In high school, I was in a teen youth group at my church called Crossroads.  Throughout my four years, we participated in local food drives, cooked at homeless shelters, and helped clean up schools in rough neighborhoods to prepare them for the school year.  My experiences in high school taught me that giving back is important and I wanted to continue to give back when I got to college.

 

Each fall I participate in the ALS walk in Greenville.  The event brings together friends and families of those that have been affected or know someone that has been affected by ALS.  Each year, the event to me teaches me new lessons and introduces me to new people with different stories.  It allows me to be grateful for all that I am blessed with, and it is an honor being able to help raise money for a great cause.

 

When I came to Clemson, I decided to join a fraternity.  Each year we have different philanthropy events to raise money for awareness of mental health and ALS.  Additionally, I participate in two events organized by our fraternity.  The first is Dunkin’ for Duncan, held in memory of a former fraternity member that passed away due to mental health issues.  The event is an annual basketball tournament to raise money for mental health.  The second was a concert held again to raise money for ALS.  I helped organize and plan the concert, in which we were able to raise over ten thousand dollars.

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Aside from volunteering, my passions are sports and art.  In high school, I played football, basketball, and ran track.  Being a part of a team is important to me.  Additionally, always being involved in a sport taught me the importance of exercise and staying in shape.  Today, I continue to work out by going to the gym daily and by participating in intramural sports, specifically flag football and basketball.  To slow things down, I like to draw and paint.  They allow me to take my mind off of the chaos of my studies or work.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going forward, I plan to continue to participate in similar events.

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Additionally, I was fortunate enough to spend this past summer working in California at a high-end residential firm.  I was able to learn a lot about both architecture and construction, as well as how a business is run.  It was also nice being in a different part of the country.  Traveling has been a big part of my life and being able to experience different regions and countries is something I really enjoy.  I spent one of my semesters of my junior year abroad in Barcelona.  Barcelona was a city with rich history, but traveling around Europe and seeing places that had been there before our country even began blows my mind.  I encourage all people to travel.