One thing that I feel that sets me apart and highlights my uniqueness is that I was diagnosed with a Central Auditory Processing (CAP) disorder in the 3rd grade. CAP refers to how the brain interprets this information from the ears. The brain’s job is to make sense of this information — or process it. Processing involves recognizing, interpreting, and storing auditory data for future use. With CAP it was harder to learn, focus, and understand —especially— in school, and I needed to work harder than others to understand what my teacher was teaching, and what I needed to do, and I struggled for a bit. CAP makes it hard to filter out someone's voice from background noise, and as a little kid, I didn't always interpret sounds the same way as people said them, so it was hard to learn the alphabet and to read. CAP made it hard to not only understand what the teacher was saying, but it also made it hard to make friends. CAP makes it hard to understand the tone of when someone is speaking, so I can't always tell when someone is joking or being sarcastic or sincere. I was very shy when I was younger because it was hard to understand what people were saying. However, CAP did help me learn to work hard. I stayed after school every day with my amazing third-grade teacher, Mrs. Gardiner, who helped me learn to work with CAP. Finally, after working with her regularly, it began to click, and I started to learn to work with it. For the next three years, I worked hard to catch up with my classmates. So without CAP, I feel I would not have the work ethic I have today. Even today, I still sometimes have a harder time understanding some things, but it's better than it was. I no longer see having CAP as a disadvantage but something that has helped me grow as a person. I like to think CAP has become my superpower in a way. Without it, I would never have learned how to work hard, and I consider my best characteristic to be my work ethic. I love to work hard and am always up for the challenge. As a member and a three-year captain of the varsity soccer team, I was involved in the planning, organizing, and hosting of Free Soccer Clinics for elementary-age girls. These mini-camps were a lot of fun and a great way for the players to teach soccer skills to younger players, but the aspect of it that meant a lot to me was the idea of giving back to these younger players which so many coaches have given me. Throughout my soccer career, so many adults have given freely of their time to not only coach soccer but to teach us what they know and share their passion for the sport with us. I wouldn't be where I am today without these coaches volunteering their time to give me the opportunities I've had, and the opportunities that have also been opened up for me because of them. That's what I think about when I work with these children, I try to share that passion and selflessness with them. I can’t wait to be able to give these same opportunities back to young athletes in my community as a volunteer coach. I hope I can instill in them the same sense of work that Mrs. Gardiner and all my coaches did in me and help them fall in love with soccer as I did.

After high school, I want to go to college to study Biology and Sports Studies and Exercise Science. I have always been interested in doing something professionally that involves sports and working with athletes. I am not a fan of the medical field that works with diseases, sicknesses, or infections, but bones and muscles have always been fascinating to me. Also, nutrition and the diet of athletes especially, making sure that they are fueling their bodies the right way, and taking care of their bodies is interesting to me.  I also want to play soccer in college. I have always had a passion for soccer and want to continue playing after high school. Sports in general has always been really important to me. I like the challenge of trying to be at my physical best and pitting myself against and competing against other athletes has always been a passion of mine. I am at heart a footballer. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. I play for my high school, my club team, and the Olympic Development Program East Region Team. I also run indoor track during the winter and am a sprinter on our spring track and field team. Competing for twelve months a year means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, which means I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. Which is what has drawn me to be a professional athletic trainer. I am fascinated about trying to keep a body performing at its peak, and I want to attend college to not only learn more about doing it for myself, but so I can help other athletes after I graduate college and begin my career. Being a part of sports and playing them my whole life has made me want to continue doing that in my post-college years. Even if I am not playing on a team, I want to be involved with working with one and working with athletes, with their fitness and nutrition and injury prevention, but also with rehabilitating their injuries. Studying Biology in college with a minor in Sports Studies and Exercise Science for my Bachelor's Degree will give me the chance to then get my Masters in Exercise Science or Kinesiology to help pursue my career as an athletic trainer.  During and after college I can use my education to help me become a better soccer player by understanding how to prevent injury and how to work with my body and keep myself in key fitness. Then post-college, I can use my education to work with other athletes and make them the most successful athletes they can be.

My parents tell me that I have always had a very clear idea of right and wrong. I’ve always been a rule follower, and sometimes people have thought I’m a little too ‘rigid’ when it comes to not breaking the rules, but I’ve always been that way. For me, it’s always been pretty clear cut, treat everyone fairly, always do your best, and if you never lie then you never have to worry about keeping your stories straight because there will only be one, the truth. One example that highlights my integrity occurred during my junior year during my soccer team’s first playoff game when our team faced misogynistic and sexual harassment from the spectators at our game. As captain, I believed that I needed to do something about it, and felt I couldn’t wait for someone else to do something, so I shared the Vermont Principal Association’s abuse reporting portal link with my teammates, encouraging them to submit a report. I felt we all needed to express how that game made us feel and that we all deserved to be heard. After that a Sportsmanship Committee was formed at my high school that included the principal, athletic director, coaches, parents, and other student-athletes, to help make a positive change in spectator behavior. I then wrote a letter to my State Representative, Kate Donnally, and I gathered the signatures of 115 other student-athletes from all across the state and several different sports. Representative Donnally then took my letter to the State House to try and gather support for our cause. On May 10th I was finally able to speak in front of the Senate Ed Committee of Vermont and testify, sharing my beliefs and hopes for the future of athletics and appropriate fan behavior at sporting events. This year, I got to see changes made at events, and how many schools decided to address fan behavior before it became an issue, which was amazing to be a part of something that happened at a small high school and become something bigger that turned into a statewide movement.

When I was younger I loved the movie Dreamer starring, Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Shue, and Kris Kristofferson. I have to admit, for a few years there, I don't think I ever watched another movie. My family and I watched it practically every weekend because, I think, as a young girl, I saw myself in the young heroine Cale Crane. On the surface, Dreamer is a story about a young girl and a horse named Sonador she nurses back to health after a terrible racing injury only to help the horse race again. It's about chasing your dreams, no matter how big and daunting they may be. As Cale says in the movie, "Why not Sonador, why not us?" Beneath the surface, the story is about the relationship between a young daughter and her father, and his relationship with his father, Cale’s grandfather. It’s multifaceted in that there are character and story arcs between all the main characters. I love the relationship between Cale’s parents, even when financially struggling, and all the anxiety that goes along with that, they love each other in a really cute way. What I think first drew me to Dreamer was the surface story of a girl meets a horse, a girl saves the horse, and the horse saves the girl’s Dad and farm. I can still hear me and my sister cheering Dreamer on from our couch during the climactic final race. I loved the story's dare to dream big message, which my parents always encouraged my sister and me to do. No dream was too big, and no goal too lofty. As I got grew older I think a part of me was drawn to the relationship between Cale and her dad. My dad volunteered and worked long hours at the barn where my sister and I received riding lessons, putting up fencing and shoveling manure, just so my sister and I could get lessons. As early as I can remember I loved horses, and what started as free pony lessons at a neighbor’s house grew into real lessons and dressage competitions, Dad began volunteering his time at the barn to offset the cost of riding. As I got bigger, I started doing barn chores as well to try and offset the cost. It felt to me similar to the Crane family's struggles to save their family farm. I still love horses, but before I entered high school, I needed to make a decision. I love soccer too and was beginning to compete at a pretty high level in both. It was becoming cost prohibitive for my family to keep up with them. I was also starting high school and had a challenging schedule of all honors classes and wanted to make sure I didn’t have too much on my plate, so I picked soccer and school. It was a hard choice to make, and I missed the horses dearly, but it was the right decision in the end. When I think about the film now, it’s the concept of second chances that I’m drawn to. Race horses are athletes after all, and sports—especially soccer—are a huge part of my life. Watching an athlete struggle to come back from what could have been a career-ending, or life-ending horse injury, and not only compete again but win at the highest level resonates with me. It’s why I want to be an athletic trainer when I finish college, to help athletes prevent injury and help rehabilitate them when they are injured, so they can compete at the highest level.

I was diagnosed with a Central Auditory Processing (CAP) disorder in the 3rd grade. CAP refers to how the brain interprets information from the ears. The brain’s job is to make sense of this information — or process it. Processing involves recognizing, interpreting, and storing auditory data for future use. With CAP it was harder to learn, focus, and understand —especially— in school, and I needed to work harder than others to understand what my teacher was teaching and what I needed to do, and I struggled for a bit. CAP makes it hard to filter out someone's voice from background noise or distinguish between similar-sounding words or sounds, and as a little kid, I didn't always interpret sounds the same way as people said them, so it was hard to learn the alphabet and to read. CAP made it hard to not only understand what the teacher was saying but also made it hard to make friends. CAP makes it hard to understand the tone of when someone is speaking, so I can't always tell when someone is joking or being sarcastic or sincere. I was always quiet as a child, my parents at first thought I was just shy, but it was because I had difficulty understanding what people were saying and I couldn't always tell if they were being nice or not. However, CAP did help me learn to work hard. I stayed after school every day with my amazing third-grade teacher, Mrs. Gardiner, who helped me learn to work with CAP. She did this all on her own, outside of her contracted teaching duties and was not a part of my regular school day. Finally, after working with her on a regular basis, it began to click, and I started to learn to work with it. For the next three years, I worked hard to catch up with my classmates because by third grade I had fallen behind with a lot of learning, especially my reading level. I believe without CAP, however, I feel I would not have the work ethic I have today. CAP taught me to be organized and to stay on top of my studies and classes, so I will never fall behind again. Being organized also helps me manage my anxiety about school so I know what I need to do and when I need to do it. Even today, I still sometimes have a harder time understanding some things, but it's better than it was and I've learned how to manage my CAP. I will admit that I am a little nervous about college next year, but St. Lawrence University has a Student Accessibility Service Office which provides support services for students and I feel confident if I need help, I can turn to them. I have also shared my plan with my soccer coach and feel that she will also be an important support person for me while away at school. I no longer see having CAP as a disadvantage but something that has helped me grow as a person. I like to think CAP has become my superpower in a way. Without it, I would never have learned how to work hard, and I consider my best characteristic to be my work ethic. I love to work hard and am always up for the challenge.

One example of my passion to help create a better world was how I responded to our first playoff game when my soccer team faced significant harassment in my junior year. What’s happened since has taught me so much, not only that sticking up for yourself and others can have a positive impact, but how to be a leader, and that change is possible when you advocate for yourself and your community. There was a lot of poor fan behavior at that game, including sexist, misogynistic, and inappropriate and demeaning language directed at my team. This made me want to change the way spectators are handled at sporting events because no one should ever face any abuse or hatred like that, especially when just playing a sport they love. I needed to do something about it and felt I couldn’t wait for someone else, so I shared the Vermont Principals Associations (VPA) abuse reporting portal with my teammates, encouraging them all to submit reports. We all needed to express how that game made us feel and we all deserved to be heard. After that, my school formed a Sportsmanship Committee, composed of a diverse membership, to make positive changes to spectator behavior. I then wrote a letter to my State Representative, gathering signatures from 115 other student-athletes across several sports from all over Vermont. My representative took my letter to the State Legislature to gather support for our cause. On May 10th, I testified before Vermont’s Senate Education Committee, sharing my beliefs and hopes for the future of athletics and appropriate fan behavior at Vermont sporting events. The VPA has since made changes in how they handle spectator behavior at games and sporting events, working to protect athletes and hold fans accountable for their behavior. Over my high school career, I feel I’ve had success in the classroom and on the field, but this feels like the most important thing I’ve accomplished because I helped make a positive change within the sporting community in Vermont, which will hopefully support and protect student-athletes in the future. In addition to the above experience that I believe will - hopefully - spread, love kindness, and respect, as a three-year captain of the varsity soccer team, I was involved in the planning and organizing of Free Soccer Clinics for elementary-age girls. We held it over the past few summers and our team worked with the younger players, teaching them varsity drills and proper technique. I feel that the Youth Soccer Clinics have had an impact on me too, just being able to see the young girls play soccer and give them that opportunity was amazing. It was a chance to give back in some small way what so many coaches have given to me throughout my soccer career. I have a passion for soccer, and seeing all the young players with that same excitement was truly what made it all so worth it. I know in the scheme of things, these small sports-related examples might not seem earth-shattering, but I believe that even small acts of kindness to someone can make a huge difference in their lives, and maybe will cause ripple effects that spread love and kindness further. When I leave for college over the summer, I hope to work towards bringing our clinics to Canton, NY, to continue to bring soccer to young girls, and hopefully, continue to spread love, kindness, and the love of soccer there too.

High School athletics, and especially varsity soccer, have impacted my life in many positive ways, but I feel one way stands out more than the others. When I was younger, I was the person that looked up to the older athletes on the field in hopes I could be like them. Soccer, in particular, taught me to be the leader on and off the field I am today. As a freshman, I watched the leadership on my varsity team and even though I didn’t have a strong opinion on it then, it sat with me and helped form my own leadership style. When I was named captain as a sophomore, it was mostly because of my strong work ethic. I was thrust into this role as a 10th grader and had to learn quickly how to lead and begin to develop my own style of leadership.  The dream of being captain came true my sophomore year, which was a huge surprise and accomplishment. Getting there was a lot of hard work, especially for someone who’s a particularly shy person, like I am. I knew I needed to be more outgoing, even though one of my biggest leadership attributes is leading by example. I knew as a captain I needed to talk more. I also knew I wanted to change the team culture and change the way captains were seen on my team. Freshman year, the juniors and seniors always seemed to partner up and separate from the younger girls, which did not sit well with me.   After my sophomore season I felt I needed to do something else to increase my leadership. So, in the off season I decided to do some leadership work to help me gain the confidence to be louder and talk more on the soccer field. The first thing I did was the Governor's Institute Leadership Immersion Program from October until May of 2020. Then, in May over Memorial Day weekend, I attended the virtual Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Program. These two leadership groups changed me as a leader and how I approached my role as captain the following year. They taught me how to speak up as a leader and helped me find my voice as captain. This was just another step in developing my leadership style, building on my strong work ethic.  So, now that I am a senior I have tried to change the culture of our team. I have a really good relationship with all the freshmen, and the team as a whole, which was my goal. So, high school athletics really gave me the chance to step up as a young leader and let me grow with the team and help change the culture over these three years. Imagine what could get done as we continue to develop young leaders across all sports, and what can get done and how much growth in peoples’ leadership skills we can reach if we continue to foster leaders through athletics.    Now that I have been a captain for three years, I feel my confidence has grown and I can speak up more on the field and in the classroom. This opportunity would probably not have happened if it wasn't for high school sports. Overall, high school soccer gave me the chance to be a leader from a young age and develop the skill so I can carry it with me throughout life, on and off the field.

I am passionate about playing soccer. I have loved this game since I was a little girl and have wanted to play in college and beyond for as long as I can remember. Soccer is so important to me that I play all year long and play for four different teams, my high school varsity team, my club team (Nordic SC), and I play for the Olympic Development Program (Both my State and East Region Teams). I have recently committed to play for St. Lawrence University's Women's Soccer Team. I was diagnosed with a Central Auditory Processing (CAP) disability n the 3rd grade. CAP was a struggle, especially in early elementary school. With CAP it was harder to learn, focus, and understand and I needed to work harder than others to understand what my teacher was teaching, and what I needed to do, and I struggled for a bit. CAP makes it hard to filter out someone's voice from background noise, and as a little kid, I didn't always interpret sounds the same way as people said them, so it was hard to learn the alphabet and to read. CAP made it hard to not only understand what the teacher was saying but also made it hard to make friends. CAP makes it hard to understand the tone of when someone is speaking, so I can't always tell when someone is joking or being sarcastic or sincere. However, CAP did help me learn to work hard. I stayed after school every day with my amazing third-grade teacher, Mrs. Gardiner. Learning to work hard did pay off, and I'm now at the top of my class. While in high school, my varsity soccer team would hold free soccer clinics for the elementary-aged girls in our community. I liked working with the younger soccer players because I know how I felt when I was little when one of the older girls would even just say 'hello' to me. It meant so much for a 'big kid' to even know who I was, let alone to take the time to say 'hi' and talk to me. I felt it was a chance for us varsity players to give back all the time and effort our coaches and parents had put into us by working and giving back to these little girls and future varsity athletes. It's important too because soccer can be expensive and not everyone can pay for club teams or rec leagues, so offering free clinics helps make it more available to everyone. I would love to continue to give back to my community in this way, whether when I'm home in the summer from college, or by getting involved in a local program in Canton where I'll be attending school. I feel it's important for young children to have positive young adults or adults in their lives like Mrs. Gardiner was for me when I was struggling with CAP.

Feminism is the active state of standing up for women and women’s rights. When I think of feminism, because of my love for soccer, I usually think of it in terms of athletics. In today's world, feminism and equality of women in sports are better than it was even a decade ago. Women's soccer did not occur until 1950 while men playing soccer occurred in the 1800s. Women's sports is nowhere near perfect or equal, but it is getting better and things such as Title IX have made improvements. Someone who inspires me is Alex Morgan. She is a professional women's soccer player, who not only plays the same position as me in the sport I love, but is a women’s rights activist, and mom. Alex shows me what I can do and what is possible for many young athletes, by giving us someone to look up to and hope to be like one day. She is an activist for her and her teammates on the Equal Pay Movement from the US women's national soccer team. This is an example of how men and women aren't treated equally, where women make much less than men for doing the same work, and oftentimes doing a better job than the men. And, when it comes to the US Women’s Soccer team, the women far outperform the men and have historically been paid significantly less. I am contributing to feminism by helping with fan behavior at my school-sanctioned sporting events. In one of my soccer games two soccer seasons ago, there were multiple instances of poor fan behavior, where they said sexist, misogynistic, and body-shamed my teammates. This would not have happened at a men's game. I knew this was something I did not want to see happen to anyone again–especially my teammates–so I helped my team report these issues and made it so athletes, especially females, can feel safer during sporting events, and can just focus on what they are doing and not have to worry about the fans. After we reported the abusive behavior, I wrote a letter that was addressed to the Vermont Principals Association and got over 100 athlete signatures from across my state and across several different sports. My letter was then mailed to my Vermont State Representative who brought it to our State Legislature. With Congresswoman Donnelly’s help, I was allowed to testify before the Vermont Senate Education Committee, present my experiences and ask for help in developing statewide policies and regulations around expected fan behavior at sporting events. I’m not sure I would have had the courage to do that, if not for important role models like Alex Morgan, or even ones closer to home, like Congresswoman Donnelly, who helped create a safer place for athletes on the pitch, track, court, and field. I know there are bigger issues at stake in terms of women’s rights, and how spectators behave at high school sporting events isn’t a big deal in the scheme of things, but I wanted to make sure I tried to make a difference for the players who follow behind me in the years to come. Which, to me, is another important aspect of feminism. Every female activist that has come before me made my life a little easier, and I feel it’s my job to try and do the same for anyone who follows me.

I’ve worked hard in and out of school to make sure I have every opportunity to go to college and I worry that without financial assistance, neither will be possible for me. Even being able to write this essay and apply for this scholarship feels like the late nights after soccer games or track meets, or doing homework whenever I had free time, and studying for all those tests that caused some stress and anxiety, is beginning to pay off. I was diagnosed with a Central Auditory Processing (CAP) disability in the 3rd grade. It was a struggle, especially in early elementary school, not knowing why I struggled to learn to read and feel behind my classmates. With CAP it was harder to learn, focus, and understand in school, and I needed to work harder than others to understand what my teacher was teaching, what I needed to do, and I struggled for a bit. CAP makes it hard to filter out someone's voice from background noise, and as a little kid, I didn't always interpret sounds the same way as people said them, so it was hard to learn the alphabet and to read. CAP made it hard to not only understand what the teacher was saying, but it also made it hard to make friends. CAP makes it hard to understand the tone of when someone is speaking, so I can't always tell when someone is joking or being sarcastic or sincere. However, CAP did help me learn to work hard. I stayed after school everyday with my amazing third grade teacher, Mrs. Gardiner, who helped me learn to work with CAP. Finally, after working with her on a regular basis, it began to click, and I started to learn to work with it. The next three years I worked hard to catch up to my classmates. So without CAP, I feel I would not have the work ethic I have today. Even today, I still sometimes have a harder time understanding some things, but it's definitely better than it was. I no longer see having CAP as a disadvantage but something that has helped me grow as a person. I like to think CAP has become my superpower in a way. Without it, I would never have learned how to work hard, and I consider my best characteristic to be my work ethic. I love to work hard, and am always up for the challenge. This scholarship would mean so much to me because I have worked so hard my whole life to catch up to my classmates, and now that I am at the top of our class, I feel I finally have caught up academically. If I was chosen to receive this scholarship, it would help give me the opportunity to continue to pursue my education at the next level. I think I am a good candidate for this scholarship because I am someone who has a learning disability, but I have never let it get the better of me or slow me down. CAP certainly has made school more difficult for me than some other students, but I also think it has given me an opportunity to develop a work ethic that will help me achieve my goals throughout my life.

Being healthy is a priority for me because I am a high school athlete and I want to compete in college and at the highest levels possible. I am always trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which means constantly making small adjustments and changes to my diet and fitness routine. In addition, I've found that by being diligent with my diet and fitness routines, it helps me maintain my mental health too. I compete twelve months a year on three different soccer teams as well as indoor and outdoor track, which means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, and I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. The hardest part for me has always been knowing when to give my body a break to recover. It has taken me years to learn to listen to my body and know when I need to rest and give my body a break. Also, being a female athlete means that my dietary requirements change over the course of the month as well. I need to know what foods I should be eating when, and realize that because of a girls' normal hormone cycle, some days are just going to be harder to power through. It's not just about the grind, it's about knowing how to best fuel and maintain my body so I can achieve my best performance. Over the past year I have really begun to listen to my body more and try to give myself intermittent breaks over the year just to let my body heal and rest. My body will let me know when I need a break, or even, if I am off my normal diet, I can tell in training. If I cheat a little too much on an off day, I can feel it the next day. It's not just about the quality of food, but also the calories. I need to make sure that I am eating enough good foods, a balance of carbs, fruit/vegetables, and protein, that will help get me through the day, games, and practices. If I don't maintain my diet, I am not at my top performance. So, I make sure that I eat three full, good, meals every day. I have a special breakfast of oatmeal that includes, nuts, fruit, and nut butter every day. It really helps set me up to have a successful day, and I never get sick of it. I then have a healthy lunch and dinner after practice. Throughout the day I am making sure I have lots of healthy snacks that range from fruit and veggies to granola and protein bars and apple sauce, and usually most nights while I'm doing homework I have another healthy snack (or two!). I've also found that having a routine with not only my diet, but school, homework, practices, and games really helps me maintain my mental health. Also, over the last year found that listen to my body not only helps make my body feel right and good, but also helps me maintain a healthy mental state. Taking these smalls breaks and maintaining a healthy diet, I find, is so important to my mental health. To achieve my goals, I have to be focused on living a healthy life and treating my body right, and to do that, I need to make sure I am listen to what it tells me.

Mental Health is important because it is the bedrock of every other aspect of a healthy lifestyle. When you’re feeling anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed, it sometimes is too difficult to see your way out of it. Without our mental health, it becomes increasing more difficult to exercise and eat well, which only then exacerbates our overall health. For me, I can better maintain my mental and physical health by having a regular exercise routine while eating a healthy diet. I am a student athlete and compete on three different soccer teams throughout the year and also run indoor and outdoor track for my high school. In addition to all the sports I participate in, I am also the co-president of my National Honor Society and Student Athletes Advisory Council as well as the senior class vice president. I am also taking two college courses in addition to my senior high school classes that include to AP courses. I have a tight schedule and sometimes it makes me pretty anxious, but I find maintaining a good routine of time for sports, school, rest, and socializing helps me maintain my mental health. It’s not always easy, and I will admit I have a strong support system of my parents, my sister, and friends that help me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. There’s no shame in admitting or asking for help when you’re feeling anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed. We all feel it at different points in our lives. As I said above, for me the best way to maintain my own mental health is to make sure I am eating well and exercising regularly. It’s amazing how I begin to feel off when either of those two aspects of my routine are not on track. I also know that another way to maintain my mental health is by not falling behind in any of my homework or coursework. I do much better when I am getting my school work done and out of the way early or a the very least on time. If projects begin to feel like they’re stacking up or in danger of being late, it can really affect my overall mental health. I try to stay organized with a planner and, as I said already, staying on task and routine. I realize this might not work for everyone, and this may only work for me, but I think it's really important for everyone to find what works best for them in terms of their own mental health. We're all different and we all deal with stress, anxiety, and trauma differently. Everyone deserves to have a support network and not everyone does. That's why it's very important for schools to have counselors and staff who can check in with students, and even adults, and make sure everyone has a system in place to help with their own mental health. As I said before, and I really believe this, a healthy lifestyle is built upon our mental health.

Eating healthy is a priority for me because I am a high school athlete and I want to compete in college and at the highest levels possible. I am always trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which means constantly making small adjustments and changes to my diet and fitness routine. In addition, I've found that by being diligent with my diet and fitness routines, it helps me maintain my mental health too. I compete twelve months a year on three different soccer teams as well as indoor and outdoor track, which means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, and I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. The hardest part for me has always been knowing when to give my body a break and recover. It has taken me years to learn to listen to my body and know when I need to rest and tweak my diet. Also, being a female athlete means that my dietary requirements change over the course of the month as well. I need to know what foods I should be eating when, and realize that because of a girls' normal hormone cycle, some days are just going to be harder to power through. It's not just about the grind, it's about knowing how to best fuel and maintain my body so I can achieve my best performance. My body will also let me know when what I'm using to fuel it is not enough or not the right foods. If I eat food that is not my normal diet, I can tell in training. If I cheat a little too much on an off day, I can feel it the next day. It's not just about the quality of food, but also the calories. I need to make sure that I am eating enough good foods, a balance of carbs, fruit/vegetables, and protein, that will help get me through the day, games, and practices. If I don't maintain my diet, I am not at my top performance. So, I make sure that I eat three full, good, meals every day. I have a special breakfast of oatmeal that includes, nuts, fruit, and nut butter every day. It really helps set me up to have a successful day, and I never get sick of it. I then have a healthy lunch and dinner after practice. Throughout the day I am making sure I have lots of healthy snacks that range from fruit and veggies to granola and protein bars and apple sauce, and usually most nights while I'm doing homework I have another healthy snack (or two!). I've also found that having a routine with not only my diet, but school, homework, practices, and games really helps me maintain my mental health. Also, throughout the year I adjust my diet not just monthly, but seasonally. I live in Vermont, and winters are cold, so my body craves different foods during different seasons not just because of all the exercise, training, and fitness. I have to be mindful of what I'm fueling it with and when. I find that this not only helps make my body feel right and good, but also helps me maintain a healthy mental state. Exercise, I find, is so important to my mental health, but so is maintaining a healthy diet. To achieve my goals, I have to be focused on living a healthy life and treating my body right, and to do that, I need to live it that way every day.

After college I want to pursue a career as an athletic trainer, so I plan to study Biology, Exercise Science, or Kinesiology in college. I have always been interested in doing something professionally that involves sports and working with athletes. I personally am not a fan of the medical field that works with all kinds of injuries, sickness, or disease, but bones and muscles have always been interesting to me. Also, nutrition and the diet of athletes, making sure that they are fueling their bodies the right way, and taking care of their bodies is fascinating to me. Sports in general has always been really important to me. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. Competing twelve months a year means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, which means I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. Which is what has drawn me to being a professional athletic trainer. I am fascinated about trying to keep a body performing at its peak, and I want to attend college to not only learn more about doing it for myself, but so I can help other athletes after I graduate college and begin my career. Which is why science in general is so important to society. Scientists and people in STEM fields everyday are trying to answer questions they have that can better society. How to develop a vaccine to prevent or protect us from a deadly virus. How to make automobiles safer. How to make renewable energy sources cheaper, safer, and more attainable. From big questions to smaller questions, people in STEM are trying to make our world, or society a better place. And, even though not everyone loves sports as much as me, and not everyone is an athlete, I feel that by pursuing this field I am patient about, I can maybe make this field better for this athletes I work with. Maybe by becoming an athletic trainer I can improve how trainers work with athletes and raise the bar for those who come next through STEM behind me. Isn't that what science really does? Make small advances so those scientists and STEM professionals who come after us can build on what we've done, improve on what we learned. I believe so, and I believe that is why science is so important for our society. Without it, we wouldn't be where we are today, and without it, we won't make the discoveries tomorrow that will move human beings forward to where we need to be.

After college I want to pursue a career as an athletic trainer, so I plan to study Biology, Exercise Science, or Kinesiology in college. I have always been interested in doing something professionally that involves sports and working with athletes. I personally am not a fan of the medical field that works with all kinds of injuries, sickness, or disease, but bones and muscles have always been interesting to me. Also, nutrition and the diet of athletes, making sure that they are fueling their bodies the right way, and taking care of their bodies is fascinating to me. I also want to play soccer in college. I have always had a passion for soccer and want to continue playing after high school. Sports in general has always been really important to me. I like the challenge of trying to be at my physical best and pitting myself against and competing against other athletes has always been a passion of mine. However, I am at heart a footballer. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. I play for my high school, my club team (Go Nordic!), for the ODP (Olympic Development Program) East Region Team, and I will be competing for a roster spot for the U18 US Girls National Team this November. However, for my high school, I also run indoor track during the winter and am a sprinter on our spring track and field team. Competing twelve months a year means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, which means I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. Which is what has drawn me to being a professional athletic trainer. I am fascinated about trying to keep a body performing at it's peak, and I want to attend college to not only learn more about doing it for myself, but so I can help other athletes after I graduate college and begin my career. During and after college I can use my education to help me become a better soccer player by understanding how to prevent injury and how to work with my body and keep myself in key fitness. Then post college, I can use my education to work with other athletes and make them the most successful athletes they can be.

Living clean and a healthy lifestyle is a priority for me because I am a high school athlete and I want to compete in college and at the highest levels possible. I am always trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which means trying to find the healthiest foods, which includes non-processed and organic, but also using products that are made by eco-friendly companies with a focus on a renewable and sustainable planet. I am a footballer. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. I play for my high school, my club team (Go Nordic!), for the ODP (Olympic Development Program) East Region Team, and I will be competing for a roster spot for the U18 US Girls National Team this November. However, for my high school, I also run indoor track during the winter and am a sprinter on our spring track and field team. Competing twelve months a year means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, which means I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. So, I can't afford to eat foods that won't help me maintain peak performance. I am constantly trying to make sure what I consume to fuel my training and exercise is the best and healthiest foods available. Also, being a female athlete means that my dietary requirements change over the course of the month as well. I need to know what foods I should be eating when, and realize that because of a girls' normal hormone cycle, some days are just going to be harder to power through. It's not just about the grind, it's about knowing how to best fuel and maintain my body so I can achieve my ultimate performance. That means living clean daily, knowing what foods and products will help me achieve my goals. I also only use my water bottles and don't purchase plastic disposable or recyclable products at the store. Honestly, if you ever see me, I've always got my Hyrdro-flask in one hand. So, throughout the year I do make sure to give my body time to recover between seasons, I do adjust my diet not just monthly, but seasonally as well. I live in Vermont, and winters are cold, so my body craves different foods during different seasons not just because of all the exercise, training, and fitness. I have to be mindful of what I'm fueling it with and when. One thing I love about my state is how focused Vermonters are on living healthy clean lives. It does help to have a state with a similar clean mindset. As your question says above, clean living for me is so important because it's not only how I'm going to achieve my long term goals, but it's also going to (hopefully) make sure we have a clean planet to achieve them on. I can't get to where I want to be by just deciding today to do it, I need to live it clean that way every day.

After high school I want to go to college to study Exercise Science/Kinesiology. I have always been interested in doing something professionally that involves sports and working with athletes. I personally am not a fan of the medical field that works with all kinds of injuries, sickness, or disease, but bones and muscles have always been interesting to me. Also, nutrition and the diet of athletes, making sure that they are fueling their bodies the right way, and taking care of their bodies is fascinating to me. I am a footballer. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. I play for my high school, my club team (Go Nordic!), for the ODP (Olympic Development Program) East Region Team, and I will be competing for a roster spot for the U18 US Girls National Team this November. However, for my high school, I also run indoor track during the winter and am a sprinter on our spring track and field team. I want to play soccer in college. I have always had a passion for soccer and want to continue playing after high school. I want to play on a soccer team that has the mindset of winning and can push me not only as an athlete, but as a person too. Sports have always been important to me. They have been an outlet for me for when I'm not in school to challenge myself both physically and mentally. I have always had a strong work ethic and I want to push myself to be the best version of myself, on or off the field. I understand the importance of maintaining a healthy diet and fitness routine to stay in peak condition, but also understand that injuries can still happen. I want to go to school and learn how to help athletes maintain their bodies to help prevent injury, but when things do go wrong, be there to help them recover and work their way back to their sports. During and after college I can use my education to help me become a better soccer player by understanding how to prevent injury and how to work with my body and keep myself in key fitness. Then post college, I can use my education to work with other athletes and make them the most successful athletes they can be. I know I won't be able to play soccer forever, but I want to go to college for something that will help keep me involved in sports and working with athletes so I can keep giving back to sport and programs that have meant so much to be growing up.

Eating healthy is a priority for me because I am a high school athlete and I want to compete in college and at the highest levels possible. I am always trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which means constantly making small adjustments and changes to my diet and fitness routine. I am a footballer. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. I play for my high school, my club team (Go Nordic!), for the ODP (Olympic Development Program) East Region Team, and I will be competing for a roster spot for the U18 US Girls National Team this November. However, for my high school, I also run indoor track during the winter and am a sprinter on our spring track and field team. Competing twelve months a year means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, which means I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. The hardest part for me has always been knowing when to give my body a break and recover. It has taken me years to learn to listen to my body and know when I need to rest and tweak my diet. Also, being a female athlete means that my dietary requirements change over the course of the month as well. I need to know what foods I should be eating when, and realize that because of a girls' normal hormone cycle, some days are just going to be harder to power through. It's not just about the grind, it's about knowing how to best fuel and maintain my body so I can achieve my best performance. My body will also let me know when what I'm using to fuel it is not enough or not the right foods. If I eat food that is not my normal diet, I can tell in training. If I cheat a little too much on an off day, I can feel it the next day. It's not just about the quality of food, but also the calories. I need to make sure that I am eating enough good foods, a balance of carbs, fruit/vegetables, and protein, that will help get me through the day, games, and practices. If I don't maintain my diet, I am not at my top performance. So, I make sure that I eat three full, good, meals every day. I have a special breakfast of oatmeal that includes, nuts, fruit, and nut butter every day. I then have a healthy lunch and dinner after practice. Throughout the day I am making sure I have lots of healthy snacks that range from fruit and veggies to granola and protein bars and apple sauce, and usually most nights while I'm doing homework I have another healthy snack (or two!). Also, throughout the year I adjust my diet not just monthly, but seasonally. I live in Vermont, and winters are cold, so my body craves different foods during different seasons not just because of all the exercise, training, and fitness. I have to be mindful of what I'm fueling it with and when. I find that this not only helps make my body feel right and good, but also helps me maintain a healthy mental state. Exercise, I find, is so important to my mental health, but so is maintaining a healthy diet. To achieve my goals, I have to be focused on living a healthy life and treating my body right, and to do that, I need to live it that way every day.

Being healthy is a priority for me because I am a high school athlete and I want to compete in college and at the highest levels possible. I am always trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which means constantly making small adjustments and changes to my diet and fitness routine. I am a footballer. My main sport is soccer and I play twelve months out of the year. I play for my high school, my club team (Go Nordic!), for the ODP (Olympic Development Program) East Region Team, and I will be competing for a roster spot for the U18 US Girls National Team this November. However, for my high school, I also run indoor track during the winter and am a sprinter on our spring track and field team. Competing twelve months a year means that my body is constantly in a state of building and recovering, which means I have to adjust my diet and fitness routines accordingly. This has always been the hardest part for me, knowing when to give my body a break and recover. It has taken me years to learn to listen to my body and know when I need to rest or tweak my diet. Also, being a female athlete means that my dietary requirements change over the course of the month as well. I need to know what foods I should be eating when, and realize that because of a girls' normal hormone cycle, some days are just going to be harder to power through. It's not just about the grind, it's about knowing how to best fuel and maintain my body so I can achieve my ultimate performance. So, throughout the year I do make sure to give my body time to recover between seasons, I do adjust my diet not just monthly, but seasonally as well. I live in Vermont, and winters are cold, so my body craves different foods during different seasons not just because of all the exercise, training, and fitness. I have to be mindful of what I'm fueling it with and when. As your question says above, it's about developing a 'lifestyle.' To achieve my goals, I have to be focused on living a healthy life and treating my body right. I can't get to where I want to be by just deciding today to do it, I need to live it that way every day.

I’ve worked hard in and out of school to make sure I have every opportunity to go to college and I worry that without financial assistance, neither will be possible for me. Even being able to write this essay and apply for this scholarship feels like the late nights after soccer games or track meets, or doing homework whenever I had free time, and studying for all those tests that caused some stress and anxiety, is beginning to pay off. I was diagnosed with a Central Auditory Processing (CAP) disorder in the 3rd grade. Even though CAP is not a physical disability, it was a struggle, especially in early elementary school. With CAP it was harder to learn, focus, and understand in school, and I needed to work harder than others to understand what my teacher was teaching, what I needed to do, and I struggled for a bit. CAP makes it hard to filter out someone's voice from background noise, and as a little kid, I didn't always interpret sounds the same way as people said them, so it was hard to learn the alphabet and to read. CAP made it hard to not only understand what the teacher was saying, but it also made it hard to make friends. CAP makes it hard to understand the tone of when someone is speaking, so I can't always tell when someone is joking or being sarcastic or sincere. However, CAP did help me learn to work hard. I stayed after school everyday with my amazing third grade teacher, Mrs. Gardiner, who helped me learn to work with CAP. Finally, after working with her on a regular basis, it began to click, and I started to learn to work with it. The next three years I worked hard to catch up to my classmates. So without CAP, I feel I would not have the work ethic I have today. Even today, I still sometimes have a harder time understanding some things, but it's definitely better than it was. I no longer see having CAP as a disadvantage but something that has helped me grow as a person. I like to think CAP has become my superpower in a way. Without it, I would never have learned how to work hard, and I consider my best characteristic to be my work ethic. I love to work hard, and am always up for the challenge. This scholarship would mean so much to me because I have worked so hard my whole life to catch up to my classmates, and now that I am at the top of our class, I feel I finally have caught up academically. If I was chosen to receive this scholarship, it would help give me the opportunity to continue to pursue my education at the next level.