As the President of my school’s DECA team, I wanted to make my school’s DECA team as

competitive as possible. First, I implemented a selection process and reduced the team from fifty
members to a dedicated twenty-five. Then I trained each member one-on-one by acting as a
judge and providing personalized feedback to each members’ case study presentations. At the
Regional Competition, I improved the team’s advancement rate to the Provincial Competition by
a staggering forty-two percent, as compared to the previous year. From this presidency, I learned
that the best way to lead is through careful attention and compassion. A true leader is not bossy,
but one who can recognize the goals of others in alignment to their own.
I’ve been a lifeguard and swim instructor at the City of ______ for over a year now. I’ve taught
dozens of children and adults how to swim, and I experienced my first rescue. However, it’s a
common misconception that it’s come easy for me. In fact, three weeks before my National
Lifeguard Fitness Exam, I trained at the pool every other school day. I practiced my sprints, time
swim, and victim rescues. On the first day of the course, over fifty-percent of the class failed the
fitness skills, but not me. Two weeks later, I was a small percentage of those who were certified.
I learned that a hard work ethic always pays off. No matter how difficult the challenge is, where
there is a will, there is always a way.
I’ve been on the _____ Library’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG) ever since it started four years
ago. TAG is a teen committee dedicated to organizing and running teen-friendly programs at the
library. The biggest victory of mine as a Teen Advisor was getting funding from the Library’s
board of directors to run my Teen Yoga program. With my fellow TAG members, we presented
our teen program ideas, and most of them received funding. In the following Summer months,
we ran movie nights, escape rooms, and Yoga in the Park. The library hired a professional yoga
teacher to teach my program in the courtyard, and it was heavily attended by teens! Through this
experience, I learned that confidence and dedication can turn a vision into a reality.
I was never supposed to be the speaker for my school’s announcements. On the first week of
school, I wrote up an announcement for DECA, but no announcements ever played. I went to
the office to see what the problem was, and the secretary told me that because no one
volunteered to be the speaker, there wouldn’t be any announcements. I desperately needed my
DECA recruitment announcement to go out, so I hesitantly volunteered. At first, my voice was
shaking on the PA because I was nervous, but now, I actually look forward to reading the
announcements. In fact, I think it’s a lot of fun! I learned that sometimes it’s okay to be selfless
because things always seem to work out in the end.
I was also a contestant on Nickelodeon’s new game show, “Massive Monster Mayhem”. After
multiple auditions, I was selected and invited on set. I was astonished by the enormous green
screens, beaming fluorescent lights, the lively cast and crew, and the massive obstacle course.
Before I filmed, I went to wardrobe, where they did my hair, makeup and steamed my uniform.
Additionally, I was taught combat moves by a stunt actor, and given acting tips by the director.
Although I didn’t race fast enough to win the $1000 grand prize, I went home with something
better: the encouragement to stay curious. From this unique and exciting experience, I realized
that there’s so much I don’t know yet, and the only way to discover is to explore.