For the last 5 years, I’ve volunteered at a fundraiser that raises awareness for Parkinson’s Disease and funding to support trainer fees for local patients and research on a national scale. I decided to volunteer for this cause shortly after my uncle was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I assist in many capacities, including the set-up and clean-up of the event. Most importantly, though, I serve food during the event, which provides me with the opportunity to talk with Parkinson’s patients and their families. This experience has taught me the importance of supporting and showing compassion toward others - not just those dealing with health issues. I also serve as a lector once or twice a month at church and have done so since the beginning of my freshman year. I initially decided to serve because I had watched the high school students serving as lectors from the time I attended mass as a child. Prior to serving, I hadn't been good at public speaking, but as I continued to lector, I gained confidence. I no longer fear public speaking, but instead consider myself good at it. Little did I know that being a lector would have such an impact on my personal development. Throughout the year, I participate in making care packages for the homeless and those in need. Then, around Thanksgiving time, I pack Thanksgiving bags full of food and deliver them to the less fortunate. I have become involved in both of these activities because I enjoy using my talents to give back to the community. These experiences have come to play a large role in my life since I spend many hours on the weekends at the church working on the packages. These activities have made me more aware of those in need and have taught me the importance of taking the time to help others in my community. However, most importantly, I have learned the importance of kindness. While delivering these packages, I have discovered what a difference a small act of kindness makes in someone’s life. Despite being small and temporary, these care packages and Thanksgiving bags have brightened many people’s days and holidays. Lastly, I volunteer throughout the year at the local arts center where I am an assistant to the instructor during art classes and a helper at holiday workshops. For workshops, I help with set-up and clean-up all of the materials, and I assist participants with their creations. For art classes, I help set up crafting materials and then work with the children in making their crafts. Afterwards, I clean the classroom and art supplies. I became involved in these activities because my best friend’s mom works at the arts center. I have learned how to work in a family friendly environment and how to interact with young children. My work brings joy to those making the art and also benefits the arts center as it doesn’t have funds to hire paid assistants. With many opportunities to serve my community on the horizon, I’ll continue to make time to give back. As an exercise science and pre-med major, I plan to donate my time to serving those in need of medical assistance. I have experience volunteering my time in a physical therapy clinic, and hope to possibly do something similar. However, I desire to work as an assistant or volunteer in a hospital serving underprivileged areas, as there are many areas in need of help throughout the city of Cincinatti where I will reside. During the holidays and summer break, I will resume my previous humanitarian activities in my local community and church.

The summer of my eighth-grade year, my brother and I started our own business, Two Kids and A Wagon. Our business is primarily a lawn care company. We mow, edge, trim bushes, lay mulch, pull weeds, and more. The business began as a means to earn money, but ultimately it became a learning experience. We first started by advertising our business. We made fliers that included our contact information and before and after pictures of our work. Instead of placing the fliers in people’s newspaper boxes, we knocked on each person’s door in our neighborhood, talking with them to make the business personal. From this, I learned that people value interpersonal interactions far more than they enjoy reading a flier. I also realized the worth of marketing by interacting with potential clients; multiple people hired us during our doorway meeting. We took on multiple jobs and started working all day on the weekends. Because both of us are athletes, we didn’t have a lot of free time, and it didn’t take long for us to realize that we had taken on more jobs than we could handle. We rushed our work, and our work became sloppy. We knew we had to make adjustments; we had to find a way to balance work, school, and sports. Time management became a priority, a life skill that I’ve come to value. We decided we needed to work more than just weekend days and once we established a more efficient schedule, the business thrived. Besides developing time management skills, I have learned the significance of having strong communication skills – with both the clients and my business partner. My brother and I needed to agree on a schedule, how to split the profits, and who would perform each task. Our business eventually became profitable. After all the jobs were completed for the week, we would bill our clients, pick up the collection, and split the money evenly. At first, we made little to no money because we had to purchase starter materials, such as a lawn more, edge trimmer, and other gardening materials. We also needed to be mindful of other expenses, such as gas and oil for our machines. In order to account for such expenses, we calculated our fees so that we would turn a profit, and turn a profit we did! I used my share to pay for my personal necessities and gas for my vehicle. As time went on, our business grew in popularity, most likely because the quality of our work spoke for itself. We no longer advertised. In fact, people out for walks in the neighborhood while we were working would stop and ask about our services. After our first year, we took on three more clients and increased our profits. I’m extremely proud of the business and its growth. While it was challenging at first, I would never trade this experience for anything else. I have learned more about business and economics from running a business than I ever could have from taking a class. And while learning how to run a business, my communication and interpersonal skills grew, as did my ability to manage my time so that I could find that balance that allowed me to also be a successful high school student and athlete. As I look back at the experience, it’s easy to see the parallels between the growth of the business and my maturation. I look forward to applying what I’ve learned to college life and my future career.