Thomas Conklin '22 Recruiting Profile

Ever since I was young, I have always been very conscientious about all of the little things that might affect my future.  I am blessed with a strong desire to succeed and have the willingness to work and achieve it.  I am very fortunate to be raised in a supportive family that stresses the importance of education and hard work.   I appreciate my family, friends, academic standing, and physical fitness, and strive to use these abilities in service to the community. When it comes to the classroom, I am no perfect student.  I have never been the greatest quiz or test taker.  However, with the understanding that education is top priority, I have worked extremely hard to keep up with my classmates for whom learning might come easier to them.  I have always been the one to be able to get through the dirty work, whether that’s hours of improving an essay or taking away a Friday night to finally learn that math concept.  In my mind, there will always be things that you might not want to do, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be done.  With this mindset towards schoolwork, I have already taken three AP courses and several honors classes, while achieving a 3.8 GPA.  I have this same mindset when it comes to cross country and track.  I go for at least one run, if not two runs every day just to try to get better.  It is very challenging and frustrating at times, but in my mind I know that I am struggling for the right reasons.  I also try to set a great example for my running teammates because I constantly show them how much I value hard work and getting better.  I was voted last year to be a captain of the cross country team, which is a sign of my leadership and communication ability.  I have built so many relationships and have learned what it’s like to be on a team in not only sports and clubs but also at my job at a local grocery store.  There, I have built some other crucial skills, including time management and constantly being busy, talking to large groups of people, and learning how to get through tasks I don’t necessarily enjoy.  Some people might not regard a part time job as a community service, but through the pandemic, it has been essential to families.  Last year I also joined Key Club, where I saved time to work for the food pantry and clean up garbage all around West Bend.  I plan to continue both of these services as well as riding the volunteer bus next summer when it is up and running again.