During the summer of last year I was informed that I would need surgery and would never play sports again. At the start of my high school career, I faced many injuries and had trouble playing sports. Freshman, sophomore, and junior year were tainted by the underlying issue of a back injury. Season after season, year after year I pushed through the pain just to enjoy the experience and friendships. At the end of the track season my junior year I was preparing for districts and pushing myself harder than ever. During a pole vault warmup before my event, I went limp and collapsed to the ground. I was unable to walk for several minutes and when I finally was helped up, my life changed forever. Days after the accident I saw a doctor who told me that I would be able to recover fine and I got many tests ran. I went through the summer as usual, although I was unable to do anything for the most part. The pain was unbearable and I couldn’t run, lift, or do activities that required any physical aspect. I went to football practices and watched everyone else play and work. My goal was to recover for the season because my team needed me and I wanted to do everything I could to be healthy. Towards the end of the summer I went to a different doctor because my condition wasn’t improving. The doctor told me my L4 and L5 vertebrae were severely fractured and I needed fusion surgery. This ruined my year and I became extremely depressed. Not only would I never play sports again and my time was wasted, but now I would have to live differently than everyone else. I went through with surgery and returned home days after. My condition was terrible and it hurt to move even the slightest. My day to day was changed to fit my new way of life and I didn’t see anyone other than my parents for three weeks. I had to lay in bed all day and take medicine to sleep. When I returned back to school, I had to be extremely cautious. The physical symptoms were bad, but the worse part of my experience was the mental challenges. I battled jealousy and hatred as well as sadness just to function like my peers. I had so much gratitude for those that helped me, and it inspired me to pursue my future plans of healthcare. I was always interested in the hospital scene, but it motivated me to research and learn more about the subject. Now, 7 months later I am in the process of becoming EMT certified and I want to major in biochemistry at a prestigious university. I shadow doctors on Wednesdays and do clinicals on Tuesday and Thursdays nights every other week. My plan is to go to med school and provide high quality medical care for those who need it most. As of now my back is still broken, but I have worked hard to recover and am currently on the swim team. I plan to become my healthiest, best self and reach a new high of fitness thanks to my improving condition and confidence. Without this experience I would not be who I am today, and although it is not something I would wish on anybody and I had to fight for everyday, I am happy where I’m at with my new set of goals. I always think about what I could have been without the injury, but it’s better I focus on the future.

Teachers hate class clowns. But my favorite and most inspirational teacher is the class clown. Mr.Sterner is pretty much a comedian. At the same time he’s the hardest teacher I’ve ever had. I’ve had his class for AP Calculus and Advanced Algebra. His classroom creates an environment that promotes learning. He will come up with his own silly rules and ways to solve problems, but it makes it very easy to remember. I imagine everyone has this teacher, but rarely for math. Not only does he make class enjoyable, but he relates to his students. He loves sports and supports the school community. You can see him at pep rallies and he is always giving speeches. He’s undoubtedly somewhere at school events and will always interact with you, even if you don’t want him to. Some days when I wake up feeling tired and unmotivated to go to school, I walk through the halls and see Mr.Sterner. I feel like me and him have this tradition to say hi to each-other every single morning. He remembers little things about his students, and will always call them out for them jokingly, which makes our lessons very personal. Some of the sayings he uses have become part of my peers vocabulary. At sport practices and lunch, my friends will use his sayings to talk to each other. It shows his impact on all of us. When asked about our favorite teacher, it always comes down to two. It’s always either Mr. Sterner or Mr. Taronis. Mr. Taronis is another MVP. I’ve had him for all my years of high school because I refuse to have anyone else teach me history. He’s very nice and likes to see us succeed. Like Mr. Sterner, he relates to his students and understands us well. Another thing to know about Mr. Sterner is the wisdom he has. He graduated in 1989 and never stops to let us forget that. He always jokes about his age. He is full of funny tales and stories that helps us understand topics, or just amuses us and gets us in the mood for a test. It’s hard to go from his class to another because I usually get instantly depressed by the other class and it’s dullness. At least compared to Mr. Sterner’s. I am excited that I get to be in his class later in the day; I can’t wait for it. I was injured in his class last year, and the sympathy he showed me was very unique. He really understood how I was feeling and made me feel welcome. After a while he made it into a joke, which made me smile everyday. One time a couple of my friends who were in another of his classes told him my nicknames, which they made up. As you can imagine, the rest of that school year was very fun. If there is anyone I will remember later in my life through my k-12 education, it will be Mr. Sterner. His teaching will be the most useful in college and I’ll never forget his lessons. I can see myself talking about him with a friend in many years to come. His impact on me and my classmates will live on forever.

When it comes to being online, I can confidently say I am in the top 1 percent of users. I have used the internet more than most people. For a majority of people, the internet is a useful tool that has allowed people to stay connected across long distances at fast speeds. But online services have become very dangerous and harmful as well. Many people can get scammed into buying or doing things that aren’t secure, or cyber bullied without any consequences. I have been in some of those darkest spots. I am very involved in my community. I play a variety of sports and try to get involved in as many public events as I can. I believe that being apart of a community is very important for people. It allows others to find help and support for problems they face. I love to volunteer because I know my effort will help others. I can encourage people to pursue goals they didn’t know existed or were possible. Through my experiences I have learned a lot of people face problems financially. This is the most difficult challenge in history it seems. A lot of people and friends come from low income households where they experience challenges that they can’t overcome. The only way people are able to attend the same level of goals as I do is to have a dependence on others. This seems negative but through a community it is very necessary. I always give rides to people who need them and will always try and support them so they can achieve success. Often I need to rely on my family and friends myself. In the upcoming year I plan to pursue college. I don’t come from a low income household, but if I have to pay for an expensive tuition, I believe it will tear my family apart. My mother works two jobs just to allow me to play sports and be involved in school clubs and classes. I work on my own during the summer to pay for some of my hobbies. An issue I hear all the time in my kitchen is money and debt. During this period I try not to focus on myself, but I instead want to spend time with my friends and community. This time allows me to learn about my opportunities and paths I can take to achieving my goals and career. I can use my experience to help other that want to take the same path as me in the future. During my pursuit of education and work, I have played a lot of video games and been online. Some of the things I’ve done have relived some stress and allows enjoyment. But during my time online and scrolling on my phone, I have seen some of the most horrendous treatment of people. Many people online are alone. They don’t have the support of a community to feel safe. This is a problem with some online spaces. There is always an area that has people who are helpful and can give you advice. Along with this there is an area of people who don’t want to help, they would rather give wrong information and cause harm. This can be detrimental to young people or others who don’t understand the internet, especially with AI. I think we should come together as a community to increase safety. Younger people need guidance on the internet and shouldn’t be exposed to the worst parts. People on the internet shouldn’t be so hateful just because they won’t suffer any consequences. Affected people need assistance.

From the games to hard practices, every football experience changed who I am. The game of football has been very influential to my life and personality. I have been playing the sport since I was 6. My brother played before me, and my dad was a fanatic. The passion of football ran very deep in my family’s history. I have always excelled at the sport and understood how it was played very well. Recently I have been changed by the sport more than ever. Before I started my freshman year of high school, I hurt myself deadlifting. I was positive it was a minor issue and I proceeded to play through the pain. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. Year after year the cycle would repeat. I would rest and recover during baseball and the summer seasons, but as soon as pads came on, I would experience an unbearable pain. The pain would keep me up at night and prevent me from running. This pain started in my back and would shoot and burn through my legs. Instead of finding help, I would show up to practice and push through it knowing it was only getting worse. Although I made it through three seasons, I had terrible performance. I would miss tackles and my coach would always tell me that I could be starting, but no matter how much effort I gave I just couldn’t excel. I knew I was a better player than everyone thought, but with the injury I had no way to prove myself. During the winter wrestling season my junior year, I felt that terrible pain again. I dealt with it just as I had before, but this time I got an x-ray. It turns out I had a really bad fracture of the L-5 vertebra and my spine was completely unstable. The only fix was to quit sports for 3 to 6 months. I should’ve stopped and allowed myself to heal for football season, but I didn’t want to quit. This is where I made the second biggest mistake of my life. I finished the season and continued to lift and sprint. During a track meet I snapped my back and was unable to walk. I went to a different doctor, where I was told I could never play sports again. This was the worst day of my life. This means I would miss out on my senior football season. All the work I had put into the sport my entire life meant nothing. Months later, I went through a six hour surgery where my spine was fused and rods were screwed up my back. I went through the darkest days of my life as I laid on a bed inside, unable to do anything. The only thing I could think of is what I was missing out on. During this time it allowed me to think of my career, scholarships, college, and how I would finish high school. All these things depressed me. I should’ve been having the best year of my life with friends and sports. I worked on my summer assignments for my advanced classes, which was nice with the time I had. I began to recover well and fell pretty good, which allowed me to return to practices. I wasn’t able to play, but just standing there with my friends made me feel welcome. I felt like myself again. The people on the football team are family. Even though I am not able to compete, I will be at every practice and game to and show my support.

“You have to compete”-coach keener. Coach keener was my wrestling and JV baseball coach. He was a very exciting and inspiring coach. Coach keener served in the military and grew up outside of Pennsylvania. When he moved here, I imagine he had trouble connecting to the kids he was trying to coach. The environment and atmosphere I live in is completely different than his, atleast from the stories he told us. His style and unique way of coaching is still infamous to those he taught. His style was very loud and enthusiastic. Sometimes you would be scared to do anything wrong because of the punishment you might face. I remember how much harder it made me work. I really liked coach keener, but I found out how much he really cared for his players when I got injured. He showed compassion and helped me feel welcome. I’ve never had a coach relate as much to the way I was feeling as he did. It turns out my injury was worse than I thought, but coach keener was willing to work with it and allow me to practice my own way. He designed my own way for me to practice technique and condition without pain. He would follow the group and run with us during conditioning. I remember him running with me and making sure I was doing fine. His leadership paid off because we won the championship that year. Coach keener retried after that season to be able to support his kids with sports and school. I haven’t spoken to him much since but his lessons will live on. Whenever I’m losing in a sport or not doing so well, I always tell myself that I need to compete. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel as he would say. Whenever I’m helping younger kids or having a tough day at work, I recall the tough days at practice and hearing his voice in the background. It inspires me to help others and to provide coaching the same way he did. I believe everyone has their own coach keeners. You need a mentor to give you advice and help you out, especially in high school. Coach keener isn’t the only one who has inspired me. I’ve had coaches from swim to football to track. They all have their own styles and ways of coaching. From coach Hampfords old school swim practices where he would tell us about the 60s and coach Brennans 3 hour football practices where he would call us better than everyone around. They teach lessons you can’t learn in the other sports. The lessons I learned from all the sports I’ve played have shaped me in a way I could not imagine I would be without them.