Personal Statement

     My faith in God and my family have shaped me into who I am today.  I have been a student-athlete all my life.  I do not think there was a time in my life where I was not involved in athletics in some way or another since the age of about four years old.   I played football, basketball and ran track at different times.  Sports helped me learn teamwork. I place a lot of value in being part of a team and pushing myself to do my best.  I am a highly self-motivated and driven individual. I am highly coach-able. I do not expect anything to be given to me. I believe in putting in the work and earning it. Being average or putting in average work is not part of my work ethics.  I know in life we will be faced with challenges and  things may not always go as planned. I have experienced some minor setbacks in my life. I believe setbacks are temporary, but the lessons learned from them can be permanent and life changing.  I believe tough times allow you to see what you are really made of deep down inside.  It is when we are faced with unexpected failure and hardships that we find our own strength. Hardship builds character, if you are willing to do the work to get through it. In my own family, my maternal grandparents were immigrants from Ethiopia.  They overcame the hardship of coming to a new country and were able to build strong, successful families. My parents have instilled the same values in me, to work hard and to seize every opportunity.  My goal after high school is to play football at the collegiate level and earn a college degree.