I did not grow up in Pennsylvania like the majority of my peers from preschool through elementary school. I moved from Toronto, Ontario to Pennsylvania in eighth grade. My exposure to numerous areas was lessened from middle school through high school. There was less ethnic exposure compared to the city. Everyone was either Christian or Atheist. I grew up in a very diverse school and city. It was not just diverse in race and ethnicity but also religion. So moving was a big shift in my life and what I was learning in and out of school. Being here has taught me many lessons, such as the importance of mercy and patience. I was more exposed to differing views in the city but moving to a small rural town that was mostly populated with the demographic of Caucasians, I had to learn to choose my fights. I learned that even in the toughest times and facing adversity, there is always a path out. My reason for moving was due to many underlying issues including citizenship, finances, and safety. Over the last seven years here in Pennsylvania, I have learned to be appreciative of education, a roof over my head, a warm bed and so much more. Going to school in Toronto versus the United States was a shift. There were many big and small differences such as the metric system or certain spellings of words such as "colour" and "color." But I also learned so much from my amazing educators, all from Math, English, Science, History, and Art to life skills, accountability, responsibility, and maturity. I learned the reality of expectations and how to meet some while also realizing that others are not worth reaching. I've learned about financial stability. I have learned how to balance a checkbook, open a bank account, and budget. I learned how to dress myself professionally for an interview. And how to answer questions and ask the interviewer questions. Pennsylvania is the place where I met my amazing guardians. It has been a place of growth in many aspects; emotionally, physically, academically, spiritually, and socially. Pennsylvania has changed me in many ways but there are still parts of me unchanged and others that are fundamentally the same but more evolved. I am still a family-first type of person and a Christian. But I have been exposed to many other views and beliefs and I love learning about them. I also have finally decided what I want to study in College that will allow me to chase my dream. I am currently studying Graphic Design at a community college. I plan to transfer to a four-year college where I will continue majoring in Graphic Design while also double majoring in Animation. It is because of my move to Pennsylvania that this is all possible. Through my passion for art and communication, I strive to create art that will speak to the audience. I love Disney and Studio Ghibli because of the way the animated movies are beautifully written and drawn and because of the emotions, they strive to evoke. That is my dream, to create something greater than oneself that will last past my life.

I did not grow up in Pennsylvania like the majority of my peers from preschool through elementary school. I moved from Toronto, Ontario to Pennsylvania in eighth grade. My exposure to numerous areas was lessened from middle school through high school. There was less ethnic exposure compared to the city. Everyone was either Christian or Atheist. I grew up in a very diverse school and city. It was not just diverse in race and ethnicity but also religion. So moving was a big shift in my life and what I was learning in and out of school. Being here has taught me many lessons, such as the importance of mercy and patience. I was more exposed to differing views in the city but moving to a small rural town that was mostly populated with the demographic of Caucasians, I had to learn to choose my fights. I learned that even in the toughest times and facing adversity, there is always a path out. My reason for moving was due to many underlying issues including citizenship, finances, and safety. Over the last seven years here in Pennsylvania, I have learned to be appreciative of education, a roof over my head, a warm bed and so much more. Going to school in Toronto versus the United States was a shift. There were many big and small differences such as the metric system or certain spellings of words such as "colour" and "color." But I also learned so much from my amazing educators, all from Math, English, Science, History, and Art to life skills, accountability, responsibility, and maturity. I learned the reality of expectations and how to meet some while also realizing that others are not worth reaching. I've learned about financial stability. I have learned how to balance a checkbook, open a bank account, and budget. I learned how to dress myself professionally for an interview. And how to answer questions and ask the interviewer questions. Pennsylvania is the place where I met my amazing guardians. It has been a place of growth in many aspects; emotionally, physically, academically, spiritually, and socially. Pennsylvania has changed me in many ways but there are still parts of me unchanged and others that are fundamentally the same but more evolved. I am still a family-first type of person and a Christian. But I have been exposed to many other views and beliefs and I love learning about them. I also have finally decided what I want to study in College that will allow me to chase my dream. I am currently studying Graphic Design at a community college. I plan to transfer to a four-year college where I will continue majoring in Graphic Design while also double majoring in Animation. It is because of my move to Pennsylvania that this is all possible. Through my passion for art and communication, I strive to create art that will speak to the audience. I love Disney and Studio Ghibli because of the way the animated movies are beautifully written and drawn and because of the emotions, they strive to evoke. That is my dream, to create something greater than oneself that will last past my life.

I did not grow up in Pennsylvania like the majority of my peers from preschool through elementary school. I moved from Toronto, Ontario to Pennsylvania in eighth grade. My exposure to numerous areas was lessened from middle school through high school. There was less ethnic exposure compared to the city. Everyone was either Christian or Atheist. I grew up in a very diverse school and city. It was not just diverse in race and ethnicity but also religion. So moving was a big shift in my life and what I was learning in and out of school. Being here has taught me many lessons, such as the importance of mercy and patience. I was more exposed to differing views in the city but moving to a small rural town that was mostly populated with the demographic of Caucasians, I had to learn to choose my fights. I learned that even in the toughest times and facing adversity, there is always a path out. My reason for moving was due to many underlying issues including citizenship, finances, and safety. Over the last seven years here in Pennsylvania, I have learned to be appreciative of education, a roof over my head, a warm bed and so much more. Going to school in Toronto versus the United States was a shift. There were many big and small differences such as the metric system or certain spellings of words such as "colour" and "color." But I also learned so much from my amazing educators, all from Math, English, Science, History, and Art to life skills, accountability, responsibility, and maturity. I learned the reality of expectations and how to meet some while also realizing that others are not worth reaching. I've learned about financial stability. I have learned how to balance a checkbook, open a bank account, and budget. I learned how to dress myself professionally for an interview. And how to answer questions and ask the interviewer questions. Pennsylvania is the place where I met my amazing guardians. It has been a place of growth in many aspects; emotionally, physically, academically, spiritually, and socially. Pennsylvania has changed me in many ways but there are still parts of me unchanged and others that are fundamentally the same but more evolved. I am still a family-first type of person and a Christian. But I have been exposed to many other views and beliefs and I love learning about them. I also have finally decided what I want to study in College that will allow me to chase my dream. I am currently studying Graphic Design at a community college. I plan to transfer to a four-year college where I will continue majoring in Graphic Design while also double majoring in Animation. It is because of my move to Pennsylvania that thus is all possible.

All my life I have loved to move and play sports. The longest sport that I partook in and continue to involve running. Ever since I was little, about kindergarten, I have run Cross Country. I love all my coaches. However, I was most impacted by my cross-country coach during my senior year of high school. Her name is Amy Formica and she was not just a coach to me, but a hero, a friend, and a supporter. Coach Formica has one of the best and most loving hearts I have ever met. She is intelligent as well as fair. Her judgement like herself was also just. Many practices were hard and days were difficult. Even with such days, she helped me mentally, physically, and emotionally. She inspired me to become not only a better athlete but a better person. The previous coach, Brahler was the opposite of Coach Formica. He was misogynistic, degrading, toxic, and uncalled for. Many times for the two years prior I have felt many dark thoughts because of him. I have felt like quitting and sometimes even worse. Those years were rough in all forms. Physically, he was not a runner so some of his training was not what most experienced runner coaches would suggest. Even more, to him recovery days were nonexistent, there were no such practices. He pushed us and many gained injuries or peaked too early in the season. The atmosphere of the boys and girls team was also bad, he pitted us against each other in a bad competition. We should have worked together to become better, instead we were at odds. And emotionally, Brahler made me a wreck. I felt like a failure and never good enough even when I did the best or at least my best. It was because of Coach Formica helping me remember that I was a fighter and not a quitter that I never quit and gave up. I worked hard and survived Brahler. With the help of my teamates and great coaches, I went to states as and individual qualifier. My girls high school team also went to states the first year I joined. For days when I wanted to quit, Coach Formica pushed me to be better and work harder. For days I felt like crying, but she comforted me. For days I was filled with anger, she talked me down and brought me back to reality. For days I felt discouraged and scared, she stayed with me and gave me strength. I can continue to talk about all the times she has helped me but the most important aspect is her trust in me, my potential, and my abilities. My senior year my coaches for track-and-field and lacrosse allowed me to participate in both. The two seasons both happen in spring. Because of the overlap, Coach Brahler never allowed me to do both sports. I was never able to run track under his watch. When Formica took over, I asked if I could do both and she believed I could and trusted me. In my senior year, I was at all the practices, I would start at track practice for two hours and then run straight to lacrosse practice only five minutes late into the warm-up runs and finish the remaining one hour and fifty-five minutes of practice. I went to every race and game, sometimes I would have to run first in the morning and play a lacrosse game later that night.

All my life I have loved to move and play sports. The longest sport that I partook in and continue to involve running. Ever since I was little, about kindergarten, I have run Cross Country. I love all my coaches. However, I was most impacted by my cross-country coach during my senior year of high school. Her name is Amy Formica and she was not just a coach to me, but a hero, a friend, and a supporter. Coach Formica has one of the best and most loving hearts I have ever met. She is intelligent as well as fair. Her judgement like herself was also just. Many practices were hard and days were difficult. Even with such days, she helped me mentally, physically, and emotionally. She inspired me to become not only a better athlete but a better person. The previous coach, Brahler was the opposite of Coach Formica. He was misogynistic, degrading, toxic, and uncalled for. Many times for the two years prior I have felt many dark thoughts because of him. I have felt like quitting and sometimes even worse. Those years were rough in all forms. Physically, he was not a runner so some of his training was not what most experienced runner coaches would suggest. Even more, to him recovery days were nonexistent, there were no such practices. He pushed us and many gained injuries or peaked too early in the season. The atmosphere of the boys and girls team was also bad, he pitted us against each other in a bad competition. We should have worked together to become better, instead we were at odds. And emotionally, Brahler made me a wreck. I felt like a failure and never good enough even when I did the best or at least my best. It was because of Coach Formica helping me remember that I was a fighter and not a quitter that I never quit and gave up. I worked hard and survived Brahler. With the help of my teamates and great coaches, I went to states as and individual qualifier. My girls high school team also went to states the first year I joined. For days when I wanted to quit, Coach Formica pushed me to be better and work harder. For days I felt like crying, but she comforted me. For days I was filled with anger, she talked me down and brought me back to reality. For days I felt discouraged and scared, she stayed with me and gave me strength. I can continue to talk about all the times she has helped me but the most important aspect is her trust in me, my potential, and my abilities. My senior year my coaches for track-and-field and lacrosse allowed me to participate in both. The two seasons both happen in spring. Because of the overlap, Coach Brahler never allowed me to do both sports. I was never able to run track under his watch. When Formica took over, I asked if I could do both and she believed I could and trusted me. In my senior year, I was at all the practices, I would start at track practice for two hours and then run straight to lacrosse practice only five minutes late into the warm-up runs and finish the remaining one hour and fifty-five minutes of practice. I went to every race and game, sometimes I would have to run first in the morning and play a lacrosse game later that night.