Dotted with roundabouts and larger than life statues, I have called the city of Carmel home for the past 18 years. Whether it be dressed as a black and white race car during the little 500 in elementary or playing on the tennis team, my community experiences have enriched my life and developed me into the person I am today. The ability to participate in community events has led to great fulfillment, but by that same token the notion that others lack the same experiences has motivated me to give back. Much of my volunteerism continues to be centered around the special needs community. During my sophomore year, I stepped into an environment unfamiliar to me: teaching math to kids with special needs. Suddenly, teaching concepts of addition and subtraction that had seemed so trivial proved to be a challenge. With each concept I taught it took days of repetitive instruction that often resulted in an inner longing for mastery masked by joyful encouragement. Yet through my experiences teaching special education, I began to notice the individuality of each student. Each student’s unique disability required me to teach to the person rather than the group. As my students finally grasped the fundamentals of math, I observed the joy in their faces and witnessed the benefits of promoting inclusivity in the classroom. Along with peer tutoring, I am involved in Science of Caring. Combining my passion for science brought about by my stellar teachers, I have worked with handicapped students the past two years to promote an understanding of science through hands-on experiments. Most notably, I vividly remember explaining the concept of dissolution to students through skittles that flooded the solution with multi-colored dye. I continued my work with differently-abled children through Special Olympics. During the often hot and bug-filled summer evenings, I volunteered as a tennis instructor helping share the excitement of tennis with kids who otherwise would not get the chance. With a beaming smile on my face, I taught my students the basics of tennis, occasionally getting hit by the large foam balls to elicit a laugh. I was particularly fond of one of my students with Down Syndrome. Despite the frustration that came with the trials and tribulations of mastering tennis strokes, I took his hand and guided him through the motions of a forehand. The happiness shown through his grin plastered on his face after he mastered his forehand exhibited the importance of helping others just as my community had done for me. Outside of the Special Olympics realm, I am involved in the National Honor Society, a group of students dedicated to giving back to the community through volunteering. Although living in Carmel has provided me many blessings, I learned from a young age that others are not as fortunate. With my knowledge of the spectra of inequality in hand, I applied for the Youth Philanthropist Board of Indianapolis (Yophi). Throughout the year, I raised money while learning from local non-profits on issues plaguing Indianapolis. While we eventually raised over $10,000 to allocate to the community, I see my most important contribution as the awareness I spread to members of my community who were sheltered from the inequalities that existed. Breaking down the walls of inequality and promoting inclusivity and equality is something I intend to continue in college and my professional life. In college, I intend to major in public health and eventually pursue a career in medicine. Majoring in public health will give me a foundational education rooted in understanding why health disparities exist and empowering me to fix them as a physician. As I continue my journey through life, I intend to continue my service to ensure that others get the same opportunities that my community has so graciously given to me.