this mindset. She was
always reminded that material possessions are not
forever, and despite the comfort they bring, not
everyone has nearly enough of the basics to survive.
Her family, members of the Vietnamese Royal Family,
experienced this rock-bottom moment when they lost
all of their possessions during the fall of Saigon
and were forced to re-establish themselves in American
Society as penniless immigrants. As a true riches-to-rags-to-riches
fairytale, her mother and grandmother were able
to overcome their fears and society’s boundaries
to build a multi-million dollar restaurant establishment,
House of An. Through her family’s experiences, Bosilika
has been taught compassion for others, bravery to
challenge social rules and stigmas and that it is
her civil responsibility to do the most she can
with the fortunate luck she has been given. Today,
she focuses her efforts on encouraging other teens
to get involved in their communities by acting as
The CEO of the BASH Organization and The Event Coordinator
of The BASH Event. A firm believer in youth advocacy,
Bosilika was selected as an In A Perfect World Youth
Ambassador where she launched a speaker’s series
and is writing a book on teens in philanthropy.
Through her BASH and IAPW accomplishments, she was
elected a 2011 Global Teen Leader and will be representing
the United States in a “Just Peace Summit” to occur
this April. She has also signed on board to join
another Teen Advocacy group, Forgiving For Living,
as a mentor and ambassador, and was recently selected
their first-ever PLUS Award Teen Honoree. Despite
her love of philanthropy, “her second love”, she
says, “is business”. She consults with marketing
firm and also works with her family’s company in
offering them a “teen perspective.” Although she
has many projects, she also spends her time cooking
dinners for her friends and family, watching movies,
studying Spanish and practicing for her SATS! Says
Bosilika, “My projects are fun and rewarding but
attending University is another dream I am planning
for… How else would I become a sustainable island
developer? “
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Nathalia, 19, was first introduced to Childrens
Hospital Los Angeles while on promotional tour for
her movie, Bratz. Through her arts and music she
has been able to engage with teens and youth to
encourage philanthropic work. Also a student at
USC, Nathalia has spread the message about the BASH
to the teens in her school and gets an “older teen/young
adult” perspective on philanthropy from her friends.
On her frequent visits to her hometowns of Melbourne
and Madrid, she gets to hear a global teen viewpoint
on what’s hot and new to bring back to the various
hospitals The BASH now supports. She recently wrapped
up filming the new Nickelodeon TV Show, House of
Anubis, where she stars in one of the leading roles
as “Nina.” Despite her love of “the food, the European
boys and the immense amount of culture” outside
her set window, she is back in Los Angeles settling
into her political science and law classes. No longer
in High School, Nathalia has made the transition
to our Advisory Board and has become The BASH Organization’s
first ambassador, spreading news about all of our
projects to teens and reporters while on tour, filming
locations and at local schools.
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