At age eight, I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. At first, I thought it would end my sports career, but I refused let the disease defeat me. Instead, I become more determined to achieve my goals through hard work and perseverance. Those endeavors taught me more than any baseball game I have ever played. Since then, I have set high expectations for myself and strove to achieve my goals both academically and athletically. I also honed the skills of leadership and teamwork taught to me by my good friend baseball. As a result, I experienced success both on and off the field. For example, when I was 13 I made the starting lineup for my junior legion team at the youngest age and I also was on the New England region team for the USA Baseball NTIS. As I look to the future, I hope to find a school where I can further pursue my goals as an athlete and student. Ideally, that school’s vision would align with my beliefs about the importance of academics. I am looking forward to the opportunity to compete on the collegiate level.