As a kid playing sports, I never thought they would turn into anything but fun games for me to play with friends. As I got older, the sport of softball eventually became something that felt like an obligation rather than a game. Playing became more mentally and physically taxing every day. High expectations from my parents and myself led to the loss of love for the game. Feeling obligated to play and no longer having fun while playing quickly becomes a weight to carry. Burnout is very real and very easy to experience. I found out the hard way that sometimes, your skill level, the amount of time spent practicing, and the number of awards you earn do not always lead to a happy ending. In my case, I dedicated my whole life to sports and still couldn’t find any pleasure in playing anymore. In the end, I gave myself an ultimatum: One year to improve and to try and find that love for the game. I told myself that by the end of my first varsity softball season, if I didn’t enjoy playing anymore, then I would end my softball career. My freshman year of high school was spent in the gym lifting and in one-on-one lessons with a new coach who completely changed the game for me. That coach changed my whole thought process and the way I looked at the game. She taught me how to change my mindset and look at the sport as a fun challenge rather than a miserable obligation. That season, I saw a change in my energy level while on the field, as well as a feeling that I hadn’t experienced while playing in years, joy. That one season became two, then three, and eventually, softball became something I looked forward to every day. It is something that I gladly train for not because I have to, or because I need to make my parents happy, but because I genuinely enjoy seeing improvement. Softball has taught me many things. Through the years, I have experienced all types of challenges. From slumps and injuries to difficult teammates and coaches. While in life, I may not need to hit a ball with a stick or play catch with a piece of leather on my hand, these lessons are not limited to the field. Being able to recover from uncontrollable setbacks quickly and adjust without losing spirit is a great skill to have. Similarly, the ability to change my mindset and perspective to see things differently is something that many people never learn until it is too late. The way I look at challenges sets the tone for my whole life. A poor mindset yields poor adaptability. Life with a good mindset, however, leads to excitement and pleasure in everyday accomplishments, plus a feeling of joy in working towards something. Most importantly, softball has taught me how to be a leader and a coach for others. During summer, I spend my time as a hitting coach for younger girls and coaching at camps. The leadership I have been taught by the sport is something that will stay with me throughout my life and I am forever grateful to my coaches for showing me how to lead by example. I have come to enjoy and look forward to every challenge, every accomplishment, and every second I am given on the field. I am blessed to be able to play this sport for another four years at a collegiate level, and I will continue to play and coach this game until I am no longer able to.

As a kid, I grew up in the outdoors, flipping rocks for salamanders, fishing in the mountain streams of central Pennsylvania, and hunting in the woods behind my house. Now, as a senior in high school, the last thing I want to do is confine myself to sitting behind a desk in an office all day when I graduate. After all, I’ve been sitting at a desk every day for the past twelve years of my seventeen-year-long life. My dream for myself is to be able to work hands on in the environment to manage habitats, wildlife populations, and in doing so, be able to restore ecosystems to their former glory. I have been blessed to have grown up in a household with two parents who are biologists. From a young age, I have been exposed to the wonders and joys of the natural world. Starting with exploring the woods behind my house and learning all the best spots to flip logs to find spotted salamanders, to hiking the Adirondacks with my family, and even getting lost in the Catskills while fishing. Every adventure has brought more interest in the environment and a love of seeing, finding, and interacting with wildlife. Thanks to my parents, I have had some chances and wonderful opportunities to experience and help with wildlife surveys and studies such as Mussel surveys in the Susquehanna River, trout shocking in Catherine Creek, and hellbender restoration surveys done in Butternut Creek by DEC biologists and professors from Lycoming College and SUNY ESF. During the electro-fishing survey of Catherine Creek I was able to measure, weigh, and determine the sex of rainbow trout traveling upstream from the great lakes to spawn. We caught over two hundred trout in about a three-mile stretch of stream. Each of these experiences was thrilling, however, my favorite was working with eastern hellbenders in projects done by a partnership between NYS DEC, Lycoming College, Bronx Zoo, and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition. We were snorkeling for eastern hellbenders in one of the few streams that still hold them in New York State. That day, we caught four hellbenders out of nest boxes that had previously been installed. These were the first hellbenders caught out of the stream in years. I remember the biologists allowing me to hold and help record the length of the adults they had found and tag them with a PIT tag. Because of these experiences, my interest in conservation has only increased. In order to continue sharing and learning more about my passion for the outdoors, I plan on getting a four year degree in environmental science and eventually a master’s degree in wildlife conservation. Some of my best memories come from exploring and learning everything I could about the outdoors while hunting and fishing with my dad, as well as hiking with my mom and siblings. I have my family to thank for my love of the outdoors, and most of my current knowledge of it as well. Humans have made mistakes in the past. We have taken natural resources and damaged other species as well as ourselves, however, just as wildlife has been equipped with the tools they need to survive, humans have been equipped with intelligence and ingenuity. As time goes on, we have developed new technologies and new ways to reverse damage done to the environment. Already we have come up with ways to help endangered populations of plants and animals grow again with the Endangered Species Act passes in 1973. Many once endangered or extirpated species have seen promising improvement due to coordinated efforts between state wildlife management agencies and local sportsmen’s groups. The river otter reintroduction project in the late 90s in the Southern Tier of New York is a great example of these cooperative projects. Because of this project, river otters have successfully been brought back to areas they once thrived. Since then, they have repopulated the rivers, marshes, and small lakes of New York State. Science has found ways to reverse chemical damage to environments as well, such as the effects of acid mine drainage. Scientists have begun trying to revive and restore dead streams to the healthy, working ecosystems they once were. There are still mistakes made, but people have the ability and tools to fix them. We have the ability to positively affect and manage wildlife populations. As a part of this world and as someone who loves the outdoors, it is my goal, and my dream to continue the work done by past and current conservationists and wildlife biologists to keep their efforts alive for future and current generations to enjoy. I want to see species like the eastern hellbender return to streams in my hometown, and wild trout populations continue to climb to a point where we no longer have to stock them to provide a great fishing experience. Through my work, I hope to find new and affordable ways to preserve the environment so the next generation may be able to experience the wonders of nature as I was able to.