I am a 26-weeker preemie who was born early but meant to be here. I have quadriplegic cerebral palsy but that doesn't stop me from living life authentically., I am heavily active in adaptive sports. I play the point guard on my high school’s varsity wheelchair basketball team and I love the feeling of freedom that comes with bobsledding in adaptive ski. While a sophomore in high school, I had to have major surgery which was complicated by my movement disorder. It was a painful and long recovery but I maintained my grades with homeschooling and managed to pass 3 difficult Regents exams. After 4 months, I returned to school but had to go out for another surgery. Thankfully I was able to start junior year without any issues. However, in early Spring, I caught a sinus infection that spread to my brain. If it were not for the quick response of my family, I may not have been here today. Given my own experiences, I am an advocate for the disabled, helping older and physically handicapped residents in my community. I also work with physical therapists at my school to train manual wheelchair users with severe physical impairments how to operate a power wheelchair with head controls - opening up their world to a level of independence that I so greatly enjoy. I am looking to BOLDLY enter the next phase of my life at a college that has a shared vision of kindness, inclusivity and compassion. These are the values by which I live my life and want to associate myself with the people, places and things that align with those values.