Lori Levoy is a very exceptional educator at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. She is not only a devoted mother to two daughters but also extends her nurturing nature to the Varying Exceptionalities students she works with. Levoy graduated with a bachelor’s in communication from the University of Central Florida where she ran cross country and track. She is currently in the master’s program at Stetson University for Educational Leadership and will graduate at the end of this semester. She is also working on starting her own business. The growth of her education track never ceases to amaze me and with this expertise, Ms. Levoy positively contributes to the community whether as an educator, a mentor, a mother, or a friend. While focusing on growing her career, Levoy manages to find time for the community, which she believes is the greatest impact to make on people. Her inspiration to contribute to community comes from the deep love within her. Everyone can love but it’s what you do with that love that defines you. Levoy uses that love to help others discover their potential-especially students finding their path in life. “As an educator, I see everyday how guidance and belief can change a life. My future goals are to continue empowering young people, expanding opportunities through education and growing my own business to make an even greater difference,” said Levoy. In addition to her work in the classroom, Levoy actively volunteers with the Mainland High School football team, where her daughters work as team managers. She contributes her educational skills by helping with academic guidance and team logistics. Her involvement strengthens her connection with her daughters while also setting an example of great service and leadership. Her actions show how educational skills can be used beyond a classroom or beyond the job you are doing to inspire others and build a positive, community- focused mindset. “What advice would you give someone who wants to make a difference in their community,” I asked Levoy. She responded by saying “start with love”. Love is very selfless and maybe not everyone knows how to express it but maintaining kindness in the trail is what’s important and Levoy did exactly that. Even before I understood the full extent of her impact on the community, her kindness was evident through our personal interactions and how she always took care of my best friend. Her eldest daughter and I worked alongside each other for a few years now and we have been inseparable anytime we are together. As medical students who have worked hands-on with patients, we understood what it meant to serve the community. Our time as athletic trainers grew our connection and ultimately led me to meet her mother. This allowed me to witness firsthand the kind of positive impact to have in the real world. Levoy highlighted how making a difference doesn’t always mean doing something big-it means caring deeply, showing up, and using your gift to help in anyway you can. “Small acts of kindness and consistency often create the greatest impact over time,” she said, and that’s exactly what she did for me. I feel extremely humbled to have someone like Ms. Levoy in my everyday life—someone who genuinely wants the best for me. What’s even more meaningful is the fact that she also brought one of my favorite people into my world, reminding me that positive influence often begins with simple acts of care and kindness. Coming to the ending of my high school years now, Ms. Levoy is still here cheering me on and ensuring I am good.

To truly show patriotism and support for our country requires channeling our love we feel and applying it in our actions where the reward of love would just be the emotional aspect. As a non-U.S. born child, AFJROTC has given me the opportunity to understand the real definition of patriotism and show it by attending patriotic events, participating in patriotic events and even planning patriotic events on my own. In my years of being in AFJROTC, one thing that we were always told is that we are a citizen’s program, and every opportunity that presented itself was always for the community. All these events had their own reward even in ways I couldn’t expect, for instance, writing this essay now. I’ve participated in competition drill teams which has always been a reward toward the students’ hard work and coming up to my last year in the AFJROTC program I am now the commander of one of those teams. Participating in events such as placing flags in the cemetery of fallen heroes, or cleaning graves of fallen heroes has been empowering. It feels like a reward in taking care of them when they can no longer care for the country or themselves. The best thing about doing this was that we were asked by the vietnam veterans to volunteer our time and we were honored to work alongside them with this task. My favorite event I have participated in would be visiting the VA nursing home and playing bingo with the veterans. I’ve even shared meals with them like my own family, and that is a way I show my support and patriotism to the U.S. Over the years in this program, I’ve watched my instructors embody patriotism and support for the community and troops even after they retired. I used what I learned to show my own support and planning events, one of the most important event, the military ball. Planning events has always been enjoyable, but planning the military ball highlights the patriotic aspect, such as having a POW/MIA table, cadets presenting the colors, and cadets singing the national anthem. A challenge I have faced would be the change in leadership in my Student Government program. Starting the year, we knew that we would experience growing pains due to the change in directors; because of this I knew my goal this year would not just to be the voice but also the face of the students and keep school spirit alive. I did that by planning events, donating time and resources to the community all while continuing to be a dedicated leader. Despite our growing pains, the student body came together to be a united front. For example, we led canned food drives, collected and donated gifts for bus drivers, and provided the elderly community with our time. Having both new directors and students had its challenges but working with each other daily gave us a chance to learn and grow together as this was meant to be a fresh start with new perspectives. If I could be the next world's superhero my theme song would be "The greatest" by Sia. The true meaning of the song is to always do everything with a smile and with that maintain your hope, resilience, and perseverance. This represents the personality I strive to maintain. The lyrics that mean the most to me, "Don't give up, I won't give up Don't give up, no, no, no I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest The greatest, the greatest alive."

“Being challenged in life is inevitable; being defeated is optional,” said Roger Crawford. I still remember the pure joy and excitement a child feels on their first day of school—that was me during my junior year of high school. Deep down, I knew this year would be different because of a change in my leadership environment. Part of me viewed it as simply a move within my community, but in my heart, I knew it was more than that—I wanted an environment that would push me to grow, strive for excellence, and truly challenge myself. My decision to join the Student Government Association (SGA) was validated by the mental and emotional challenges I faced including obstacles, unawareness, and unaccountability. To grow into the young woman my parents had always taught me to be I had to advance myself and try new things whether that was clubs or programs. SGA became one of those things I became involved in. I have been in SGA for three years. My second year in the program, both directors decided it was time to retire and give the newer generation an opportunity to lead. I did not know what to expect, but I was intrigued and prepared to experience a new perspective in leadership. Starting the year, we knew that we would experience growing pains due to the change in directors; because of this I knew my goal this year would not just to be the voice but also the face of the students and keep school spirit alive. I did that by planning events, donating time and resources to the community all while continuing to be a dedicated leader. Despite our growing pains, the student body came together to be a united front. For example, we led canned food drives, collected and donated gifts for bus drivers, and provided the elderly community with our time. Having both new directors and students had its challenges but working with each other daily gave us a chance to learn and grow together as this was meant to be a fresh start with new perspectives. I started to question my purpose in the program when incessant obstacles arose throughout the year. For instance, inequitable practices that created biased treatment or not holding everyone to the same standards. Observing the student body’s response to projects I assisted with initiating on campus, confirmed my sole purpose of joining the Student Government Association. Throughout all the obstacles that presented themselves, I reminded the directors of SGA’s goal in keeping the community and student body content. Trying is better than giving up so in the end, I never lost sight of the goal. Something my mom always told me was to take a step back in situations that may be overwhelming, “You will not fail for God is within you. You are the head and not the tail and will always go above and not beneath.” This reminder encouraged me to take a step back to reassess what was taking place. I had to remember what my mom went through to get me hear and all these obstacles that I was actively facing was just the start to my bright future. With these obstacles I will push to become the best version of myself, one who doesn't back down in discomfort, that is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. The change might have presented itself as a challenge but was an experience that brought me out of my comfort zone. This led me to think; if I did not experience those obstacles this past year, would I have this much clarity right now?

Who am I? I am Se'rena Sutherland, the person who have faced multiple challenges in leadership and life. My dream is to be a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and with the calling on my life, I plan to let God use me to heal his people as a doctor. Obstacles I anticipate that may occur would include over extenuating myself in situations. I am an over achiever which gives me the advantage of being involved in everything or just being first in line to help where is needed. This led me to join the Air Force JROTC, Student Government (SGA), and so much more programs in school that represents the student body and community. As an overachiever, I am given the chance of being a dual enrolled student in high school and a community college. Being dual enrolled is a blessing in getting a headstart in my career but it is also an obstacle. My goal is to always help where needed while also keeping my head straight in my education but juggling two different education levels has a way of setting a person off balance especially a person that is dedicated in finishing what they started. I plan to overcome this obstacle by pushing through the barriers that may come up. I always try to remember my why in everything I do and with the grace of God I am going overcome any challenge and be the person I was called to be. My faith is what keeps me going as a firm believer in my goal. Joining multiple programs was an obstacle at the start as I didn't know what my balance would be. In the end, in this very time, I realize that there was a reward and that was seeing people happy in what they received. Student Government Association provided that for me when we had food drives for the homeless, when we donated can goods to a news channel, when we volunteered our time to nursing homes and the school to see the student body and teachers satisfied in their work environment. AFJROTC provided me with a sense of gratitude in surviving the citizens of the community whether that was putting on fundraisers for Advent Health, or for the sick children at the hospital, whether it was playing bingo with the veterans, or just simply cleaning the cemetery and honoring them by placing the United States flag. Whatever obstacles I might face has never held me back just because of my chance in seeing people happy. This is my reward; this is what keeps me going and what will always help me to overcome my obstacles. For God is within me, I will not fail.