Mental health challenges have impacted my family. My younger brother developed depression and anxiety when he was 14. We had just come through the Covid-19 pandemic and he completed middle school entrenched in social media and online platforms with minimal face to face interactions. When he started high school it was really hard for him and he didn't make the best of friends the first few months. It was the end of October when he turned to cutting as a way to cope. Thankfully one of his friends at school noticed and immediately forced him to the guidance department to meet with his counselor. She then called my parents and they made a plan to help him. My parents were blessed to find a therapist quickly to get him working with a professional. They were very concerned and closely monitored his social media apps as well as his eating and sleeping habits. His doctor officially diagnosed him the summer after his freshman year in high school. The doctor wanted to continue with therapy for a while before trying meds. Thankfully he has continued with therapy but still has some bad days. The thing I've learned by watching and caring for my brother through this is that mental health feels like a roller coaster. My brother has had some really good stretches of time and then he'll have some really tough times. It's hard for me to connect with my brother, because we have different interests but I do love him and really do want to see him happy.

I had the best role model for a hard work ethic in my father, an Army veteran. My Dad has not had an easy road but his persistence highlighted his "never give up" attitude. He has had over a dozen different jobs since my siblings and I were born. When one job ended, he would do whatever it took to find another one to continue supporting our family to the best of his ability. It really is inspiring! Now that I am a Division 1 college athlete, living in an off campus apartment, I am keenly aware of how important a strong work ethic is. Since my practice schedule is so intense, and I have to balance time to study for my classes, that doesn't leave many hours in a week to earn money. With my parents encouragement and support, I have been able to work in a variety of jobs each summer break to keep me housed and fed throughout the year. My Mom is a first grade teacher and my Dad has found a new job in lumber sales. They don't have a lot of extra income to help me financially so I know it is my responsibility to support myself. Over the past few years, I have worked with a construction company supporting carpenters through home remodel projects. I have worked as a lifeguard and swim coach at 2 different pools both in my hometown and near my university. I have taught hundreds of children swim lessons at both indoor and outdoor pools. I have been an assistant to an athletic trainer who works on strengthening high school athletes to their fullest potential. All of these jobs have taught me priceless skills that I will take with me for my entire life. Another important lesson my parents have taught me is the importance of giving back through volunteer work. My family has a very strong faith and we have volunteered with our church for numerous ministries. We have volunteered at local churches for their Vacation Bible Schools, walk-a-thons to support teen mothers and cancer fighting associations but the most impactful volunteering we've done has been for Joni and Friends. Joni and Friends is a non-profit organization that supports families affected by disabilities. They are an international organization that strives to offer support and resources to help families deal with the day-to-day stresses of disabilities. They help families with physical, emotional and psychological disabilities by planning family focused events to bring families together. One of the most important event is a Family Retreat. At this retreat, parents get a rest from the constant care of their child with the help of 1:1 volunteers. The children get to play games with their peers in a safe and supportive environment while the parents get support from other parents in small group sessions. We've been volunteering at these Family Retreats for over 10 years and my older sister now works for them full time. It brings us such joy to see the families enjoying a week of fun in a safe and supportive place.

Being the son of a veteran has certainly had it's ups and downs. My Dad is an army veteran who served in the first Gulf war in the early 1990's. He was stationed in Germany and drove the Bradley tank. He says he's thankful he didn't see any real action and that he came home safe and sound, but the emotional and physical effects still remain. He suffers from hearing loss, severe tinnitus, vertigo and joint pain. With all these ailments, he continues to persevere through all of life's ups and downs. His employment record has been quite sporadic yet he has never given up on finding his dream job. Unfortunately, he is again unemployed and continues to go on interviews in hopes of finding a job he can retire from. Watching my Dad go through all of these trials has taught me so much about being resilient and persistent. I am currently a division 1 swimmer studying to earn my degree in exercise science. When I consider my biggest challenge so far, it was definitely trying to gain acceptance to a division 1 collegiate swim program in the midst of COVID. I was a high school sophomore and I had been working really hard to make my way to the YMCA national swim meet at the age of 15, not an easy accomplishment. After 2 years of grueling training, I made the qualifying time I needed and had flights and hotels booked. It was 3 weeks before the event and the world shut down. My parents, coaches and I were crushed. However, with their love and support I picked myself up and told myself to do what my Dad would - persevere. Since all the pools were closed, I knew I had to stay in shape so I laced up my running sneakers and took to the streets. I set a goal for myself to complete a 2 mile run in less than 15 minutes. I used to be a pretty good soccer player before I took up swimming so I was hoping my legs would remember how to run fast. It took me a few days but I got into a groove and found a nice route close to home. I reached my goal and just continued to keep that pace for the next few weeks while the world figured out what was happening. Thankfully my swim team found an outdoor pool to train in for the summer. I was definitely out of swim shape but quickly found my "sea legs" again. With the support of my coaches and A LOT of hard work, I earned my spot on a collegiate division 1 swim team. Through a diligent and grueling work ethic and with the love and support of my family, friends and coaches I had made my dream come true.

I grew up in a family focused on volunteering and ministering to those in need. My grandfather was a pastor so my family were not strangers to helping others. My Dad is a United States Army veteran who is passionate about giving back and supporting those who can't support themselves. Our family participated in fundraising events as well as volunteering to support families with disabilities. Two of my uncles are living with disabilities so it was very close to our hearts. I have a large family so my uncles are only about 9 years older than me. I was always willing to play with them and spend time with them. We had fun together and since they have some developmental delays, we had similar interests. When I was 12 my family signed up to volunteer at a family camp to support families with disabilities. My Mom and Dad were going to lead groups of kids for a week, while the parents were able to meet with pastors and other parents for support. I was paired up with a sibling of a child with disabilities, along with a teen counselor. The 3 of us went around to all the stations each day and had a lot of fun. My family volunteered for the next 5 summers and we met some amazing families that we still keep in touch with today. Actually, my older sister is now working for that organization full time. We have seen, first hand, how this organization supports and encourages families living with disabilities. Around that same time, when I was 11, I started swimming competitively. My coaches were so encouraging and supportive of my goals and pushed me hard. I love to compete so I loved the push from them to do my best. I set some very loft goals for myself that first year and they helped me exceed those goals. I wanted to qualify for the regional championship. Not only did I qualify for the regional swim meet, but I qualified for the northeast sectional championship. With the consistent amazing encouragement and support from those coaches, I was able to continue setting and exceeding my swimming goals. Now, I am a division 1 collegiate swimmer who just qualified for the US Open Swim meet. With the background of ministering to those in need and the personal experience of such amazing supporters in my life, I have decided to make a career out of helping people. My current major is exercise science with a minor in business. I hope to work with young athletes of all abilities to reach their personal goals. I also plan to become a firefighter in my hometown as well. Giving back and helping others has been such a core of my upbringing, it only seems right to continue living that way in the future.

My Dad is one the most patriotic men I know. My father served in the United States Army. He was stationed in Germany for the Gulf War in the early 1990's. He drove a tank and tells us he never say active war, but was at the ready if called upon. He is very proud of his service, but also shows amazing humility. One time when we were on a family vacation at Sea World in California, they made an announcement about recognizing veterans. My Dad did not feel worthy of recognition, but my family convinced him to stand and accept the applause. That was a changing point for my Dad. I was about 8 years old on that vacation. From that point on, my Dad seemed to talk more about his military experience. He started telling more stories about his fellow soldiers that he maintained friendships with. He wasn't so closed about his experience. My siblings and cousins would ask him questions and he wouldn't shy away from answering them. I learned so very much from my father and those stories. I learned more about my Dad's mental and physical toughness. I learned more about my Dad's intense love for our country and helping to maintain it's freedoms. I learned about my Dad's deep love for my Mom and our family. He started talking to me about his role as the protector of our family. He takes that role very seriously, still to this day (15 years later). As I grew and matured, he took pride in teaching me some of the lessons he learned. He started teaching me about our religious beliefs with regards to the role of a man in a family unit. He became an amazing mentor to me. I love my Dad so much and look forward to our chats on the phone. My family has so many connections to the armed services and it continues to expand as I get older. My great grandfather (my Dad's grandfather) was in the Army in World War II. My Dad was in the Army as I stated earlier. My grandfather (my Mom's stepfather) served in the Navy in the Vietnam War. One of my cousins is currently serving in the Marine Corp training to be a pilot. Another cousin is currently training in the Air Force while attending college in Alabama. Fighting for the freedoms of our country run deep in my family and I am beyond proud of each and every one of them.

I have always been a fierce student athlete since I was 11 years old. When I was 11, I started the sport that changed my life. I became a competitive swimmer. I had been a soccer player since I was 4 years old. I loved the game and made some great friendships as well as learned a lot about the sport to gain skills. When I was 9, my sister joined our local swim team. I knew how to swim but it wasn't something I really thought about as a sport at that age. After watching a few swim practices and talking with the coaches, they convinced me to give competitive swimming a shot (at least part time to help keep me conditioned for soccer). I joined the swim team in the late Fall, after Fall soccer season. It was hard work, but I could really feel myself getting stronger. I worked with an athletic trainer to help me with "dry land" practice, which is basically weight training. But since I was so young, I couldn't use heavy weights yet and grew an amazing relationship with the trainer. We worked together with my swim coach, to get me qualified for a regional swim championship meet. It was not easy, and I don't think I ever felt so exhausted in my life, but I qualified! I got to travel to a neighboring state and stay in a hotel for the first time. The pool facility was huge, compared to my local swim club. I was so very excited. I did not place on the podium like I had hoped, but the experience was amazing. I learned a lot about myself as an athlete, and my parents supported me with so much love. They helped me talk to both my swim and soccer coaches to help me figure out an appropriate practice schedule that would allow me to put my best effort into each sport. I was finding success on the soccer field and in the pool. I thought life was good. Then I started high school. In high school, finding a good balance of study time and 2 sports became quite a challenge. I had so much fun playing soccer in the Fall and was able to play with so many of my middle school friends. My friendships on the swim team were becoming very strong, as well as the connection with my coaches. My Dad and I had a very difficult conversation one night. I had to make a decision and pick one sport to focus on, in order to meet my athletic goals. Unfortunately, dividing my time between the 2 sports was not helping me advance at the pace I desired. I chose swimming. I never looked back. I was all in and my swim coaches could not have been more supportive. They sat down with me and we made a plan to help me achieve my swimming goals. That year, I worked harder than I ever thought I could in the pool and in the gym. I was still working with that same athletic trainer and he was so encouraging. He helped me work through some knee and shoulder pain, and strengthened those muscle groups to alleviate the discomfort. Over the next 4 years, my whole high school career, my coaches and trainer helped me achieve all the goals I had set for myself. I had been recruited at a Division 1 swim program and want to study exercise science. I want to pour into young athletes the same way my trainer helped me.

I have chosen a career that will help athletes reach their full potential, both physically and mentally. When I was 11 years old I was introduced to an athletic trainer through the YMCA. I was a soccer player who decided to join the swim team to stay in shape between Fall and Spring seasons. When I started to use new muscles, I started to experience some knee and shoulder pain. My swim coach referred me to the trainer offered at the YMCA. It changed my life. I worked with this trainer for 8 years and his guidance and knowledge helped me gain an advantage both on the soccer field and in the pool. Not only did he work with me 2 days a week to develop my strength and endurance, but he showed me how to use my body effectively and avoid soreness in my muscles. He helped me with proper form when working with weights and how to increase my lung capacity to help swim faster and longer. When I made the difficult decision to quit playing soccer and focus on swimming, my trainer stuck by me and worked me even harder to help me achieve my goal of swimming for a division 1 college program. I started working with him 3-4 times per week to build muscle and he even referred me to a nutritionist to help me gain weight. He gave up his own time and came to my swim meets to watch me swim. He recorded my starts off the block in order to design a training plan specifically for me. He not only was my trainer but became my friend and mentor. When my family went through a financial hardship, he offered me a job to work for him in his private gym so I could continue training with him. His support was unwavered when the pandemic hit and I had to train on my own with limited resources due to the shutdowns. As I tried to navigate the recruitment process in the middle of the pandemic, I can remember texting with him and asking to Facetime so he could show me the specific form he wanted me to use in the training regimen he designed for me. Without hesitation he talked with me and helped me feel at ease about keeping up with my training the best I could. Through all those years, his dedication and support for not only myself, but all the athletes he worked with was inspiring. When it came time for me to choose a field of study in school, it didn't take me long to choose Exercise Science. I want to learn all I can about the science of exercise to help athletes reach their full potential in whatever sport they want to excel in. I was truly blessed to have worked with my trainer for so many years and I want to be that for lots of future athletes.

I am the oldest son of an Army veteran and a teacher. I understand the importance of service to my community. I am the grandson of a pastor so I also understand the importance of faith and family. Growing up I was able to serve my community with my family through some fun events at our church. My Mom volunteers at our church's vacation bible school every summer. She teaches the preschoolers with the help of other young church kids. I volunteered for 3 years while I was in high school. I helped organize and run the outside games for the kids who came to vacation bible school. It was really special to see so many kids having fun and learning about Jesus at the same time. I started out as a 2 sport athlete - soccer and swimming. As I continued to develop both sports it became clear that my talent was stronger in the pool and not on the soccer field. The coaches of the YMCA swim coaches sparked my competitive spirit and fostered my love for the sport. I was connected with an athletic trainer to help me build muscle strength and prevent injury. Working with that trainer is what changed my life the most. I swam in the pool every day for 2 hours. I had knee pain and shoulder pain that he helped me work through and prevent any long term injury. Working with him and my amazing coaches helped me achieve a spot on a division 1 swim team. I worked with physical therapists to get some more specific exercises to compliment the work I was doing with my trainer. I worked in the gym 3-4 days a week to help me prepare for my regional and national swim meets. It was that time in the gym that helped me decide my future career path. I want to work with athletes and help them they way my trainer helped me. I am currently a sophomore at Towson University with a major in Exercise Science. This scholarship money will help offset my living expenses. My parents have raised me to earn my own way and work hard to earn money. Being a division 1 student athlete creates a challenge to earn enough money to live on during academic semesters. My practice schedule is rigorous so I am not able to hold down a job during swim season. That leaves me about 10-12 weeks to earn enough money to pay rent and feed myself for the remainder of the year.

I took my first international trip last year over Christmas Break. We traveled as a family, with my parents, brother and sister. We had never done a family vacation out of the country before and it was an amazing experience. We stayed at a resort and got to meet some great people. We enjoyed delicious food and some relaxation by the pool and ocean. We took a day off the resort to experience the local culture and historical sites. We saw ancient ruins that dated back to the 1600's. I was amazed at how some of the stone structures were still standing today. Although most of them were crumbling, you could still see the foundations and outline of where they stood. Our guide helped us understand more of the culture of the Mayan people. He explained why they chose that particular spot to make port and settle. They definitely didn't teach me that in high school history classes. After that, we were able to experience true Mexican culture through their delicious roadside family restaurants. Our guide helped us order using authentic Spanish language and navigate the different levels of spice in their food. We were able to speak with some native crafters about their items for sale and hear the stories behind their items. They use all materials native to the area and incorporate their beliefs into the crafts. Again, you can't learn that in a history book or class. Our next stop was a cenote, which is a naturally occurring fresh water hole. The water was cold but it was fascinating to hear how it was created. We did wall jumping into it and tried to touch the bottom, but it was too deep. There were some really cool caves off the cenote that housed some small birds. My Mom was a bit afraid but my Dad and siblings tried to get the birds to fly out so we could see them better. Our efforts didn't work but it was fun giving it a try. Then we went to a public beach where they had sections roped off to swim with sea turtles native to that area. We used snorkels and got to see them up close and personal. My whole family are really good swimmers so it was so relaxing to just watch them in their natural habitat. The entire day was an experience I will never forget. It definitely made me excited to do more travel in the near future. My sister has had the opportunity to travel to Poland and Thailand with a missionary organization. She has also shared her experiences and wants me to join her on a trip soon. Now that I have been out of the country and got a taste of other cultures, I can see why she is so motivated to travel and learn more about cultures of the world. You just can learn those by reading or studying in history classes.

Growing up as the son of an army veteran and a school teacher has been a blessing and a curse. My Dad, as an army veteran is a natural leader. He has been a leader in our church, in our family, in our community. My Mom has been a first grade teacher for over 20 years. She has been a leader in our family, in our church and in her school. I have had very good role models for leadership in my family. I am also the grandson of a retired pastor. He was an amazing leader in our family, church and community. I was voted a captain on my high school swim team as a junior. I took that leadership role very seriously and asked my Dad for advice when things came up that I thought I couldn't handle on my own. It was a great experience that helped shape me. I was again voted captain as a senior and felt so much more confidence the second time around. My teammates looked to me throughout that season and they motivated me to be the best I could be. They encouraged me to push towards my own personal goals along with the goals of the team. With their help, I was able to break 6 school records and win a state title in my favorite individual race. After that I went on to earn a spot on a division 1 swim team program at a prestigious college on the east coast. I worked super hard and earned the respect of my teammates and coaches. I worked hard in and out of the pool and was able to swim races at our championship meet with 2 best times in my races. At the end of that first season I was awarded the Rookie of the Year award. I was extremely humbled with this honor. When I came home that summer, I took on a leadership role in two of my favorite places. I was a head lifeguard and assistant coach at the pool where I grew up and learned how to swim. I was also a fitness trainer assistant to the trainer I had worked with since I was 11 years old. Both positions were super fun and allowed me to continue my growth as an athlete and encourager of young athletes. I was able to work with swimmers, soccer players, lacrosse players, basketball players,football players and more. It solidified my passion for helping athletes meet their full potential in my future career in exercise science.

I am one of 37 cousins and the grandson of a retired Pastor. Growing up in a large family and in the church you would think we would be able to avoid mental illness. Sadly, depression finds it's way into people you wouldn't necessarily think it would. One of my Aunt's, who is only 8 years older than me, has had it really rough. She barely graduated high school, she lived at home with my grandparents for many years after high school because she couldn't hold down a job longer than a few months. She tried different medications and basically tried to turn her back on all that she had known growing up. She got married and then divorced after only 2 years, and still is unable to hold down a job. She has so much anger and resentment towards the world that prevents her from finding joy in the little things. My Dad tries really hard to come alongside her and be a support to her but also help her manage being an adult with chronic depression. Another one of my Aunt's got married at a young age and moved across the country to be with this man. They were not married very long when he cheated on her with someone from their church. She was devastated slipped into a depressive state. She worked with a counselor and the pastors at her church and ultimately had to get divorced before the age of 25. She made the tough decision to come back home to start a new life. She worked with some counselors and was able to turn her world around for the better. She found a new man to marry and now has 4 children and has been able to avoid the cycle of depression for many years. One of my cousins went to a prestigious college right out of high school with a plan to be a veterinarian. She got in with the wrong crowd and started down the road of drugs and partying to hard. She put on a good show for her family but ended up flunking out of that college. She went into a depressive state thinking she had to give up her dream of being a vet. It was so hard to see her and my aunt and uncle try to help her realize her true potential. They worked with some academic advisors and mental health personnel to help her bounce back. It took a little bit of time, but she was able to enroll in a smaller local college and was able to actually complete quite a few of her college classes. She made the realization that her dream may take longer to achieve but to not give up on that dream. My own brother has developed some severe anxiety and deals with panic attacks. For him it started during the pandemic. He made some unhealthy choices and got a little too addicted to some questionable online gaming. My parents got him into counseling which he continues with to this day. He is an amazing swimmer and has been swimming since he was 6 years old. I watched him swim a race that he has swam probably 100 times. Sadly he had to stop mid race because he had an anxiety attack. He hasn't been able to get his driver's license yet because he gets too anxious on the road. It's heart-breaking to see him struggle every day with things that should be simple and exciting.

Growing up as a pastor's grandson, I learned at an early age to volunteer and use my gifts to help others. I have helped young kids grow in their faith while leading games for our church Vacation Bible school. I was the "Games Leader Assistant" for 3 summers in our family's church. Another organization that is very important to my family is a ministry that supports families living with disabilities. My grandparents became involved with this organization because 2 of my uncles are affected by disabilities. The deal with intellectual and physical disabilities. The organization is called Joni and Friends. Joni Erikson Tada incurred an injury that left her a quadriplegic. She found that her faith helped to bring her out of depression and started this organization to help others. My local Joni and Friends office plans and puts on 2 family camps at a local retreat center. They invite families to join in some fun and supportive activities to help them deal with living with disabilities. My family volunteered for 5 summers and I came alongside other young kids and their siblings to support them. The whole week is designed to provide fun and safe activities that will take away the traditional hurdles that people living with disabilities encounter on a daily basis. I helped young kids play basketball, soccer, go kayaking or canoeing, swim, fish on a pontoon boat, navigate a slip 'n slide, join in worship songs, practice a talent for the talent show and learn from the bible stories that were taught each day. The most important thing I did was give a young kid a sense of belonging and independence that they might not normally get in their every day lives. It is a lot of hard work and long days, but seeing each kid laugh and truly enjoy themselves is worth it. I have most definitely seen how volunteering and giving of yourself can make a huge impact in the lives of others. Watching my family come together and serve as these helpers during the Joni and Friends family retreats for 5 summers is inspiring. I've seen my Dad work with struggling teenagers. I've seen my Mom work with disabled elementary kids and their siblings. I've seen my older sister work with young teen girls who are struggling with their identity as a sibling of a child with a disability. I've seen my grandparents work with other parents of children with disabilities in order to raise them up and support them through some of their darkest days. The disability community is so vulnerable and I'm proud to have had a small part in making their lives better for one week each summer.

Graduating from high school with over half my high school learning during the pandemic was certainly not without it's challenges. As a student athlete with goals of acquiring an appointment to a division 1 athletic program, I had a lot of work to do with many hurdles to overcome. My chosen sport was swimming, so when the world shut down for COVID-19 I was faced with so many challenges. Some of my friends were playing sports that were outside so they could continue their training individually even without their coaches and teammates. However, as a swimmer who relied on indoor pool time, I was at an intense disadvantage. All the indoor pools were closed, there were no coaches allowed to interact with me outside their homes. I was feeling a bit discouraged and frustrated. I had qualified for a national swim meet as a 14 year old and didn't get the chance to compete because of the pandemic closures. I had worked so hard to qualify for this meet and wouldn't get the chance to compete and prove myself to my competitors and those who doubted my abilities. In hind sight, this only made my work harder to prove that I had what it takes to make it in the world of swimming. I started training on the streets of my home town by running in my neighborhood. It was not easy for me to try to equate my pool training to the concrete, but I had to do something to keep myself in shape for when the pools finally did re-open. I was able to text and communicate with my personal trainer to get his advice. I had been working with him since I was 11, so he really knew how to support me and encourage me to keep at it through this difficult time. Through that time, I realized how special the relationship with my personal trainer really was. This was the first time I started thinking about following his footsteps as a career path. We continued to work together for the next three years and I know I could not have achieved my goals in the pool without his support. He was such an integral part of my success throughout the rest of my high school career. With his help, along with my coaches, I was able to qualify for the national swim meet my senior year in high school and travel to California to compete. I certainly can not forget my parent throughout this whole ordeal. Without their support, both emotionally and financially, I would not have been able to do what I did. They paid for countless swim meets, numerous hotel stays, quite a few flights all over the country and the monthly fees to provide me the pool time I needed to train. The coaches I had from the time I was 11 all through high school were simply the best. They knew exactly how to support and encourage me, through my ups and downs. I am now a college athlete, competing in a division 1 swim program at a prestigious school, working towards a degree in exercise science. My hope is to use my experiences to help the future athletes of the world.

I'm sure it's been said many times in this platform, but I've had to overcome finishing high school during the global pandemic. For those of us in my age group and graduating class it really was a huge obstacle to overcome. No one in our life time had ever completed half their high school career learning through a computer screen. Although some of the aspects of remote learning worked out well for me, there were so many other obstacles that were quite difficult to overcome. Throughout the shutdown, I had to be creative in ways to maintain my physical health to not fall too far behind in my training. I was training for a division 1 swimming scholarship and with pools closed and my coaches locked up in their homes, I had to use my own resources to maintain my expected level of strength and endurance. I am so thankful for my parents and their unending encouragement during that time. They did all they could to give me the tools I needed to not fall behind my peers. Although none of us knew what others were allowed to do in other states, they provided me with the encouragement and love that allowed me to focus on what could be done instead of what I was missing out on. I had been working with a personal trainer since I was 11. He became a close friend of the family because he was so dedicated to helping me reach my peak level of physical fitness. He was the one who inspired me to study exercise science. His persistent dedication to learning about my sport in order to help me achieve my goals was amazing. After graduating high school, I worked with him side by side at his gym. I was able to work with young athletes, as he did with me, in order to help them find their full potential. I realized that encouraging young athletes to find their full potential and help them get physically and mentally stronger was what made me happy. When I was accepted into a college as a division 1 swimmer, I immediately registered for their exercise science program of studies. To my great delight I was accepted into that program. Training for a division 1 college athletic program is not easy. I have spent many weekends in a pool, doing lap after lap. I have worked tirelessly with my coaches, mentors and trainers to help me achieve my goals in the pool and in life. I am forever grateful for all the people in my life who have supported me over my school and swim career, especially my parents. My parents have sacrificed so much to help me reach my goals. They have driven me to countless swim meets all over the country. They have given up family vacations and those "extras" to pay for my club swim team and numerous swim meet entry fees. They have paid for hotel stays and filling their gas tanks week after week to get me where I needed to be to train in whatever pool was available. I am so thankful to my parents and their support. They are the ones who have co-signed my student loans to pay for college and I hope to find scholarships to offset some of that cost for them.

The pandemic put so many obstacles in my path. I was in the middle of my sophomore year of high school. I had just finished my high school swim season and was training for a national swim meet. I had set a goal to qualify for a national swim meet before the age of 16 and I had done it. I had placed 3rd in my 2 individual events at my State championship swim meet. I had been working with my club team coach for the past 2 years to help me get to this level of competition. I was on a roll and was so excited. My flights had been booked, hotel booked with the full support of my parents and coaches. I was working with my coach to map out the perfect training schedule to maximize my performance at the meet. And then, 2 weeks before I was to fly out, the world shut down due to the pandemic of Covid-19. I was devastated. My parents and coaches were so incredibly supportive both physically and emotionally. My Dad, who is an Army veteran was particularly supportive. He tried so hard to help me not give up on my goals. I decided to pick myself up and pour my frustration into my training to do all I could to stay in shape. I was so used to training in the pool so land training did not come naturally to me. However, I put on my running shoes and hit the pavement. I set speed goals for myself to keep me motivated. I found a nice route for me to run everyday. I used whatever I could find in my home to use as dumbbells and did a workout every single day. When summer came around my parents were able to find an outdoor pool that my coaches could use for training. It felt so good to be back in the pool. But man, did I have some work to do. I worked with my coaches all that summer and finally felt I was getting back to my previous strength and endurance in the pool. The next school year, I competed in a virtual swim season. That meant I could swim in my own high school pool, but my times would be compared to other teams in their pools. Not being able to swim next to my competitors was difficult. However, I managed to swim the fastest time in the state for the 200 yard freestyle. I was a virtual state champion. This was the boost I needed to help me realize I could once again set a national goal for myself. After another year and a half of training, I qualified for the junior national swim meet in California. This meet was actually the next level up from the one I qualified for years ago. I only qualified for one event, the 50 yard freestyle, but it was my favorite event so I was thrilled. At that meet, I was able to drop some time and gain some placement. I started in the 89th place and finished in the 49th place. I had met my goals, just 2 years after my original time frame. Sometimes God has other plans for us that are better than what we try to plan for ourselves.

Military ties run deep in my family. Starting with my great-grandfather, who I never had a chance to meet unfortunately. He was in the Army during World War II and came back home to his young wife and they started a family which included my grandmother on my Dad's side. Then, my step-grandfather was in the Navy during the Vietnam war. He spent many many weeks on a submarine supporting troops on the ground in Vietnam. Next in line is my Dad. He was an infantry soldier in the Army during the first Gulf War. When he came home, he met my Mom and they started my family. Most recently, my cousin was commissioned as a Marine Corp pilot. He is currently in training in Florida and recently got engaged to be married next month. The pride I have for my military family members is great. I can't imagine leaving what is comfortable and leaving home to risk my life for my country. I have considered entering the military in some way but school and swimming for a Division 1 program have consumed my life so far. I look at my Dad and listen to him tell stories of his Army days and am so impressed. He was stationed over in Germany for 2 years. My Dad has also shared with me how important his company was to helping him get through the tough days. Now with Facebook and social media, he has been able to reconnect with his fellow soldiers and catch up with them. He has told me that serving with soldiers during war brings perfect strangers together under rough circumstances yet the brotherhood they grew is still strong today, over 30 years later. I would like to believe that I have a desire to help people because of the military role models I have in my life. When I hear their stories of sacrificial service, it stirs in my a desire to help others in need. My current course of study in college is exercise science with a minor in business. My plan is to work to help injured athletes or other persons, and help them recover fully and strengthen their bodies and minds to reach their goals. I myself have had to deal with injuries and would not have the success I have in the pool without the love and support of amazing trainers and physical therapists. I want to be able to help people the way I has helped.

My military family member is my Dad. He was an infantry soldier stationed in Germany during the first Gulf war. He was only 19 when he enlisted and did it to keep his brothers from being drafted. He is the second oldest child in his family and has 10 siblings. He has 6 brothers and 4 sisters. He likes to joke that he's the only one stupid enough to be an infantry grunt. Of course we, his family, all disagree because the truth is - he is the only one brave enough to risk his life to keep our country safe. My Dad has taught me some of the most important lessons as I've grown up to be the college kid I am now. My Dad has taught me that hard work can help you achieve your goals along with some intelligence. My Dad didn't graduate college so he doesn't have a diploma to show people that he is a smart guy. He has had to work extra hard to prove to people, especially in his career as a salesman, that he has the same knowledge and intelligence of his competitors who did complete college. I am so proud of my Dad and his grit to never give up. He taught me at a very early age to work hard and in working hard, you can succeed. He also taught me how important it is to take advice from people who are more of an expert in what you want to learn. My Dad has consistently reached out to friends and mentors to help him get through tough times. As I grew up and started to set some very lofty athletic goals for myself, he helped me find the right coaches and supports around me to achieve those goals. I so admire my Dad for sacrificing so much of his time finances to set me up for the success I so desired. My Dad tells me all the time how much he learned from his grandfather who was also in the military. He tells me that his grandfather was a hard worker who came from nothing and eventually founded a very successful construction company. His company built so many houses after World War II in the state of New Jersey. After he married my great-grandmother, they started a family and decided to move to Maine to raise my grandmother. She met my grandfather at Bible college and the rest is history. Military roots run deep in my family - from my great-grandfather in WWII to the present with my cousin (a Marine Corp officer) training to be a pilot. Military pride is in my blood and I am so proud of my family members who served and continue to serve today.

Military ties run deep in my family. I have past and present family members in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. My great-grandfather was in the Army during World War II. I never got to meet him but my Dad talks about him a lot and was very influential to my Dad. We have the flag from his funeral displayed in our living room. My grandfather was in the Navy during the Vietnam war. He spent many months working on a submarine. My Dad was an infantry Army soldier during the first Gulf war and was stationed in Germany for 2 years. He drove a tank but never went saw live enemy fire. My Uncle and Aunt attended the Air Force academy and served state-side for 3 years. Their son, one of my cousins, just got accepted into a college ROTC program starting next Fall. Another one of my cousins just got commissioned as a Marine Corp officer and will be training as a pilot for the next year. My family has always supported veterans and current armed forces personnel whenever possible. We have donated money, time and resources to support local organizations that support our past and present soldiers. My Dad has always had a hard time accepting praise for his efforts to keep our country safe from enemies. But more recently, he has accepted the thanks from people in our community when it's Veteran's Day. He knows how proud we all are of him so he accepts it on our behalf. My Uncle is also an administrator at the VA based in Kansas. He started working with the VA about 7 years ago. He was born and raised in Kenya but since becoming a US citizen and learning about our family's military connections, he has a passion for helping support those who served our country. He has successfully helped hundreds of veterans navigate through the process of filing claims to get the medical services they need to improve their every day lives with their families. Currently, I am attending a four year college and am competing as a Division 1 athlete. My plan is to complete my degree and investigate what options I may have in the military after graduation. I have the utmost respect for those who choose to serve our country in the US and world wide. I know it would make all my family members proud for me to continue the military ties started so many years ago.

Sports were and are a big part of my life and will continue to be a big part of kids' lives in the future. My family has always been willing to let me and my two siblings try any sport we expressed interest in to see what our passion would be. For me, I tried almost everything...t-ball, soccer, archery, tap dance, floor hockey, basketball, horseback riding and swimming. Ultimately, swimming is what made me tick and sparked the competitor in me. I started working with a trainer when I was 11 to help me with some knee pain. When I was 11 I decided to be a two-sport athlete - soccer and swimming. I was playing soccer in the Fall and Spring seasons and doing minimal training in the pool as a swimmer. Once the Winter season hit, I was in the pool for almost 2 hours every day. It was hard work but I was determined to get stronger and faster, in the pool and on the field. I developed some knee pain due to what my doctor said was "growing pains", but my trainer was convinced he could help me. He would meet with me at least once a week for years. I continued with soccer and swim for 3 years until I was in High School. I had completed my first high school soccer season and went into swim season for the winter. I had set some very high goals for myself, I wanted to be one of the youngest to qualify for the national swim meet in North Carolina. When I competed in a swim meet in December, I realized how far behind I was from my peers. Most of them had not spent time on the soccer field. They were in the pool for hours and hours each week. I convinced myself and my coaches that I could catch up to them. I spent so much time in the pool and worked so very hard. My coaches were so proud of me and so were my parents. We finally went into the championship season for swimming which is late winter/early spring. I competed against those year-round swimmers and gave them something to think about. It came down to the final race in the 14-year-old age group swim meet. I got up on the starting block, swam so hard and gave it my all. I missed qualifying for the national meet by .02 seconds. It was at that moment I decided to give up soccer and focus on swimming. My trainer stayed by my side. He researched swimmers and how they should lift weights to get stronger and faster. He had never worked with a swimmer before so the sport was new to him. He came to watch me swim. He recorded my starts of the block and my races to see where I needed more strength. Our bond grew stronger each week. He stuck with me all through high school and helped me rehab a shoulder injury. He celebrated with me when I achieved my goal of becoming a Division 1 student-athlete. Now I am a 19-year-old, college sophomore studying Exercise Science to give back to athletes who need support during their training. My trainer was my mentor and biggest cheerleader. We continue to stay in touch to this day.

Participating in sports has always been a way for me to come out of my shell and make friends. I am the middle child in my family and was always shy unless I was participating in a sport or talking about sports. My Dad was an all-star high school basketball player and loved playing football as well for 2 years in high school. My Dad was always active and willing to throw the ball around with me or set up a soccer goal in the yard for me to kick into. My parents were amazing at allowing me to try anything new. I played t-ball and soccer when I was 4. I continued with soccer but also played basketball for a few years as well as floor hockey. Along with those traditional sports, I also did archery and tap dance for a few years when I was young. My love for soccer was the strongest so I focused on that for most of my childhood. As I grew and started to get stronger, my soccer skills improved as well. When I was 10 years old, my coach suggested I try out for the travel team in my hometown. With my parents' support, I tried out and made the "C" team. I was a little disappointed but made some great friends on that team. We traveled all around the region near my hometown. I would now play in the Fall and Spring seasons. At the same time, my sister's swim coach was begging me to join the swim team. He heard about my athletic ability and thought I would be a good addition to their swim team. I gave in to his requests and gave it a try thinking it would help me stay in shape between Fall and Spring soccer seasons. Little did I know, that one decision would change my future in sports. After joining the swim team, I practiced soccer in the Fall and swimming. It was a lot of hard work and took up a lot of my time after school. I had to figure out how to get my homework done and keep up with practices. It wasn't easy but I liked how strong I was getting. In the Winter I could solely focus on swimming which was nice. I ended up qualifying for a regional swim meet and got to stay in a hotel with my Mom and brother for the weekend. It was so much fun and I swam well for my first big swim meet. That meet was what got me hooked on swimming. The Spring soccer season started shortly after and my coach was very impressed with my "off-season conditioning". He actually commented to my teammates that they needed to talk to me about what I did to stay in shape. My parents laughed at that comment. Fast forward to my freshman year in high school. I was trying to be a two sport high school athlete. I was on the JV soccer team, Varsity swim team and swimming in my year round club team. I was exhausted from constant physical training and keeping up with my school work. My parents were an amazing support along with my coaches and friends. With their support I made the difficult decision to quit soccer and focus on swimming for the remainder of my high school career. I am now a Division 1 collegiate swimmer and am so excited to be living out my athletic dreams.

I have always loved sports. I tried just about every sport when I was younger. I started playing soccer when I was 4. I also tried t-ball, floor hockey, basketball, tap dancing, archery, flag football and swimming. If my parents could find a clinic or short session of a sport at the YMCA, they signed me up. They wanted me to try lots of things so I could find the one that would ignite my passion. Soccer was the sport that I really enjoyed and as I grew I got stronger and faster. I improved so much by the time I was 9 that the coaches recommended me to the town travel team. I tried out and made the team so my level of commitment grew a lot. I now had to practice everyday and travel outside my city to compete against bigger and better teams. My competitive spirit also grew. I was not afraid of working hard on the field to make sure I could run faster than the other boys. I had given up playing basketball and archery to completely focus on soccer. I was so fixed on getting fast and strong. As I continued to grow, I started getting some traditional "growing pains" in my knees. My doctor didn't feel it was anything severe to didn't prescribe anything. But it didn't get better. When I was 11, my sister's swim team coach was trying so hard to get me to join the team with her. My younger brother was also on the team and he wanted all of us together on the team. I decided to give it a try in hopes that it would keep me in shape between the Fall and Spring soccer seasons. I never realized how much hard work swimming laps could be, but I liked it. I started on the team in the Fall and had to balance my time with soccer and swim practices. Then when Fall soccer finished, I was able to really focus on the swim practices until the Spring season started. I was learning all the strokes and flip turns. I competed in a few meets and swam well enough to qualify for the regional swim meet. Working with my coaches, I was also able to qualify for the sectional and age group swim meets. That was it, I was hooked. The competitor in me was on fire. With all the swimming and soccer, my knee pain flared up often. The YMCA put me in contact with a personal trainer that was available through the swim team. He researched swimming and knee pain to design a training program personalized for me. It was amazing! The more I worked with him and did my exercises, the better my knees felt. As I grew into a teenager, I continued working with him to build my strength and endurance. I was able accomplish so many of my athletic goals with the help of my trainer. Eventually I had to make hard decision - keep playing two sports at a mediocre level or give up one and get to that elite level of competition. It was very difficult, but with the support of family I gave up soccer to focus on swimming. I continued working with my trainer. With his help I was able to qualify for a national swim meet and get recruited by a Division 1 collegiate swim program. That is why I chose to study Exercise Science in college. I would love to help young athletes achieve their goals.

I still have so many goals I've set for myself that I haven't reached yet. As a Division 1 student-athlete, I have most certainly learned that success is a long journey. When I was a young multi-sport athlete I thought success was winning. I was a passionate and fast soccer player. I was a middle school boy swimming as fast as I could in every race. I was working hard on the field and in the pool to win as much as possible. My teams saw success according to my initial thoughts about it. When I started high school my mindset started to change. When I was a 14-year-old high school freshman, I didn't make it on the varsity soccer team. Our team wasn't that good and we didn't win alot that season. At the high school state championship for swimming, I barely made it in the top 10 of my races. I had a tough decision to make. With the support of my parents, I made the decision to quit soccer and focus on swimming. I would no longer see those life-long friends on the field every day and compete with them. My swim coaches knew how hard it was for me to leave soccer behind, but their support along with my parents made it a little easier. Once I made the full time commitment to swimming, my coaches and I made some very lofty goals. I wanted to be one of the few 14 year olds to qualify for the national swim meet for YMCA teams in the United States. After, buckling down and practicing twice a day sometimes, I was at the regional swim meet that qualifies for the national meet. I was feeling strong and mentally ready to meet the challenge before me. I raced hard and missed the qualifying time by .02 seconds. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. My parents and coaches stood by me and encouraged me to not give up on my dreams. It was then that I decided I would not only set my goal for the national meet, but also to make it on a Division 1 swim team in college. The next 2 years would present unique hurdles on my way to success in meeting those goals. COVID had hit the world and everyone was scrambling to figure out how I could get in a pool to keep training. It was not a unique challenge to me since all the swimming athletes in the US were dealing with the same thing. So I started training out of the pool to keep myself in shape. It wasn't ideal, but I wasn't going to give up. Fast forward to my senior year in high school. Success was within my reach. I became State Champion in the 50 yard freestyle. I qualified for the national swim meet AND was recruited onto a Division 1 collegiate swim program. Although my initial goals have been met, I know I can't stop striving for success. I now have new goals to reach toward. I know that attending college and graduating with a degree in Exercise Science will help me focus on academic and athletic goals for the rest of my life. Success is not an end point, rather a journey to ride through in life.

My Dad has always told me he signed up to lay down his life for his family at the age of 19. When he graduated high school it was the beginning of the first Gulf War. He told me they were talking about doing a draft and he didn't want his brothers being drafted so he signed up. He did his Army basic training in Georgia and then went over to Germany for 2 years. My Dad is the son of a pastor and had 6 siblings that he didn't see for almost 2 years. He says that the letters my grandmother sent to him were what kept him going. My Dad has also told me that he made some of his best lifelong friends while in the Army. He has loved reconnecting with them through Facebook and Instagram. My Dad grew up in rural Maine so wasn't exposed to what he called "real life". The Army certainly gave him lots of new experiences and tells me he learned so much about who he was. Those experiences shaped him into the man he is today. My Dad has dealt with a very rocky professional life. He has suffered multiple job losses and had to get unemployment a few times to keep food on our table. I am certain he learned to never give up from his time in the Army. Thankfully he now has a very good steady job and hopes to start saving for retirement. He met my Mom shortly after he came home from Germany and moved into my grandparents' basement. They have been married for 26 years and my Dad is the most protective over my Mom. He tells us that it's hard to be a trained killer for 2 years and not feel protective over your family. He is a great communicator and has taught my older sister, myself and my younger brother how to be respectful to the adults in our lives. Every year when Veteran's Day comes around, I think of how proud my Dad was to fight for our country's freedoms. My cousin even wrote an essay about him when he was in elementary school. My Dad doesn't like to be recognized in public because he says that he was happy to do his job in the military and doesn't feel like a hero. He says that the real heroes are the soldiers who give the ultimate sacrifice. But he is very thankful God saved him from that fate so that he could meet my Mom and have a family. I have other family members who were in the military. My Grandfather was in the Navy during the Vietnam War. My great-grandfather was an Army soldier as well. I never met him but I am named after him with my middle name. My uncle and aunt were in the Air Force. My cousin is going to be a Marine Corps pilot. So as you can see, there is a lot of love for our military and we look for ways to support them any way we can.

I have a very large extended family with a total of 33 first cousins. My grandfather is a retired pastor and my grandmother had always dreamed of a large family, and she got it. Sadly she died at an early age and wasn't able to meet all her grandchildren. We try to get the whole family together at least once a year in the summer. I'm one of the older cousins so I have fun playing with all the younger ones. We'll play on the trampoline, throw a ball around, drive through the woods on the 4-wheelers and eat lots of great food. I enjoy spending time with my family. My parents have been married for 26 years. My Dad is an army veteran and served our country as an infantry soldier during the first Gulf war. He was stationed in Germany for 2 years and drove a tank. He is currently a salesman for a local moulding company. He's worked in the building industry for over 25 years and has really enjoyed it. My Mom is a first-grade teacher and has been teaching for almost 30 years. She really does love teaching kids to read. My older sister is living at home while she works full time and takes online classes toward her degree in Next Generation ministries. She loves going on mission trips around the world. She's been to Poland and is currently in Thailand. My younger brother is a high school junior working on getting his license to drive. He also works part-time at our local Chick-Fil-A. I am currently attending a large university in MD studying exercise science and minoring in business. I am enjoying my studies so far but it has been a lot of work. I am also a Division 1 athlete so my dedication to improving my sport is also time-consuming. I am a swimmer so we have early morning and late afternoon practices almost every day. I have to be very good at managing my free time to keep up with my studies around the schedule of my classes and practices. I absolutely love swimming and the way it pushes me to be strong both physically and mentally. I started swimming competitively when I was 11 years old. I had been an avid soccer player since I was 4. My sister had joined the swim team at our local YMCA and her coach convinced me that swimming would make me stronger and help keep me in shape between the Fall and Spring soccer seasons. I reluctantly said I would give it a try. I had no idea I would be so good at it. I loved the competition and trying to swim as fast as I possibly could. I swam fast enough to qualify for a regional swim meet and was so excited to be able to stay in a hotel and swim at a really big pool. Trying to keep up with soccer practices and swim practices was not easy. I developed some aches and pains in my knees and shoulders. Thankfully the YMCA connected me with a personal trainer to help me get stronger and alleviate those pains. I continued to work with that trainer all through high school and recognized the importance of his knowledge in helping athletes of all sports. He is the one who inspired me to go to college and work with athletes for my career.

Family, sports, faith, friends, faith and helping others are what I'm all about. My Dad is a United States Army veteran who proudly served as an infantry soldier overseas in Germany for 2 years. My Mom has been a first-grade teacher for 25 years. My sister is an online college student who works full-time as a substitute teacher. My younger brother is a high school junior who works part-time at Chick-Fil-A and is learning to drive. Family is very important to me and I recognize how blessed I am to have 5 living grandparents, numerous aunts and uncles, and dozens of cousins. My Dad is the second oldest of 11 children and the son of a pastor. So faith is also a big part of my life. Through my church, I was able to participate in volunteer opportunities beginning at the age of 10. My family helped out at our church Vacation Bible School in many ways. My Mom taught a group of kids bible stories, my grandmother taught bible songs and my Dad and grandfather would build props for the stage. As I got older, I helped lead games for groups of kids and my sister was a teacher helper for all different age groups. Our family also got involved with Joni and Friends, an organization that supports families affected by disabilities. I have 2 uncles with disabilities so we volunteered at a week-long camp that supports families with disabilities. I was a helper for a sibling of someone with a disability by spending time with him doing lots of fun activities while his sibling and parents also had helpers to support them. It wasn't easy but it made me feel good knowing I was doing good work to help a struggling family. Sports have been a passion of mine since I started playing soccer at the age of 4. I also played t-ball, floor hockey, basketball, archery and swimming. I can't forget to mention the 2 years of tap dancing lessons. Staying active and having fun at it is what drives me. I left all those sports behind and focused on swimming when I turned 14 and started high school. I had become a force to be reckoned with in the pool and was having trouble achieving my personal goals due to a lack of practice time. I had focused on soccer and swimming for the majority of my elementary and middle school years. My parents helped me make the very tough decision to give up soccer and focus on swimming. Now, I am a Division 1 scholar-athlete who continues to work hard to meet my goals both in the pool and in life. I hope to use my life experiences along with the knowledge from my college coursework to help athletes of all abilities to reach their physical fitness goals.

I have been trying to overcome adversity since I was 11 years old. That was the year I started swimming competitively. I had been playing soccer since I was 4 years old and really loved it. I was fortunate enough to make it on my town's travel team and was improving my skills each season. My sister's swim coach had been trying to convince me to join the swim team with her. I decided to give it a try in hopes that it would keep me in shape between the Fall and Spring soccer seasons. That first year I qualified for a regional swim meet in a neighboring state. I had not only impressed my coaches but exceeded my own expectations. As I continued to improve in both sports I had a big growth spurt and was working with a personal trainer to help me get stronger as I entered my teen years. My soccer team was mediocre but the boys were my good friends and we had fun together as we practiced and tried to get some wins. However, in the pool, I started to see a lot of success. I continued to qualify for more regional and state championship meets and my passion for the sport was growing. My coaches and I set some very lofty goals for me to work towards before I turned 14. When I started high school my parents helped me wrestle with the decision to quit soccer and focus on swimming. I knew that to reach the goals I had set for myself I needed to be in the pool as much as possible. Since I had started swimming at age 11, I was already playing catch up with my peers in the pool who had started their swim career at a much younger age. My goal was to qualify for the national swim meet as a 14-year-old, and I just missed it by .02. That heartbreaking disappointment only fueled my desire and I worked even harder. So at the age of 15 I qualified for the national swim meet in North Carolina. Not only did I qualify, but I qualified in 3 events. Three weeks before I was to fly, the world shut down due to covid. I was crushed but with the support of my parents and coaches, I picked my head up and tried to focus on the future. I ended up switching swim teams to allow for more practice time in a bigger pool/facility to help my training. With the help of my new coaches I was able to overcome the adversity in my past and qualify for a national swim meet in California when I was 17 years old. Trying to get recruited for a Division 1 collegiate swim program through the restrictions of covid was yet another hurdle to jump over. There were many phone calls made and emails sent with no reply. Thankfully I did connect with 3 coaches and was able to do an in-person visit to Towson University which was the perfect fit for me. My parents had to now jump through hoops to get me student loans to afford the high tuition. I am so thankful for the support of my family, friends and coaches throughout the entire process that led me to where I am today.

My first experience with volunteering was when I was 9 years old. My parents were volunteering with an organization called Joni and Friends. Joni and Friends is a faith based organization that supports families affected by disabilities. They host a family camp in New Hampshire every summer. This was our first time at the family camp. My parents were going to lead groups of kids. My Dad was going to be in charge of the teen group with kids most had a disability and some did not. My Mom was going to be in charge of the younger kids since she's a first grade teacher. On the first day when we arrived, my parents had to be in a training session while my sister and brother and I got to roam around and play some games. I admit it was pretty boring but the campground was kind of cool. Since my parents were leading groups, my sister, brother and myself would each be paired up with another volunteer called a STM or short term missionary. My sister was paired up with a teenager STM and helped with a girl who had a disability that was close to my sister's age. My brother was paired up with an older woman and another boy who had a sibling with a disability. I was paired up with a cool teenager and another boy who had a brother with a disability. The week was full of fun activities on the campground. We got to play sports, go swimming in the lake, listen to a band play patriotic songs, go on a canoe and listen to bible stories. It was really cool seeing all the families helping each other and it really gave me a better understanding of how many different disabilities there are. I grew up with 2 uncles who have disabilities but only knew a little about their disabilities. My family would volunteer at these family camps for the next 5 years and I was old enough our last year to be a STM for a boy older than I was who had an intellectual disability. He really enjoyed basketball so we played a lot of sports that week, which was so fun for me. It was for sure a challenge since I was only 14 years old, but there were lots of people to help me out when I needed it. That same summer I volunteered at my church's Vacation Bible School as a leader of games. I didn't feel like I was good with kids like my parents, but playing games with kids was fun for me. As I grew up, I became a very accomplished swimmer and was able to volunteer my time as a coach and mentor to younger swimmers. I really enjoyed that because I was able to take my love and passion for the sport and help younger kids improve their swimming and grow to love the sport too. As a swimmer I began working with a personal trainer who volunteered his time to work with me and some others on my swim team. He would come to our swim meets on his own time to watch us and learn more about the sport to help us get stronger. His dedication inspired me to study exercise science in college and maybe someday, be able to give back to the young people in my life.

People from all walks of life can enjoy exercise. I can remember one summer when my family volunteered at a camp to help families affected by disabilities. My Dad and Mom were in charge of different age groups of kids, some with disabilities and some without (siblings). My Mom is a first grade teacher and was teaching the younger kids bible stories and songs throughout the week. One of the things she always told me is that first graders love recess, running around and playing. Of course, I can remember feeling that way when I was younger too. My Dad was working with the teenagers that week and had this one particular teenager who was non-verbal. So although he couldn't communicate traditionally with words, he knew some sign language and had pictures he could point to if he needed or wanted something. What stood out with this one particular boy was that he ran a minimum of 5 miles with his Dad every day. His Dad would take him out running in the morning before breakfast and then again after dinner before bed. I can remember this Dad talking to my Dad about how running seemed to calm his son who had high anxiety due to his disability. His son would have fewer angry outbursts during the day if he did his morning run. The physical activity and simple exercise of running really helped this teen boy have more successful days in his day school program. I also think back to growing up with my Uncle who is affected by disability. His intellectual ability is low but his love of sports is huge! Any sport with a ball intrigued him and he had a strong desire to learn that sport to play. Growing up with my uncle, he would always ask me to play with him during family get-togethers. Whether it was tossing the football around in the yard, or shooting baskets in my grandparent's driveway, or hitting a ball and pretending to run bases in the backyard. He had memorized some of the local sports team players and pretended to be them while playing their respective sports with me and my other cousins. He could watch sports on TV for hours and give you a play-by-play throughout the game. Sports gave him such motivation to stay active and get stronger. When I got to middle school and started to excel in my two sports (soccer and swimming), I had the amazing blessing of working with a personal trainer. He taught me so much about my body and how to manage my growing body and maximize my strength. As I continued to work with this trainer throughout my high school sports career, I was able to accomplish great things with his help - I was the state champion in the boy's 50 freestyle event my senior year. The combination of my experiences growing up volunteering with and living with family members affected by disability AND my own physical successes are what led me to want to study exercise science in college.

My Dad is an Army Veteran who served in the first Gulf War as an Infantry soldier driving a Bradley Tank. His mental toughness is beyond compare and he loves my family so selflessly. He has recently been categorized as a disabled veteran and has started physical therapy for his painful joints. I have seen my Dad work longer and harder than most even in great physical pain. He has shown me and my siblings what it means to get things done without excuses. He never gives up when life gets tough and he pushes through the physical pain to live to the fullest each day. I am extremely proud of his service to our country and have considered joining the armed services in the future. For now, I am passionate about helping others manage and heal from their physical pain. I myself have been through some physical therapy for shoulder pain. I am a Division 1 collegiate swimmer and my best stroke is freestyle. Needless to say, there are a lot of overuse injuries associated with that stroke. I have had the privilege of working with some fantastic physical therapists to help me heal and gain strength in my shoulders to avoid further pain and injury. Currently, I am studying exercise science to gain knowledge of the human body to help others. I have a desire to help athletes and veterans who are hurting physically. I recently added a minor in business to research my ability to start my own physical therapy or athletic training facility. After working with a physical trainer myself, I have seen the benefit both physically and mentally. I see my Dad deal with the mental stress associated with his physical pain and it motivates me to learn all I can while I'm at school so I can give him extra advice. This year I learned a lot of the human body anatomy so when my Dad talked to me about his painful joints, I could talk with him about it using that knowledge. I listen to him explain about the training and deployment exercises he did that contributed to his physical pain and it doesn't seem fair that he kept our country safe for the 2 years he was in the Army, and now he can't even stand for an hour without his joints flaring up and causing him so much pain. Our armed forces veterans deserve to life their lives free of physical pain and the mental pain that goes along with it. That's why I want to learn all I can to help my Dad.

I am finishing my first summer of full time work to help pay for college. I learned a lot about myself this summer. I pushed myself to the max in order to manage my time and money to save up enough to pay for at least 10 months worth of rent for my apartment next school year. My Dad, an army veteran, has worked in the building industry for over 25 years and was able to secure me a job with a contractor for the summer. I was able to learn some very valuable skills that I will be able to use my entire life. I am so thankful to my Dad for helping me with this opportunity. My second job this summer was lifeguarding at the swim club that my family has been members at for 10 years. I worked there every Saturday and Sunday from open close. The summer weekends are hot and draining but helping the families at the pool makes me happy. I was even asked to help teach swimming lessons to children from underprivileged families. It was a little challenging dealing with kids who have no swimming or water experience, but I know I was doing something good for these families. At the end of the swim team season for the summer swim club, I was asked to help out with coaching for the championship meet. I helped coach the team last summer before I started college and really liked it. I was able to use all my swim knowledge from swimming in college for my school, Towson University. My swim career started at this summer club so I was happy to give back to the place where it all began for me. My third job this summer was working for the personal trainer that helped me during my swim training through my junior high school and high school years. I would finish my construction job mid afternoon, go home for a quick snack and change clothes, then go to the gym in the evening to help the trainer with his training groups. Thankfully, he let me work out at his gym for free before or after my time assisting him. I was nursing a shoulder injury this summer so I really needed to keep in shape for my next swim season in college for my sophomore year. Working with him this summer inspired me to stick with my chosen degree program at school, exercise science with a minor in business. I was a little discouraged after my year in that program at Towson. I struggled a little with my classes, but now I know to work a little harder to see success.

Taylor Swift's music helped grow the bond I have with my best friend. When we were in the midst of the pandemic, my best friend and I really struggled with not being able to spend time together. We were able to use Facetime and gaming to "hang out" together but missed actually being in the same space. My family, just like so many others, spent a lot of time looking at screens during the pandemic so it took a special activity to get us outside of our home. As some of the restrictions were eased after the summer of 2020, my best friend's mom had an idea to help us be able to spend time together without being in a big crowd. She would pick me up and drive us around our neighborhoods to play Pokemon Go. While we were driving she would allow us to play our chosen music through Bluetooth in her car. Our first choice was ALWAYS Taylor Swift music! We would take turns using our phones for the Pokemon game and the music choices. We would sing at the top of our lungs all while she drove us around the streets of our community. My parents didn't always understand why we wanted to do this, especially more than one night a week. But it was such a great time for us to make up for lost time spent together during the severe restrictions in the Spring of 2020. Taylor Swift's music had an amazing way of lightening our mood and taking away from the stress and pressures of school during the pandemic restrictions. We sang, we laughed and felt like we were on top of the world driving around together. It made us feel some normalcy during some very uncertain times. As my friend and I look back on those memories we are filled with happiness. Still to this day, we will turn up the volume when we are driving together (now on our own without any parents in the car) to blast the Taylor Swift songs that lifted us up 3 years ago. My sister and brother will sometimes join us as our whole family has turned into Swifty's and enjoy her great music. We live in the Boston area and sadly were not able to attend her concerts. But that has not kept us from celebrating with her music and sharing the happiness that it brings to so many.

I am so thankful to have grown up with parents that took me to church. My parents raised me in the church where my grandfather was a pastor. I have so many great memories from that church. We had vacation bible schools every summer where I learned fun songs and saw nice videos about kids around the world living for God and loving Jesus. My mom was my first vacation bible school teacher and helped me understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ. I grew up in a loving home and my parents did so much for me growing up. I was into sports and they let me try anything and everything I wished for. I played soccer and t-ball real young and as I got older I tried floor hockey, basketball, archery and swimming. I quickly excelled in swimming and now I'm a division 1 college swimmer working towards a degree in exercise science. I know my parents sacrificed a lot to help me reach my dreams. As a family focused on faith and service, we spent a few summers volunteering at a camp for families affected by disabilities. Two of my uncles are special needs so my grandparents got us involved with Joni and Friends. Joni and Friends is an organization that supports families with children with disabilities. My family went to that family camp for 4 summers instead of more traditional vacations. I look back and realize how much different my family's priorities were than my friends' families. But it didn't bother me. I did have a few friends that had that same faith as me and eventually met my best friend when I was 12 and our families share the same faith and values. It was nice to talk openly about God and praying and going to church without getting weird looks from other kids. When I got accepted into college as a division 1 swimmer my parents encouraged me to find a college group that focused on making my faith my own as an adult. I wasn't able to connect with any such group my first year on campus but I'm hopeful to make some connections next school year. I chose to study exercise science so that I can help others through some of the same physical challenges I had. Doing so many sports as a young kid, I had some minor injuries and ailments pop up. It was discouraging to deal with those bumps in the road and I really appreciated my parents doing everything possible to help me recover. I think I was so impacted by the medical professionals helping me I realized I want to give back in my life.

My family inspires me to get involved in my community. My grandfather was a pastor so reaching out to the community with my grandmother by his side was always a big part of my growing up. My grandparents also adopted my 2 uncles who are living with disabilities. My two uncles are only 11 years older than me so with their disabilities we had some of the same interests while I was in middle school. Family gatherings were always focused on sharing a meal, praying and talking about ways we could positively impact our community. My grandparents became involved with an organization called Joni and Friends. This organization supports families affected by disabilities. They run a family camp each summer to allow families to come together and receive support and encouragement. With much prompting from my Mom and Dad, I signed up to be a one-on-one counselor to a sibling of a disabled child. I was surprised at how much fun I had that week. When my camper would open up about their frustrations with their sibling, I could relate because I had spent so much time with my uncles. Because my grandfather was a pastor, Vacation Bible School camps were part of my life from the time I was born until I was 15. As soon as I turned 13 I started volunteering at my church during the vacation bible school week. I was able to help out with planning and playing games with all the little campers and had so much fun. I am a Division 1 college swimmer and grew up at a local swim club in my hometown. Every Spring, the swim club needs volunteers to help clean and get the pool ready to open. My Dad and I would volunteer every weekend starting in late March until opening day, which is the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. In the Spring of my senior year in high school, I spent my entire Spring break power-washing the pool so it could be filled with clean water. My Dad and Mom taught me the importance of giving back to the community that started my competitive swimming career. I watched my parents volunteer their time for every single one of my swim meets and that made an impact on me. I am so thankful for my parents' sacrifice to make my swimming dreams come true. Volunteering will continue to be an important part of my life as I become a more independent man in my community.

I first volunteered when I was 13 years old. My church does a Vacation Bible School every summer for kids in the community. I had been a camper in the vacation bible school for many years and when I was too old to be a camper, I decided to volunteer as a helper in the game station. The kids that come to vacation bible school are ages 4-12 and we have different stations that they rotate to throughout the morning. It was fun to see the kids playing and having fun at my church. The next volunteer opportunity I had was at a family camp run by Joni and Friends. Joni and Friends provides a summer camp experience for families who have children with disabilities. I have two uncles with disabilities so my family has had lots of experience with it. I was asked to volunteer as a short term missionary at the family camp one summer when I was 14. The original person who was supposed to be paired up with a young camper got sick so they asked me if I thought I could do it. I was very nervous but it ended up being a really fun week. The boy I was spending time with did not have a disability but his brother did. I felt like I could relate to him a bit having family members with disabilities. I think I learned a lot about myself through those volunteer opportunities. I am naturally a shy guy so volunteering is out of my comfort zone, especially with people I don't know. I realized that I can build relationships with kids and found it strange that they looked up to me as a leader. I never thought of myself as a leader but after those early volunteer opportunities as a young teen, it boosted my self-confidence. As I grew into a young man and aspiring national level swimmer, I could draw on that new found confidence to help me speak into the lives of younger swimmers who looked up to me. I volunteered as an assistant swim coach for my summer club swim team one summer when I was in high school and used my previous experiences to help me build relationships with the younger swimmers. I hope to continue to speak into the lives of new and younger swimmers in my college years. I am hoping to get a job or volunteer at a local pool to teach swim lessons or coach middle schoolers on a swim team. It would mean a lot to me to be able to give back and share my knowledge of swimming with the next generation.

My future self will be swimming the 50 freestyle in the summer Olympics and working as a personal or athletic trainer for a professional sports team.

I am the first in my family to accomplish being a collegiate division 1 athlete. Let me tell you how I got here. I was an avid soccer player from the age of 4. I worked hard and started seeing some good improvement in my skills. I was looking forward to each new season and was making some great friendships as well. Then something unexpected happened. My family joined a summer swim club. I loved soccer so much but saw how hard the swimmers worked in the pool and how strong they looked. So I decided to try swimming in the winter season between Fall and Spring soccer seasons, to keep myself in shape. That first swim season I qualified for the New England regional championship in VT. We stayed in a hotel because it was a multi-day swim meet. I was so excited and nervous but my coach was so great at talking to me and helping me get focused. I ended up placing in the top 12 of each of my events. My favorite stroke that weekend was the backstroke. I was so tired after swimming so much that weekend but it got me thinking about my future. I continued playing soccer and swimming, which was very challenging because swimming is a year round sport that requires a lot of time in the pool. I worked hard under the teaching of amazing coaches in both sports. I continued to see success on the soccer field and in the pool for many years until I started high school. After many many conversations with my Dad, I made the very difficult decision to quit soccer and focus on swimming to help me meet my goal of becoming a division 1 athlete. So much happened after that, it felt like a whirlwind. I buckled down, started working with a personal trainer, started swimming before and after school in order to continue seeing the success I wanted. My first goal was to qualify for the YMCA National swim meet as a freshman in high school. Well, I missed that goal by .02 in the 50 freestyle. I was very disappointed but it only made me work harder so I did achieve that goal as a sophomore. My family and coaches were so excited and proud of me. I had achieved my goal and was ready to travel to North Carolina to compete and then....COVID. The world shut down the week before I was supposed to fly. I was ready to show the world who I was but it just wasn't in God's plan for me. I couldn't understand why but I knew I still had to keep working hard. I had met my first goal, but I still had more to accomplish. I still had to get faster in order to even get the slightest look from college coaches. When pools are closed and swim teams dissolve, I knew I was up against a very tough opponent - despair. I was not about to let my dreams fall apart. I found a new swim team with fantastic coaches. I practiced hard 7 days a week and finally qualified for the National Junior championship when I was a senior. I started talking with college coaches and made the decision to swim at Towson University as a division 1 athlete. I made it!