Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.

Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.

Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.

After having suffered an injury in my left quad in the spring of my sophomore year where I had torn all 4 muscles in my quad and was hardly able to walk on it, my athletic journey took on a whole new meaning. Prior to this injury, I fully knew the pain that can be endured on and off of the football field, weight room, and track as we grow and improve. I have always been an active person; the last one to stop playing, the first to initiate a pick up game and the kid that never wanted to just sit. After seeing so many doctors, having to try to rest while my muscles healed and tons of physical therapy, I still wasn't 100%. I powered through and was able to still participate in track and football. My senior year football season ended abruptly with a trip to the emergency room. It was found that although I had been cleared to play with the muscles having healed, I still had two large pockets of fluid in my leg. For the past 20 months, I had been in and out of so many ice baths and the swelling in my leg had never fully subsided. Eventually, I had a bigger problem with an infection due to the original injury. After three weeks in the hospital and three surgeries, I am healing, but will have a constant reminder of this ordeal for the rest of my life. I don't share this story for pity or wow factor, in fact I haven't shared this story on any college applications, but to show the perseverance I have found in myself and now I know I am so capable. I missed a lot of school, however I am proud to say: *I only missed the final game of the football season and received the most improved player award this year *I maintained my 4.0 GPA throughout this entire adventure *I am looking forward to strengthening my lower body to participate in spring track and field my senior year of high school. We are all capable of great things and have struggles along the way. There were times, and still are, that pain is my four letter word to getting through the day, but I know that if we sit and let life pass you by, it will. I choose to succeed and give my all instead.

Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.

Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future. I am getting my degree to gain the skills and knowledge needed to innovate in the field of engineering and contribute to solving real-world problems. My passion for STEM drives me to explore how technology can improve lives and create sustainable solutions for our future. With a strong foundation in engineering, I hope to make a positive impact on society and inspire others to pursue their own dreams in science and technology.

Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.

Moving from New England to North Carolina brought terrific change that taught me about diversity, humbled me in my studies and excited our family to discover all the different areas of North Carolina. I have lived in the triangle and the seacoast. North Carolina has so much to offer! The triangle is an interesting mid point. College has always been my goal and I hope that an engineering program will challenge me in my studies and allow me to grow with a community that not only intrigues me, but promotes discovery. I have always thrived in mathematics. I look forward to discovering all the avenues NC State offers. In our windy community, I have seen significant impact through beach clean ups. A dramatic difference that one club or sports team can make in just a few hours has inspired me to set an example joining clean up crews or taking a weekend morning with my family to clean up our beaches or school grounds. My passion for STEM drives me to explore how technology can improve lives and create sustainable solutions for our future, leaving the earth better than we found it. I am getting my degree to gain the skills and knowledge needed to innovate in the field of engineering and contribute to solving real-world problems. With a strong foundation in engineering, I hope to make a positive impact on society and inspire others to pursue their own dreams in science and technology. As an entrepreneur, I have been running my own online store for a few years. Staying debt free, profitable, and maintaining a high customer service rating are just a few of the goals I have set and continue to achieve. I've had good teachers, in that my parents have always had a business going on within our home that allowed my siblings and I to be a part of all the stages from planning and development to shifting and adjusting and closing to begin a new venture. Moving from New England to North Carolina brought terrific change that taught me about diversity, humbled me in my studies and excited our family to discover all the different areas of North Carolina. I have lived in the triangle and the seacoast. North Carolina has so much to offer! The triangle is an interesting mid point. College has always been my goal and I hope that an engineering program will challenge me in my studies and allow me to grow with a community that not only intrigues me, but promotes discovery. I have always thrived in mathematics. I look forward to discovering all the avenues NC State offers.

After having suffered an injury in my left quad in the spring of my sophomore year where I had torn all 4 muscles in my quad and was hardly able to walk on it, my athletic journey took on a whole new meaning. Prior to this injury, I fully knew the pain that can be endured on and off of the football field, weight room, and track as we grow and improve. I have always been an active person; the last one to stop playing, the first to initiate a pick up game and the kid that never wanted to just sit. After seeing so many doctors, having to try to rest while my muscles healed and tons of physical therapy, I still wasn't 100%. I powered through and was able to still participate in track and football. My senior year football season ended abruptly with a trip to the emergency room. It was found that although I had been cleared to play with the muscles having healed, I still had two large pockets of fluid in my leg. For the past 20 months, I had been in and out of so many ice baths and the swelling in my leg had never fully subsided. Eventually, I had a bigger problem with an infection due to the original injury. After three weeks in the hospital and three surgeries, I am healing, but will have a constant reminder of this ordeal for the rest of my life. I don't share this story for pity or wow factor, in fact I haven't shared this story on any college applications, but to show the perseverance I have found in myself and now I know I am so capable. I missed a lot of school, however I am proud to say: *I only missed the final game of the football season and received the most improved player award this year *I maintained my 4.0 GPA throughout this entire adventure *I am looking forward to strengthening my lower body to participate in spring track and field my senior year of high school. We are all capable of great things and have struggles along the way. There were times, and still are, that pain is my four letter word to getting through the day, but I know that if we sit and let life pass you by, it will. I choose to succeed and give my all instead.

Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.

I am getting my degree to gain the skills and knowledge needed to innovate in the field of engineering and contribute to solving real-world problems. My passion for STEM drives me to explore how technology can improve lives and create sustainable solutions for our future. With a strong foundation in engineering, I hope to make a positive impact on society and inspire others to pursue their own dreams in science and technology. Almost as a right of passage, teens are told that our summers should be filled with plenty of sunshine and, of course, a part time job. You’ll learn so much as a teen from grunt work while your boss takes repeated smoke breaks- perhaps. As I was climbing through a ridiculously hot shipping container struggling to find beach chairs in the most unorganized version of a make-shift warehouse I realized that I was missing out on summer! I am sure there is more of a lesson than me realizing this is not the job for me, but the main lesson I have learned is that we can make things happen for ourselves. We do have a choice and create our own opportunities. Knowing that the most important part of having a j-o-b all summer is balancing the goals of making some cash and spending time with friends and enjoying summer, I decided to be a bit more creative. My summer job had two parts. First, I heard that a few of my friends had some manual labor and odd jobs. I volunteered to go along to their jobs where I could make some cash while spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine, helping neighbors and doubling up on some workouts to get ready for football season too. One of my favorite places was working on maintenance at a local mini golf course. We live in a beach town and there is a lot of work to do at places like this during the summer. This wasn’t steady work or something I could see myself doing long term, but laughing with my buddies as we were scraping algae out of the ponds, searching for lost golf balls and maintaining the grounds to keep them free of debris was actually a lot of fun! It also helped that one of our high school teachers worked there over the summer and gave us lemonade and ice cream on the long days. There is a second part to my summer job. This was, and still is, great because I could do it in any down time I had over the summer. I created an online store where I sell rare Lego pieces. I had been developing this store after school and on weekends. The summer was the perfect time to really see what I could make of it! After trying a few traditional part time jobs I felt like I had a good grasp on what not to do in a business and this would help me implement a healthy business model. Through the summer and still today, I have grown my store to getting consistent orders and excelling at customer service boosting my store stats. Soon enough, football was back in full swing and the summer was quickly coming to an end. Stepping away from the normal summer job that for me seemed awful, allowed avenues to create ways to accomplish my summer goals, build relationships and a business that will help steer clear from those part time j-o-b setbacks in the future.