The ball flies towards my outstretched hands, and I glance at the clock - eight seconds left in the game. My defender is tripped up leaving a wide-open shot. I spin the ball up in front of me as the gym melts to a slow-motion scene until SWOOSH! My teammates sprint to surround me, sweat dripping down their smiling faces. Confidence, power, and strength flood my body, and I feel as if I could take on anything. For as long as I can remember, the gym, the field, and the court have been my second home. The hundreds of practices and competitions were vital in my development of the skills that have allowed me to thrive in leadership positions at school and in my community. In gymnastics, I learned that preparation fuels success. My softball coaches taught me that it is ok to ask questions and receive help. And playing basketball helped me learn how to communicate effectively with a diverse array of people. I know that these skills will positively impact me as I go off to college and enter the workforce. But I am lucky. So many young girls do not have the opportunity to play sports and, as a result, do not develop critical leadership skills needed to empower them in other aspects of their lives. Although the law Title IX says that schools cannot discriminate against students based on sex in regards to sports, schools across the country continue to provide disproportionate athletic opportunities for girls. What’s more, many of the regions where this continues to occur have large minority populations. On top of this, women who do play sports at a high-level face mistreatment, unequal pay, and underrepresentation in the media. Many of the largest stories shared about women's sports are not about winning or other accomplishments, but instead, expose horrific instances of misconduct. These stories, while so important to share, are discouraging to young female athletes. We have to rewrite this narrative. We must actively make women's sports more accessible to consume live, on TV, and in the media by holding companies accountable. We must celebrate female athletes more and provide safe spaces for them to grow and compete by upholding laws set in place to do just that. We have to show young girls that there is a place for them in the sports arena so that they have the opportunity to internalize the valuable lessons offered by youth athletics. This is one way I believe we can inspire and empower the next generation of powerful female leaders.

January 2019 - The shadowy darkness swallowed the Puget Sound and the Olympic mountain range beyond my window. No sounds penetrated the 6 am silence blanketing my house. I scribbled quickly in a notebook as the woman on the other end of the receiver recounted a memory from 1991: Soviet tanks rolling through the streets to surround the Vilnius television tower where Lithuanians rallied for independence. For two hours we spoke, each question and subsequent answer offering me peeks into her past until finally, I hung up the phone. I then sat in silence, absorbing and processing the conversation while adding Egle Petroniene’s story to the many others I had set out to uncover and share with the world. July 2018 - I was 5000 miles from home in Dvarcenai, Lithuania for a democracy camp hosted by the US Embassy of Vilnius. The week had flown by in a blur of meaningful discussions on topics including government models, human rights campaigns, and social responsibilities. But throughout the week, I had also experienced many candid conversations over steaming potato pancakes, and in between rowdy campfire songs with students native to the small Baltic country. From their collective family stories, I came to understand for the first time the tragedies and triumphs of subjugation, occupation, and revolution that constitute Lithuania’s extensive history. Upon my return to the states, I maintained the connections I had made in Lithuania and found an avenue to share their valuable stories: the National History Day competition. I needed others to understand the destruction that hate and divide had wreaked on the Lithuanian population. I hoped that sharing and discussing these stories of suffering and unification might inspire others to actively fight oppression present in our world today. My freshman year was thus dominated by further piecing together the Lithuanian independence movement. Late-night research sessions, internet deep-dives, and early morning phone interviews - like the one with Egle Petroniene - were soon routine. My desk became home to stacks of notebooks with titles including “World War II: The Vilna Ghetto” or “The Sajudis Independence Group.” Through the months, this pile grew, brimming with facts and anecdotes, as well as thoughts and analysis, until I found myself in Washington DC. There I presented my finished project at the largest history competition in the nation. Storytelling is the most powerful tool wielded by the human species. From a young age, a collection of stories: age-old tales, family memories, and historical occurrences shape our values and beliefs. These then dictate how we decide to lead our lives. When we acknowledge our collective and diverse failures, struggles, and successes found in stories, we can begin to pursue positive change. Stories also bring us together in these times of intense and growing divide, spreading empathy on a national, local, and even personal level. However, I aspire to be a storyteller on an international level through foreign service. I envision myself pursuing international relations and foreign affairs in college. Then I work to represent the US as a diplomat or as a consul, and one day as an Ambassador. Through this career, I can continue to locate and share stories like the Lithuanian independence movement to kindle, repair, and shape human relationships around the globe.

My breath came quicker and quicker as the nerves took hold of my vocal cords, squeezing them like raw lemons. My forehead creased as if reacting to the imaginary sour taste. I was next. The words of my speech were a jumbled puzzle in my brain. What if I mess up? What if no one appreciates the jokes I included or agrees with the goals I outlined? What if-DINGGGG! I glanced down at my phone to see four words scroll across the top: “Stay above the line.” Those four words pulled me out of the panic that had come over me. The corner of my lip lifted in a slight smile. I took a deep breath and repeated the phrase in my head. I then flipped my Zoom microphone on and dove confidently into the speech that landed me my role as ASB President. Going into high school, I lacked confidence in my leadership capabilities. I was a perfectionist and hated confrontation. I was so scared of being “wrong” that I avoided speaking up altogether. My nerves had utter control over me. However, this all changed after I attended a presentation at the Next Generation Women’s Leadership Summit in January of 2019. Following her presentation on confident leadership, I approached Christine Richardson - the Executive Director of an all-female nonprofit - and asked her the question that had been holding me back from my leadership potential, “how do I overcome my fear of failure?” Ms. Richardson sat down next to me and grabbed my notebook and pencil. On a blank page, she drew a straight line in dark ink. Above the line, she wrote “open, curious, and committed to learning” and below it, she wrote, “closed off, defensive, and committed to being right.” She looked at me then, her finger resting above the line, “No matter what you do, you will be successful as a leader if you stay above this line.” I immediately took those words to heart, tattooing that line in my mind. Upon my return from the summit, I began using Ms. Richardson’s advice as my catch-all phrase. When I stepped on the court for the district volleyball championship, and before I entered the room for my presentation at the National History Day competition, I repeated to myself, “stay above the line.” When I attended the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference, and when I spoke at the Evergreen Girls State program, I leaned into those words. I even asked my friends and family to use that phrase when they noticed the nerves settling over me. This phrase has helped me to overcome my perfectionist mindset and pursue leadership opportunities that I might never have considered. As I work to stay above the “line” of leadership defined by Ms. Richardson I grow more confident in my abilities to question ideas, attempt new things, and fail with the knowledge that I am learning.