I am a current Walter Johnson High School senior who will be attending Penn State University in the fall of 2026 with a double major of Biology and Journalism. But what many of my peers don't know about me is the challenges I've had to overcome to get to where I am today. In Kindergarten I was diagnosed with Autism, and I was subsequently moved from my home school to Sligo Creek Elementary, a school with an autism awareness program. There, I was able to get the help and support that I needed at the time, and I was lucky enough to have staff there who could help me develop work habits, socialize better with peers, and learn to work in a school environment better than I could've myself. At the end of 3rd grade, I decided that I wanted more of a challenge and so I transferred back to my local elementary school for the final two years of elementary school. Because of the help I got at Sligo Creek, I became an exceptional student and made new friends almost immediately. I got involved in extracurriculars like soccer, drama club, video club, and more through middle school, and it seemed that despite the initial concern after moving me back from Sligo Creek, my social skills were as good as my peers. In 9th grade I decided to run for class treasurer and I ended up winning, which broadened me to talk with different people in my grade and hear experiences from each person. It taught me that each person has a voice and a story, one that like my very own, no one truly knows what someone else has been through unless you look at life through their Lense. This idea of storytelling fascinated me as I joined my school newspaper, The Pitch, and as I wrote stories and profiled teachers students and staff members, I realized the gift of sharing a story is a gift like no other. I later became Editor-in-Chief of the Newspaper by senior year, as well as a Team Captain for my school Track & Field and Cross Country teams and well-known as a leader around my school in so many other ways (I could say in a school of 3,000 kids, almost every administrator and school counselor knows my name). I hope to someday become a Science Journalist and cover major topics in the science community that go unnoticed or not cared about enough by the public. But truthfully, none of that would be possible without the support I received at Sligo Creek, and there are kids in my position in different parts of the world who never received the special education they need to blossom into capable human beings like I did. Thank you so much for your consideration and review of my essay.