Throughout my life I have found joy in serving my community so that others can prevail and have improvements in their life. I have done countless hours of community service since I was eight and through those hours I have met the sick, the poor, the less fortunate, and so many more people that have had such a different life than I. I have been able to most recently serve my church through youth and kids ministry. Through serving I have found a love for kids and this helps me further solidify that I want to teach and work with kids so that they can have a better life or feel better. I want to be the person that is supporting students from day-to-day so that they can feel safe and secure within the classroom and school. The way that I want to make a positive impact on the world is by being a teacher to everyone. I am currently studying to be a moderate to intensive needs special education with hopes of getting my BCBA to help with behavioral education in schools and atypical settings. I want to make the kids that a lot of teachers think are rude, annoying, loud, and "too much" feel that they matter and are allowed to have their feelings. I want to make them know that their feelings are valid and help them learn how to handle them better so that they can grow stronger and more confident. About seventy percent of kids in schools present day have behavioral issues and there is an even larger surge that teachers and administrators are experiencing right now too. The kids that have behavioral issues often do not come from the best home lives and often may see physical, verbal, or mental abuse within their home. When abuse is all a child knows that is how they do not have the proper tools to deal with the conflict at school while they are at school. That is where I come in, I want to be able to teach all students how to handle conflict appropriately so they can learn proper coping tools. Students deserve to have a chance to learn from the outside world so that they do not have to be a direct product of their environment and can have a chance of leaving to do better things in their life. By teaching kids how to properly handle conflict students are able to get jobs, go to college, achieve new opportunities, and learn more about themselves. Their lives can truly be changed because of the help from educators and supports outside of the home.

The role faith plays a role in my life everyday. The Lord gives me strength to have patience every day at work so that I remain calm for the students at my job. I am apart of my church's youth group so reaching out to my students to see how they are doing and giving them biblical encouragement is something I try to do at least every other day. I would not be able to give them this encouragement if I myself was not in my bible everyday reading the word. I know that when I was deciding where to go to college, what to study, and trying to figure out what to do God was there with me. I spent countless hours praying and reading my bible trying to understand what my purpose was so that I could make a choice that would glorify Him. I also gain my courage from being the word or just listening to worship music to keep my spirit high and mind stable. I have struggled a lot with mental health and trying to stay on track so that I can achieve the goals that are set. I was actually able to surrender to God last year in 2025 and get Baptized. After that I was able to feel more at peace and I was able to have my mind cleared. It felt so amazing to be delivered from something I was told that everyone struggles with throughout their whole life. I felt new and joyful. I knew that I did not have to struggle anymore with my mental health because God was able to take over and find a different side of me with it. In the future I hope to become a special education moderate to intensive needs teacher. Through this a lot of work, patience, education, strength, courage, and motivation is needed. I know that when I turn to God when I need any of those most he will provide for me as he has provided for me throughout my whole life. Right now presently any time I feel like I will not be able to afford the classes or get to the right place I am reminded of Psalm 92:12 "But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.". I am reminded that I too will be able to grow like a tree and achieve my goals if they are apart of His plan. I have been pushed by my parents and family to continue my education as well. Neither of my parents graduated with their bachelor's on time and they both had to go back to school after having two kids together. I would be the first person in my immediate family that would be able to graduate with a four year degree and has gone to school continuously since high school. That also tends to motivate me as well to finish my degree and do something more with my life. I not only want to make my parents and close family proud but I also want to provide my kids with a better life so that they know if their mom did it, they can too.

For my poster I chose a seventh grade special educations history standard, SS.7.1a-c. This standard states that students must understand by the end of seventh grade special education that historians and archeologists describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time to avoid the past in terms of today's norms and values. I put this on a sticky note image because I think it helps kids see the standard and understand what the topic is going to be about for that class period. It is a good place to start and talk with the class as a group about. This invites group conversation for the class so that they can point out things that have known previously, things they may have questions about, and what else we can conclude. I put it on a sticky note as a way to indicate visually to the students that it is apart of the poster but also it stands out more. Helps to identify the first order of business in a way so that students know what to look at since it is eye catching. SS.7.1.a states that students must be able to view two photos of the same location, one from the past and one current, and compare them by finding what life and the environment of the past was like and what it is like now. I put two different now and then pictures to show one where archaeologists might work and one where historians might work. Students can physically see what it looked like in the past and in present day. This is also a time for a group discussion to be prompted of what different things they see in each picture and comparing them. When students are able to visually see the difference instead of having to only think about them it is easier to draw conclusions. Students can see that in 1896 there were horses buggies but in 2025 there are cars, street lights, sidewalks, and bigger buildings. This can spark conversation on what archaeologists might look at in comparison to historians. This helps students use their critical thinking and observation skills. SS.7.1.b states that students must be able to identify historical items that are no longer commonly used. For example a students will be able to identify a buggy from the 1800s-1900s and compare them to present day cars. During this time they could create their own cars and have classroom conversation. There could be talk about what cars in the future may look like and they could even create a timeline with all the different cars to compare with each other. This way the conversation and creativity of the assignment is noticeable and the kids are staying engaged with their creative freedoms. SS.7.1c states that students will match professions of historians or archaeologists with examples of their work. Through this I put different boxes that were purple and they can line them up with the right job. There is also another option too, where the teacher could do matching cards and kids can split into groups of 2-4 to divide them up. This would help practice group work and allows kids to collaborate appropriately and productively during this project.

When I was growing up my parents encouraged me often to help others in my community so that I can serve others first. This foundation to grow from was so important to me and has shaped how I view and live within the world. I became immensely compassionate for others and developed a huge amount of empathy for others in the world. I started to truly consider how others felt when I was older and in third grade. My parents had gone through multiple seasons of grief and it was hard on us. They never stopped caring for me though, which I took with me too. If they could continuously love and care for me through their depression and anxiety why can I not do the same for others as well. Overtime I continued to grow into my empathy and compassion. Most importantly I developed empathy and compassion for kids and those who had less than myself. I wanted to make their lives better, no matter what it took. I had a lot of amazing teachers who showed me compassion and care through their good and bad days. I often took that for granted because at the time I did not consider that they were also having bad days or going through hard times. When I was growing I often had more than plenty and never had gone without in my life. I knew that in order to be truly selfless I needed to give up things that I would want and keep the things I needed. When I was in high school I participated in Key Club International at North Ridgeville High School and served over eighty hours within my community helping the elderly, my school, Kiwanis Club, the Lions Club, and the city board. As I entered into college I participated in the athletic department's food drive where we gathered food and then packaged it so that local food banks could cook it quickly. When I transferred home after two years I decided to join my local church. Through that God has been able to provide tremendous amounts of service opportunities for me. I serve every Sunday in my kids' ministry for Sunday school where we minister to kids Kindergarten to Fifth Grade. I was able to participate in this past year's (2025) first ever, summer bash where kids are able to come to a three day vacation bible school. During this time the kids went to small group, game area, dance area, snack, and even had whole auditorium challenge events. I was able to also join the Youth Ministry and minister to sixth grade girls this past September. While doing these things are rewarding it is not about the reward that I receive but the lives that get to be changed because of my efforts. I have watched so many girls and young kids get baptized and saved by the Lord so that they can be free of their sin, mental illness, and/or physical illness. I have seen my girls become new people and flip over a new leaf so that they can be better people to other people and for other people. I enjoy going there every week and weekend so that I can teach them about the Lord, who he is, and what he has done for us on Earth. Lives get changed when people find the Lord and are able to find peace in God.

I am Alissa Jacovetti, a current college junior who is studying to earn a bachelor's in moderate to intensive needs special education with hopes of becoming a special education behavioral intervention specialist and contained classroom teacher. I have a passion for behavioral special education specifically because when I was a child I felt like a teachers and adults did not understand why I was upset and neither did I. I would get really angry really quickly and I did not like it, but I did not know a different way of working through how I felt. When I was a senior in high school I did a program through my vocational school called, Teacher Education Exploration. I was able to learn more about child psychology and how to teach kids that have different needs. Through this I was able to realize that there are students out there that feel angry similar to how I did, or they have emotional regulation difficulties because of trauma or other personal mental reasons. I knew that I wanted to help those kids who are struggling like I did because I did not have anyone to help me. I wanted to help them know there are other ways to get out the emotions they have, but in a healthy way. I thought about psychology at first and becoming a therapist or psychologist. However, shortly after I then realized I wanted to still teach subjects to students so that they I can see them learn and improve academically as well. I have always had a passion for teaching but it really became clear my senior year that I was meant to teach special education to help the progression of students and use my experiences to let them know that they are not alone. Students that have special needs, particularly behavioral needs can often feel left out, lost, forgotten, behind, or dismissed and I want to provide an environment for students to not have to feel that way throughout their time in school. Something that has been hard for me is that I have to realize I will not be able to change every student's life or self-concept, but what I can do is offer consistency, reassurance, help, guidance, and encouragement to them so that they can best and show up for themselves so that they can achieve their goals with the help of myself and other educators. Students who have disabilities often have low self-esteem and self-concept, but teaching to reaffirm themselves by providing the language they need to encourage themselves is important so that they can develop more confidence in themselves and carry that with them throughout their lives. For example, telling them they are capable, they are smart, they can do it, they are worthy of doing more, etc.. I want to create a place where students are able to learn how to feel confident in themselves and also are able to know that if they fail or cannot get the concept right away, they will still succeed as long as they continue to try. Many kids give up when they think that they cannot do something or when they do not get something right away because it is easier than having to try again. A student's presence is most important for themselves to be aware of because it helps to develop self-concept, self-esteem, and self-awareness. When they are able to find how they can help the community they live in. When students are aware of their presence they are able to participate in the community just as others do. Each person has their own individual presence and to themselves it should be known, because then they will start to find a purpose within themselves. Whether it is to help their community or just be a productive member of their community both are equally important. A student’s presence could be both good and bad, but as teachers it is our job to encourage them to have a positive presence everywhere they go. Additionally, each child also has a purpose in life just as any person and it is our job as educators to be their cheerleaders so that they can seek out that purpose fully and take advantage of it. I would like to be able to guide my future students to understand their purpose and unlock the feeling of their presence to be able to unlock their fullest of potential. By teaching them social skills students are able to interact with people in different communities or in their own communities because they know how to have conversations with others appropriately. Social skills are important when helping students become aware of their presence because they then know what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. It is also important to teach emotional recognition and regulation throughout a student's educational career because they need to learn different ways of coping with their emotions, especially when they are upset, frustrated, sad, excited, etc. Being aware of your presence includes being self-aware when you feel that your emotions are out of check, or you feel that you cannot have self-control. Students often lack self-control until they are in high school, and even then, they still might. Elementary levels are often still learning the rules, so they do not fully know what self-control is. Middle schoolers like to push the limits and see what they can get away with because they are starting to feel more mature but are still immature and can still lack the self-control they need. When students reach high school there is a good mix of students that have self-control and those that lack self-control still. When students are finally old enough to graduate the hope that all teachers have is that they have been able to find their presence that they are supposed to have and they know how to use it properly within the world and their communities. Not only teaching them how to socialize and understand their emotions but also helping them increase academically by providing different ways of learning and experiencing the class so that they can understand best. Helping them academically also includes collecting data so I know what they are strong at and what they struggle with most. I understand that every student will be different and every student has different interests. By incorporating their interests into their learning they will be able to stay engaged so they want to follow along and learn more. There are also real life skills that students who have special needs can learn by experiencing them. I know many contained classroom teachers that often have a school spirit store or food/drink place that their students run in order to teach them how to work in the real-world by gaining specific skills. Picture this, a group of students struggling mentally with their home life and their school life. They feel left out, alone, and hopeless. They start to struggle academically because they have no outlets. They even start to think that they cannot dig themselves out of the hole they are in. Missing assignments clutter their room and mind, and when they are in class they cannot concentrate on anything but how messy their life is and feels. The struggle continues but they continue to feel that they have no one. There is nothing they can do about it so they start to give up. However, here comes Miss J swooping in to help and guide them into a successful educational career. The students look to her, she asks them all what she can do. She finds out their interests, their dislikes, how they prefer to learn, what they want to do in the future. The rapport grows! Students learn to trust her and learn more academically. They find a place they can be themselves while learning. They start to work hours and hours throughout their day without giving up. Classroom focus increases because of the different methods, research, and universal designs for learning that Miss J provides. Their test scores go up, their progress increases, they are excelling in all levels! students who had a hard time in math now love it and can teach it to others. Those who had no way to let out their emotions now have different therapy designs to help them let go of their stress, anxieties, and anger. They find new hobbies that help express themselves and they finally feel heard. Some start to love art class because they never knew they could be so free. They get to release their emotions through artistic expression and freedom the art teacher provides them with. Some students get introduced to new sports through the encouragement of trying out for unified sports groups, so now they are apart of something bigger than themselves. Others learn they like to write and they start to write journal entries to share with Miss J to tell her about some of the things that go on in their home lives and better share their emotions. For others, they find an outlet in having the freedom of being able to go for a walk around the building and then back to class is enough for them. Each student now has a way to express themselves and release their emotions appropriately. They continue their year and grow immensely through it and they continue to find out new things about themselves. Some even find that they like school and became eager to learn more about different topics and subjects. Students finally come to the end of their school year and they are given their state test. As nervous as they are Miss J reassures them they know what to do, how to answer the questions, and are fully prepared for this test. They spend weeks reviewing all of the things they learned all year. They do review games, study decks, and challenges to get their brains to pull the information back to the front of their mind. the students start to feel more prepared to take the test. They are getting review question after review question right, their confidence is boosting. As they draw closer to the week of testing, they have all the tools they need to help. Now it is testing day, they get their paper, pencils, mints, and a silent squish to calm their nerves. Right before they go in, they all take a group deep breath with Miss J, then with pencils in hand, ready to go, they enter the room. They take the test and after a grueling hour and a half they are done! A month later they get their grades back, they passe with flying colors and immense improvement from the year before. Miss J tells them that they each passed and that it was all because of the hard work they put in the entire year to get better every day they came to school. Proud as she can be she tells them all that they did wonderful, and all their hard work finally paid off. This short story is to tell that the success of students is only guided by teachers, no produced. Students themselves have to make the choice to produce better grades, test scores, relationships, and emotional progress. I want to be able to provide the guidance for students to excel in all aspects of their life no matter what it is. When a student comes to school they carry so much with them, as their teacher we are to wear every hat they need us to wear. Whether it is nurse, mom, therapist, cheerleader, etc. it is our job to help them as much as we can. It is hard and can often give many teachers burnt out, but it is necessary to see student success in all aspects. I want students to come to school excited to learn and have me as their teacher.

When I was in high school I took a course called Teacher Education Exploration through my vocational school. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to observe an emotion support resource and a co-taught class during the last quarter of my course. When I was in this observation I was able to work with a student who had special needs, but also had behaviors. When I was learning about the different types of special needs I did not consider behaviors to fall under this category. I connected well with the students in the emotional support resource and I started to realize that there is a bigger world out there of students with special needs than the students who physical disabilities. While I was in college, in the summer from my sophomore to junior year, I worked at a daycare center where I was the teacher of the four year-old's room. While working here I had a handful of kids who did not come from the best home lives and likely had a lot of trauma from not having both parents or coming from abusive households. A lot of kids would throw chairs, slam doors, scream, hit, and kick when they would get mad about minor problems. Seeing their homelife affect their behaviors this much was sad and I wanted to be able to do more, but I couldn't. Since it was a daycare there were no IEPs or help from anyone. It felt really sad because parents were not informed about the behaviors either and that was unfortunate too. I wanted to help the kids, teach them how to cope with their emotions, and teach them the skills they would need to be successful and kindergarten ready. Through those experiences I was able to realize that I felt for the kids. When I was little I was angry a lot, sometimes not even for a specific reason. If my parents did not teach me different skills to control my anger or my teachers did not care I would not be where I am right now. I want to be the person that is able to teach kids the skills they need to be successful with their academics, but also with life. Special education teachers do not just teach students how to excel academically, but they teach students life skills that they will be able to carry with them throughout their life. I want to be able to teach students with special needs how to succeed and see them succeed over the years with and without me. I think that when you see the kids every day, do the testing, collect the data, and see first hand the improvements of students almost means more when teaching special education. Helping students and kids overall has always been a passion and strong suit of mine. I have known that I wanted to be a teacher since I was in elementary school. Being a special education teacher is important to me because I feel that special education students can often feel left out, behind, or different in comparison to typical students. I want to be able to provide a space and the exhortation to empower them to feel the same and know they are equal. A person's disabilities should not be seen as their downfall or something that holds them back. I want to empower the students I teach to know that they can do anything they put their minds too. Goals are achievable when people believe in you and guide you.

I am Alissa Jacovetti, a currently college junior who will be graduating in December of 2027. I started my journey with special education when I was a senior in High School. I participated in my joint vocational school's, Lorain County Joint Vocational School (LCJVS), Teacher Education Exploration program. I was fortunate enough to experience a blended and resource fifth grade classroom where I was able to experience different universal designs for learning. I also was able to experience a high school level co-taught math classroom and a resource study hall for emotional regulation intervention. When I was in my high school placement I truly fell in love with the plan of becoming a behavioral analyst. I plan on making a difference in the lives of people who have special needs by being there for them throughout the years to encourage, educate, and create new ways for them to learn. I have been able to talk to a teacher who has made an adjusted physical education curriculum for students who have special needs and was able to certify it within the state of Ohio. I was inspired by that and want to take that information with me. I have been able to experience kids from the newborn stage to middle schoolers within the past year and having such a wide range of children finding commonalities may seem hard. However, I have noticed there are a lot of students, now more than ever, who have behavioral needs. Those students do not deserve anything less, but the best education that they can possibly receive from educators who care. I want to be able to first teach students different ways of coping so that they can live their lives to the best of their abilities independently. I believe that all students should have the right amount of guidance so that they can live on their own. I understand that there are students who are wheelchair bound or physically incapable of doing everything on their own, but making as independent as possible is most crucial for students and their futures. As educators we need to teach them how to use their AAC devices, doing occupational therapy with them, helping them through the physical therapy they have to do, and providing skills to them so they can develop problem solving skills independently. I want to provide an individualized education for every student that I come in contact with as much as I can so that they know I care and feel motivated because they have someone in their corner. As a typical student when I know someone is in my corner I want to do better so I know they would want to too. As a current paraprofessional I have to work fulltime to make ends meet. My financial need comes from having to pay for college by myself without the help of my parents. Any loans they take out I will have to pay back to them. I have already gone to a private institution for two years in hopes of getting a better education but unfortunately was met with more debt instead. I hope to receive this scholarship so that I can lower my student debt total and be able to provide a life for my future family, students, and classroom.

When I was in middle school I had a friend whose family did not have a lot of money. Their water were often shut off, they would not get to shower, there was not enough money for food, the list went on. I did not think of these things as a privilege until I became friends with him in middle school. I got to know him more as the years went on and we became life long friends. When I was in high school deciding what I wanted to do with the rest of my life I thought about him, and all the other students that I had met who did not have enough and came from nothing. They were blended in with me and needed more help than me. There was a lot of students in my district than most would expect who could not get to school, did not eat dinner every night, and were not getting their basic needs met daily. I found a joint vocational program called the Teacher Education Exploration program through my local Lorain County Joint Vocational School. Through this program I was able to learn about becoming a teacher, how to develop a pedagogy, responsibilities in the district, and prepare for future education college level education courses. I was also able to participate in over one hundred student observation hours which gave me immense experience in the classroom to help me prepare to decide what level of certification and grade I would want to teach. I decided that I wanted to teach moderate to intensive needs special needs to be a behavioral intervention specialist within a district. I have started working fulltime as a paraprofessional so that I can connect within a district and learn more hands on. I enjoy working within a district and finding myself a place in it. I have already seen two improvements with two separate children. The first had so much improvement that he went from needing a one-on-one all day to not needing one anymore. In my future I plan to take these wins with me, through the easy days, the hard days, the bad days, and the good days. It is important to remember the wins no matter how small they are. I want to create more wins in children's lives so that they can learn more life skills, learning skills, and coping skills. I have been fortunate enough to work closely with the behavioral specialist within my district since I have started and learn from her. She has shown me new ways of collecting data, coping skills, different designs for all, how to teach kids skills, and how to make sure they stick with the kids. I have been fortunate to learn and then be able to enact these skills with students. Taking all of this information that I have learned in such a short time and reproducing in every setting that I enter into so that I can make a difference in multiple kids' lives and help them thrive in the world is my goal. I want to make it so that kids who cannot control their emotions, their actions, and their reactions learn to know right from wrong, coping skills, and understand why it is important for their current and future life. I want to help kids succeed in life, not just school. For me having a successful future career is about making is so that kids of all ages can live and learn on their own without feeling that they have something holding them back. No child should be left behind.

A problem that I have had to overcome in my life that seems to follow me often is when others and I do not disagree and it seems rather impossible to see their side. I think this specifically is something that not just I struggle with but many other people. Throughout my life I have never gotten along well with my dad. However, I have always had to listen to him and live with him. There are also teammates, classmates, teachers, professors, administrators, co-workers, etc. that I have not gotten along with. When I come across something that I disagree with or do not think I can get along with I usually try to not bring up something personal or a personal opinion with them. For example, I would not bring up a political matter with said person. Not because I do not value what they have to say, but rather to keep peace I would likely disagree and I prefer to not have a debate or argument about a personal belief. In my philosophy class we talked about how each person develops a person belief within their lifetime, and sometimes it is not what you want to hear as a receiver. However, respecting what they have to say and being attentive to their words is crucial for understanding another side even if you disagree. I have learned to be an attentive and active listener to everyone in my life in the past year and this crucially helped me with the people I struggle most to get along with in my life. They do not feel disrespected, I do not feel disrespected, and we both leave fairly content about how the conversation went. Listening to people can often please them and prevent an argument even if you do not particularly care about what they have to say, the least you can do is hear them out. With this scholarship I will be able to give back to my community by pursuing my education and getting a higher education to further teach the future of tomorrow. I want to make a difference in my community by teaching and starting with the youth of today and future leaders of tomorrow. I would encourage people of today to pursue this hobby by showing them some of the past postage stamps. There is a lot of history to each postage stamp and each picture depicted on a stamp likely has a historical significance. There are also many postage stamps that portray a scenery or other aspects of the country or even world that young people can find interesting. Teaching about the historical significance behind each postage stamp can be interesting to one person and another might find the scenery more interesting and appealing. The other part that I think would be crucial to encouraging young people to pursue a hobby like this is finding what appeals to them and what they like or might find interesting about each stamp.

My favorite fall inspired drink is the iced apple crisp oat milk shaken espresso. It was my first fall drink of the year this year. This was also my first year in college away from home. My great aunt always made pies and apple pie has been my favorite since I was little. I eat it all the holidays and I love it warm with some ice cream over it. This drink gave me that same feeling of eating warm apple pie at my great aunt’s house or at my grandma’s house during the holidays. It was a hard year being away from my family but I could always count on Starbucks’s sweet treats to help me get through the week. Whether it was stopping by the Starbucks on my campus after an early class or going to the one just off campus after an early practice. It was always there for me. Just like my family always has been. The fall treats helped a lot with their delicious flavor and especially with them coming around my birthday. I always loved going with my friends or family members at home to get Starbucks’s holiday flavors and not being able to do that with the same people was a little sad. However, Starbucks is a great bonding tool and I was able to go with many of teammates for the Two for One Thursdays and make new friends to go with. Starbucks has been a great way for me to meet new people, have something to do with them, and offer a little piece from home come into my college life. The apple crisp oat milk shaken espresso will forever have a special place in my heart because it was the first drink I was able to get with a teammate at my college. It was a way for me to start bonding with her. I was then opened up to more friends and people that she knew on my floor and around campus. I was able to meet a lot of cool people and be opened to knew backgrounds and experiences. This drink played a main character part this year in my fall narrative because of the boost it gave me. Now, after a practice, an early class, or before a late night I always start a conversation by offering to get Starbucks for the group I’m studying with, a teammate I just practiced with, or a classmate who was also in my 9:00am. Thank you to Starbucks for providing home away from home and a way for me to connect with new people.

In my dream house, there are of course all of the basic needs like a big fridge to hold food for all my friends and guests, a pool to stay cool, entertainment activities, and many other things for my friends and guests to do. I love having people over and hanging out with my teammates, friends, and family. I couldn't imagine life without doing that. The Barbie dream house is of course going to have a mojo dojo casa house section for my boyfriend, his friends, my male teammates, and other guys that come over. There would be a big downstairs basement that would have a movie area and a connecting game area. There would be another extension with a bowling ally section, laser tag, and a rollerrena section as well. A big kitchen is a necessity with a butler's pantry to hide the appliances and other kitchen supplies that I do not want to be shown. A big kitchen is crucial though because of the food that would have to be cooked for everyone who is coming over. The house would have an indoor/outdoor pool on the backside so everyone can enjoy it at all times of the year, and of course, it would have a pink pool liner. There would be a ball pit with a slide from the upper level so that my niece/nephew can have fun as well as a play area. In the Back year along with the pool, there would be a play set, full-sized basketball court, tennis/pickleball court, and beach volleyball area. Back inside it would have at least six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Six bedrooms so that there is a guest room, a room for me, a room for my sister, and a room for my parents if they want to spend the night in my house since I lived in theirs for my whole life. Three of the bedrooms would have walk-in closets as well. I would also have a pink and purple office space for myself and then another office for anyone else who needs it. I also have a big library to be in it as well like in Beauty in the Beast so that I have a quiet place, plus my sister likes to read so I want a space where she can escape too. I also would have multiple kennels inside and outside for any dogs that need a nice home to live in and a backyard to run in. My Barbie dream house would be a space for not just me but also my family and friends to hang out or spend the night.

When I think about America the first thing that comes to my mind is the American Dream. While I did not travel an ocean to live my life my great-grandma escaped Poland from Hitler to give me the life I have. My grandparents on both sides of my family fought to give their families the best life possible. I have always learned to work hard and fight for equality, myself, and any and every opportunity I want. At a young age, I was taught about this fighting mentality and since then I have fought for my life goals. As a female, we are automatically set back into unequal pay, job opportunities, athletic opportunities, and many more. From my family's generational set, I was supposed to maybe go to community college or in-state college. Both my grandmas did not go to college and my mom went back to college after having my sister, and my sister went to community college as well. I wanted to break that though, so I worked hard and started fighting. In my junior year, I picked up bowling and within that sport, I fought for just under a year to become one of the best. That fight is not over because I am now on a collegiate team that is out of state. So through fighting, I was able to break a lot of stereotypes, generational setbacks, and gender setbacks. I was able to graduate with a 3.5 GPA minimum for all four years, get into an out-of-state college, and graduate with nine college credits that were able to be transferred. I am now the first collegiate athlete in my family, the first cousin to go out of state, and one of many education majors. So, that is why I am proud to be an American because of the fight and opportunity I get. Now, I know that not every student can get these opportunities like me but that is the change that should be made about the country. Many people do not think about the change in educational opportunities in America but the average cost of college per year according to the educationdata.org is $34,000 per year. Now this may be the "sticker price" but that is still so much money and no student could be able to afford it without scholarships, financial aid, and government aid. Many students have to have their parents take out loans for them so that their credit does not get ruined and that they can have a life after college. Many students also need to find a house or apartment after college as well. If as Americans we can face these issues and live the American dream then why can we not overcome generational debt and lessen the college price? College is something that most jobs look at when hiring anyone. People who have a high school education are unable to get good jobs and they often cannot provide for their families, causing that to become a generational situation as well. As a country, we should be able to come together and guarantee everyone an education past high school even if it is just a bachelor's degree. A four-year college education should not be a choice that students have to make over having a family, a house, an apartment, a car, or food but many students do have to make that choice. America is home of the free, but without a college education you have no home so how can we say that?

November 2021, not too long ago. I was going through a breakup and I thought it was going to be the end of my life. My phone buzzes and the same email about needing people for a girl's bowling team was sent again for the eighth time that week. I talk to my mom and I next thing I know I am on the phone with the high school coach to find out how to get equipment and where I have to go when. I just finished my second year of high school varsity bowling. It was hard and I did not have the most supportive team or coaches, but I have a future now. After my 2021-2022 season my junior year, I started going to a league, private lessons, clinics, and tournaments. I have come a long way and I could not be prouder of myself. I have been able to since then commit to a college for women's bowling, get a spot in a national tournament, increase my pin average by twenty pins, become the top scorer on my team, and set records at my high school. I have never been as determined about a sport ever in my life. I have been playing sports since I was four, I played volleyball, basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, and track and field. This sport has brought a new family, friends, coaches, and relationships that I never would have thought I would have. I go to league every Thursday night, I have participated in ten tournaments, and have earned scholarship money through other bowling organizations. Over the years playing sports I have learned life lessons, mental tricks, and my limits. I have to take a step back with bowling and learn more though. There are a lot of tactics to bowling and a lot of thought that goes into it. Taking a step back, breathing before the next throw, and finding peace with the sport is hard to do even though it seems simple. Through sports, I have learned to become a leader that can help and coach people so they can achieve their goals. I want to make everyone be able to succeed not just myself. I have also learned to take a break. I do not want to burn myself out so sometimes I take a break of a few days or a week. It helps me keep my mind on the sport as well. I have learned to stay focused, positive, helpful, and on track to continue to stay determined for my goals.

Mental health is something that many students across the world experience. Whether they know it or not is the difference between a diagnosed student and a student that is not diagnosed. When I was in the eighth grade I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, now hearing it my diagnosis makes sense. I often get panic attacks, have days where I cannot get out of bed, as well as I jump from thing to thing and cannot focus. I manage without medication by taking deep breaths when I feel an attack happening. When I feel depressed I try to stay positive, take a step back, and distract myself from the emotion to help it. I do not hide it and when I am asked how I am doing I often say good, I am good. I have been maintaining my mental health for five years now and I have never once questioned why I am this way. I tried to take my own life in the beginning, then I went to the hospital and therapy. After years of dealing with it, I stopped dealing and started managing. I knew it was not going to go away so I just had to start living. After eighth grade I did not live, I just focused on there being something wrong with me. There was nothing wrong with me, a lot of people experience similar things, or worse things. I wanted to make sure that I was focused on myself, not my diagnosis. My mental health is important because when I am maintaining it, it is not controlling my life. I am living how I want to do, doing the things I want to do, and having fun. When I let go of all the things and only focus on my anxiety, depression, and stress level I stopped living. I am not defined by a mental illness, I am not a different person because of it, I am not anything other than myself. I should be proud of how far I have come and focus on the future of my life that I have coming up instead of focusing on all the bad things that I have been through. Mental health is important because when students do not know what is wrong with them or do not have any options to see that something is wrong with them they are going to struggle and think that something is wrong. Students deserve proper resources to help them succeed and to help them live, not focus on a mental illness. Mental illness does not define them, me, or anyone.

Within my future career of becoming an intervention specialist for middle school students in grades fourth through ninth, I plan on making a difference through education. Many students that have an individual education plan, a behavioral education plan, or a 504 plan just need a little push to stay on the path. I want to be that push that helps students want to improve. When I was in middle school I struggled and could have put more effort in if I had to but it felt like none of the teachers cared about the amount of effort I put in. I got straight As and Bs and I was a very average student. I did the minimum not expanding my horizons, thoughts, or efforts. I could have been an honors student, but once I reached high school I became an honors, advanced placement, and dual enrollment student right away. I still succeeded but I had to put in more effort. If I had put as much effort as I put in high school in middle I would have still succeeded, it is just no one made me. My guidance counselors did not help me at all in middle school and not much more in high school either. My mom pushed me to take the harder classes and succeed in those. I want to make students strive and reach as high as they can. Students that struggle need a push to know that they can do exceptional things. I want to encourage students with their dreams and create dreams in their minds that they never would have thought of before. Students in middle school are at a crucial developing point in their lives where encouragement is very much needed. Students that are on education plans do not get the same encouragement as exceptional students or average students and they should. They have the same options as all the other students, it is just that no one ever told them that so they do not know that. Students that struggle deserve the same options, choices, and decisions as everyone else. As a current senior, I am a part of a senior-only program through my career technical school called TEE, or the teacher exploration education program. My last student teaching experience was in a high school intervention and co-taught classroom, which made me realize that this was my end calling and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I met exceptional students that had IEPs, BEPs, and 504 plans, but they were some of the brightest most driven students I have ever met. I want every student I work with to know that they can do all the things they dream of an more, they just have to work hard for it.

The dream version of my future self is a middle school intervention teacher that is also a high school bowling teacher, who constantly inspires new students and players, as well as also being a mom and wife.

Over the years of my life, I have experienced a multitude of emotions. In the eighth grade, my emotions overcame my life and I ended up going into the psychiatric ward at the Cleveland Clinic. I remember it all very well but also remember missing school that Friday and being worried about the work I was going to miss. At the hospital, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. The following week I had surgery and had to wait a month for therapy. That therapist did not work though so I took a year or two off and then went back to someone else. Believe it or not, she ghosted me, and I never heard from her again. Through these experiences, I have been trying to manage what I can and hide it. Often when I have bad anxiety I feel it in my chest and it hurts, I usually get mad or sad to the point of crying uncontrollably for a while. I try to hide these episodes so that no one else can see them aside from me. However, it does not always work because when I get overwhelmed again my mom, dad, or boyfriend can often tell and then I tell them it is not the first time. It is hard to hide things like an episode from people you see every day at all times of the day because they look at you differently afterward. It has also been hard to go to school some days because I become depressed or overcome anxiety. Often adrenaline can take over for me but when that does not work I just want to lay in bed for the rest of my life. It may seem excessive but I have fought with a lot of loss of family members in my life, especially when I was younger. When you were younger it was fine because you did not understand what was going on but now, being older, it is hard to handle and causes a relapse of emotions. During the first episode where I ended up in a forty-eight-hour stay at the hospital, my beliefs were strengthened. I tried three times that year to take my life, if I was meant to go god would have taken me. He knew it was not my time and I persevered to continue. I have finally made it to my senior year and I thank god every day that I have made this far and that he did not take me when I thought I was ready. When I think about my future career aspirations I see myself, as an intervention teacher for middle schoolers, helping students so that they do not struggle, they know that someone is there for them, and they can succeed with my help. My future job is going to be difficult but I am doing so that when there are students out there that need resources they have me. I want to be the resource that I never had when I was in middle school. I have been fortunate to have a supportive family and from the outside everything seems fine, but often I do not want to get out of bed. Finding a purpose that is going to make a difference in another kid's life is my new purpose and I cannot wait to continue my education to get that job.

Uniqueness is seen in the eye of the beholder. The unique attribute that I have is that I am the first colligate athlete in my family that also underwent spinal fusion surgery. A spinal fusion can be done in many different ways for different reasons. My reason was that I had to curves in my spine because of scoliosis that I was diagnosed with in the fourth grade. In the eighth grade, I underwent surgery to correct it. It was a six-hour surgery where two titanium rods were screwed into my spine to make it straight again. The surgery was very intensive even though I was asleep and after a long month of recovery, I could not attend in-person school or participate in sports. So while there was struggle that struggle also made me unique. My surgery was in February of 2019 and by July of 2019, I was in full swing starting to play golf for my high school. That year I made the varsity golf team and continued to play varsity golf for the next four years of high school. As well as varsity golf I played three years of junior varsity track and field and two years of varsity bowling. As well as playing sports I also participated in Key Club International through Kiwanis. We did multiple community service projects a year and through those I was able to give back over nine hours of community service. Through Key Club I did projects like Trunk-or-Treat for our district's elementary students, Breakfast with Santa with Kiwanis and for little kids in the community, Kiddie Kloset with our district's PTA, Run Like Erin, Alzhiermer's Race, Wreaths of America, and Baked Cookies for a neighboring police department, just to name a few. I enjoyed giving back to my community through these projects and I want to continue to do so in the future. In the fall of 2023, I will be attending Huntington University and joining their Women's Bowling team where every year we participate in the Hoosier Classic Tournament and sponsor a Make-A-Wish child who is less fortunate. I am very excited to give to the child we are assigned this upcoming season. Not only that but at Huntington the university itself does individual service projects that I plan to be a part of as well. When I graduate college I will become a teacher for mild to moderate special education grade kindergarten through twelfth grade as well as a four through ninth English teacher. Through educating the future students I also plan to help the community and give back as a service member. In my city of North Ridgeville and many cities in Ohio there is also the Rotary Club which I also plan to join and be apart of for my adult life. Giving back is a reward I plan to continue for the rest of my life.

I should be selected for the Samuel D. Hartley Memorial Scholarship because I follow in his lead even though I do not know him. I am currently a full-time high school student at North Ridgeville High School in Lorain County Ohio. I also have a part-time job at Dick's Sporting Goods in Westlake, Ohio. I have worked four jobs since my sophomore year, but have always been employed since I was fifteen and a half, the legal age for working minors. While being in school and working I played four years of varsity golf (freshman year through senior year), three years of junior varsity indoor and outdoor track and field (freshman, junior, and senior years), and two years of varsity bowling (junior and senior years). I stay active in my community through Key Club International where we do community service projects. Over the four years of high school, I have accumulated over ninety hours of community service. Not only am I active in my community but in the summer of my junior to senior year I participated in the Lorain International Festival Princess Pagent. As a princess, we did three community service projects in Lorain, Ohio, but we also had to represent ourselves, the organization, and our heritage well throughout the week of events. Not only do I golf and participate in my community, but I plan to continue to do so in the future. I will be attending Huntington University on a bowling scholarship but I also will be double majoring in elementary education and mild to moderate special education with a minor in English. In the future, I plan to make it my life's work to give back to my community by helping the little people that will be the future. Teaching is a reward but with my special education background, I plan to help the students that have Individual Education Plans, Sector 504 Plans, and Behavioral Education Plans. These students are the students that get passed up often in a class of average or exceptional students, but every student deserves a chance to be the best of the best. I want to give every student the chance of a lifetime and make a difference in my community by making a difference in little kids' lives. Inspiring and encouraging students to also make a difference in their community is exceptionally important as well. To conclude, I should get the scholarship because not only have I participated in my community, school, and sports but, I want to encourage and teach others of the future to continue to do so as well.

I am proud to be an American because of the freedom that we have. Freedom of speech, freedom of decomarcy, freedom to do what we want when we want, and most importantly freedom to have the right to religion and own preference. One change that I would like to see is safer and better education systems. Many students across the country are at a loss because of their economic status. Students who live in low-income areas do have the same privileges that students in middle to upper class do. Middle to upper-class students are given more money through donations and fundraising whereas students who are in low-income areas do not have the same privilege. Who is going to donate to low-income schools? The parents of the students at those schools do not have enough money to donate or give back to the school the way the upper and middle-class parents do. This loss is so immense that low-income students lose their after-school activities of sports and clubs that other students get to participate in every day. Without after-school activities, students are put into the streets and sent home. However, in many low-income areas, the student's home life is not always safe. Many home lives for students are filled with drugs, violence, and abuse. That is not safe for students to go home to. The country should be able to change that for the students. With more funding schools can create more environments for students to be in. Football, basketball, track, volleyball, soccer, tennis, bowling, and many more sports are being added to the different choices that students have to do after school instead of going home they are off the streets. Students are away from gun violence, drugs, abuse, and physical violence that they can see every day. Getting students away from this also lessens the violence in schools. Less fighting, less bullying, and fewer shootings. That is the end goal after all, creating a safe environment for students to learn and evolve in. If students have less time to be out on the streets and schools are providing a safe space for them they are more likely to go into a different and better path. Students that can be removed from the streets and taught about life through sports and clubs are going to be able to leave the low-income areas they are in and thrive. The country should be more worried about getting students a good education safely while still providing students clubs and sports to give them a chance at a better life and future.

Community is a simple definition of people who gather together or live in the same area as others. But the community is so much more to me. Community service has been a big part of my life since I was in about third or fourth grade. I was always taught to give back to those who need it, but it never hit me how many people are in my area and need the help I can provide for them. I started community service with the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure in Akron Ohio but it went much further than that. I started there because my great aunt had passed away a year before breast cancer. This was hard on my mom and her cousins, aunts, uncles, and parents. Being so young I did not understand fully but after some time I found that not the death itself was disappointing and sad, but the gathering of people for the race for the cure was amazing in itself. I then was honored with being a part of the Nation Junior Honors Society when I was in eighth grade I joined Key Club International in high school to continue to help my community. The community I live in is very small so a lot of people all know each other. Throughout my four years of high school, we partnered with Kiwanis and Rotary Club in our city to help with some of the events that they would host. In this past year with Kiwanis, I participated in leaf raking for the elderly in my community as well as a spaghetti dinner to help set up, make the food, and serve the guests that arrived. With Rotary Club I participated in their annual Easter Egg Hunt at our high school's football field. It was amazing that for every service project, there was a reward of seeing others happy and filled with joy. Especially with the East Egg Hunt there where you could see the youth of our community happy to be there and be a part of the experience. There was not one moment where I thought that something bad would happen. Community to me is coming together, making a difference, and creating something that everyone of all ages can participate in and enjoy. Coming together and being united in one forefront of the country. I live in a smaller town that is constantly growing but it is nice to see the different people and the actions that everyone takes to make the community beautiful and a place where others want to come and join in the events. The community is coming together to make a safe and enjoyable place. I am currently a student teacher in my school district as well and seeing the students and the future of the community come together and continue to do the same things that adults do is even more amazing. Community is being united and passionate about the union to the next generations.

I played golf for four years for my high school varsity team. I enjoyed it because I got to play with my friends and they made it fun. I could relax after a long day at school, get some exercise, and enjoy the outside weather when it was nice. Some of my favorite memories are with the girls from my team and other teams that I played with. The conversations that we had lasted the whole time and it was always fun to make new friends. This past year I was able to even play with my friend's sister and finally meet her. I got to become family friends with their whole family shortly after and I continue to talk to them daily. Though female golf is represented well within my school and we have our sport it always seemed to be just a little behind men's golf and miles behind football. Our girl's golf team had many amazing athletes, students, and participants in the sport but none of them seemed to be recognized by the school. Women's golf was underrated no matter what the players were doing. Seemed like the only ones who cared were the girls that were playing it. While that is fair why is the school not representing us in any way either? Seemed to be this universally from school to school. When I would talk to students from other schools who had amazing teams or players they could never name anyone on the team or even knew who I was talking about half the time either. While playing any female sport has always been difficult, playing a female sport where the male sport is not recognized half as much as it could be is even more difficult. This seemed to be a common phenomenon for female sports like golf, bowling, tennis, dance, cheer, and other sports where the sport was not known enough let alone the female version of the sport. While it was hard to face the diversity of the sport and the little recognition. While it was hard to play a female the mental game of golf is even harder. Trying to fix every move to make each hit a perfect hit that will be accurate and do exactly what I want it to do feels almost impossible. The mental challenge seemed to increase every time I played too. I felt like there was nothing I could do right for the longest time except keep count of my score. Eventually, my score went down, my shots improved, I got out of my head, and I got better. Over coming to the mentally that I am not doing enough things or I am the problem was the hardest challenge but by junior year I was able to think about just hitting the ball with my full force. I could not be the person I am without my women's golf career and while I will not continue it in college the life lessons I learned I will take with me the rest of my life.

I am currently a high school senior at North Ridgeville High School. I have gone to North Ridgeville City Schools since the sixth grade. I have been repeatedly impacted by teachers and other students for the past six years of my life. In the next year, I will be attending Huntington University to earn my four-year degree in education. I plan to continue my leadership career as a teacher and bowling coach. Leadership has always been a passion of mine. I want to create environments where students want to be there and feel safe to be there. I have also been passionate about bowling for over a year now. It was a sport that I fell in love with quickly. I also have wanted to be a teacher since the seventh grade Being able to combine the two is very important to me. I have not had good bowling coaches throughout my high school nor have I had good teachers throughout my school career. There are hard times that I have endured, breakdowns during school tournaments, breakdowns during class, breakdowns over school, countless sleepless nights, increase anxiety year after year, and stress levels that I did not think were possible for students to have. The love for the sport and the love for the future students is something that I have found important in the past couple of years of my life. I know that good teachers and good coaches are most important for students to thrive within the environment. Students need to feel wanted, included, respected and loved within their environments. A crucial time for students' life and their self-esteem is from fifth to twelfth grade. Students deserve excellent leadership during these times. Leadership from someone that they can rely on, someone they respect, someone that respects them, and someone that they can trust. I want to be that leader. I want to be a leader that takes students to the next level academically and within their sport. I want to be the leader that makes students want to come to school or practice every day and give ten thousand percent. There are hard times for students but with a reliable and respected leader those hard times can become a time that seems rough but students know they will get through. Encouragement also lacks when students get into the upper levels because students have higher expectations by then. Encouraging students day in and day out is just as important as students working hard, encouragement gives the motivation to students to work hard. When I think of a leader I think of the big leaders that inspired me like the Obamas and Nelson Mandela and Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Junior, but then I think about my Chemistry teacher from my junior year Mrs. Durbin. Mrs. Durbin stuck with me because I still talk to her to this day and I see her every day as well. She is the person that encourages me, makes me want to come to school makes me want to be a leader, and makes me feel like I can do anything. Leadership for women is becoming more and more positive and increasing in size, but continuing to encourage future women leaders is just as important as it is right now. There is going to be a day when women will be the majority, I want to increase the chances of being a leader that inspired future women leaders. I want to make sure that my athletes of all genders, races, and sexual orientations know that they can do anything no matter what.

Things that inspire me to get involved in my community is knowing that eventually with a lot of hard work I can make a major difference. I am motivated by making a better future for those who are younger than me, especially the little kids who will one day be in high school and are going to want to do big things too. I am currently a member of Key Club International and, in my town, is paired with Kiwanis Club. I have been a part of Key Club for all four years of my high school career and have experienced many events where I know I am making an active difference. One example every year we do a Breakfast with Santa for little kids to meet Santa and take pictures with them. Apart from the breakfast, we offer pancakes, eggs, and sausage for the parents and kids to eat before or after they take their pictures. Crafts are offered for the kids as well and we raffle off baskets for the adults to be able to be included as well. This past year we donated the money we made from the raffle baskets to a family in need through community care, we raised over four hundred dollars. I have also participated in the yearly leaf-raking event. During the leaf-raking event, we go to elderly community members' homes and rake their leaves because they are likely unable to do it themselves. One year we raked forty bags filled with just three hours. We spend about four hours every year leaf raking. During my junior year, I would go to our middle elementary school and help teachers watch kids in aftercare multiple times a week in between school and practices for two hours two to three times a week. I have also participated independently with my mother in the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure in Akron Ohio. Susan G. Komen works to help fight breast cancer victims. They raise money every year to give to hospitals so they can continue to do breast cancer research. My family has participated and helped with this event since I was eight, a year after my great Aunt Chris passed away from breast cancer. The most recent project I was happy to be involved in was another independent project that my friend Peyton did. We both bowled together and she had a bowling tournament to help raise money for toys and toys to donate to a nearby community center. She was able to raise over three hundred dollars. Throughout my high school career, I have done over eighty hours of community service within my county. The projects I mentioned are just a handful of what I have done. I will be attending a Christian university next year and I plan on continuing my community service hours to hopefully gain another hundred by the end of those four years as well. I want to continue to be involved in my community by becoming a teacher, which is what I will be going to school for next year in the Fall of 2023. I want to make a difference for the little kids by teaching them about the History of America and how they are active and going to be affected by past and present history. I also want to teach kids English so they can write well to make a difference as well. Making a difference and being the change inspires me to get involved in my community.

When I was thirteen I was strapped onto a stretcher then transported and admitted to Cleveland Clinic Hospital. I remember sitting on the stretcher in the lobby and reassuring myself that everyone thought I was crazy, then the thought of "Maybe I am and maybe I am the problem" started to repeat in my mind. No matter how hard I try to block out this memory in my head it never goes away. I spent forty-eight hours in the psych ward of that hospital begging to go home every other hour to the nurses. When I was admitted everything was taken from me and all I got were two gowns, pants, nylon underwear, and socks. There was a nurse there and while I cannot remember her name she was a younger African American woman. What she told me changed me for life and I still remember it to this day. I sat in my bed crying and she came in, sat in the chair in my room, and then asked me what was wrong. I told her I missed my mom because I did to which she responded, "She misses you too, but she knows you need to be here so you can get better first. Once you're better you can go home, but right now you cannot be trusted at home". She was right, I was suicidal and had threatened to kill myself way more than I should have that week, none of it was a joke either. I had thought about it a lot and even tried to overdose a few months before that. After that conversation, I got better and was determined to get out, and then I started therapy. I went to therapy once a week, then twice a week, then realized every time I went we never discussed anything that was actually about me but rather she would ask how I am feeling, tell me about a breathing exercise, and if I brought up something that I thought was an issue she would not tell me how to change it. I stopped going after three months. That summer came and I started my freshman year. I had a lot of issues with school stress, anxiety, and depression which was my diagnosis from the hospital. I tried to cope with it and when that did not work I just tried to again to ignore it. That winter my great-aunt died and then everything started to crash again. COVID hit in the following spring, my boyfriend broke up with me, and I went into my sophomore year. I was in all online classes and did not experience much social interaction with other kids in my grade other than at work. I had three other relationships between sophomore and the end of my junior year where it seemed I could never be happy. During my junior year, I start therapy again with someone else. She did not say much else about the situation either and it felt like a constant repeat of before. Eventually, my therapist at the time told my mom that I did not need therapy anymore. I decided that I would be on my own with my mental health. I started to keep my circle small and find outlets for when I needed to clear my mind. I start bowling which became and still is my biggest stress relief outlet for when I need a break. My mental illnesses of anxiety, stress, and depression will never go away but I will not let them define me as a person, instead I continue my story.

When I look back at my school career from kindergarten to my current senior and more importantly my athletic career I think about a multitude of things. When I was in kindergarten my school offered an intermural program. Through the intermural program, I participated in basketball from kindergarten to third grade. It was a catholic school program that I did so I not only learned the basics of basketball but I also was able to grow with my religion. When I hit fourth grade I then became a part of the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization). CYO offered volleyball, basketball, and track and field. I started the school with volleyball went into basketball season and then ended with the track. My volleyball and basketball coaches were also tracked and field coaches. They were the parents of the girls on the team. They taught us to discipline at a young age. We did a lot of running if we did not behave well. In fifth grade, I took a year off from volleyball and track. I started a rec league in my city where again a parent of one of the girls on the team was the coach. We did even more drills and running for misbehavior and the discipline increased. I grew into being fit and being able to run, I wanted to be the fasts. With determination, I went into sixth grade basketball season for NRTBA (North Ridgeville Travel Basketball) which was put on my school's varsity basketball coach. She was a very stern coach and not much play happened for the next three years. I learned to discipline the most but I also learned how to respect others on the team and win as a team, not individually. After eighth grade, I quit basketball and joined golf and continued track. In golf, I worked on my golf game but even more on my mental game. I worked to not be frustrated quickly and how to independently win while still being on a team. The discipline I learned while being in basketball helped me self discipline which helped me with my frustration. In my junior year, I found my passion, bowling. I took all the determination I have gained in the past ten years and turn it into the effort and hard work. I created a love for the sport I knew nothing about. I now have a scholarship and will be able to take my determination, hard work ethic, discipline, and passion into my college career for bowling. I am more thane excited to start this next journey and I am more than privileged to be able to start it having a base of how to be a competitive team player.

My most valued quality is my ability to work hard. Self-discipline was instilled in me at a very young age through sports so I knew how to work hard in that sport and be respectful to the coach. I have taken my hard-working quality with me into earning eighty hours of community service. I have been a part of Key Club International through high school since I was a freshman but I have also participated in outside community service projects such as Susan G. Komen and charity events that my friends or nearby schools have put on. Another place where I have taken my hard-working attitude with me is my job over the years. I started working in a family-owned restaurant where I started as a hostess, moved to a busser, and made my way into the kitchen as an expedite. As an expedite I distributed food promptly while the restaurant was full or empty so every customer received warm food that was prepared properly to their liking. I had two jobs between then and now which were Panera and Banan Republic, both as associates. I currently work at Dick's Sporting Goods as an apparel, golf, footwear, team sports, and register associate. I have worked there since March of 2022 and in that short time, I have worked very hard to learn those positions as well as the ship from store packing orders across the country. My hard-working attitude followed me one last spot and that would be into the sport of bowling. I started bowling in my junior year in November of 2021. I worked hard during my high school season. We ended up getting second place in our conference tournament. I did not stop there though. I went on to join a youth league at a nearby bowling alley led by another school's high school coach. After that, I joined a personal coach and went once every two weeks to see him and work on things. No matter how by the day was or how bad the game was I never gave up. I went to a tournament in Michigan in early August and met multiple college coaches. We talked about my future at their school for hours after a tournament. I then went to another tournament in September where I placed fifth and got a national tournament ticket. I will be attending that national tournament in July of 2023. As for the college coaches that I met in early August I met the college coach that I will also play for in the Fall of 2023. I take my hard-working attitude everywhere with me and I will never stop taking that attitude with me. I want to become a teacher so I can ignite that hard-working attitude in other students or at least just one so they can make a difference. I like to think that because of that attitude I will be the first in my family, the first player my coach has had, and one of the few to go to college and play a sport. The hard-working attitude I have is going to be the reason I succeed and continue to dream big because I know I can achieve what I dream.

It is more important to understand our universe because we should know what else is out there within the Milkyway. As a future elementary educator, I believe that we must teach our students to become explorers of the world around them. We must encourage them to find new things, create new inventions, and be adventurers. If some of the most famous scientists like Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Galileo Galilei, Rosalind Franklin, Albert Einstein, and many more did not explore we would not have the advances in chemistry, geology, mathematics, engineering, astronomy, literature, and many other subjects that students do not think much of presently. As educators, we must encourage this so we can inspire the future. However, first, we must find out more about our universe through science. Every day we know that the coral reefs and rainforests are diminishing and climate change is increasing as well. Finding solutions to these issues is the first step then the second step is following through. There are already multiple groups replanting coral, the Coral Gardeners, other groups replanting trees, One Tree Planted, and many other activist groups that are trying to spread awareness and create change. Schools should be joining these groups in making the earth healthier. If every fourth grader in the United States went to their local beach, park, or wildlife center and did an environmentally friendly activity there could be almost four thousand students all in one day going to make the world a better place. Whether they are planting trees, picking up trash, cleaning the flower beds, picking up dead leaves or other natural waste, or even sorting recyclables it can make a difference more and more every year. Education should not just include the core subjects like math, science, history and English the United States and other countries need to create a category where students can learn more about the earth, how to protect it, and how to save it. While this is covered in science it is only one small portion that most elementary kids learn. If students were taught about the consequences, the options, the characteristics, and the negatives of having an unhealthy earth more intently more students would be able to help the earth. Schools should also have more options within them on how to dispose of the student's waste such as compost bins, recycle bins, and then regular waste bins. Students spend eight hours a day in a school why are they only taught about trash bins and only given the option to throw away their trash in a trash bin? As a future educator, I want to become the change that encourages schools to be more environmentally friendly and to teach the students how to be more environmentally friendly as well. I want to create a curriculum where students get to become more engaged and aware of the Earth and its healthiness of it.