Plum Senior High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
To best understand what volunteerism means to me, you must understand the story of my life in high school.
Adversity can be a foreign concept for most young adults. I’ll admit, I didn’t really know much about it. At 15-years-old, I had just finished my second season of varsity football. My grades were good and I was confident college football was within my reach. Shortly after the season ended I was diagnosed with the congenital heart disease, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM is the leading cardiovascular cause of sudden cardiac death (36%) in young athletes. I had dedicated my life to playing football and now my passion had been taken away. I struggled to find myself.
I had hoped my junior year of high school would be easier. I was wrong. During the second semester, adversity struck me again. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I realize heart disease and cancer over the course of two consecutive years almost seems untrue. Sadly, I wish it were.
My diagnoses have provided me with perspective. Even with my illnesses, I realize others have it worse than I do. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I became an assistant coach for our junior high team. Most importantly (over the past two summers) I volunteered as a counselor for the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital Heart Camp. The camp serves only kids with heart disease. I truly enjoy sharing my experiences with the campers and proving to them heart disease does not mean that they cannot be active. Because of them, I became active in my school’s “Best Buddies” chapter. Best Buddies is a student-run friendship club, which creates buddy pairs between students with and without disabilities. I became close to one of the “buddies”. As I am very knowledgable in fitness, nutrition, and exercise, I was able to help my new friend “work out” and help him to build strength and muscle.
The adversity I have endured has made me resilient. Constant trips to Children’s Hospital provide me with perspective. In October of 2019 I was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh. My dream is to become a pediatric cardiologist. I believe my experiences would help provide a unique perspective for children and families struggling with the same obstacles I had to overcome. Testicular cancer awareness is very important. I hope to make other young men aware the importance of self “check-ups” and discussing any concerns with their doctors. I intend to recruit other physicians and to make this a nationwide initiative. I believe this program would save countless lives and prepare those for life after the diagnosis.
My illness have not beaten me. They may have defined the last 3 years of my life. However, they have taught me throwing a football will not make a mark on the world. Helping my campers, best buddies, and my future patients will change lives.
Thank you for your consideration.