What makes you a Difference Maker?
In my three years at UM-Dearborn, I have constantly tried to make a difference on campus. I am admittedly a very awkward guy and preferred to stay in the background when I began college in the Fall of 2018. With a little nudging from my parents, however, I began to talk to people in class, join student organizations, and apply for campus jobs. It was during this process that I realized I could have an impact at UM-Dearborn. Since I am genuinely uncomfortable putting myself out there, I can relate to a wide variety of people who fear similar things. For this reason, I always try to make people feel welcomed and appreciated. I do this by talking to the people in the back of the class, bringing those together that feel alone, giving confidence to those that lack it, and simply being there for people when they need someone to talk to. I have accomplished these goals through my work as an Orientation Leader and Student Organization Consultant along with my experience in student organizations and as a student. Also, through these same involvements, I have helped them succeed through my leadership skills and dependability. I pride myself on doing a good job and being someone that people can rely on. Through my awkwardness, relatability, leadership, and dependability, I believe I have made an impact on UM-Dearborn and hope to continue to have a similar impact in my future career as a teacher. Hopefully, my receiving of this award can inspire other students who have a lack of confidence in themselves and prefer to stay in the background. If I can step out of my comfort zone and become a Difference Maker, then so can anyone.
Tell us about your leadership experience.
In high school, I was the captain of the varsity soccer team and was a member of the National Honor Society. In college, I have been the Sports Editor of the Michigan Journal for two years and the Managing Editor for one year. Through this experience, I have led meetings, created deadlines, reviewed other writers' work, and helped brainstorm new content we can create. I also co-created and co-host our Zone Defense Podcast. Also on-campus, I was an Orientation Leader for the summers of 2019 and 2020 along with serving as a Student Organization Consultant in the Office of Student Life since 2019. In each of these involvements, I have had to oversee large groups of students and create changes that would best serve them. I was also a senator in Student Government for the entirety of the 2018-2019 school year. I was most proud of my work as vice chair of the Student Academic Affairs Committee alongside our chairs Catarina and Hunter. Additional leadership experience I have gotten off-campus includes coaching my younger sister's softball team, teaching classes as part of my major, and hopefully being a decent brother to my younger siblings Hayley and Drake.
What is your dream career or goal?
My dream career is being a teacher for either middle or high school. I realized this is what I wanted to do my senior year of high school and, once I realized in college that business was not for me, I decided to pursue this career. My hope is to teach social studies and history with the belief that teaching these subjects will help students become informed citizens in the future. In addition, I hope to be there for them and help them through any curveballs that life throws their way, similar to how my parents, teachers, and bosses have helped me. While teaching will be my main job, I also want to coach either baseball or basketball at the school I teach at. Also, since I will have my summers off for the most part, I want to travel, continue writing/podcasting about sports, and work at a museum (maybe the Henry Ford). Each of these are components of my long-term life goal. However, my overall goal is to just be happy, be a good person, and be able to look back on my life with pride in that I did what I believe God intended for me to do. In addition to doing this as a teacher and coach, I hope to do this as a son, brother, cousin, and friend along with hopefully as a boyfriend, husband, dad, and grandfather one day.
What is your most defining moment?
There are a few moments that come to mind, but I am going to limit them to just three. First, I was extremely nervous during my first few orientations as an Orientation Leader. I thought I was going to be terrible and that I was not going to be able to do it. However, I kept going, and eventually, I was able to talk on a stage in front of hundreds of students while also being able to be a guide for my group. A very similar moment happened during my first days as an Org Consultant and as Sports Editor and, similarly, I am able to lead groups of people with little issue now. My second moment was when I was playing intramural basketball and volleyball in 2020 before COVID. While we were playing, I remember looking around and seeing all the friends I had made. I was extremely nervous at the beginning of college and in that moment I really felt at peace with all the relationships I had built in a short amount of time. Similar instances occurred with the Michigan Journal and Orientation Leader team as well. My last moment occurred this semester. As I know is the case for many, this semester was probably the hardest I ever had to go through. There were many times when I thought I could not do it and lost faith, but my family and friends never gave up on me. I was able to find the strength to keep going and honestly surprised myself. I now feel more confident in myself moving forward. I feel each of these three stories defines my time at UM-Dearborn. I accomplished more than I could have imagined, learned the importance of not giving up, and fully realized the gift of family and friends.