My name is John Marquette. I am a senior at St. Michael-Albertville High School. My hard work and dedication to constantly fighting through difficulties affect my academic life. The most significant difficulty was being diagnosed with Epilepsy. Once diagnosed with Epilepsy in 4th grade, provided us answers to the cause of my learning disability. I lack phonic skills, difficulty with speech, slower cognitive thinking, and memory issues which all add up to poor writing and reading skills. I fought through these disadvantages by going through speech therapy when I was in elementary school, finding new ways to study for tests and quizzes, and practicing presentations/speeches in front of people. Also, I use my resources like Grammarly, to help write better papers for classes and audiobooks for reading comprehension. My Hardwork has shown in my 3.5 Cumulative GPA. I knew I was going to have to live and learn differently, but that didn’t stop me from serving my community during high school. I do a lot of different things to help create a better world for younger generations. For example, on Core Team, I help teens develop a stronger relationship with God. As a Youth minister intern at St. Michael/St. Albert Parish Center (High School business internship class). I will work over 180 hours this school year. Some of the things I do as a youth minister are creating flyers, planning & volunteering for Friday Night Live, opening youth room and 4th grade Fun nights every month, and having fun with the middle schoolers by talking/praying/playing games with them. It sets these middle schools up for growing in their faith and love for God as they grow up and become more mature adults. Also, I have sort/stock food on shelves at Cross Services in Rogers Minnesota. To me, volunteering is a great way to meet new people while helping in the community. It also strengthens my ties to the community and broadens my support network, exposing me to people with common interests, neighborhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities. Also, it's a way to pay it forward from the community help and support my family has received. The overall goal of volunteering is to be a Core Team member and serve as a youth minister; It brings teens closer to Jesus Christ by helping them. To learn God’s word in a fun and exciting way. Then show them how to be supportive and pray for each other when they are struggling. The Core Team is responsible for helping talk and getting help from the main leader of the Core Team. When the problem is too hard and serious to handle on your own. Another volunteer event/thing I do is Cross in Rogers, MN and the overall goal of Cross is to serve families and individuals in times of need by providing mercy and compassionate support services. Such as providing food, housing assistance, workforce development, programs for kids, etc. to local families experiencing a financial crisis or with low incomes. They also help individuals. CROSS Service advocates working to reduce the impact of poverty by working side-by-side with families during times of need. They are skilled in listening, encouraging families from a strong perspective, advocating, and providing Trauma-Informed Care. We build relationships that generate life changes! With all the community involvement, accomplishments in sports, and how well I am doing in academics. I will be attending the University of Minnesota Duluth in the fall of 2022. I plan to study and graduate with a major in Marketing/Business Management. Even in college, I plan on doing my fair share of community service. By volunteering at Cross Services and coming back to help the bowlers on the STMA Bowling club get better. The reason why I want to come back to the STMA bowling club during college is to help future generations of bowlers get better at the sport and learn to cheer/motivate their teammates to get better. Finally, I am going to supervise and help set up events for the Core Team/Parish centers in St. Michael/St. Albert’s parish centers. I can relieve stress/anxiety and give them strength, joy, and support. Some of the things that I would be doing, at these events, are stacking tables/chairs, putting out snacks, and playing games with the 4th-8th graders.