The personal achievement I am most proud of is overcoming the adversity I faced early on in life. The domestic violence in my household shaped me into the person I am today because although my parents didn’t change, I did. Many domestic violence cases follow a cycle of abuse and over time that cycle begins to tighten. However, the cycle gets more complicated when the person causing the damage can’t remember what happened due to alcohol. Some days my dad was very loving, others he was drunk and aggressive. Him and my mom had their own issues but I always watched in case it got physical because when it did, me and my mom would run to the car and drive away. Whether it was sleeping in the car outside of Walmart, living in my moms friend's basement, or living in a one bedroom apartment, none of it mattered to me. I was fine with leaving my big white house, I just wanted what was best for my mom. After days, weeks, or even months, my parents would make up. We would move back in and I had to continue life as if nothing ever happened. School was my escape from the chaos. Even if my home life was a mess, I made sure to stay on top of my school work because it was what my parents always taught me to do. My mom would put be in clubs and sports such as girl scouts, soccer, and taekwondo to distract me. I enjoyed doing these activities, but what pained me was having to walk away from them when we couldn't afford it living on our own. However, when we move out for the final time and were financially stable enough, I asked her to go back to taekwondo. I told her that I didn't like the feeling of not finishing something that I started. Especially something that I was good at and passionate about. So I went back years later, and got my black belt in taekwondo my junior year of high school. I am grateful my mom always encouraged me to never resent my dad despite what he did. She always told me, "you have to find the good qualities in us and forgive the bad, don't make the same mistakes we do". My dad is very opinionated, competitive, and an overachiever. I am similar to him in that way. My mom is very resilient and independent, always setting the example that I could do it all. I learned to not dwell on a situation I couldn't control. Instead I used it as fuel to motivate me to achieve my goals. I am proud of myself for taking a tough situation and turning it into something positive. I got so used to being in uncomfortable situations that stepping out of my comfort zone didn't scare me. I took a Construction Skills and Management class during my junior and senior year of high school at Lake County Tech Campus. A male dominated field that I grew a passion for. I also competed in carpentry at SkillsUSA my junior year. I am proud that I was brave enough to look into a field that peaked my interest because now know that I want to major in construction management to manage the construction of houses and build projects similar to the big white house I had to leave behind.

I chose to major in Construction Management at Milwaukee School of Engineering because of my interest in math and carpentry. During my junior and senior year of high school I took the Construction Skills and Management class at Lake County Tech Campus because it piqued my curiosity. Lake County Tech Campus is an extension of the high schools in my area, where students can attend classes in a specific career training program. Within my first year I became a student ambassador, student of the quarter, and a SkillsUSA competitor. Using critical thinking and math to make plans come to life is what made me fall in love with the designing and building of projects. However coming back for a second year to get more into the management part of it all, is what drew me to Construction Management. I was a group leader in my class, this meant I supervised, taught, and interpreted blueprints to make sure what we were building was accurate. This class taught me about all the roles that go into construction. At the start of senior year I started looking into Architecture, Civil Engineering, Architectural Engineering, but all drew me back to Construction Management. What furthered my drive to pursue this career was witnessing the lack of gender diversity in this field. I noticed that no matter how many times I proved myself to my teachers with my work and ambition, my male classmates wouldn't give me credit because I was a girl. They would come up with excuses to why their work wasn't as good as mine, or refused to preform the tasks I asked of them. Many times it discouraged me but ultimately it motivated me because I want more female representation in this field and getting a degree will help me accomplish that.

Many domestic violence cases follow a cycle of abuse and over time that cycle begins to tighten. However, the cycle gets more complicated when the person causing the damage can’t remember what happened due to alcohol. The domestic violence in my household shaped me into the person I am today because although my parents didn’t change, I did. Growing up I was often praised for how independent and observant I was, it was noticeable in the way I carried myself. What nobody knew was that those qualities were developed because of my situation at home. I had to constantly observe my dads mannerisms because I never knew what mood he was in that day. Some days he was very loving, others he was drunk and aggressive. Him and my mom had their own issues but I always watched in case it got physical because when it did, me and my mom would run to the car and drive away. After days, weeks, or even months, my parents would make up. We would move back in and I had to continue life as if nothing ever happened. School was my escape from the chaos. Even if my home life was a mess, I made sure to stay on top of my school work because it was what my parents always taught me to do. My dad is very opinionated, competitive, and an overachiever. I am similar to him in that way. He taught me principles like “if you are not first place you are last”, “you are a leader not a follower”, “when you are competing there are no friends”. Over time I grew sick of hearing those things because I realized my dad was not the role model I thought he was. While I admire many qualities about my mom, we were never very similar. At times when me and her got into an argument she would say things like “you really are your fathers daughter” to insult me. From that point forward I knew I never wanted to be anything like my dad again. I changed myself because I didn’t like feeling similar to the person who hurt us the most. I went from being in the gifted and talented program with straight A’s in middle school to being a freshman in highschool completely lost. I learned to disguise myself as anyone else until I became a stranger to myself. What I didn’t realize is that some of those things were what made me me. Those qualities are what gives me drive, it's what makes me do well in school, and most importantly it’s what makes me passionate. There is nothing wrong with being opinionated, competitive, and an overachiever as long as you do it with integrity. I had to relearn all those morals and principals my dad taught me in a healthier way. I believe the qualities and morals that I gained during my upbringing gave me a passion for my career choice and taught me the importance of helping others. I volunteer at my local church in children's ministry because I think providing children with a safe space to express themselves is important. You never know what their situation is at home so I make it my goal to be a good role model. Along with volunteering I am a student in the Construction Skills and Management program at Lake County Tech Campus. Through this program I discovered that I want to manage construction projects such as building houses like the one I left behind when I left my dad.