In a little league all-star baseball team for Freedom PA’s recreational league, a coach read out the batting stats for the team before a game. Already knowing where my name was going to be, I cowered, waiting for my name to be announced. The coach finally said my name; I was dead last in batting average for the team. Let’s just say that event did not encourage me whatsoever. However, one coach took the time out of his day to help me, and I saw my batting improve ever since. For context, we were all 10, 11, or 12 years old at the time when batting averages were publicly announced. Being 11, I felt humiliated, as I was trying my hardest to get hits. It’s so frustrating when you know you can hit a baseball, but you just cannot do it in a game. While already in a slump, this incident did not help my self-esteem. I absolutely loved baseball, but being embarrassed like this hurt my drive to play. After this talk, the game did not go well for me. It was an all-star game, which was supposed to be fun, but all I could think about was how embarrassed I was. Afterwards, one of my teammate’s father offered to help me. This man was Lance Grable. Lance had prior baseball coaching experience and had played up through college. Lance knew what he was talking about, especially in hitting. My father, Lance, and I would travel down to our home field to help my batting. By doing simple drills and trying to rework my mechanics, my batting slowly got better. In the next season, I saw an improvement in my batting average. Lance resurrected my batting and essentially saved my love of the sport. Through this writing, I want to show my appreciation towards Lance for all that he has done for me. There was no monetary reward whatsoever for helping me with my batting, yet Lance chose to do so anyway because he truly wanted to see me succeed. Coaches, like Lance, leave such everlasting positive impressions on student-athletes. In addition, I know I can count on Lance if I ever need anything else. Even though I am now a senior, if I am ever struggling with anything baseball related, Lance is there to help. For example, during my sophomore year, I struggled with fielding all of a sudden. Lance took me down to Freedom’s field and hit ground balls for me and helped fix my mechanics. Through this coaching, I have continued to love baseball every day. I am a believer in tenacious work effort. If you don’t do something 110%, you shouldn’t be doing it. Every practice I put my best effort forth through all the drills we do. This translates to having heart in the games. In any sport, I am fierce and filled with emotions. For example, I also play soccer and served as two-captain. When we lost our playoff game 2-0 this year, I was overcome by emotion alongside my teammates. I had dedicated my entire life to this sport and laid my heart on the line; at that buzzer, it was all over. Still having this varsity baseball season left to go, I want to show the world how far I’ve come. Through impediments and struggles, I have preserved and given the sport of baseball my all. Whether it may be through encouraging my teammates or picking them up when they fall, I want to show people just how much heart I have for others and the game itself.

From predicting the weather forecast to winning big in the lottery to even finding the likelihood of car accidents, statistics govern this world and its laws. Although correlation certainly isn’t causation, statistics can give us an idea for reasons behind how the world works. Due to the wide range of applications of statistics and how the field can help others, I am pursuing a data science and statistics degree in the STEM field. Going into high school, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to go into the STEM field and major in something mathematical related, but what that may be hadn’t crossed my mind. This was until I took an online class for elementary statistics during my freshman year. I indulged myself in learning more about measures of central tendency, normal distributions, z-scores, standard deviation, and more in the class. However, I wasn’t completely sure that I wanted to go into the data science field yet. Unfortunately, my high school, Freedom Area, doesn’t offer too many classes, as they are a decently small school; my graduating class is only around 100 students. This means that my school did not offer a standard statistics class. Wanting to learn more still during my junior year, I took another online statistics class organized by the Community College of Beaver County (CCBC). This class was much more in depth and offered a better challenge. Through this class, I learned that I truly wanted to use statistics in a future career. Furthermore, I conducted a statistical long-term for my physics class for my junior year. I studied the statistics of sports betting through hours of data entry, which furthered my understanding of the subject. All of this knowledge led me to realize the beauty of statistics is how versatile the field is. Statistics is so widespread that it can be used in insurance to marketing to even psychology. Because of this applicability, I hope to one day become a statistician for a sports organization. I have played baseball and soccer from a young age and have been fascinated by how statistics can determine decisions in sports. For example, in an intense football game, analytics may tell a coach to go for it on a fourth down with just one yard to go. Statistics can create such vital, exhilarating moments in sports such as these. Ultimately though, I love statistics because of how the field can help people. Statistics can project risk, which if we can minimize risk in the environment, we can increase the safety of people. For example, statistics show that texting while driving leads to more accidents. By addressing a problem, statistics can lead to a solution to that said problem. Overall, I am excited to take the next step in my life going into the data science and statistics field. Chance governs this world; the more we understand probability, the better statistics can be used to advance the world and help humanity.

From doing multiplication tables in elementary school to finding derivatives in calculus, I have always been fond of math. My 5th grade teacher, Mr. Miller, would challenge me by giving me algebraic equations to solve. I found figuring out these equations and achieving the right answer was so satisfying and fulfilling. I appreciate his extra effort to lead me in a mathematical direction, which I love. The problem solving aspect of math has always intrigued me. For example, suppose I am working on a long, tedious problem, perhaps doing the limit definition of a derivative. For over 10 minutes, I work tirelessly and fill up an entire page. To achieve the correct answer by myself is extremely rewarding for me. If I don’t find the right answer, that’s alright too. Math invites one to fail; math presents itself as a challenge. Facing that challenge in times of failure has shaped me to enjoy challenging myself and has made me persevere through difficult times. I also admire the applications of math. Kids often wonder how what we learn in math class ever applies to the real world, until they are forced into a situation where they must apply those principles. Related rates, optimization, statistics, and more all have heavy applications. Essentially, math is not useless. I learn mathematical concepts for my own enjoyment and to help others one day. Using math, I know I can change the world. After I graduate from Freedom Area High School, I plan to attend Robert Morris University (RMU) to major in data science and statistics. From there, I hope to become a statistician in some field that can help others, whether that may be with the government or a company. Just like Mr. Miller did for me, I want to show others how math can be enlightening. That’s why I became president of the Math Club at my high school. Using this club, I try to show others the complexity, beauty, and applicability of mathematics. I’ve presented on topics such as the Monty Hall problem, mathematical paradoxes, and the concept of zero. Overall, I love math because of the fulfillment of solving difficult problems, the challenge of the field, and the many applications involved. I am thrilled to see my life is all adding up with math by my side.

Riding a roller coaster in the front is enjoyable until the cart leans over the edge of an immense dropoff. Staring downwards and the anticipation of the drop makes one feel as if their heart has completely stopped. Any roller coaster enthusiast knows this feeling of breathlessness. Anxiety produces that same reaction, something I had to face often at a young age. Anxiety trapped me in a cage; I was apprehensive to go out and enjoy new experiences. However, now that I am older, I have overcome that restrictive, dreadful feeling. I was always active and restless as a kid, which is ironic for someone who had anxiety. However, new experiences troubled me. When I was younger, my uncle would ask me if I wanted to go to Pirates games with him. I am a Pittsburgh sports fanatic, but I would always find myself saying no. I was terrified of what could happen in the city, rather than being practical and realistic. Then, in fifth grade, I qualified for the national tournament for Academic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. I was excited to compete but was in total fear. Before my first Propaganda competition there, I was a nervous wreck; anxiety made me physically sick. The trip was supposed to be fun, but I was making the competition miserable for myself. I went to a therapist and learned coping mechanisms to counter my anxiety. I learned to frequently ask myself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” From this, I didn’t necessarily seek uncomfortable situations but rather tried to embrace them when they were presented. I slowly transitioned from my tense self to a more open, willing person. Of course, I still get nervous at times, but that feeling of breathlessness has disappeared. My tenacious work in defeating my anxiety has led to countless opportunities. I started on the varsity soccer team as a freshman and have been a co-captain of the team for the past two years. I’ve learned how to become a leader by challenging what is comfortable. I went from being the only freshman in DECA (a business club) to being president during my junior and senior years. I’ve been class president for the past four years and have maintained a high honor roll throughout all of high school. As an editor, I’ve collaborated with others to produce work I am proud of in the latest edition of the Shawnee yearbook. After the Atlanta trip, I qualified for Nationals six more times and have loved single every trip. I wasn't going to let fear diminsh the fun I should have. I’ve done so much which I am thankful for because I am not afraid anymore. I am now excited to start the next chapter of my life at Robert Morris University (RMU). At RMU, I plan to major in Data Science and Statistics in hopes of becoming a data scientist or statistican. I've always loved mathematics, but my anxiety had made me more introverted and less incline to talk to others. I'm still more introverted than extroverted today, but I am definitely way more social than my former self. Back then, I couldn't imagine working with complete strangers in an occupation, as my anxiety may flair up. Now, for certain, I can see myself working with others, comparing statistics, and working on what I love. Although my anxiety journey was a personal one, I could not have overcome it without the love and support from my family and friends. My dad had anxiety as a young adult, so he understood what I was going through. With the encouragement from my mom and dad to get out there and try new things, like soccer camps with kids I did not know, I slowly was breaking out of my shell. My girlfriend of over three years, Katrina, has also had a major influence in my life. She is much more outgoing than I am, so her personality has helped me not be afraid anymore. Her family took me on vacation to Ocean City, Maryland, a place I had never visited. Instead of worrying about the trip, I enjoyed myself and their company. I'm now proud to say that I am no longer terrified of going to new places, which is largely due to my family and Katrina. I actually want to see the world with Katrina when we grow older. I am so grateful for the ones who have helped me conquer my anxiety and myself for being capable of experiencing new events and the unknown. Now, when I sit atop that hill on the roller coaster, I just get excited for what’s to come ahead of me.

2 + 2 = 5 A single problem on the chalkboard Stumped students across the room. “Two plus two” loomed, towered, and roared Like a villain bringing certain doom. “I finally know the solution,” One liked student said proudly. “It surely looks like an illusion, But the answer is quite astounding.” “The equation has to equal five! There just is no other way!” His peers quickly agreed and derived The same answer that was displayed. Still, one lone boy was not so sure As the answer stood like law. “I think the solution must be four,” The nervous boy shyly saw. Bickering and laughter came to be When the class heard the reply. “That’s very stupid; no one agrees!” The students said with beady eyes. The teacher then finally clocked in. She had seen enough of this. “It’s four, and I am completely certain,” The teacher snapped with a hiss. The class was a static radio Except for the winning boy. After this, he was no average Joe. He would no longer be toyed.