I learned I could make a difference when I began my freshman year of high school. Not knowing how I was going to navigate this new chapter in my life made me nervous but I was excited to find out. When I learned community service opportunities were available and encouraged, I was thrilled. This was something that I knew I could do and enjoy during my high school years. Volunteer opportunities started with our high school’s music booster’s annual Mums fundraiser. This involved unloading the plants off trucks, categorizing them by size and color, and organizing the customer’s orders. When this event was over, I had not only earned 4 community service hours, but a newfound appreciation for helping others. I have since continued to participate in service opportunities and activities, such as Vacation Bible School as a camp counselor, the Georgetown Community Tree Lighting/Holiday Celebration and Wreaths Across America as a singer with my chorus class, and as a cantor at Mass, singing alongside my mother, giving parishioners the opportunity to enjoy the services with the best music possible. Within school, I am a member of the National Honor Society and volunteer my time as a peer tutor, guide during parent/teacher conferences, as well as during other school events. Furthermore, I have turned my love and passion for softball into opportunities to instill that same love and passion into younger girls. I have enjoyed my time as a USA Softball umpire for the past three years and am looking forward to my fourth year. I am also an assistant coach for my club program and a pitching coach for the Georgetown youth softball teams. I help run practices and clinics to help these girls better their athletic and personal skills. I’ve learned that a lot of my opportunities and abilities have grown through perseverance, and my goal in this is to help kids realize that hard work will help them achieve their biggest dreams and goals in life, whether that be in sports or in a different field. In my future, I want to continue to inspire kids to be whatever they want to be, and to help them grow into amazing human beings. My softball club director, Jeff Johnson, inspired me to follow in his footsteps. Not only does he run softball programs for athletes ages 10-18, he also oversees flag football, street hockey, and soccer leagues for various ages. Working and playing under him, I've noticed all who participate in these sports have bright eyes and loud laughs. All the staff welcomes each player with open arms and wide smiles. Being around all the activity makes me realize how much further I can go with sports once my time on the field has expired. The constant joy I’ve witnessed from each child brings back early memories from my own athletic experiences, and I want to make sure other players have similar experiences to my own. I want to embody leadership and love during my next chapter as I continue my athletic career at Bentley University, and strive to give children the opportunities to grow as athletes and individuals, as well as give them a place to play competitively in the future.

Growing up in a small town with small class sizes, usually everyone is pretty similar. We’ve all been around each other for years, I’ve known and hung out with the same friends since I was in elementary school. The only time I would see any of them at Mass, along with my other classmates, was during CCD or confirmation classes. Almost every Sunday, it was me, my brother Tyler, and my mom sitting in the pews along with the other, older, parishioners. Due to this experience, I had a lot of struggle with my faith throughout my childhood. I knew that Jesus loved me, but I never wanted to express it outwardly because I didn’t know how others would see me if I openly expressed my faith. Yes, everyone went to CCD classes together, but very few would consistently attend the weekly Mass after being dismissed. As I grew and matured through elementary, middle, and high school I have become more comfortable sharing my faith and my relationship with Jesus became stronger. With the challenges of junior year that included SAT, AP courses and softball recruiting I leaned on prayer and my Catholic beliefs during challenging times. My senior year, a lot of hardships have evolved which lead me to situations that I could not navigate myself. There are only so many people I can talk to as well as the need to keep things to myself. In turn, I found myself praying more, and turning to Jesus during these times. From one prayer before I headed to bed, to asking for guidance in tough times and asking for confidence when I was nervous about a big test or a game. I have tried to include prayers for my classmate and for others, asking Jesus to grant them the feeling of His eternal love and guidance when they need it. For example, in the most stressful boys basketball game this season, the Final Four round, I prayed for the school team for the Lord to grant them confidence and for them to feel His love and support on the court. Through my relationship with Jesus, I realized that I don’t need to pretend I’m not who I am, and no one should try to influence my ideals. I also know He will always love me, always be there for me and others, and will continue to do so through light and dark times. I know that everything that will happen regarding school, sports, and work is a part of the Lord’s plan for me, and I trust the process. I continue to pray and ask for Jesus’ guidance as I move into this next chapter of my life.

This coming spring season will mark my fourth year as an umpire for USA Softball of Massachusetts. My umpiring story starts long before I could work, at a summer league game when I was the same age as the girls I umpire for now. Our umpire for that game was a teenage girl, and I immediately realized that this was something I could do in the future. I already loved the game, why not have a deeper understanding of it? There are many moments that stand out to me, but my first and favorite memory of umpiring is my first game behind the plate. Wearing my new bright blue shirt and gray pants, I vividly remember being as nervous as ever. I was umpiring 8 and 9 year old girls who were learning how to play the game for the first time, and at the same time I was learning the game from a different perspective. I remember both coaches being very understanding about it being my first time umpiring, offering me advice every once in a while, helping me to improve. At the conclusion of the game I felt confident in the work I had done. My father, who had driven me and watched the game from the outfield fence, congratulated me on my first game, offered me some advice, and made a quip about how I called my strikeouts (which is the same way I call them to this day!) I have gained a lot of umpiring experience over the past three seasons and it has allowed me to become a more confident person. I have always struggled with using my voice and feeling confident in areas in which I am inexperienced, but because of my familiarity with this sport, I feel myself let go of that nervousness and I become more confident in my ability to make the correct call. There are still times when I get nervous umpiring, but I know that I am fully capable of calling a game and that not every call will be perfect. From my personal experience on the softball field as an umpire, varsity captain, as well as in certain jobs I’ve held (being a camp counselor, for example), confidence is an important component to leadership. To me, leadership is more than just being in charge of a group, but it is acting in a certain way to allow for all opinions to be heard and a collective goal to be reached. When umpiring, I show my leadership skills by taking control of the game, allowing for questions to be asked and rules to be upheld. I explain some calls to coaches or players if they are confused, and ultimately, at the end of the hour and a half, we have all worked together to help the girls grow as softball players. With multiple perspectives on leadership within my different aspects of my life, I feel that I will have a strong foundation of skills going into college. I want to continue umpiring in the foreseeable future. Not only do I find it to be an enriching experience for both the players and for myself, but I want to continue to inspire young girls to realize that they can also grow to be strong and confident, and if they so choose, lead a game from behind the plate.

My name is Maddie Grant, I am a senior at Georgetown High School in Georgetown, Massachusetts. I am passionate about softball. I am very fortunate to be able to play and practice year round with both my high school and club teams, and I am blessed to play for four more years at Bentley University, beginning in the fall of 2026. I am also very interested in music. I play the guitar, sing in my school’s choral and a cappella ensembles, cantor at Mass on Sundays, and occasionally perform in various locations. I enjoy sharing my passions with others so I seek out volunteer opportunities within my community to do just that. I have been a teacher’s assistant for the elementary school chorus and middle school a cappella club as well as volunteer as a church cantor at St. Joseph’s Parish in Wakefield. I often help run softball clinics for the Georgetown Athletic Association, and I spend time in the spring and summer as a youth softball umpire. I am also an assistant coach for the Rage Fastpitch Softball program, and have stepped in to run clinics when I was needed. In addition to these volunteer activities, I am a camp counselor at St. John’s Preparatory School during the summer months. I work with children between the ages of 6-10, and serve as a mentor and leader while supervising the campers during their daily activities. Throughout my life my volunteer work and employment have consistently focused on the well being and social-emotional development of children. Positions that foster respect, kindness, passion and enjoyment are extremely fulfilling and so I gravitate toward those opportunities. I am fortunate that my parents and I have worked hard and been able to save toward my college education, however, the expense of a college education exceeds our savings. I continue to work part time and have applied for financial aid, and school specific scholarships. I also plan on applying for the resident assistant program and a work study position while going to school, but this is still not enough to cover the cost of Bentley University. My brother attends private high school which also has a financial impact on my family. While I understand I will have student loans after graduating, any additional financial assistance would be a great help. Naturally, conflicts arise when working with children. As a camp counselor, I have witnessed campers fighting over play equipment or arguing about which games to play throughout the day. As I gain more experience in these roles, I better understand that these small conflicts can potentially make campers feel isolated and alone, and can lead to scenarios of bullying. I have learned to step in quickly to help resolve these conflicts. I explain that camp is a fun environment, and arguing negatively impacts the positive atmosphere camp provides. When bullying situations arise I will often involve an adult or camp leader to help navigate the situation. As a young child I was taught that if you see something, say something. I share this creed with the campers and young children I work with. I tell them if they don’t feel comfortable enough to address a bullying or cyberbullying situation, they should tell a trusted adult. One of my future aspirations is to create a safe space for kids to play sports, be themselves and have fun. By teaching kids the importance of kindness and standing up for others, we can help create confident, courageous and empathetic people.

My future work desires have changed as I’ve grown, yet, what hasn't changed is my desire to work in sports. My love for sports bloomed through softball, and continues to amaze me everyday. From my first pitch thrown at age 9, to my first varsity start in eighth grade, and now to my future in playing softball at Bentley University next year has made me fall more and more in love with sports. Recently, my dreams have included working in professional sports, as a college coach, or as a high school athletic director. But thinking deeply about all these things, I feel I can do more with my aspirations for my future that relate to my talents. With that, my ultimate dream for work is not only working in sports, but giving opportunities to children to bring little dreams to life. My softball club director, Jeff Johnson, inspired me to follow in his footsteps. Not only does he run softball for ages 10-18, he also oversees flag football, street hockey, and soccer leagues for many ages. Working and playing under him, I've noticed all the kids in the sport with bright eyes and loud laughs. All the staff welcomes each kid with open arms and wide smiles. Being around all the activity makes me realize how much further I can go with sports once my time on the field has expired. The constant joy I’ve witnessed from each child brings back early memories from different sports experiences for myself, and I want to make sure kids can have similar experiences to my own. To give children the opportunities to grow as an athlete and individual, as well as give them a place to play competitively is what I strive to do in the future. Working in the professional sports field has been another aspiration of mine since beginning high school. Having to consider my future career plans earlier than most was daunting, but having such a strong passion for sports, I decided to look at the business of professional sports. The social media side of this business has always piqued my interest, swaying me to decide on a Public Relations major. Women working in professional sports is currently on the rise, both behind the scenes in an office as well as on the field, playing their own sport at the highest level. I have always found female athletes inspiring, and although my plan differs from those athletes, I still want to be a part of the community that is inspiring young girls, one at a time, to pursue their dreams. I know my career aspirations require hard work and determination, but my plan is to begin with an internship with a sports organization (big or small) to gain the experience and learn the fundamentals needed to make my big dreams come true. Eventually, I hope to learn enough to begin my own organization, or to work for a professional sports organization. I hope to use this knowledge and my love of sports to inspire younger athletes, showing them the joy sports can bring to their lives.