Personal Narrative: Improving Team's Performance

In fifth grade I was told I was going to Mexico for spring break, little did I know this vacation would be one of the most life changing experiences I have ever had. I have always been told to do thing for others and to put the less fortunate before myself. I live in a very Catholic household and my family is constantly going to serve at homeless dinners and work at local shelters but I was never truly changed by these experiences until my trip to Mexico. Through this experience I learned that sometimes giving to others benefits me more than I expected.

In the middle of June I’ll find myself on the football field drenched in sweat, hoping to make a “2-Peat”. I’ll be embraced by all the coaches and fellow players, we’ll all be like one big happy family. On game days the stands will be packed full of screaming fans, all confident that Monroe will win the game. After the win, the opposing team will leave with their heads held high, because we’re only good athletes, we don’t compare to the well rounded student-athletes at their school.

From day one my mom taught me that you will get more satisfaction giving to and helping others than you ever will by just doing things for yourself. I truly believe this. Volunteering to teach swimming lessons, organizing recycled items, and visiting the nursing home are all things I have been involved in and doing each of those I have learned more and more about how important service is. Just recently my classmates and I helped an elderly woman move all of her belongings out of her home and into the 4H building for an auction. The 4H building is on the fairgrounds where I have volunteered to clean up every spring for the last 3 years. Service is very important but also very rewarding. I look toward to doing more service projects in the

“We will not settle for mediocrity, we must strive for excellence! Take pride in what you do!” Little did I know on that day that these words, echoed by my coach, would be applicable to my career, both as a current pediatric resident and as a future pediatric critical care physician. My years as an NCAA Division 1 student-athlete at Radford University, shaped the character traits in which I take the most pride. The four years of dedication to my team and education taught me how to strive for excellence and value teamwork while working toward a common goal.

A lot of times when other people see student athletes flourishing in their sport, they think the athletes didn’t earn their success, or that what they accomplished was just handed to them. This may be out of jealousy, or maybe they really do feel that way. However, in almost every case, the athlete is putting in extra work when no one is watching and, in some cases before everyone is awake. The players are striving to be the best they can be, and it is a long, difficult journey. Personally, I have committed to the hard work necessary to achieve success over my 13-year soccer career, but this was especially true the summer of 2016.

Personal Statement As I lined up for another “suicide” sprint, summer sun scorching, muscles taut and ready to fire, I could not help but begin to let my mind wonder if I was cut out for this. Defining moments like this one emphasize my ability to understand the long term orientation needed to complete goals in life. Hard work, on hot summer mornings were easy to come by at the beginning of my division 1 collegiate soccer career. I have always found deep internal gratification in becoming a better soccer player. Whether it was learning one new move, or becoming .1 of a second quicker, my goals and dreams revolved around reaching the highest peak in soccer.

The community service that changed my outlook on life is my missions trip to Haiti. When I saw how the Haitians lived day by day, I realized that my life in America is extraordinary compared to theirs. My dream is to send musical instruments to anyone who wants to play in their church.

After a long day in classes and at practices, student athletes barely have time to relax at the end of the day because they have to stay on top of their work and catch up on their sleep so they are ready for the next big day ahead of them. These sacrifices are a daily routine for the athlete and they deserve to be rewarded with pay. Little changes alone can be very uncomfortable, but a huge switch like this can put a lot of stress on a student athlete. “The transition from high school to college can be stressful for any student , but recent evidence suggests that athletes may experience even greater levels of stress due to the dual demands of athletics and academics placed on them during their freshman year. Lazarus and Folkman have defined stress as the negative feeling that occurs when an individual feels unable to cope with the demands placed upon them by their environment. For the matriculating freshman student athlete, these demands may at times seem overwhelming” (Wilson ). Being a student athlete is an overwhelming roller coaster of new and exciting events, but have a hard time focusing on their work. Although some athletes have their education paid for, they should be compensated for their hard work, time, and effort put into their

My feelings were all over the place. I was depressed, frustrated, upset until one of my friends came up to me and said “Hey don’t sweat it bro, if it wasn’t you it would have been one of us.” It didn’t make me feel any better but it was true. We got second place at a state championship. Next we had to line up to get the trophies and congratulate the other team. We walked into line to receive our trophies. Coach was asked to bring up our team captain to receive the runner up trophy. No one knew who that was, but our coach did. Coach yelled out “Carlos, Chase go!” Chase and I looked at in surprised and fist pumped each other. It was an honor for me to share the team captain with a good friend, Chase, but it was an even bigger honor to be a team

Tiara I also worked for a Results Only Manager, and it was not my best experience. The environment was fast-paced, and we were responsible for meeting the need while ensuring we did it adequately and with a smile on our face. However, due to the needs of the company, there came a time when we had to bid for new schedules. Although I ranked #9 out 92 workers, I lost my schedule. The company understood my situation, and they knew that I needed a particular schedule to accommodate my lifestyle as a military spouse, and unfortunately, I lost the schedule I needed. Needless to say, I had to quit my job. I was devastated because I worked hard to meet the goals of the company and I did it well for almost five years; however, the Results Only Managers

My team now has a 12-1-1 record with a just a few games left until the District Tournament begins. I have 15 goals and 9 assists while shifting between CM and ST. I'm currently working on a new video and it should be ready to send your way in just a few days.

I strive to work smarter and harder to achieve success in the goals I set for myself, whether it be in school, sports, or extracurricular activities. In the month leading up to the beginning of high school, I watched my dog get hit by a car right in front of my house, and had my grandfather pass away. I am still to this day emotional about the events I experienced. As a freshman beginning high school, I kept to myself. I became too distraught to focus all of my attention on school. I realized that isolating myself was not the answer and that focusing my attention on school, after school activities, and creating friendships benefited more than just keeping to myself. An activity I soon learned to love was working as the Information Technology

Our team worked as a group to ensure that our discussions lead to an improvement in performance. This was made possible through various steps that we took, including our team contract, which set the foundation for our minimum expectations and requirements of each other. Since we each agreed upon the seven behaviours before finalizing them, we had a clear understanding of what was expected. Although these guidelines were set in advance, our team could not foresee future scheduling conflicts or issues that slowed down our productivity. As these conflicts arose, we dealt with them in a prompt and suitable manner, ensuring that we could reasonably accommodate the needs of our members, while still satisfying our team objective. Our team regularly

The most valuable of all the lessons that I have ever learned in my life to date would be to think before acting. Often I would go with the flow only regretting I should had put in more thought in my actions. Likewise, making decisions before thinking or gathering information will lead to poor decisions or regrettable actions. So many examples come to mind when my actions could have been improved with more thought. Perhaps compounded mistakes in my decision making led to me realize I needed to put more thought before acting. Of all my experiences to date, I sometimes question why things end up the way they do. They only meaningful explanation to me is everything happens for a reason. Likewise, when things happen, they happen during that

The first lesson I have ever learned was time management. I have learned to divide my time into several different things and learned to work fast and efficiently. In my freshman year there was a time that I had to find time to do paperwork, organize a meeting and a game after the meeting it wasn't as easy I only had two days notice for everything to be done, but I failed to get my paperwork done on time.I have since then learned to manage my time and get one thing done earlier if needed to move on to the next thing.