Personal Statement

I started playing hockey at age 5 when I would run around saying "I love to Hockey!" At age 9 we were at a hockey game and I told my parents that I was going to play college hockey someday. I worked picking up leaves, dog poop, or any other odd jobs a 9 year old can do for 6 months and saved up over $800 to pay for my first hockey camp and prove that I was serious about this sport. I searched for a camp that was all about hockey and found pro-ambitions AAA boarding camp in Boston, MA and loved it. I still pick up yards in addition to working as a referee to save money to pay for camp and I have gone back every year since.

As a military brat we have moved several times causing me to become part of new school and hockey associations every few years. It was sometimes difficult to leave friends, but I learned quickly to embrace the adventure of new people, places, and experiences. Through it all my academics remained a priority despite the changing schools, my fathers 11 deployments and my late night practices. This nomadic lifestyle taught me how to be coachable because I had join teams that had played together for years with coaches that had very different styles of play. There were great teams that allowed me to build wonderful relationships. I learned to play all positions on the ice and become a very versatile player. Although I prefer to play forward, I am often called upon to drop back if my team is short defenders. My team mates know they can depend on me on and off the ice for hard work, words of encouragement, and usually a laugh or two. I believe that a good attitude, adaptability, and hard work are everything. Having a sense of humor does not hurt either, after all I still "love to Hockey!"