I was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania. I attended the Wilson West Lawn school district from Kindergarten through senior year of high school. My main extracurricular activity almost always tended to be sports. By junior high I had narrowed down my main sports to soccer and ice hockey, which remain my two favorite sports to this day. Eventually I narrowed that down to only ice hockey for high school. I played both scholastic and travel hockey, which meant that from November through February I spent most of my days on the ice. It kept me very busy through high school, which kept me out of trouble on weekends and gave me a head start on time management skills going into college.
I first took the SATs rather early in my junior year of …show more content…
In December of that year, I popped my kneecap out of place for the fourth time that hockey season. Why it took four incidents for me to call it quits for the year (and by extension, my competitive career), I have since forgotten. Shortly after calling an end to my season and scheduling knee surgery I began experiencing debilitating abdominal pain that eventual lead me to the hospital. I spent roughly two months in and out of the Reading Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, during which I felt like a patient on the show, House. After a scary misdiagnosis of liver cancer, it was determined that I had developed chronic cases of ulcerative colitis, along with a rare liver condition known as PSC. The correct medication was prescribed to me and my symptoms finally went …show more content…
Finally feeling better, I was ready to have knee surgery. The procedure was followed by six weeks of crutches and approximately nine months of recovery. I am particularly proud of myself for managing to crutch through graduation without a single mishap.
That may be a long time to spend on one year, but it was quite the transformative one for me and has held a lasting impact on the person I am today. It has taught me to persevere, be thankful for the gift of good health, and assess things in the right perspective. It has also given me the ability to laugh in times of adversity and stress, a quality I have grown to enjoy about myself.
Between my sickness and knee repair, I found time to choose schools. It ultimately came down to a choice between Pitt and Penn State, two schools with great value for Pennsylvania natives (although it does deeply pain me to complement Penn State). Ultimately I decided I wanted to experience life in a major city, which led me to Pitt. I believe I have made the right decision as I have grown to love Oakland.
Admittedly, I joined Pitt Business because majoring in a business field is a practical move. But I have grown to appreciate the focus the school places on professional development, along with the opportunity it has afforded me to learn from my fellow
I first took the SATs rather early in my junior year of …show more content…
In December of that year, I popped my kneecap out of place for the fourth time that hockey season. Why it took four incidents for me to call it quits for the year (and by extension, my competitive career), I have since forgotten. Shortly after calling an end to my season and scheduling knee surgery I began experiencing debilitating abdominal pain that eventual lead me to the hospital. I spent roughly two months in and out of the Reading Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, during which I felt like a patient on the show, House. After a scary misdiagnosis of liver cancer, it was determined that I had developed chronic cases of ulcerative colitis, along with a rare liver condition known as PSC. The correct medication was prescribed to me and my symptoms finally went …show more content…
Finally feeling better, I was ready to have knee surgery. The procedure was followed by six weeks of crutches and approximately nine months of recovery. I am particularly proud of myself for managing to crutch through graduation without a single mishap.
That may be a long time to spend on one year, but it was quite the transformative one for me and has held a lasting impact on the person I am today. It has taught me to persevere, be thankful for the gift of good health, and assess things in the right perspective. It has also given me the ability to laugh in times of adversity and stress, a quality I have grown to enjoy about myself.
Between my sickness and knee repair, I found time to choose schools. It ultimately came down to a choice between Pitt and Penn State, two schools with great value for Pennsylvania natives (although it does deeply pain me to complement Penn State). Ultimately I decided I wanted to experience life in a major city, which led me to Pitt. I believe I have made the right decision as I have grown to love Oakland.
Admittedly, I joined Pitt Business because majoring in a business field is a practical move. But I have grown to appreciate the focus the school places on professional development, along with the opportunity it has afforded me to learn from my fellow