BlogsStudent LifeAthleticsServiceAdmissionUpper School
How High School Athletics Have Impacted Me
Mar 12, 2014 9:08 AM
By Emily Thurmond '14 - '14
Athletic programs have instilled in me a constant need to better myself in all areas of my life. They have taught me how to work with others, stay focused, and fight for what I want.
As a freshman, my coach pulled me aside and told me that I had potential to be a strong leader within my school if I wanted to put in the effort. I took what my coach said to heart and started to apply for different leadership opportunities. Aside from athletics, I have been a class representative on the Christian “Y” Cabinet, our oldest branch of the student government, since my freshman year; spiritual life liaison since sophomore year; and a member of the House Senate since the end of junior year. All of these student-elected positions meet once or twice a month with school administrators to help plan school events like RUMPUS, chapel services, servant leadership opportunities, dances, Lessons & Carols – Darlington’s Christmas program, and much more.
I have been fortunate enough to be elected as Darlington’s HOBY leadership seminar’s delegate the summer of my junior year and sophomore year the North West Georgia’s youth delegate for the Annual Episcopal conference. Each lasted two days and had a huge impact on my life and self-confidence.
My junior year, I was honored to receive the mentor position in Regester House and then went on to receive the prefect position my senior year. As a leader in the dorms, I act as mediator between the girls in the dorm and the faculty as we plan events. I am there to help the other girls through hard times whether it is in school or family. I also received the Kipp Tillman Award for the junior girl that “exhibits a love of life, athletics, and the arts and goes through everyday life lending a smile to friends and strangers alike.”
My athletic training has imparted a strong work ethic in me. I learned as a student athlete how to balance practicing for 2-3 hours every day after school and completing my academics. I realized early on that just going to practice was only going to make me a good player and I wanted to be better. I have taken countless hours of lessons, whether it was batting or tennis, spent hours in the pool doing extra laps to drop time, and ran the extra mile to stay in shape. After my coaches and upper class players instilled in me the desire to be a leader, I was immediately given the opportunity during swim season of my freshman year, receiving MVP and High Point awards. Since then, this hard work has helped me earn numerous awards and accolades in swimming, tennis and softball. But more importantly, I have learned how hard work, dedication and perseverance pays off for myself and for my team.
My parents and Darlington have also taught me that one of the most important things in life is giving back to our community. I have always found joy in working in my community through church or school, like helping at the boys and girls clubs or food pantries. In my freshman year, I had 36 hours of community service, but it was not until my sophomore year that I decided to try something new and really make a difference by creating my own community service project for students at a local underprivileged school near Darlington. They did not have a large budget for the music program and were in need of new instruments. Since I truly believe music is critical to brain development and expression and that every child should have the opportunity to experience it, I decided to help these kids by raising funds to purchase instruments.
In order to raise funds, I designed and sold T-shirts and Tervis tumblers and had my a capella group raise money through singing grams. I worked the last three years on this project, “Music for McHenry”, and have raised well over $1,000 to buy instruments. Over the course of my sophomore and junior year, I have 112 hours that were logged and many more that went unaccounted for. By the end of my senior year, I expect to have raised over $1,000 more and will log at least 60 more hours for the McHenry Primary School music program.
In addition, during the past four years, I have gone on two mission trips – one to New York for five days and the other to Houston for seven days – where we worked with underprivileged kids and in soup kitchens and clothing pantries. Though I do not know the exact number of hours spent in service on those trips, they were life-changing experiences that helped me realize how blessed I truly am.
In the future, I plan to continue my service to the community. I would like to work in a non-profit organization like Christian Student Ministries, hoping to help impart the same passion for giving back that I have found. Also, once I settle in to college, I plan on identifying an underprivileged elementary school in the area and work alongside the music teachers to help their programs thrive. I hope to be able to not only raise money for them, but as a music major work in a more hands-on way through lessons or work in the classroom. I also hope to get the kids involved in the fundraising efforts to teach them the rewards it offers.
I consider myself very fortunate and blessed to go to a school where there are so many opportunities to excel both inside and outside the classroom. Without Darlington, my coaches, teachers and parents I would not be who I am today.
As a freshman, my coach pulled me aside and told me that I had potential to be a strong leader within my school if I wanted to put in the effort. I took what my coach said to heart and started to apply for different leadership opportunities. Aside from athletics, I have been a class representative on the Christian “Y” Cabinet, our oldest branch of the student government, since my freshman year; spiritual life liaison since sophomore year; and a member of the House Senate since the end of junior year. All of these student-elected positions meet once or twice a month with school administrators to help plan school events like RUMPUS, chapel services, servant leadership opportunities, dances, Lessons & Carols – Darlington’s Christmas program, and much more.
I have been fortunate enough to be elected as Darlington’s HOBY leadership seminar’s delegate the summer of my junior year and sophomore year the North West Georgia’s youth delegate for the Annual Episcopal conference. Each lasted two days and had a huge impact on my life and self-confidence.
My junior year, I was honored to receive the mentor position in Regester House and then went on to receive the prefect position my senior year. As a leader in the dorms, I act as mediator between the girls in the dorm and the faculty as we plan events. I am there to help the other girls through hard times whether it is in school or family. I also received the Kipp Tillman Award for the junior girl that “exhibits a love of life, athletics, and the arts and goes through everyday life lending a smile to friends and strangers alike.”
My athletic training has imparted a strong work ethic in me. I learned as a student athlete how to balance practicing for 2-3 hours every day after school and completing my academics. I realized early on that just going to practice was only going to make me a good player and I wanted to be better. I have taken countless hours of lessons, whether it was batting or tennis, spent hours in the pool doing extra laps to drop time, and ran the extra mile to stay in shape. After my coaches and upper class players instilled in me the desire to be a leader, I was immediately given the opportunity during swim season of my freshman year, receiving MVP and High Point awards. Since then, this hard work has helped me earn numerous awards and accolades in swimming, tennis and softball. But more importantly, I have learned how hard work, dedication and perseverance pays off for myself and for my team.
My parents and Darlington have also taught me that one of the most important things in life is giving back to our community. I have always found joy in working in my community through church or school, like helping at the boys and girls clubs or food pantries. In my freshman year, I had 36 hours of community service, but it was not until my sophomore year that I decided to try something new and really make a difference by creating my own community service project for students at a local underprivileged school near Darlington. They did not have a large budget for the music program and were in need of new instruments. Since I truly believe music is critical to brain development and expression and that every child should have the opportunity to experience it, I decided to help these kids by raising funds to purchase instruments.
In order to raise funds, I designed and sold T-shirts and Tervis tumblers and had my a capella group raise money through singing grams. I worked the last three years on this project, “Music for McHenry”, and have raised well over $1,000 to buy instruments. Over the course of my sophomore and junior year, I have 112 hours that were logged and many more that went unaccounted for. By the end of my senior year, I expect to have raised over $1,000 more and will log at least 60 more hours for the McHenry Primary School music program.
In addition, during the past four years, I have gone on two mission trips – one to New York for five days and the other to Houston for seven days – where we worked with underprivileged kids and in soup kitchens and clothing pantries. Though I do not know the exact number of hours spent in service on those trips, they were life-changing experiences that helped me realize how blessed I truly am.
In the future, I plan to continue my service to the community. I would like to work in a non-profit organization like Christian Student Ministries, hoping to help impart the same passion for giving back that I have found. Also, once I settle in to college, I plan on identifying an underprivileged elementary school in the area and work alongside the music teachers to help their programs thrive. I hope to be able to not only raise money for them, but as a music major work in a more hands-on way through lessons or work in the classroom. I also hope to get the kids involved in the fundraising efforts to teach them the rewards it offers.
I consider myself very fortunate and blessed to go to a school where there are so many opportunities to excel both inside and outside the classroom. Without Darlington, my coaches, teachers and parents I would not be who I am today.
