Winning Essay:

I always looked up to the Tigers on Friday nights when my mom, a Beechwood teacher, took me to see her students play under the lights. I always wanted to be like these high schoolers. Now here I am all these years later and I realize I am the student athlete that younger students aspire to be like.

From what I have read and heard from those who knew Jordan McFaull, he was described as being ambitious, passionate and a goal achiever. We share these same characteristics. I, like Jordan, set big goals for myself both academically, on the field, and in the community.

Throughout high school I have amassed over 170 hours of community service working with a variety of different Northern Kentucky organizations. The service I am most proud of has to be my individual service project these last two years. I partnered with Brighton Center to organize and operate their annual Used Toy Sale. The Used Toy Sale gives underprivileged children in the area a chance to buy gently used toys and bikes for themselves and their family members, using just pocket change. I advertised to the community that I would pick up any gently used toys if any families would like to donate them. Each year, I’ve been able to collect at least two truck loads of toys. Once I have collected the toys, I would take them to the Brighton Center a week before the event to clean and sanitize them. Other NHS members and myself took around three hours one evening that week to help clean and sanitize along with setting them out for the sale on that Saturday.

Once the event begins and the kids line up on the outside, the volunteers begin to hand out hats and gloves to the families who attend. Then, volunteers take the children around the shop and help them buy what they want without any influence from their parents. Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces after they walk out of the building with bags and bags of toys makes all the time and hard work worth it.

After having significant opportunities to serve the community these last 4 years I have learned an incredible amount about myself and how fortunate I am to do this service both physically and mentally. I’ve learned to never take anything I have for granted and always appreciate my health, my parents, and my home because these blessings that I have been given are something that some of the people I serve aren’t fortunate enough to have.

When I read Jordan McFaull's bio that was provided, I kept coming back to the line that said, "He treated every person with respect and was always ready to assist." A life of service and making this world a better place by the connections I make with others is something that I strive for each day; I hope to make the same kind of impact that Jordan did on this world.