I am able to balance my athletic and academic life well, maintaining a 4.0 GPA and achieving High Honor Roll since grade 6. I was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society in middle school and I aspire to be inducted into National Honor Society in high school. In my free time I love to listen to music, write stories, research animals, volunteer, and watch tv.
Ever since 6th grade, I have done an abundance of volunteer work. I often volunteer at my local community library, doing crafts such as creating no-sew pillows for veterans and sticky socks for senior citizens in retirement homes. I also volunteer at children’s programs at the library. I have assisted and interacted with special needs kids to do an assortment of activities such as bowling, pet and play with therapy dogs, and create decorated seashells. In my high school years every summer I help one of the librarians, with a program called Battle of Books - where middle-school aged kids would read several books and compete in a jeopardy-style competition against other libraries across Long Island, NY.
In addition to my volunteer work, I have participated in several sports throughout my life. Around age 3, I trained in ballet, tap, and gymnastics. I eventually had to choose between dance and gymnastics, and I chose to dedicate more time gymnastics training. At age 7 I started competing in USAG JO meets. At age 9, I was training for Level 7 but sustained injuries and decided to stop my training.
But I wasn’t out of athletics for long. In October of the same year, I decided to sign up for club tennis. After years of training, I earned a spot on my high school’s JV Tennis team (while in middle school). The next year earned a spot on the Varsity Tennis team - where I was one of only three freshmen to make the team.
In 7th & 8th grade I also joined the middle school track team for the spring season. My events were high jump, long jump, triple jump, and was an alternate for the 4x100m relay. In 9th grade, I joined the winter track team and competed high jump, 55m dash, and later began shot put. In spring track my main events were shot put, discus, and high jump. I competed the Pentathlon at Division Championships, and placed 5th in my division. At the end of spring season, I ranked as #1 freshman in shot put in Suffolk County, NY, and the only freshman who scored high enough for Shot Put State Qualifiers.
As I progress with my high school career, I will continue to improve my skills and consistency for tennis and track. My goals are to become a college student-athlete.
Leila Alesha Curtis