Setting goals is crucial for personal growth and professional success, as it provides direction and purpose. As I reflect on my academic and professional aspirations, I am motivated to achieve excellence not only in my studies but also in the way I contribute to my community. My goals include becoming valedictorian, maintaining good grades, excelling in sports, attending Eastern Oregon University (EOU), and studying education and psychology. These objectives shape my journey and are interwoven with my desire to make a positive impact on the world around me. One of my primary academic goals is to become valedictorian of my class. To achieve this, I have committed myself to a rigorous study routine, ensuring that I stay on top of my assignments and consistently perform at my best. Striving for academic excellence is not just about receiving high grades but also about developing a deep understanding of the subjects I study. This commitment to academic rigor allows me to learn with purpose, so I can apply my knowledge meaningfully in the future. It also pushes me to develop strong time management skills and discipline, both of which are essential qualities for achieving long-term success. In addition to academic excellence, I have set goals to excel in sports. I believe that physical fitness and teamwork are important components of personal development. Engaging in sports teaches resilience, perseverance, and the ability to work collaboratively with others. Whether through practice, competition, or overcoming obstacles, my involvement in sports has instilled in me the importance of dedication and hard work. These qualities translate well into my academic life, as they reinforce the discipline required to reach my academic goals. Attending Eastern Oregon University (EOU) is another key milestone in my journey. EOU offers a strong academic environment that aligns with my passion for education and psychology. I am particularly drawn to these fields because they allow me to understand human behavior and make a tangible difference in the lives of others. By studying education, I hope to contribute to shaping the minds of young people, fostering a love for learning, and preparing them for a successful future. The field of psychology fascinates me because it enables me to understand the complexities of the human mind and offer support to individuals struggling with mental health challenges. Both fields offer immense opportunities to create a lasting impact on individuals and communities. Giving back to my community has always been a priority. Over the years, I have volunteered at local events, helped be an aid in classrooms, and participated in community service projects. One of the most rewarding experiences was volunteering to help kids during my free period to help tutor kids, where I mentored children and helped them with their homework. This experience opened my eyes to the importance of providing educational support to those who may not have access to the resources they need. It reinforced my passion for education and solidified my desire to pursue a career in teaching and psychology. In conclusion, my academic and professional goals are centered around achieving personal excellence while also making a positive impact on the world. By striving to become valedictorian, excelling in sports, attending EOU, and studying education and psychology, I aim to build a foundation for a fulfilling career that combines academic achievement with a commitment to serving others. Through giving back to my community, I have learned the value of helping those around me, and this experience has inspired me to continue working toward making a difference in the world.

I grew up in a rural small school in Eastern Oregon. The biggest class in my high school consisted of 28 kids. Because of this our teachers knew each student on a personal level and us students knew our teachers on a level where we could be friends. These teachers play a big role in my life, because our community is so small we all saw each other all the time, for example at games, the market store, passing them on the road, wherever it may of been they were always there for us. Some of them were our coaches, so I got to know them on an even deeper level than most. Those teachers became a big part of my life. I knew how much some of these teachers taught us, not only just the things we went to class for, but they taught us some good life lessons on how to be a better person and how to succeed in life. My teachers helped inspire me and help me grow, because of their influence it has made me want to go to college and study to become a teacher and help students of my own. When I started going to high school I realized there were so many classes that I could take. A specific class that caught my eye was being a student teacher aid. This meant if I got a specific teachers signature I could go to their class for that hour and help out with anything that they needed help with. I immediately decided to chose that option and stuck with it for the rest of high school. I decided to help with the third graders, and I have been back every year to help with them. After getting this opportunity to help out the third graders I fell even more in love with wanting to continue my life helping and teaching kids to learn and grow up to be good, well educated kids. I am inspired to help kids want to learn and want to do great things in life. I am also blessed to have grown up the oldest of four siblings. With this aspect of it, I have been a big part of being a role model for my siblings and helping them learn and grow and how to be better people. I would always play with my siblings with my homework I had for after school. The way I did this was I would basically play school with them and teach them the homework that I was doing and how to do it.

A small town in Eastern Oregon named Cove has been my home for all my life. I have been going to Cove School District from kindergarten up to my senior year. I've seen my classmates come and go, making some real good bonds with the people I still have then losing the ones that left. The one thing that didn't really take a toll on me when moving up to the next grade was getting a new teacher. It was always the best part getting to meet a new teacher and getting to be in a whole new classroom. Until high school, I was getting a new teacher every year. Once I finally started my freshman year it was a big change for me, going from class to class getting to see all these new faces of the older kids and teachers I've never met. It was an amazing new experience considering during middle school we were all confined to one classroom and only our class due to COVID 19. Picking my classes for freshman year I had seen a name that was very familiar to me, one that I had seen before. It was my 7th/8th grade social studies teacher, and he was now going to teach all our history classes. He has been my history teacher for the past six years now and has made a huge impact on how I see the world. My teacher, Mr. Hubbard is not only the history teacher, but he was the high school football coach back when my dad played for him, and he is now taking on the task of being the middle school football coach and coaching my little brother. I have got to hear many stories from him about my dad and my brother, always trying to teach me a lesson with each story on how to stay on task and listen to authority. Our school is not very big, with an average of 25 kids per class, mine being the largest with a whopping 28 kids. Because of this reason there are never many kids in each classroom. Each class I've had with him consisted at the largest of around 18 kids and the smallest being 6 kids. Going from the class of 18 people down to just 6 people with him really shows you who he is as a person. I get to have even more one on one conversations with him more than usual. I have been a 4.0 GPA student up until this last semester which now I have a 3.9 GPA. Mr. Hubbard knows that I strive to get good grades and to one day reach my goals and succeed in life. He has been a big part in helping me stay on task and push me past the the limits of what I thought I could do. He has always believed in me which is what I think I really needed to succeed. He has helped teach me how to balance work/school life with all of my outside of school activities like sports or FFA. He's able to bring a workplace-like feel to our classroom while still having fun and learning new things. He has taught me how to always set a goal and to try to reach that goal.

I grew up in a rural small school in Eastern Oregon. The biggest class in my high school consisted of 28 kids. Because of this our teachers knew each student on a personal level and us students knew our teachers on a level where we could be friends. These teachers play a big role in my life, because our community is so small we all saw each other all the time, for example at games, the market store, passing them on the road, wherever it may of been they were always there for us. Some of them were our coaches, so I got to know them on an even deeper level than most. Those teachers became a big part of my life. I knew how much some of these teachers taught us, not only just the things we went to class for, but they taught us some good life lessons on how to be a better person and how to succeed in life. My teachers helped inspire me and help me grow, because of their influence it has made me want to go to college and study to become a teacher and help students of my own. When I started going to high school I realized there were so many classes that I could take. A specific class that caught my eye was being a student teacher aid. This meant if I got a specific teachers signature I could go to their class for that hour and help out with anything that they needed help with. I immediately decided to chose that option and stuck with it for the rest of high school. I decided to help with the third graders, and I have been back every year to help with them. After getting this opportunity to help out the third graders I fell even more in love with wanting to continue my life helping and teaching kids to learn and grow up to be good, well educated kids. I am inspired to help kids want to learn and want to do great things in life. I am also blessed to have grown up the oldest of four siblings. With this aspect of it, I have been a big part of being a role model for my siblings and helping them learn and grow and how to be better people. I would always play with my siblings with my homework I had for after school. The way I did this was I would basically play school with them and teach them the homework that I was doing and how to do it. This was also another big thing that got me into the love of teaching, because I loved helping them learn the stuff that I was learning.

I wasn't very young when this happened, but it did take a big toll on my life afterward. Because I was older, I thought that maybe I would be able to push through and be stronger than I thought I was, but I was wrong. My grandma, Nanny, was diagnosed with stage 3 uterine cancer. I had to watch her go through chemotherapy and watch her basically change as a person. Her good, strong mental attitude never changed, but I could tell that it was taking a big toll on her when it got to the point where my mom had to give her showers and baths. My Nanny passed away at the age of 45. I was only 11 years old, but I was going to be 12 two days later. It was the worst birthday for me ever. Opening the gifts that she picked out for me and had wrapped herself just for her not to be there was heartbreaking. Everything that I have done since that day has been for my Nanny. Every decision I make I think about if she would be proud or disappointed in me. She played a big role in my life, basically becoming my second mom. She took care of us all the time when my mom and dad both had to work. There were many Sunday night dinners spent with each other and many school nights spent together. Those were always the best because that meant we were to be taken to school by her. She was a very kind lady and was known throughout the county. For this reason, she took care of a lot of kids in the county, along with my 3 younger siblings and 4 younger cousins. She has inspired me to be that person that people go to when in need and to interact with younger kids. Now that I am older, I help out with kids a lot more. This includes being a summer camp counselor last year and this coming summer, and going into the elementary school and getting to help with all the younger students. I have kept a 3.9 GPA to hopefully still be making her proud and doing the best that I can be for her. I started doing volunteer work and more community service because that is what she would have done if she was here with us now. One community service act I am doing right now is a Cove Easter Egg Hunt put on by Cove FFA, where we set up a day when kids can go find Easter eggs and have breakfast and its put on for the whole community. This I love to do because it involves getting to interact with kids and helping them have fun and do their best. I also know that when doing this I know I am making my Nanny proud and doing her work for her.

I've lived in my town of Cove my whole life. Along with that, I have been going to the same 1a school district from kindergarten to my senior year. Even my dad went to school here. I’ve seen many people come and leave throughout the years. Lost what I thought to my best friends now only to be good memories. Most tend to leave to go to a bigger school district like 3a or even 4a. Some even go to the town next door, so I get to see them, but they are not the same. Even though they are not the same, I have watched them grow and amount to great things being able to leave the town and get different opportunities. Cove is an old rural town that has been burnt down in the past and had to be rebuilt a couple of times. The town is full of mostly elderly people, farmers and railroad workers. That type of occupation is not for me. With my dad and neighbor being railroaders, I just know that that is just not something I would like to do. We also do have a farm with animals like goats, pigs, chickens and ducks, but it is not my passion. I would like to pursue a career in education. So, unless I want to spend the rest of my life here in Cove, I have realized that I will need to further my life after high school into college. Since I have been here so long, and it's such a small town and school, there's about a 14:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Because of there being so few teachers and a few that have been here since my dad went to school, I get the chance to get really close with my teachers and staff. From this experience, I have got to see the ways of their teaching, and it really inspired me to get into the field of education. Our teachers were our biggest supporters at that school for just about everything; sporting events, the drama class, choir showcases, anything you name it they were there and that also really helped me realize that I wanted to be that type of person one day. After I got interested in this, I started to take some teacher-aide classes, where I could go down for the period to the elementary school across the street to help with any class K-6. Once I started working with the kids, I found out that this was something I had a passion for. I plan on attending Eastern Oregon University in the fall of 2025 and plan on majoring in elementary education, and going for four years to get my associate's and bachelor's degrees in education. It is nearby to my hometown, so I can still go help out around the farm if needed and I can still be close to my hometown and my family. I have three younger siblings, so I wanted to be able to watch them grow and watch their accomplishments in life since I have almost raised them my whole life. Neither of my parents attended college, so it is my goal to be the first and, while doing that, reach my other goal of pursuing my life in education.

I have been going to school in Cove my whole life. I have got to go watch out high school play sports ever since I was a little kid and it always inspired me to be there and be like them one day. Well now I have got to live that dream that little me had and wish I got to spend a little longer doing all the sports that I love. Sports have been in my life for such a long time. I juggle three sports yearly while keeping a gpa of 3.9. I played volleyball, softball and basketball all four years of highschool and planning to do track and softball this spring. Softball has been one of my main priorities since I was five years old. So freshman year when spring time came around I was so excited to see what the season had to offer. My main goal was to get a spot on varsity, after getting to play varsity for volleyball and basketball already I was striving to achieve that goal. Being a freshman coming into all these sports I always looked up to the seniors for help and they were always my biggest role models until about my junior year when I finally got the confidence myself and didn’t strive for validation from my upperclassmen peers. Playing sports has really helped me with my confidence and helped me learn that its okay to make mistakes, its all part of the process with getting better and helping you to learn from the mistakes. Unfortunately my junior year season of softball and volleyball there were some weeds in the garden for my teams. A couple people would be rude on the court and had bad attitudes, blame people for their own mistakes instead of taking responsibility. For me this wasn’t the hardest thing for me to handle. I’ve learned to block out the non constructive criticism, but for some that is much harder to do than others. It affects the way they play and how they act outside of the game. This made me want to start he;ping those people out who need it mentally. Because I know it can be hard and even harder if you have no one to talk to about it. It made me want to help people with their mental health. I know that going to seven hours of school a day and then having to go to a sport that you love but someone is making it not fun its so mentally draining. I sadly had to experience that my junior year during softball from my coach. I want to help people with that because I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did last year with all of that. Outside of sports I am very school, friend and family oriented. I finished all my classes my junior year and have been taking college course classes my senior year. Along with some electives to pass the time by. I have 3 younger siblings and neither of my parents went to college so it has been one of my main goals to get to achieve something they never got to experience.