Dear Malcolm,

My life started in Poolesville, MD on the second of October in 1996. The town of

Poolesville is a small farming community consisting of around five thousand closely
knitted residents. Over the years, I grew to know the town like the back of my hand,
along with many of the families that lived there. It was the kind of town where if your car
were to break down outside of town the word of you breaking down would arrive back in
town before you did and help would be on the way. Several things have molded me into
the person I am today.
First, I am the oldest of three children, with two wonderful younger sisters that
always are ecstatic to see me every time I go home on break. Breanne is the older of the
two, at 16, and is currently in her junior at James M. Bennett High School. Throughout
the year she is kept busy with maintaining a 4.3 GPA in high school, while starting in
three varsity sports. The youngest is Amelia, at just 12 years old she has recently
surpassed Breanne in height so she is no longer the shortest. She is in 7th grade at
Salisbury Middle School. She keeps busy with gymnastics, basketball, and all the other
activities she adds to my parents never ending confusion as to which kid has what that
day. My loving mom Sherri owns her own health product distributing business, which she
runs out of the comfort her home office. She is a very avid participator in our family
church by directing the Christmas pageant for the past 3 years, also co-directing the
annual vacation bible school. She has been married to my dad Christopher for the past 23
years. He has enjoyed his new job as the Vice President of Strategy and Business
Development/Chief Business Officer at Peninsula Regional Medical Center the largest

hospital on the Delmarva Peninsula. Just like his wife he is very active in our church, and
also loves to watch his kids play their respected sports and constantly give the refs a hard
time. Last but not least are the family dogs, which are two rambunctious Yorkshire
terriers. They may only be about 10 pounds and the size of your average cat, but they
have somehow come to think they are larger and fiercer than all the other dogs in the
neighborhood.
Next, church has been a very big part of my families life for as long as I can
remember. I was both baptized and confirmed in St. Peters Episcopal Church, which is in
my hometown of Poolesville. I grew up with two very involved parents and a deacon as a
grandfather. As I grew up my parents put me into all the programs they had for kids,
including everything from VBS every summer to the typical Sunday school. Around eight
years old I was allowed to start to serve as an acolyte and torchbearer every other Sunday,
allowing for me to gain a new perspective on how the service is run. The older I got,
meant the more responsibilities I was given. Starting off with the easier tasks such as
reading one of the readings here and there, then later moving to the more important tasks
of Eucharistic minister, thurifer for the Christmas Eve service, and giving the
message/homily to the congregation. Around the age of 14, I joined the Committee of
Youth for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C.; there I was able to help plan and
staff events for kids all over the Diocese of Washington.
Another facet of my life is sports, from the tee ball fields that seemed to go on
forever, to early morning practices out on the basketball court and the many miles ran on
the track, sports have always been another big part of who I am. Just like many little kids

my dad put me into tee ball and I had a natural liking for the game of baseball, so I stuck
with it for many years. Whether it was the dead of winter or the grueling heat of the
summer sun beating down, it was baseball drills, practices, and games year round.
Participating in recreation teams to keep up my skill to the yearly travel team that went
the final round in states for 2 years straight, creating a name for my self everywhere I
went. However, this all came to an abrupt halt when I found a love for the game of
basketball during my 6th and 7th grade years. The feeling of the constant rush of the game
and the screams of fans is so addicting. Even if your lungs and legs feel like they are
about to give way after ten suicides or a few ten in twos during basketball practices, the
agonizing pain suddenly becomes worth it when you hit the game winning shot from
deep or being able to play in the biggest rivalry game in history in front of 1600 people.
Once all the excitement from basketball season is over the track season is soon to follow.
Bringing forth coaches that know all to well that your body is capable of running the next
400 even if your mind thinks that your legs have turned to Jell-O. Following that mid set
I was not content with just running an open sprint event, I had to find something that gave
me a challenge, so I chose the 300 and 110 meter hurdles. The hurdles add in another
variable to the ever-challenging sport of running by giving the runner an obstacle to
repetitively jump over. In addition to hurdles I participated in high jump, discus, and
whichever of the relays they needed me in for that meet. On the opposite side of the
spectrum is the slower game of golf, which I play a lot with my dad and friends at our
towns country club. The serenity of the game is always a great way to unwind and just
focus on hitting the little white ball hundreds of yards. Then there is the always pleasing
scenery that comes with a perfectly kept golf course overlooking the river.

Finally, my schooling started with Preschool, when I attended Seneca Academy,

then moved to Poolesville Elementary until half way through second grade. I transferred
back to Seneca Academy until I finished out elementary school. For middle school, I
attended John Poole Middle School, which was located just down the street from our
former house. Here I found my love for basketball and track and began to lose my
interest in baseball. My next step was attending Poolesville High School, which is a
magnet school and ranked first in the state of Maryland by Newsweek Magazine. I
attended Poolesville High School for two years until my family moved to Salisbury,
Maryland, where I transferred to James M. Bennett High School for the last two years of
high school. At Bennett I was accepted into the computer aided design and drafting
(CADD) program and became familiar with Inventor and Revit computer programs. I
later completed the testing and received the highest scores in my class to become certified
by Autodesk in both programs. Through the CADD program, I fell in love with the
challenging concepts and process of designing a house from no more than a simple
description, allowing your mind run wild as to how everything with fit and how it will all
look in the end. This is when I realized I wanted to major in architecture in college. All I
had to do then was figure out which college I wanted to attend. After the long process and
many hours of sorting through schools, I settled on UNCC and UMD college park. As I
applied and waited to hear back, I began to learn more about UNCC and fell in love with
the school. Once accepted, I began the next long process of applying to the school of
Architecture. Every day that Im on campus, I look around at all the buildings, people,
and wildlife and am confident in my decision to come here.

These are the important parts of my life that have molded me into the person I am
today. Here I am at UNCC to see how this experience will continue to mold me into a
potential provider in the field of architecture. The story continues and I look forward to
see what the future holds for me.
Sincerely,
Connor Hall