Trying to balance life has always been a challenge that I have never quite figured out how to manage. From the outside, you might call me successful as I maintain A's in my classes, am a varsity sport athlete, and hold many leadership roles, like being the captain for my sport or being a manager at work. However, you would often catch me saying, "There aren't enough hours in the day for my schedule." I'd lost count of the number of times I lost track of a school assignment, was overly stressed at the end of the day because of sports, and still had to attend to responsibilities at home, and then ended up doomscrolling the night away just trying to debrief from the chaos, only to do it all over again. Initially, I would always do things last minute. While this has worked out short-term, it has often followed this cycle of becoming overwhelmed and then shutting down and not doing anything. Then grades would start to get lower, or my parents would get after me, and I would go back to my routine. However, in my senior year, I knew things needed to change. I was getting ready to go to college, and the last thing I needed was for my poor behavior to continue. I realized that the problem wasn't a lack of effort, but a lack of planning and consistency. I started using a planner and created a bi-weekly whiteboard calendar to put up on my bedroom wall to keep track of school, work, and other aspects in my life. This allowed me to be more aware of the events happening in my life, so I could plan to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I also included a habit tracker on my board so I could see my progress on certain things I wanted to start adding to my life, like working out or reducing my technology use at a certain time of the day. It was messy at first. I didn't realize the multitude of things I had on my plate, but it opened my eyes to being more focused on important things in my life. Over time, I've become much more confident in keeping up with life in and of itself. My progress continues, and I have clearly seen an increase in my performance and a decrease in stress. This experience has taught me that success isn't about working hard, but about working with structure and intention. Ultimately, learning to manage my time with structure and intention has not only helped me keep up with my responsibilities but has also allowed me to become a more balanced, focused, and self-aware version of myself as I prepare for the future.

I am a senior at Greeley West High School who is a varsity captain for the boys' tennis team, a varsity swimmer for the boys' swim team, and a member of our student council, where I help organize events at our school. We recently hosted "Middle School Leadership," a leadership conference for 7th and 8th graders that builds young leaders in our community. Outside of school, I am an assistant pool manager for the City of Greeley. I worked as a lifeguard for about two years and, through my dedication to keeping people safe, was promoted. In addition to guarding, I take on roles in writing rotations, speaking with patrons, and taking charge of emergencies as they arise. Being a lifeguard helped me discover my goal of becoming a pediatrician. I feel like I give back to my community the most by uplifting the future generation through support and teaching. I love the young minds of children as they begin to discover the world. I also love math, and I am currently taking AP Calculus. I have also taken AP Statistics, AP Pre-Calculus, and other Pre-DP/AP courses. I spend my volunteer time in a 6th-grade math class helping students develop new and important math skills. I have noticed that the math classroom environment is chaotic and can be challenging to teach in. Many students struggle to reach math proficiency, while others are far above the expected level. For example, one student had an easier time learning that certain negative numbers are less than others through a scenario about paying back money, while I made another student even more confused that way, and she understood better when she had a number line in front of her. If I were given the opportunity to build a charity, I would like to build one that raises money to provide a free or low-cost AI-assisted learning platform that uses an adaptive learning style to teach students math skills. I have noticed that certain teaching styles can help one student reach their "ah-ha moment," but with another student, the same approach may make learning the skill more challenging. The AI assistant program would begin by using a wide variety of math problems and learning strategies to understand its learner. After identifying which skills need the most work and which learning styles are most effective, it would develop lessons targeting those areas. Additionally, the charity would help connect high school students who are looking for volunteer hours with elementary and middle schools that could use additional support in teaching. In the long term, the charity would aim to reduce learning gaps in elementary and middle school math so students can develop their skills steadily rather than experiencing a stop-and-go learning process. Through my charity, I hope to help students reach math proficiency early gives them a strong foundation for the more complex subjects they will face in high school, such as algebra and geometry. Students who are confident in math are more likely to take advanced courses, perform well on exams like the SAT, and enroll in programs like Advanced Placement. I believe in a world where math doesn't scare children from school, but rather engages them in it. With this program, I believe we can achieve that belief.

I entered tennis my sophomore year of high school with very little knowledge of the sport. The most I knew was the basic idea of hitting the ball over the net. I honestly thought I wouldn’t enjoy it, but after the first day of practice, I fell in love with the game. Coach Steve had the biggest influence on my first season. He taught me the basics, how to play a point, keep score, and rotate between games. He also showed me how to hit volleys, serves, and groundstrokes so I could play consistently. At first, I struggled. I was better than some of the other beginners, and my height gave me an advantage at the net, but learning the sport from scratch often felt impossible. But coach Steve never gave up on me. He was patient and believed in my potential even when I doubted myself. When lineups were announced before our first match and I saw that I had made a varsity position, I was shocked. Without Coach Steve’s patience and encouragement, I don’t think I would have made it there. From him, I learned patience. On the court, that meant waiting for the right moment to move to the net and finish a point. Off the court, it meant being patient with the people and challenges I encounter in life. Coach Steve also taught me to believe in the power of “I can.” Before tennis, challenges often seemed too big for me, and I sometimes avoided them. I was nervous and timid. But he showed me that believing in myself was the first step toward accomplishing something difficult. The summer before my junior year, I worked tirelessly to earn a singles position on varsity. Playing singles had become a dream of mine, so when I was told I would be the number one doubles player instead, I was disappointed. However, my effort had paid off in a different way. I was selected as one of the team captains. Coach Pace, the head coach, saw my dedication and persistence and recognized leadership qualities I hadn’t yet seen in myself. With his guidance, I learned what it truly meant to lead a team. I carried those lessons into my senior year as well. That season was not easy. My doubles partner struggled to keep his grades up and missed many practices. When he was eligible to play, we often lost because we had not practiced enough together to develop strong chemistry. This pattern continued all the way to regionals, where my partner was once again ineligible. I had to compete with a substitute partner, and we suffered a tough loss to a team we likely could have beaten with more experience together. I felt humiliated. Yet that season taught me something important: resilience. As captain, I had to learn how to face defeat, support my teammates, and keep moving forward no matter how frustrating the circumstances became. That growth became clear in my senior year when I was named captain again and earned the singles position I had worked toward for so long. Because of the coaches who guided me, tennis gave me more than just a sport, it gave me two lessons that continue to guide my life: patience in the face of challenge and resilience in the face of defeat.