Ellie Keveny

Ellie Keveny - Class of 2020

I've always been told that I'm a very focused person and a slight perfectionist. I don't get distracted in class or while doing homework. I can sit down and do something without letting my surroundings faze me. I don't want an A on an assignment, I want an A+. I keep studying even after I know the material, and I always try to exceed expectations. I guess being a perfectionist and focused is a good thing because having these traits helps me feel prepared. I have a very good idea of what I want to do when I'm older, and I continue to work towards my goals. However, being so focused and being a perfectionist can also have its downfalls. Sometimes I get so focused on the future that I forget to live in the moment. Whenever I make a mistake, I become so focused on it that I sometimes cannot move past it. If I look at my grades and have anything less than an A, I become disappointed in myself. Focusing on the future so much and worrying about my grades and mistakes is draining. However, there are advantages to being a focused overachiever. This past summer I used these traits to start my own photography business. Photography has always been an outlet for me, and it is an activity that helps me, and probably many others feel more in the moment. I may not be there now, but I am learning to live in the moment. After all, the present is called the "present" for a reason.

Evan Kneedler

Evan Kneedler - Class of 2020

When I was in 4^th grade, I was playing soccer with my friend James. He got injured about halfway through the game and ended up having broken his wrist, but I didn’t know it at the time. I was playing goalie and we were loosing like 0-6 so I didn’t really care, so I pretended to dive into the goal post and hurt my wrist so I could sit out with James. At the end of the game, the coach came up to my mom and told her that he thought I should go to the hospital because he thought that I was really injured. I said that it wasn’t necessary, but my mom’s a nurse so she said that I had to go get 

x-rays. I got x-rays done, and it turned out that I actually had a broken wrist the whole time. I went back like 6 months later to get my cast off and it was still broken so I just live with both broken wrists.

Luke Dione

Luke Dione - Class of 2020

I’ve been playing basketball my whole life. When it came time for travel season, I really thought I was going to make the A team because I’ve been practicing so much. When I finally found out what team I was on, I made the B team. I was kind of disappointed but I thought it would be a good experience. So I practiced more and more, and the year after I tried as hard as I could and still made the B team. The third year, I tried out for the third time and I finally made the A team. I was really happy because from the B team I thought I’d learn a lot, but when I finally went on the A team there was just so much more. It had an impact on my life because when I found out I was on the B team, it didn’t make me happy since I’ve been practicing for so long. When I finally made the A team, I was just really happy. I did really good the first year, but I knew I could do better so I wanted to practice even more. Last year, I tried out and made the A team again and I did really well. I didn’t even know I could do that good. I was just really proud of myself.