There are a lot of people that have had a huge part in my life. I don't think I'd be anywhere if it weren't for the love and support of my family. My mom is definitely the most important person in my life and I love her so much. She means the world and more to me, and I have no idea where or who I'd be without her. My sister, Sophie, also means a lot to me. We have been best friends ever since birth. We have grown up doing pretty much everything together, and I love her so much. I love my brother, Dylan, as well. Our differences are what makes us that much closer. Although he's too tough to admit it, I know he loves me and I love him so much. My family means the world to me and their support and love means everything.


My biggest desire is to become a nurse. When I was in DC, I got appendicitis and had to have my appendix removed at a nearby hospital. At first, I thought it was just an annoying stomach pain that would eventually go away. Then when I ate in the Cannon building (one of three buildings surrounding the capitol that not many people eat at), I threw up all that night. I remember walking around the capitol, holding onto my stomach, wincing in pain. Finally, one night my roommate Manasa called her dad, a doctor, asking him if he could give us any insight into what was going on. I called my mom, and immediately started balling. The pain was so excruciating. Our hall proctor, Miss Allyson, came to get me and took me to the hospital.
My friend Kate accompanied Allyson and me to the George Washington Hospital and stayed with us for 12 hours. I love Kate for being such a great friend. Then, finally, I had the surgery after a night of pain. I stayed in the hospital for four days. I remember waking up and immediately looking at the little white board in my room that read, "Your nurse of the day is:" and then the nurse's name. I observed the nurses quite carefully. They were all so helpful and nice. They didn't get frustrated with me when I could barely get out of bed because of the pain in my stomach. They didn't mind that I had trouble eating foods other than liquids. They held my train of a gown up for me while I attempted to use the restroom. They were wonderful to me, and I owe them everything. They made my stay at the hospital a complete joy.
I want to become a nurse because I want to help people, just as those nurses helped me. I know how scary it can be to be in a hospital, unsure of what's to come next. I would ease their pain by being a caring, happy, supportive nurse. I hope this will all work out for me some day.


This is a poster my Page friends made for me while I was in the hospital. It has little notes from all of the Pages. My friends Olivia, Manasa, Ashley, and Kate brought it to me during my stay.


There are a couple things I regret about my life. The first is that I didn't continue playing basketball. I played it from 4th grade up until my freshman year at Bellarmine, but just decided that if I wanted to keep my good grades, I had to sacrifice playing the sport that I loved. Although I miss it very much, I still keep my love for basketball alive. I watch almost every Boston Celtics game (they are my favorite team because Ray Allen plays for them!). I will always love basketball even though I didn't continue with it throughout the past couple of years.

Another sport I regret not going further with is volleyball. I really loved volleyball and got excited every time I got to play it. Unlike basketball, there was a lot less running involved, which is something I was extremely thankful for. I wish I would have tried out for volleyball at Bellarmine because I feel that I would have really enjoyed it. My volleyball team in 8th grade won the CYO Volleyball Championship. We won game after game in the playoffs. On our last game, we ended up losing the first game out of three and came back for a victory. We were ecstatic. I just remember hugging every single person I could see with the biggest smile upon my face. That was one of the happiest, greatest feelings I've ever felt.


My 8th grade volleyball team at St. Vincent de Paul school



There is one person in particular who has influenced me, my mom. She has been on my side throughout everything in my life. Her strength of raising three kids by herself it something I truly admire. She is a phenomenal individual. She has instilled so many good things within me that I owe her my life. No matter what the circumstances are, she is
backing me up 100% of the way. She pushes me to be my best and doesn't fault me for doing something bad. I am extremely appreciative of her and that she allowed me to travel to Italy and Washington DC all by myself. No matter what, above everything else, she wants for my siblings and me to be happy. She sacrifices everything in her power to do so. She love us so much and has no idea how much she affects me. She is without a doubt my role model, and I love her so very, very much.

Coach White had been struggling with cancer for years upon end. His health slowly deteriorated, leaving him tired, wobbly, and dependent on a cane to walk. I clearly remember the day when I found out Coach was in the hospital. I was at my best friend at the time Maryam Jafari's house. We were helping Mrs. Jafari bake cookies, when the phone rang. Mrs. Jafari answered, and then told us the news. The only thing I remember was trying to look at Maryam, but I wasn't able to due to the pool of tears forming in my eyes. Once I could see her, I saw she was crying too. At Coach's funeral, an essay I had written prior to his death was read aloud to the whole church. I completely lost it. Coach White was the most amazing man I have ever had the privilege of knowing. He was so kind to all of us and truly treated me like his daughter. I know that he's looking down on me from heaven with a proud smile on his happy brown face. I just want to make him proud.

With Coach White in 6th grade

The biggest risks I have taken are participating in the International Youth Exchange Program and being a Page. It took huge courage for me to decide to live with a random family in a foreign country. The idea of being in Italy with an Italian family seemed more than I could dream of, yet when I was actually in Italy with the fast driving and loud people, I was a little scared. Plus, I didn't know the family (other than getting to know them through e-mails). But, I braved it out and it turned out to be one of the best, worthwhile experiences of my life.

Fabio, Lorenzo, me, Chiara, and Giuliana on our last night together last summer

Chiara and me before Chiara's friend Martina's 18th birthday party At an art museum
With Paolo driving to the Camp de Fiori







care only about themselves, it is hard to know who's someone you can trust. One of the most trustworthy people I know is my best friend, Erica Mummert. We met when we were in fourth grade

I have had the privilege of having many great experiences that I am so grateful for. One of these is Camp Don Bosco. It's a camp in Carnation, Washington at the edge of the Snoqualmie

River Valley. My family and I have been going to their "family" camp ever since I was four years old. I have had so many amazing memories there with my family and the friends I've made there. It's a place where I will always feel welcomed.

Another experience is working a class full of great kids at DeLong Middle School in Tacoma, Washington for Community Service class last year. I worked with my friend Trent and sister Sophie in an adjusted K-2 class. It was so great to see the progress we made with the class. It was the greatest feeling to see their faces light up whenever we would walk into class. I miss those kids.

I am also grateful for my experience with the International Youth Exchange Program (IYEP). This program allowed me to travel to Rome, Italy and stay with an Italian family for two weeks. I stayed with the Consolis, who had a daughter named Chiara about the same age as me. After my stay in Rome, she came to stay with my family as well. Chiara and I are still friends and talk almost once a day. We have visited each other after the program ended, and hope to do so again this coming summer.

Last summer at the Colosseo

This summer when we went out to eat with four other Italian families

During dinner when an old man sang to me in Italian. When I didn't respond, someone said "Americana" and he understood. At the end of the song, he said, "I love you". It was really funny and everyone was laughing so hard.

Alessandro, Francesco, me, and Paolo at about 4 in the morning (everyone goes out at night, not during the daytime because of the heat)

Riding Chiara's vespa to the one of the largest shopping centers in Europe

I am also thankful for my experiences of Paging, both in Washington state and Washington, DC. I was a Senate Page when I was an eighth grader at St. Vincent de Paul. I stayed in Olympia at my grandparents' house and was driven to the capitol every day. My siblings and I paged for a week. It was a great experience where I met various individuals from around the state, some of whom I'm still in touch with today!

Paging in Washington, DC was by far the greatest experience I have ever been a part of. I worked as a Congressional House Page for Congressman Adam Smith. I got to live in the city of our nation's capitol, surrounded by kids my age from all over the country. I met people from Arkansas, Texas, New York, North Dakota, you name it! I also got to attend school (at 6:45 a.m... yuck!) in the attic of the Library of Congress. Living, studying, and working in DC is something I will never, and I mean never, forget. I have made my best friends there and look forward to seeing them again. Some of the world's most influential people even roamed around the capitol (and we got to stalk them!). If I could, I would go back and do the Page Program all over again, 100 times over. It was truly incredible.