Discus Award Winner
Winners Gallery
PHOTOS
Katie Leonard
12th Grade, CO
ATTRIBUTES
Academics
I am a 4-year honor roll student in the top 5% of my class. I'm the president of Black Student Alliance, a member Student Council, and National Honors Society. Beyond that, though, lays the more important thing. I love to learn. A lot of people don’t realize that what you learn in school is so applicable in every day life. Books that you read in school are not always awful and boring. They can inspire you to think about yourself and your life in a different way. Science is your mom cooking in the morning. Math is going to the grocery store. My education is holistic. Schooling is woven into the grains of my everyday life. I try to live what I learn! It makes learning all the more enjoyable.
Athletics
Soccer is my passion. I have torn my ACL, MCL, and Meniscus in both knees, and broken my tibia twice, but continued playing. It may seem crazy to play after all those injuries, but I am an extremely motivated individual. I have had to re-teach myself to walk 4 different times, which not only made me appreciate playing sports, but just being able to operate normally in daily life. Sports help you learn every day life-lessons. They teach you how to win graciously, lose humbly, and work hard every day. My club team has won 3 state championships and finished in the top 5 in the nation several years in a row. My school team can barely make it to the playoffs. I’ve won and lost in sports, but more importantly, I’ve learned something from them.
Community Service
Volunteer work is an important way to get to know all aspects of your community and help people that need it. I make weekly visits to local underserved elementary schools to read with kids. I also spend time at The GrowHaus, an interactive farm and urban marketplace. I help bag groceries and move boxes at Metro Carering, one of Denver’s largest hunger relief programs. During the holidays, I work with our school’s resource officer in selecting and fundraising for a family in need. Last year we raised over 2,000 dollars. I have also spent time abroad doing community service. I traveled to India with an NGO to provide dental care to children in Ladakh. That trip was an amazing learning experience.
