During high school, I was the student who tried to get involved in any club or activity possible. I always wanted to make my high school days count, so getting involved seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. I was able to be a part of the student council, SADD, FCCLA, KAY, Smalls and Talls, volleyball, softball, dance, and even basketball for one year. You could say I was a very involved individual who learned responsibility traits and life lessons through these amazing extracurricular activities of mine. Another council I am able to be a part of outside of high school these last two years that truly changed my life for the better is NEKRYC.

NEKRYC stands for the Northeast Kansas Rural Youth Council, and this group helped me find my best friends through Christ and is also the reason I try and spread my faith through others in my community as well. If it wasn’t for NEKRYC, I wouldn’t have educated the freshman CCD class more about the Catholic Faith for my senior project, and I wouldn’t have gone on a mission trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands this past Spring Break as well. This council has truly changed my life and my faith, and I am very blessed to have been a part of it for the past two years.

Without experiencing this mission trip and NEKRYC, I wouldn’t be this grateful for my family and this community today. My parents, Jim and Kim were totally up for the opportunity of me helping others and strengthening my faith in another country. My sisters, Kaylee and Randee were very jealous I would be going to the beach, but also made them look up to their little sister much more. My brother, Charlie, was excited I would be leaving for a whole week, but deep down he was going to miss me just a little bit. I was glad to have my family’s back during this life-changing event of mine, but this trip also helped strengthen me and my mom’s relationship as well.

My mom has always been there for me even when sometimes I was never there for her. She has never missed any sporting event of mine since I was in kindergarten and is still planning to make it to every one of my volleyball games next year as well. I was lucky enough to be in club volleyball for three years during high school, and my mom drove me to every single one of them, every weekend, for three months during the winter. There were times where we would have to get up at five in the morning just to make it to the tournament, but she would always drive me. This Mission Trip I decided to go on was $2,000, and I had to raise every dollar by myself since this group was out of Topeka. My mom and I decided to sell her homemade cinnamon rolls and strawberry daiquiris to make money. We didn’t realize we would get almost 50 dozen cinnamon rolls orders that we would have to bake ourselves. My mom baked every single one of those cinnamon rolls for me because she knew how much this trip meant to me. She has made me open my eyes to what an incredible mom looks like, and I wouldn’t be where I am without her today.

When I was born, I had the gene of a very large overbite in my teeth which caused me to need braces in the future. Not to mention, I had 12 cavities in my mouth when I was little, sorry mom! So you could say I never took care of my teeth. If it wasn’t for those many visits to the Dentist and Orthodontics, I would not want to pursue Dental Hygiene today. Next fall, I will be attended Cloud County Community College where I will be getting my general education requirements and will also continue the sport I love so well volleyball. I cannot wait for this new journey of mine, but if it wasn’t for my family and my community, I wouldn’t have appreciated the little things along the way.