In 2017, my family lost someone incredibly important to us. My aunt Heather had one of the most beautiful souls and bright smiles I had ever encountered. When I was 7 years old, my parents filed for a divorce so it has been hard to build relationships with members of my family. It was not until my brother and I were introduced to our stepdad's family that we created great connections with our aunts and uncles. Everyone that knew Heather said that she brightened every room that she entered. She was always joyful and smiling even when she was diagnosed with cancer. What started as ovarian cancer quickly spread throughout her body and yet, not once did it keep her from doing the things that she enjoyed. My family all tried to stay tough during the diagnosis and worked to make the most of the time we had left with Heather in our lives. Somehow, defying the odds my aunt was able to make a recovery and beat cancer for the first time. Sadly, cancer is a very vicious and evil disease. In 2018 Heather was back to battling the disease that almost took her life the past year. This time it once again took over her body but put much more of a toll on her body and energy. This round hit us as a family much harder than the last because we could tell that Heather was dealing with far more pain than she was letting us in on. In typical Heather fashion, with not a single negative bone in her body, she continued to wear a smile on her face and make the most out of the rest of her life. She loved switching up her wigs and spending time with the puppies that her father breed to become service dogs. The evening we knew Heather was going to pass was a very rough day for all of us. Though I was not at the hospital at the time of her passing, I heard stories that her siblings, parents, children and husband were all working to make that time spent with family joyful rather than somber. Heather would have wanted it that way. From my aunt, we all learned many life lessons with the most important one being to always find the good in every situation. Among everything she went through, her happiest moments were always spending time with her family and enjoying nature. Since that day, I have vowed to myself to be a kinder person, get out of my shell and always have a smile on my face because there is always something worse that I could be dealing with. You never truly understand the battles other people are facing. Heather's last few years of her life were all about the "fight". I still hear stories from my stepdad and our family about Heather's last moments when she continued to push to stay afloat. With my degree, I hope to pursue a career in elementary education where I will have to fight many battles with students. The most important part of the teaching profession is to make a difference in the lives of children who may not want to give you a chance. I have learned from this loss that my future students will have their own battles and there are going to be times when they are going to need to be picked up. My greatest goal in life is to be the same shining light that Heather was in my life and I hope that in the future I can make the impact on people she had on others without letting the "fight" drag me down.

“And Wamego will move on to the class 4A state tournament for the first time in 15 years!” I will never forget the adrenaline surging through my body on the last point of our substate tournament. I couldn’t have wished for a better way to end my high school volleyball career. This year I helped my team to a substate tournament championship and at that moment my teammates and I were on cloud nine. Volleyball has been my passion for as long as I can remember and being on the court with my teammates after an incredible play is why I want to spend the rest of my life on the volleyball court. Not only is volleyball my passion but has taught me valuable leadership skills that I will use for my future of growing the game. The feeling of stuffing a ball straight back to the ground. The feeling of digging the hardest hit of the match. The feeling of putting a ball onto the floor after a long rally. All some of the greatest feelings in volleyball, but not the reason that I lace up my shoes every chance that I get. I live for the high after beating your rivals, for the chances I get to scream at the top of my lungs to celebrate my middle who just cranked it sharp cross. I live for nearly knocking my setter over when she gives me an impeccable set. Spending countless hours in the gym with each other and pushing through a tough practice, we trust each one of our teammates to do what is best for the team. I play for the memories alongside my best friends and that is why I have the passion I do for the sport of volleyball. I have always dedicated myself to being a role model for my teammates. My whole varsity career I have been put into a leadership role as a starter and six rotation player. My junior season I knew that an energetic and encouraging teammate was needed in order for us to succeed. I led my team in kills by around 200 kills and was second in the North Central Kansas League with 450. I ended the season with a unanimous All-NCKL selection as well as a place on the Kansas 4A All-State team. I also set the school record for the most kills in a single season. I knew that after a season accomplishing what I had in 2019, my teammates would be looking at me for leadership and encouragement coming up on my senior season. Prior to the season I was named team captain and knew that my team was counting on me again this season. From all this being put on me I could feel the pressure on my shoulders for my senior year. I helped my team to a substate championship and my school’s first state appearance in 15 years. I accomplished one of my long term goals by exceeding 1000 career kills. I was also named to the All-League and All-State team once again along with making the 4A All-State tournament team. Because of volleyball I have learned to work through stress, make the most out of difficult situations and pick up others when the team needs it. Without volleyball I would not be the leader I am today and would not understand how I can do my part to grow the game. I believe that it is important to grow the game because volleyball has been such an important aspect of my life. Whenever I was struggling with school work or family stress, volleyball kept me sane. I wish to grow the game so other people like me have a way to combat the stress that goes in their everyday lives. I dream of becoming a physical education teacher and instructing weights classes. I want to not only train high school students to get stronger for volleyball but mentally and physically tougher for all other sports and activities. I also want to help students in my classes with mental health to prepare them for life after high school. Along with becoming a strength and conditioning coach I plan to grow the game by becoming a varsity volleyball coach and eventually creating my own volleyball club. I love to help others accomplish their goals. With my passions for volleyball and helping people, I hope to be a role model in my students' lives and grow the sport of volleyball.