Personal Narrative: Cross Country And Robotics

Since sophomore year, I have tried a diversity of races, each providing their own unique lessons. The major event that seems, like the NBA championship to track runners overseas is FAR EAST. I started when the veterans was aiming for what they called “2peat” in bringing home the banners. In order to succeed, I had to be dedicated to put my heart and soul into my events. Dedication comes easier to have when you have not only your team support, but also the others

I love that LaSalle boasted every sport and club one could imagine for all students to participate in, which many other schools don’t have to offer. One activity that stands out to me is cross-country. Having run cross-country since 3rd grade, I have fallen in love with the sport. After spending a sometime with the coaches at the cross-country camp during the past couple summers I have gotten to experience first-hand how incredible the running program at LaSalle. I believe I can continue to improve and achieve much success in such a ramous program such as LaSalle’s.

Track & Field: I was involved my Freshman and Sophomore year. My positions were long jumps and the 100 m. I learned how to build teamwork with others in such a team-oriented sport and also learned to be involved with school activities.

I had heard about the cross country team but I didn’t know anyone who was a part of it. The cross country team was full of girls who were welcoming and shared the same passion for running as me. I was putting in a lot of time into this team, from long practices everyday and meets every Wednesday and Saturday, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I was able to mentor the younger members on the team and share my love for running with them. After being a part of this team for three years, together, we have won three consecutive senate championships and developed a bond like no other.

Although I had only participated in the school Cross Country team for two years, I felt very connected to the team and wish I had participated my sophomore and freshmen year as well. Over the two seasons, I have made many great friends and learned the importance of working hard to achieve my goals. Throughout my life, my parents have pushed me academically, but never really encouraged me to try hard in sports or physical activities. Cross country filled that void for me and helped me become a more well-rounded person.

I am an extremely passionate runner; my primary focus is to be an encouraging, hard working team member. This commitment entails running up to fifty miles a week, as well as lifting three days and cross training three days for about six months of the year. I pour my time and energy into this sport because it challenges me to become a tougher person. Cross country has taught me to keep a positive, growth mindset and to ruthlessly chase every goal. Additionally, I am best friends with all the girls on the team. I give them everything I can offer to make cross country the happiest place in the world. I am a leader, being named Captain of the ninety person team my senior year. No matter the sacrifice, no matter how I perform, I am ultimately on this team for my teammates.

The first way cross country changed my life was by teaching me that it’s okay to not be the best at something you do and still enjoy it. I joined cross country because friends and I thought it would be great conditioning for basketball and help me build toughness and staminia. I never thought I would actually enjoy it or be very good. As I kept running I got better and improved, but in comparison to other girls I wasn’t very fast at all. I was one of the slowest people on

The sport of track and field has brought forward more change than anything else in my life, because it brought me to the University of Central

Santa Clara’s vision of creating leaders with compassion and conscience, who work to make the world more humane, particularly resonates with me. When I was elected captain of my school’s Robotics team, I reflected on my previous experiences working with robotics teams. Last year our Robotics team was divided when junior members were marginalized and not invited to important design meetings. As a result, when a successful design actually worked, the excitement by the senior team was missing in the junior members. As captain, I want the ideas and contributions of incoming members to be valued in order to create synergy. I am committed to ensuring that all members of the Robotics team have a say in setting the direction and strategy for this

In a much greater scheme, I have taken the lessons learned from track and field into my volunteer experiences. Through the organization Recreation Experiences, I worked with a team of volunteers to dig holes that would help install new septic systems to numerous families. I’ve been able to help service families in need of new septic systems who cannot afford to pay for the job to be done. Doing my part on a team was as important there as it has been on the track. I can absolutely trace my success back to humble beginnings in track and

Cross country has impacted my life in so many different ways. I have learned so many great life lessons the past two years since I’ve been on the girl’s high school cross country team. I’ve learned that not everything is going to go your way, not everyone is going to like you in life, and not everyday is going to be a good day but you just have to run through it. This year alone I’ve learned that not every race is going to be my best, but that’s why we set goals.

In cross country, I have practice Monday through Friday where I typically run at least five miles. I have meets once a week in which I run a five kilometer race. My team has placed in the top three competitors for varsity girls in many of our races. This was my first year running cross country and I could not be happier that I did it because I really love the community of my team and how we support each other when things get

Since I first started cross country, I have learned a lot about the sport and myself, while simultaneously improving dramatically. Before cross country, I had only ever done academics and I excelled without really trying, not really understanding why everyone couldn't do the same. Cross

I have been a club athlete with the club cross country and track team at IU for three years at IU. Barring times of injury and academic conflicts, I have trained with the run club up to 10 hours per week and have competed in various cross country and track meets against other club teams throughout the region. The support and coaching of the run club also assisted in my training for the Chicago Marathon, in which I competed in the Fall of 2014. Outside of training, I have volunteered at IU track meets and other campus events through the

Interacting with people of different backgrounds or situations is a part of our lives that frequently goes unnoticed. We become accustomed to the fact that we work with many people who are not exactly like ourselves. While this is great, it is even better if you can take these experiences and use them to improve upon yourself. Although I have interacted with people of many different backgrounds in countless situations, one that stands out the most is interacting with teams in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competition.