Discus Award Winner
Ellie Ambrose
12th Grade, TN
ATTRIBUTES
Community Service
In 2004 I founded Ellie's Run for Africa. It is a yearly 5k race that has raised over $300,000 for schools and clinics in Kenya. I have been the event chair, spokesperson, and prize chair. This service has allowed me to win many awards. The experience has widened my horizons by giving me the opportunity to travel to Africa four times and see the result of my work. Through this service I have developed leadership skills and confidence in front of crowds that I did not have before. I have spent about 150 hours of service a year on this effort. The website for Ellie's Run for Africa is elliesrun.org.
Athletics
I have been on my high school's varsity soccer team for my four years of high school. We have been district champions twice. We have also gone to state every year. This past year we made it to the final game in state but came in second place. This year I was captain. I enjoyed this role because it gave me the opportunity to lead and encourage the younger girls. I was named an all district player my sophomore year and this past year.
Academics
I have taken challenging classes and my classes are mainly honors. I have maintained a GPA of over 3.3. Although this may not seem like a huge accomplishment it is for me. In ninth grade my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was difficult for me to balance this news with focusing on my school work. I had a lot more responsibility at home being the oldest of four children. During both ninth and tenth grade I learned how to balance my responsibilities and sometimes those at home were more important than the ones at school.
