Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

My loss is different than others. My loss is a father who while still on earth, literally walked out of my life after my freshmen year of high school. Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. It is critical that people believe in themselves and look for support from those who are in your corner. You can not make it through life on your own. Find "YOUR" people and accept their love and guidance. And always... hold your head high and keep fighting. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

My loss is different than others. My loss is a father who while still on earth, literally walked out of my life after my freshmen year of high school. Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Cleveland Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was in control of my own fate. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the plays. They knew what to expect. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to play so well that the coaches had no choice but to play me. So that’s exactly what I did. Against Marco's desires and belief in me, I succeeded. My father offered via his attorney to walk out of my life. For a price. If my mom would pay him nearly $10,000 to reimburse him for years of child support, he would walk away. A judge spoke to me and my mom and asked what I wanted. I wanted free from the abuse. My mom ultimately took out a loan to pay the $10,000 and agreed to no more child support. This put a huge financial burden on her but she did it for me. I’m ecstatic to say that I flourished as not only as a person, but also as a student and athlete. I've become an honor roll student in high school and I was named as one of the captains for both my hockey and lacrosse teams. The sacrifices and love my mom has showed me is inspiring. The support from my high school teachers, administration team, and coaches was incredible. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first “Lake Erie” Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. When I was on the ice, I was in my element. It was my safe place. I was in control of my own fate. When I was on the ice, everything was right in my world. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys (some men) who had played at that level before. They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the coaches plays. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before. All the while, still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to present myself in a way that my coaches had no choice but to play me. The support of my teammates and coaches, along with the personal growth I was experiencing during my freshman year was instrumental in preparing me for the legal proceedings that I was going to be directly involved in when the judge decided he wanted to talk to ME in his chambers. (I am ecstatic to say that this meeting with the judge was the start of a new life for me. Ultimately, mom was awarded full custody and Marco received NO visitation.) Hockey helped me gain the confidence and strength to take on the biggest challenge of my life and fight for myself. While hockey impacted me, so did the school and the staff. I LOVED high school. I had a rough start, in part because of COVID/hybrid learning, and also because of my family situation. But my teachers and the principal saw my potential. They supported me, while still pushing me to me my best. My love of learning multiplied tremendously because of their dedication and passion for education. The impact they had on me as a person and student is something I can not express in words. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me. I want to be the teacher/coach that makes a difference in students' lives.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first “Lake Erie” Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. Marco was not a hockey guy. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. He’d tell me hockey was a “pu$$y” sport and I was not a real man for wanting to play. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. It was my safe place. When I was on the ice, everything was right in my world. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys (some men) who had played at that level before. I was “just a freshman.” They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the coaches' plays. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before while still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to present myself in a way that my coaches had no choice but to play me because they believed in my ability as much as I believed in myself. The support of my teammates and coaches, along with the personal growth I was experiencing during my freshman year was instrumental in preparing me for the legal proceedings that I was going to be directly involved in when the judge decided he wanted to talk to ME in his chambers. Hockey helped me gain the confidence and strength to take on the biggest challenge of my life and fight for myself. “I was just a child” in the eyes of the court. But just as I was able to prove my worth at Padua hockey, I was also able to prove I was more than “just a child” to the courts. I am ecstatic to say that this meeting with the judge was the start of a new life for me. Ultimately, mom was awarded full custody and Marco received NO visitation. I didn’t have to always worry about what was going to happen next when it came to Marco. I’m also ecstatic to say that I continued to grow not only as a person, but also as a hockey player throughout high school and I was named as one of the captains my senior year at Padua. I know life will still have challenges moving forward. Things won’t always be easy. But I will always be able to think about the lessons I learned from hockey at Padua. I will dig in and get to work on what needs done to accomplish my goals. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. My mother did everything she could to make my life as enjoyable and safe for me as she could. She is a school teacher and therefore, her schedule closely resembled mine and every spare moment she had was making sure I was ok. She put her life on hold to assist me with my education/school work and get me involved in outside activities to keep me healthy mentally. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first “Lake Erie” Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play in Elyria and that was it… I was hooked. This caused far more dysfunction than one would think. Marco was not a hockey guy. Having my own interest was more than he could handle. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. He’d tell me hockey was a “pu$$y” sport and I was not a real man for wanting to play. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. The support of my teachers and coaches, along with the personal growth I was experiencing during my freshman year was instrumental in helping me to be successful in school and for preparing me for the legal proceedings that I was going to be directly involved in when the judge decided he wanted to talk to ME in his chambers. Hockey helped me gain the confidence and strength to take on the biggest challenge of my life and fight for myself. “I was just a child” in the eyes of the court. But just as I was able to prove I was more than “just a freshman” at Padua hockey, I was also able to prove I was more than “just a child” to the courts. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me. I will make my mom proud for all her sacrifices. Marky Aponte (Haponek) **I’m in the process of adding mom’s last name too!

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first “Lake Erie” Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, my mom signed me up to play and that was it… I was hooked. Marco was not a hockey guy. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. He’d tell me hockey was a “pu$$y” sport and I was not a real man for wanting to play. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. When I was on the ice, I was in my element. It was my safe place. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was confident. I was in control of my own fate. When I was on the ice, everything was right in my world. I was at peace. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys (some men) who had played at that level before. I was “just a freshman.” They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the coaches' plays. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before while still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to present myself in a way that my coaches had no choice but to play me because they believed in my ability as much as I believed in myself. The support of my teammates and coaches, along with the personal growth I was experiencing during my freshman year was instrumental in preparing me for the legal proceedings that I was going to be directly involved in when the judge decided he wanted to talk to ME in his chambers. Hockey helped me gain the confidence and strength to take on the biggest challenge of my life and fight for myself. “I was just a child” in the eyes of the court. But just as I was able to prove I was more than “just a freshman” at Padua hockey, I was also able to prove I was more than “just a child” to the courts. I am ecstatic to say that this meeting with the judge was the start of a new life for me. Ultimately, mom was awarded full custody and Marco received NO visitation. I didn’t have to always worry about what was going to happen next when it came to Marco. I’m also ecstatic to say that I continued to grow not only as a person, but also as a hockey player throughout high school and I was named as one of the captains my senior year at Padua. My plans for the future include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.

Growing up, life wasn’t easy. I was raised by an amazing single mom. But I also had to legally visit, until age 15, a father (Marco) who was verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive. Surviving this was not easy. Marco wanted me to be a baseball, football, basketball kid. But after going to my first Lake Erie Monsters game, I fell in love with hockey. In kindergarten, mom signed me up to play in Elyria and that was it; I was hooked. Marco was not a hockey guy. He often refused to take me to hockey when I was with him. We’d argue. He’d tell me hockey was a “pu$$y” sport and I was not a real man for wanting to play. Ultimately, things would get physical. As I grew older, most everything I did was wrong and the abuse became worse and more frequent. To say my childhood and much of my teen years were difficult would be an understatement. But when I stepped foot on the ice, I was able to forget it all. When I was on the ice, I was in my element. It was my safe place. It was my escape. When I was on the ice, I was confident. I was in control of my own fate. When I was on the ice, everything was right in my world. I was at peace. When I was a freshman in high school, I started playing Varsity hockey at Padua. Being a freshman on a Varsity hockey team wasn’t easy. I was sharing the ice everyday with boys (some men) who had played at that level before. I was "just a freshman". They were bigger and stronger than me. They were familiar with the coaches' plays. I had to work harder than I’d ever worked before while still dealing with my personal challenges. This wasn’t always easy but I knew if I wanted playing time, I had to make it happen. I had to present myself in a way that my coaches had no choice but to play me because they believed in my ability as much as I believed in myself. The support of my teammates and coaches, along with the personal growth I was experiencing during my freshman year was instrumental in preparing me for the legal proceedings that I was going to be directly involved in when the judge decided he wanted to talk to ME in his chambers. Hockey helped me gain the confidence and strength to take on the biggest challenge of my life and fight for myself. “I was just a child” in the eyes of the court. But just as I was able to prove I was more than “just a freshman” at Padua hockey, I was also able to prove I was more than “just a child” to the courts. I am ecstatic to say that this meeting with the judge was the start of a new life for me. Ultimately, mom was awarded full custody and Marco received NO visitation. I didn’t have to always worry about what was going to happen next when it came to Marco. I’m also ecstatic to say that I continued to grow not only as a person, but also as a hockey player throughout high school and I was named as one of the captains my senior year at Padua. My plans include going to college and majoring in education. I will be minoring in sports coaching. My goal is to return to Padua to teach and coach. I’d like to give back to the school that gave so much to me.