Discus Awards

Community Service

The greatest pleasure in life is bringing joy to others. I created Operation: IMPACT, a campaign to combat generational poverty in rural Oregon. With the help of a student team, I’m working on creating a community-wide "IMPACT Festival". The IMPACT Festival, to be held March 14-16, has three goals: to provide resources, raise awareness, and offer outlets for students to join the fight against poverty.

Outside of Operation: IMPACT, I've put together a HIV Awareness week, four blood drives, a clothing drive, a canned food drive, a giving tree, and an "Earth Day" Week. As ASB president my junior year I focused on community service, organizing a senior citizen dance and community carnival. I've also enjoyed the opportunity to help lead a mural project to connect Oregon's rural communities.

Academics

I aim to succeed academically to achieve my goal of earning a doctorate in Public Health to fight food insecurity and obesity in America. I’ve taken all of the AP and honors courses my high school offers. This includes Scholars History, a class that I enjoyed giving four, 45-minute speeches and producing three, 8-paged essays. My weighted GPA is a 4.15 and my unweighted GPA is a 4.00, making me salutatorian of my class. Last year, while balancing the duties of ASB and Social Justice Club president, I took the AP US History and AP Biology exams. To prepare for the tests, I created 500+ powerpoint review slides to study daily. I felt honored to receive a 5 on my AP Biology exam, the highest score possible. For my academic and leadership success, I was selected as a 2012 Bezos Scholar.

Athletics

I’ve been showing Quarter Horses regionally and nationally for six years. Two years ago I retired my 27-year-old show horse. The decision to retire him stemmed from my dream of attending the Quarter Horse World Show. I needed a younger horse with more finesse. The solution was George, a big gelding with a wealth of potential. However, George had no show experience. I had to learn how to ride him and teach him at the same time. George became the challenge no one expected. His behavior was unpredictable, but his performance gradually increased. Although I qualified, I never took George to the World Show. Instead, I continued to pursue shows regionally, eventually winning a state all-around title. The true victory, however, came in the lesson George taught me: perseverance goes a long way.