Throughout my life, I’ve prided myself on giving back to my community through volunteer work. I altar served at my church, helped at COVID clinic drives, and currently volunteer as an assistant coach for a young travel softball team. As a coach, I use my knowledge and love of the sport to help young athletes grow. This position has taught me many vital leadership and collaboration skills that I will carry with me throughout life. In my junior year of high school, I challenged myself by taking my first college-level course, where I was asked to address a problem in my community and take specific action to combat that problem. After hearing about the lack of cages at Gardner Animal Shelter, my two friends and I, motivated by our love for animals, decided to raise money to buy new cat cages to expand shelter capacity. I led my group in organizing two fundraising raffles, advertising our project, and researching and ordering cages. My group and I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by a reporter of the Gardner newspaper and had an article published on our efforts. By the conclusion of the project, we raised a total of $8,500 to buy 11 new cages to add to the previously-existing four-cage cat room. This experience showed me how pure determination and hard work can make a serious, lasting impact in my community. Growing up with pets, I had always found comfort in their unwavering love. I share this quality and love for animals with my mom, who after working for years as an audiologist, returned to school to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Her dedication, ambition, and love for animals continues to inspire me. Hearing about the bold steps she took toward her dreams gave me the courage to take my own risks in life. During my freshman year of college, I found myself in an unhealthy environment and made the difficult decision to transfer schools. Walking away from something that I had grown accustomed to was not easy, but it was the right decision. My mom’s courage in the face of adversity helped me to trust my instincts and take my own chances. Being away from home for the first time was already a challenge, but it became harder when my brother was diagnosed with a rare form of encephalitis. He was hospitalized for weeks, unable to walk or remember who he was. Being separated from my family during this time was hard. I was constantly worried and spent much of my free time on the phone with my family. As a college athlete, I leaned heavily on softball as my escape from reality. Practices became my outlet, a time to focus on the sport I love and forget about the stresses that awaited at home. When I finally returned home, it was incredible to watch his recovery. He went from barely functioning to playing baseball competitively again. A big part of his recovery came from the support of physical and occupational therapists. Watching them help restore his strength and spirit inspired me to pursue a career in physical therapy. I want to help others the way my brother’s physical therapists have helped him. I want to make a difference in this world.

One of my biggest passions in life is volunteering. I was brought up in a family that strongly emphasizes the importance of kindness and giving back to others in the community. My parents raised me to always appreciate what I have and to help others who are not as fortunate as I am. They are and will always be my greatest inspiration. My town’s parish has been one of the most influential factors in my life. As a community, we unite in faith to help others. My family and I regularly donate our time and funds to the church and food pantry. As I grew older, I wanted to take on a more active role in the parish community, so I became an altar server. I have been altar serving for eight years now and it is something that I am proud to do. My religious education classes also sparked an interest to become even more involved in my community. I volunteered at COVID clinic drives, helped knit scarves for the homeless, and donated goods to the needy. By far, my proudest accomplishment has been raising $8,500 for a local animal shelter. In my junior year of high school, I challenged myself by taking my first college-level course. For one of the class’ long-term assignments, I was asked to address a problem in my community and take specific action to solve that problem. After hearing about the lack of cages at Gardner Animal Shelter, my two friends and I decided that we would raise money to buy new cat cages, in order to utilize all available space and make room for more needy animals to be accepted into the shelter. I led my group in organizing two fundraising raffles, advertising our project, and researching and ordering cages. My group and I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by a news reporter of the Gardner newspaper and had an article published on our project efforts. By the conclusion of the project, we had raised a total of $8,500 to buy 11 new cages to add to the previously existing four-cage cat room. Through pure determination and hard work, this year-long project challenged me to make a serious impact in my community. I learned critical responsibility and leadership skills that will prove useful throughout my lifetime. I will attend a four-year college institution to further my academic studies and to pursue my lifelong dream of playing college softball. This sport has been such an integral part of my life and shaped me to be the person I am today. Throughout my years of dedication to this sport, I have learned so many valuable lessons and skills that will continue to prove useful for the rest of my life. My passion and love for the sport motivated me to become an assistant coach for a young travel softball team. As a coach of this team, I use my knowledge of the sport to educate and help develop aspiring young athletes. This position has taught me many vital leadership and collaboration skills that I can apply not only to softball, but life as well. I want to pursue a service oriented career, where I can help others through my work. In college, I plan to major in biology and then go into a field of medicine, possibly dentistry. I want to spend my life helping and caring for others. I want to make a difference.

Volunteer work has always been an integral part of my life. From an early age, my mom taught me the vitality of helping others. She shaped me to be the person I am today, and for that, I am proud. Growing up with pets, I had always found myself drawn to their comfort and unwavering love. I share this quality and love for animals with my mom. After working as an audiologist for several years, she decided to return to school to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. I have always admired her dedication, ambition, and love for animals. She inspires me and I can attribute much of my character and drive to her. As I grew older, my love for animals continued to expand and so did my desire to help animals in need. On my tenth birthday, I invited a few of my friends to go ice skating, but asked that they bring donations for a local animal shelter in lieu of gifts. I collected a handful of donations, which included cat and dog food, toys, beds, and cleaning supplies. The next day, my mom, cousin, and I visited the shelter to donate the items I had collected. My desire to help others through acts of service blossomed that day. I had never felt more accomplished. From that point, I continued my path of volunteer work by altar serving at my church, helping at COVID clinic drives, and assistant coaching a young travel softball team. As a coach of this team, I use my knowledge and love of the sport to educate and help develop aspiring young athletes. This position has taught me many vital leadership and collaboration skills by enabling me to form a unified, successful team. In my junior year of high school, I challenged myself by taking my first college-level course. For one of the class’ long-term assignments, I was asked to address a problem in my community and take specific action to solve that problem. After hearing about the lack of cages at Gardner Animal Shelter, my two friends and I decided that we would raise money to buy new cat cages, in order to utilize all available space and make room for more needy animals to get accepted into the shelter. I led my group in organizing two fundraising raffles, advertising our project, and researching and ordering cages. My group and I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by a news reporter of the Gardner newspaper and had an article published on our project efforts. By the conclusion of the project, we had raised a total of $8,500 to buy 11 new cages to add to the previously existing four-cage cat room. Through pure determination and hard work, this year-long project challenged me to make a serious impact in my community. I learned critical responsibility and leadership skills that will prove useful throughout my lifetime. My mom has always been an inspiration for me. She encourages me to give back to my community through volunteer work. Everything I do, everything that I am is because of her. She sparked a desire in me to pursue a service oriented career, where I can help others through my work. I plan to attend a four-year college institution to major in biology and will then go into a field of medicine or service, where I can help people through my profession. I want to make a difference in this world. I want to make a difference like my mom does.