I believe I am the kind of athlete Speed League swimming was built for because of my high level of swimming, determination, commitment, and plans. I started swimming in a summer league at my local neighborhood pool when I was 6 years old, and since then, I have loved swimming and racing. I was always told I had natural talent, especially due to my natural breaststroke kick, which has allowed me to excel beginning at a young age. I joined my local club team at the age of 10 and gained my state cut shortly after. I remember thinking to myself that one day I hoped to swim in the far lanes (national group lanes) and swim multiple events at the state meet. I worked hard and trained even when the other kids did not want to. During COVID, we did not have the opportunity to attend swim practice due to restrictions, but I did the dryland workout sent through my club and persevered and worked hard, even though the other middle school kids were not doing the workouts sent out. I always felt behind, but after Covid, due to that, I was in better shape, I dropped time, got more state cuts, and gained my first YMCA National cut. At the meet, I got my national cut. I was 13 years old in a practice suit, and my only fuel was my teammates cheering me on. At the time, I didn't even know what the qualifying time was, so I was ecstatic when I realized I had gained the cut. The event was the 200-yard breaststroke, and I even dropped 5 seconds that night at finals, further securing my place among the older kids that inspired me. Nationals was an experience for me as I felt left out because I was by far the youngest member, but I finaled and got 5th while the senior breaststroke star on my team got the national record, and I had never been so happy. That summer, I went to summer YMCA nationals and got my summer junior national cut as well as my US Open qualifying time when I won the YMCA Long course National Championships. I kept working hard and won my high school state meet, to which I would win 3 more times and set the state record in the 100-yard breaststroke my senior year, breaking a record held for over a decade. I finaled at Summer Juniors, finaled at TYR pro series, and won another national championship. I felt as though there was nothing stopping me. I was less than a second away from my 2024 US Olympic Trials Qualifying time in the 200-meter breaststroke when I was overworked by a former coach and strained my knee. I pushed through the pain, but it only made my injury worse. I went to every meet possible to get my cut, but only became more discouraged as I was so close but in so much pain. I ended up not getting my cut, but later that summer, after I went through PT and many doctors' visits, I got the US Olympic Trial cut that I still have today, even though it was a month after the meet; therefore, I will be at the 2028 Olympic Trials! This is just a testament to my hard work that got me to where I am today. After my amazing summer results, I began the recruiting process and went on official visits during the fall of my Junior year to UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, Kentucky, Georgia, and Auburn. The University of Georgia was a perfect fit for me, and I am now signed to swim there and will be attending and swimming collegiately in D1 this fall. I am so excited to see what the future has to hold for me as I am working harder than ever, which is reflected in my consistent time drops. I finaled at the National Championships this past summer and swam against Olympians, which was a great experience for me. I had the opportunity to train at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado and look forward to more training experiences in that realm. and think USA Swimming should provide that opportunity to train in a world-class facility to more swimmers of every level. Through my experience in the USA swimming system, I think that coaches should be trained more to recognize injuries and tailor to the swimmer mentally and physically. I also think that coaches should be helpers in the swimmers' recruiting process, as it is a stressful and meaningful time in the swimmers' careers. Swimmers should be treated as whole people in the sense that the heart of the whole sport should be around hard work, team culture, and dedication, which culminates in achievements and time drops. In the future, elite swimmers should be paid more because of the grueling hours, so that pro swimming is more of an option. I think the Speed League Swimming is needed to encourage competition and grow the sport to what it needs to be by inspiring competition. I am on the South Carolina Swimming Athlete board and think my opinions could be greatly used by this program. I have a partial scholarship to swim in college, but I need to provide the other funds through hard work and scholarships in order to have a successful academic and athletic career in college, so this scholarship would help me greatly. I want to alleviate the financial burden that my parents have as I am going to an expensive out-of-state college; therefore, this scholarship would allow me to do so.

“No, not at all” Unity by Faith in Romans 3 Romans, a Pauline epistolary book in the Bible, was written by Paul and designed to exhort, teach, and correct the Romans. Rome, at this time, was a major city in the ancient world populated by a diverse community of Jews and Gentiles. Consequently, this created tension between a Jewish population devoted to the Mosaic Law and the Gentile Christians who considered themselves not bound by the Law. Therefore, Paul wrote this theological treatise to the Roman church to explain God’s righteousness, their sinful nature as humans, and their reliance on salvation through Jesus Christ. This is coupled with an explanation of the foundational Christian doctrine emphasizing the relationship between Law and faith. The epistolary genre of the Book of Romans ties in with the ninth verse of the third chapter by using strong, persuasive dialect to encourage unity and challenge his reader’s assumptions. Paul conveys the new hope found in the New Testament using diatribe and emphasis of the phrase. Throughout Romans 2, Paul constructs the argument that although the Jewish people have the Law given to them by God, they ultimately conform to the sinful nature of humanity as the Gentiles do. In Romans 3, Paul asks the controversial question–“What then? Are we Jews any better off?”–which exemplifies Paul’s usage of diatribe, where he “imagines” himself debating with the Romans, in which the Jews would answer “yes” before reading Paul’s letter. However, due to the strategic placement of this verse after the first two chapters of Romans, the once-shocking answer is now anticipated and explicitly answered with “no, not at all.” The phrase “no, not at all” in Greek is translated to ού παντός or ou pantōs, which translates to a firmer and more emphatic meaning such as “absolutely not.” This phrase is not casual, but a pointed rebuke designed to remove any sense of spiritual superiority from his readers. Greek is a more precise language in the usage of negation-type phrases, whereas, in English, we lose some of the finality of the words. This, in turn, intensifies Paul’s point that both Jews and Gentiles are equally in need of God’s grace. In addition, the Greek word pantōs is used only once in Romans and eight times in the New Testament. In the NIV and ISV translations, an exclamation point is added, which signals the intensity of the phrase. In light of the meaning of the verse and the context combined, Paul’s statement speaks to the limitation of the Mosaic covenant, which was never intended to make one group of people feel more righteous, but in itself reveals their sin. Through the statement “no, not at all,” Paul challenges his audience to look past the old covenant’s limitations and instead to look forward to the New Covenant in Christ, where righteousness comes through faith, not works. This verse encourages unity by faith within the Roman community through a debate-style diatribe that directly answers the rhetorical question and ultimately directs the readers to shift their trust from the Law to Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice fulfills the Law’s demands. This message is echoed throughout Paul’s letters as he reiterates that we should all reflect on our standing with God not based on external adherence to rules but on our faith and relationship with Him. Galatians 3:28–“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”—has a similar theme to Romans 3 which shows us that we do not gain salvation through works, but through the grace of the gospel. This passage highlights that we are sinful and in need of redemption that comes only through a Savior, fulfilled in the New Covenant through Jesus’ blood shed for us.

I have loved Wicked ever since I saw it on Broadway for the first time, which gave me a sense of awe in light of the talent, set, plot, and overall execution. When the first movie came out, my best friend and I skipped school to see it and walked out of the theater feeling empowered and strong in our friendship. Wicked has taught me the power of friendship as I have often struggled with my identity in fleeting things like grades and athletic achievements, but due to Wicked's impact on my life, I have discovered how much my friends love me and care for me despite our differences, just like Glinda and Elphaba. I cannot wait to go see the second movie, as the first Wicked movie's soundtrack, acting, set, and overall execution were almost amazing, as the live Broadway performance I saw on Broadway in New York City. When the second movie, Wicked for Good, releases, you can expect me and my best friend to immediately skip school to watch the movie just as we did last year, as our friendship has bonded us over the love of musical theater, and the overarching message that the first Wicked movie had and still has on my life.

Ever since I first watched "Girl Meets World" in middle school, I have been a big Sabrina fan as she eloquently draws the audience towards her through her natural charisma and charm. At that time in my life, I was unsure of who I was as a whole person, but "Girl Meets World" showed me I can take control of my life and that good friends make life meaningful, just as Maya did for Riley. As Sabrina started releasing music, I would re-listen to each album because of its uplifting beat that helped me power through hard times and stay focused on my goals. Her "girl-power" energy inspired me to work hard and reach my goals. After Espresso was released, I added it to every playlist as it made me so happy and motivated. The whole "Short 'n Sweet" album ended up being my #1 album of the year on Spotify last year, even though it was released in August, which is later in the year. At the time it was released, I was at a camp and only played that album in my AirPods, which kept me going as that camp really put a mental and physical struggle on me, but her album made me happy to be there and happy to be living. Overall, Sabrina's career is inspiring in how she went from a little girl with a dream to a Grammy winner, which really makes me believe that I can do anything I set my mind to. Additionally, her charisma and beats uplift my spirit and keep me going, which makes me love Sabrina all the more.

My name is Grace Hunt, and I am a high school senior in South Carolina. I am a swimmer committed to swimming at the University of Georgia and have worked hard my whole life to excel academically, athletically, musically, and to pursue my independence. My favorite subject is science because I love exploring the human anatomy and helping others. I also have a passion for classic literature, specifically books that were the impetus to feminist literature, like "Jane Eyre". I love "Little Women," "Pride and Prejudice," "Their Eyes Were Watching God," and, straying away from purely feminist literature, I really love "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. In my free time, I am studying, swimming, playing piano, and most likely, reading. I also am a nature lover and go on frequent hikes, camping trips, and picnics. I plan to make a positive impact on the world by combining my vocation, which I believe is helping and empowering others like me to conquer and view the world around them, and my occupation, which I hope to discover throughout my undergraduate career. I have interned with an optometrist and explored the world of eye care, which combines my science-loving mind with the ability to help others. I believe all people deserve to view the world as clearly as I do, and through being an optometrist, I will be able to gift others with the ability to see and empower them to view the world in a brighter and more colorful way. Throughout my high school years, I have viewed the world in a different way than I did before-- brutal. My optimistic mind thinks the best of people, but I have been put down in my efforts to go on to pursue a degree in the STEM community because of my historically inferior gender of a woman. My whole life as a child, I have striven to become independent from men as I train athletically with them, and often beat them to my own satisfaction, even though I have been told I will never be as fast as my male teammates. Also, my academics have been founded on the grades I get, opposed to the things I get out of the class, but recently, I have enjoyed my high school classes mroe as I take out of the class what I put in, which is not only trying to get good grades, but to become a better and more intelligible person because of it. Overall, this world is brutal, and my goals are lofty, but with more education that I strive to gain and an independent mindset, I believe that whatever I put my mind to, I will achieve.

Writing is a way for me to escape reality and put my innermost thoughts, which well up inside my brain, down on paper. I love that writing helps me express myself, develops me academically, and will help me achieve my future goals in life through college. First, writing allows me to express my creativity, whether through my nightly journaling sessions that help me stay focused and reflect on the day I had, while reducing my anxiety and stress, or online to share my opinions with other students my age on my opinion of certain matters. Writing allows me to express myself in a way that verbal words may not express fully, as I am talented at writing opposed to public speaking. Next, writing helps develop my skills academically, as it is a tool that is used throughout all subjects in my life. Last year, my writing skills in AP English language developed exponentially as my teacher taught us in creative ways that made me a better writer, which made me a better person as a whole, and allowed me to score a 5 on the AP spring exam. I also learned through writing that rhetoric is used throughout everything online or in person to convince the audience of something, whether to believe a certain view or buy a certain product. Still, now I view the world differently as one big competition of economics that is pulling at my attention through writing-- therefore, writing is powerful. Lastly, writing has helped me academically, but also prepares me, as my dream in life is to be an optometrist to serve my community through eye care. Writing skills will help me through my college journey at the University of Georgia, as it is a very demanding a rigorous school, and my declared major, Biology, will require the use of my writing skills, especially in labs. Therefore, I will continue writing to learn more and build a basis of entrepreneurship through emails and messages to secure a job to provide for a family that I dream of in my future. Therefore, writing will not only serve as an emotional output now and in the future, but a way to develop my skills academically, which will help through through college and my future. Writing is very powerful and should be used in a way that is honoring, respectful, and communicative so that people actually take what you have to say, apply it, and become a better person because of it.