One of my strengths is leadership through community service and volunteerism. I have been a volunteer head swim coach at my community pool for the last two years. Before becoming head coach, I was an assistant coach for two years. Through four years of coaching, I have accumulated over 240 volunteer hours. Working with youth of all ages to teach them varying levels of swimming techniques is not an easy task, but I love every second of the hours of hard work and dedication I put into the role. As head swim coach, there are multiple duties and responsibilities needed to effectively manage and train swimmers, such as organizing practices, arranging equipment, compiling meet entries, and, most importantly, mentoring young swimmers. I learned how to adapt to the challenges that come with leadership, in addition to using my leadership skills to benefit others. I am no stranger to leadership positions, as I am captain of my varsity basketball team and hold leadership roles in numerous school clubs. However, leadership is different when you have a group of seventy swimmers, between the ages of 4 to 18, relying on you. Every day during swim season presents its own set of challenges because it is much more than telling swimmers to jump into the water and swim laps. Small issues, like a torn swim cap or broken goggles, are easy fixes; you just offer up extras for the swimmer to use. On the other hand, swimmers who have Down's Syndrome, an auditory processing disorder, autism, or hearing aids require differentiation in coaching and leadership. For example, a swimmer with an auditory processing disorder needed additional visual cues and scaffolding during practice to be successful. Also, our swimmer with Down's Syndrome was partnered with assistant coaches during practices so he could receive one-on-one attention, in addition to being able to take breaks when needed to combat overstimulation. Serving as head coach on a summer swim team could be overwhelming, but the rewards far outweighed any of the challenges I ever faced. My journey in swim coaching began when I was in middle school, as a swimmer myself. I grew up on the summer swim team, watching the older high schoolers coach the team every summer. When I entered middle school, I started assisting at swim practices when needed. I was drawn to the leadership role, and my coaches saw leadership potential in me and pushed me to take advantage of it. As a freshman in high school, I had my first summer season as an official assistant coach, where I demonstrated strokes, worked with swimmers one-on-one, and coached entire age groups. I coached for two summers as an assistant coach and just finished my second summer as head coach. As an athlete, I have had numerous experiences with different coaches that have influenced the type of coach I want to be for my swimmers. As a head coach, I want to be an encouraging mentor to all swimmers so they have a positive swimming experience. Based on the relationships I have built with my swimmers, I have achieved my goal. My swimmers always greet me with hugs and excitement about the upcoming swim season as I see them throughout the year. I have several who have moved to year-round swimming because of their positive experiences with summer swimming, and I have had the privilege of watching them compete at these higher levels. Seeing their excitement when I come to watch during the year is the ultimate reward, and I know I have created the supportive, positive coaching relationships I set out to achieve.

To say I am a busy and high-achieving person is an understatement. Free time for me can be rare because of my involvement with numerous clubs, sports, and other extracurriculars, as well as rigorous classes. Being a well-rounded person is important to me because I believe it greatly aids in developing skills needed for the professional world. Skills such as leadership, adaptability, critical thinking, and teamwork are very important, not only in the workforce but also in clubs and sports teams. In order to develop these skills, I hold leadership positions in multiple school-sponsored clubs. I have been the Director General of the Model United Nations Club for the past two years. I assist club members in writing position papers and completing country research, as well as, leading fundraising efforts. Additionally, at the Appalachian State Conference last fall, I received the Best Delegate Award with my delegation partner. I also serve as an Executive Officer for the Student Council. At my high school, the Executive Council is the committee in charge of running Student Council meetings. We are staff-elected and chosen based on grades, school involvement, and Student Council involvement. It is an honor to be an officer and have the opportunity to run Student Council meetings, events, and activities. Lastly, I have been a member of the Future Business Leaders of America chapter at my high school for two years. Last year, I placed second in the state for Health Care Administration and I plan to compete again this spring. On top of being involved in various school clubs, I have been a three-sport athlete for the past three years, and this year, I am a four-sport athlete. Sports take up the majority of the day after school and I have had to learn how to balance practices and games with homework and other extracurricular activities..Being part of a competitive team while taking rigorous AP classes can be difficult at times, however, I have learned how to balance both by staying organized and structured with my time. For example, I often begin studying and completing homework immediately after getting home from practices or games. While I am extremely busy, I would not have it any other way because I love being part of a team. I have had the privilege of being part of multiple conference championship teams in a variety of sports including basketball, volleyball, and track. I have also been an All-Conference Basketball player for the last two years and have been a member of the varsity tennis, volleyball, and basketball teams. While I am extremely proud of my athletic accomplishments I consider being a Junior Marshal my greatest achievement so far. Receiving the honor of Junior Marshal has been a goal of mine since freshman year. My class is very competitive, so I knew it would be difficult to rank within the top ten. I had to maintain straight “A”'s in all of my classes, which for math could be a struggle. To ensure I could achieve top grades in my math classes, I put in extra time outside of class to study with my grandma, a former math professor. Luckily, my hard work paid off, and I received the honor of Junior Marshal as fifth in my class. To have accomplished this is something I am incredibly proud of. Throughout my high school career, I have been extremely active within my school community. Though at times it might get overwhelming with the intensity of my schedule, I am glad to have been a part of it all and accomplished so many things.