I am Rorik Holmquist a senior from Marquette Michigain (up in the UP). I attend Marquette Senior high school and will graduate in June 2026. Some things I love to do are run, ski, hike, play basketball, and just hangout with friends. The only organized sports I do now days are cross country and track & field which I have found success in and just recently was the runner up in my state cross country champioship meet. I also plan to attend Michigan Technological University, in the fall of 2026 and I plan to run for Techs cross country and track team. At Michigan Tech as of right now plan to study chemical engineering and plan to at least obtain a bachelors degree.  My future goals are of course to graduate from Michigan Tech and get a job somewhere in the midwest. Of course I would love to stay in the winter wonder land of Michigain, but Minnesota or Wisconsin would suffice. I also want to have a successful running career at the collegiate level and want to be top Dll runner by the time I graduate. I plan to continue with running as a life long sport and would like to stay locally competative. Once I get my feet after college, I would love to have a family and raise two maybe three kids. ideally I would at least have one boy so I can share all the experiences I had with my dad playing sprots, hunting, and just hanging out with him. I also want to be a coach specifically cross country and track & field. It has always been a passion of mine to be a Coach because of my Coach, Dr. Derek Marr. Without Derek, my life would be much different Derek taught me how to work hard how to be passionate and most importantly how to be optimistic. Derek had a large impact on me and I want to have the same impact on other kids who are passionate for cross country and track.

I was lucky. I'm Rorik Holmquist a 17-year-old from Marquette, Michigan. I grew up playing every sport under the sun baseball, basketball, ect. Eventually I ended up settling on cross country. It wasn't like that luck that I got good (2x All State Dream team, 2025 D1 runner up) but I was lucky to receive the leadership I got. Over my four years running cross country. I had the same Coach, Dr. Derek Marr. He is a sports psychologist at my local college, and has mentally trained some of the top endurance athletes in the world. Over those years under Derek, I took everything I could. I learned all about how to stay mentally in a race when it hurts and how to motivate yourself when no one is watching but most importantly I recognize his leadership. After years of being coached by Derek, listening to Derek’s teachings, and putting my leadership to the test as captain of the cross team this past season, I see clearly what makes a great leader. What traits make a great leader are passion, tenacity, accountability, and the belief in one another, almost to the point of delusion. I also see that a great leader doesn’t just lead in sport, but also acts as a role model for others outside of sport, showing how to act properly in life outside of sports. So many schools get leadership wrong; a leader shouldn't be the most talented or even the best player on the team. It should be the one who works the hardest, is passionate, and has the vocals to hold others together and accountable. These leadership qualities are NOT echoed throughout my schools programs programs. My plan to fix this problem is to become a coach myself, specifically a cross country and track coach. I know I possess the qualities to be a great leader. I have the passion and experience leading cross country, I have the energy and tenacity from my personality, I possess the ability to call out my teammates in a correct manner if they are not performing to the best of there ability in all facets of life not just in sport, and lastly I hold the ability to be extremely optimistic, because optimism and belief was Dereks biggest teaching point and had the most profound impact on my philosophy, but I don't just want to be a coach. I want to make a real impact across all sports, and want to become a school board member who helps to over see athletic hires and focus on bringing in coaching that is life and leadership focused. Overall, I deeply believe that strong leadership and mentors in sport are a factor for success in an adolescent's life. It's important to me for kids to have leadership not just to win but because, for many kids, there may be no leadership or a mentor in their lives outside of sports. I know teammates and friends, who I have firsthand seen the impact a leader and mentor can have on someone's drive in a sport, which almost always translates to the classroom and other aspects of life.

McFarland USA had the greatest impact on my life. While I thought over what movie had the greatest impact on my life I grazed over the good will hunting and inside out inspirational movies of the world. I thought deeper. I thought to a time where I made a pivotal change. The first time I watched McFarland USA was just after COVID. In 2021 my freshman year I remember playing ping pong in the basement of one of my cross country teammates house. People slowly start filing out of the basement and before I knew it over a hour it’s just me and one of my teammates left in the basement. I head up stairs shortly after to find out what everyone was up to. I turn to my right and everyone is glued to the television and like that I was to. Since I was in the basement for the first hour of the movie I rewatched it the next day because it good, but in that moment I didn’t realize how big of a impact this movie was actually going to have on my life and how “good” may have been the reason I rewatched it in the moment, but not the reason I lived it. McFarland USA is a true story based on how legendary coach Jim White got fired from his day job and noticed these underserved Latino kids in California and their natural ability to run. So Jim started a team and through struggles with getting parents on board with a white man coaching their kids and the kids strong family ties. He formed a team just in time for the first season that would have a California cross country state championship. The main teaching point of the whole movie is how the team connects forming a I want to do good for not just me but also for you dynamic. Creating an unstoppable positive mindset which lead the team a major under dog to winning the inaugural California state cross country championship. At the time when I first watched the movie Cross Country was my side sport. I was still in love with baseball, but after watching McFarland USA and looking to my right and left at my teammates and brand new coach that in the future would become my greatest source of inspiration they all seemed to fill a character in the movie. I decided I wanted to be an apart of the movie and dove straight in. Over my four years on the cross country team we would win four state titles two of which I was on the line for and I would personally finish state runner up this past season on addition our team a under dog also qualified for the Nike Cross Country Regionals (preliminary for nationals) my Jr year. Looking back at that night in that basement and that small source of inspiration I think how it could have all been different, but I also think about how it couldn’t have been better. I now joke with my teammates and coach about which aspects of our journey are going to be in our movie and which actor is going to play who. Overall McFarland USA’s teachings about being a teammate, trusting your teammates, and pushing your teammates put me on the path to make a ton of friends, become a state runner up, and has given me an opportunity to continue to run at Michigan Tech. University.

The advancement of society relies fundamentally on leadership and science. When effectively integrated, these forces have the capacity to drive innovation, address global challenges, and shape a sustainable and equitable future. From the standpoint of a future chemical engineering major, the relationship between leadership and science is practical science generates knowledge and technological capability, while leadership determines how that knowledge is directed and regulated. Chemical engineering exemplifies this relationship through its role in transforming scientific principles into industrial and societal applications. Engineers design processes that produce energy, materials, and pharmaceuticals essential to modern life. Yet, the true impact of such innovations depends on leadership that values people, ethics, and decision making. Leaders who prioritize people, science, and our futures create environments in which scientists can apply their expertise to solve the futures problems. Without such leadership, scientific progress risks being guided solely by profit or convenience rather than the collective good. Critical thinking is the bridge between scientific innovation and effective leadership. Scientists and engineers must evaluate not only the technical feasibility of a process but also its ethical, environmental, and economic implications. This analytical mindset demands evidence-based decision-making, a willingness to challenge assumptions, and an understanding of complex systems. Similarly, leaders must be capable of interpreting scientific data and translating it into policies that promote innovation while safeguarding humanity. Looking toward the future, the convergence of strong leadership and scientific advancement will determine how effectively humanity addresses the ever changing world. Science provides the means to innovate, but leadership defines the moral and strategic framework within which innovation occurs. As a future student of chemical engineering, I view my role as both a technical expert and a participant in decision making processes that shape will shape the future of technology and society. The integration of scientific rigor with visionary leadership will guide humanity toward a better more productive sustainable future.

Prompt 1: When I was a young boy, I was naturally athletic and good at sports. I was a gifted baseball player. I was great all around. I could bat with the best, could pitch with the best, and was the best fielder up through Little League. As I aged and everyone else around me aged, my height and strength didn’t keep up with everyone. Before I knew it, I was on the bench, only known for being a good fielder. I went through middle school falling from where I once was. Thinking I would never be great at anything in life again. This was demoralizing to me. The thought that you could be tossed to the side or on the bench scared me to the core. That’s when I tried cross country running I was good for my class, but nothing special. Still small and not as physically mature as everyone else, I held my own and by the end of my 8th grade year, I was my middle school team’s 3rd best runner. I went into my freshman year thinking I was untouchable. Halfway through my freshman cross country season, I suffered a stress fracture in my right fibula. Doctors thought my season was over and I believed my aspirations to be at the top of a sport again were over. I started rehab and watched my fellow reach new personal bests while I sat on the sidelines.  That’s when I thought back to my baseball days, and I felt those same feelings of frustration, loss, and disappointment. I once again prepared to enter mediocrity, my one true fear. The fear that you will never be someone’s first, second or third choice but an after thought.  Something changed under my high school cross country coach, Dr. Marr. Dr. Marr, a sports psychologist and professor at my local university, beloved by his positive and personable coaching style, took me under his wing. Towards the end of the season, I started to train again and trained like I never had before. In the past, I was able to be a contender based on raw skill, but now I was unveiling my true potential. I was able to run in the final JV race of the season, beating my goal of sub 20 minutes. I look back on this memory with great pleasure, knowing this was a turning point in my life. This nugget of success that grew from a pot of failure, but nourished each day by training and hard work showed me that not just in sports but also in life, school, relationships or what ever endeavor you face, you need to study, train, or be a student of the game. Which in turn sets you up to have consistent positive outcomes. Those positive outcomes have led me to be a leader, a role model, and a star on not just my cross country/track team, but also off the track, in the class room, and into every day life.