DANIELLE MIDDLETON

Howard Univeristy

Becomingajunior issosurreal becauseI only just now realizehow far I?vecome,and thefact that I amalmost doneiseven crazier! This semester I performedchoreographedexercise routines,learnedabout global musicgenres, studiedgender psychology,discussedwomen?s health,andabsolutely crushedstatisticsif I do say somyself I?malsomakingstridesinputting together my honorsthesis.

Asidefromclasses,I?vebeenparticipatingin clubs I?mespeciallylookingforwardtospring semester,becausetherearemany Model UnitedNationsconferencescomingupthat I will beparticipatingin It?salot moreadvanced thanhighschool Model UN,so I amboth nervousandexcited Luckily,I?mpart of ateam that hasahabit of winningawards,so I feel I?m ingoodhands

AroundAugust of last year,I wasalot more nervousabout movingdowntoDC.Everything wasbrandnew andunfamiliar,and it wasmy first timeawayfromhome Thecontrast however withthisyear isgrand Everythingis somuchmorefamiliar

I only just now feel likeI?mhittingmy stride

Whereaslast year thecity felt brandnew, nowadaysI?mabletofindmy way aroundthe city easily.I havemy routinesand areasI liketo frequent,andDCisalot morecomfortablefor me A bigpart of thisismadepossiblethrough MVYouth,whichishelpingmeto affordthe apartment I livein I actually surprisedmyself thisyear asI caught myself referringtothe apartment as?home,?(althoughMartha?s Vineyardisalways#1 inmy heart )But nonetheless,I?mtruly grateful to MVYouthfor providingmewiththeir support whichhas allowedmetogosofar.Thank youMVYouth!

Jackson Pizzano

UMASS,STOCKBRIDGE

Thissemester at UMasswasvery bitter sweet I knew graduationwascomingthewholetimeand wasexcitedfor it but I wasn't totallyready for my collegecareer toend Asthesemester wound downI slowly becamemoreokaywiththeideaof beingagraduate,andnow I amvery happyand proudof myself for completingschool and getting my diploma.Duringmy last semester I triedto useall thethingsofferedtostudentswhileI still could I went to alot of hockey andbasketball games,played discgolf onthecampusdiscgolf course,andwent to acouplestudent runcomedy shows Thoughit'sover now I'mhappy I usedall thethingsUMassofferswhileI still could.Now I can now focusonusingmy diplomatoget ajob and exploretheworldmorethanI haveever been abletoprior tograduation Thiswinter I hopeto work ontheislandandset myself upsoI cando sometravelingand explorationoncethesummer ends Thoughmy collegedaysareover I hopeto keeplearningabout treesandarboricultureand becomeacertifiedarborist Thiswould be extremely helpful whenlookingfor ajobor trying togoout onmy ownasit showsI haveapplicable knowledgetohelpacustomer deal withtheir trees Thiscertificationalsohelpsyoulearnhow towork safer and smarter whichisimportant whenusingvery dangeroustoolsonadaily basis I alsoplantomakealot of ski tripsthiswinter as it'sagoodway toget off theislandfor afew days and I really enjoy skiing I really would liketoski out west thiswinter astheir snow hasbeenmuch better thanNew England'sthisyear I would like tothank MVYouth andall thedonorswhomade my collegecareer possibleand helpedmeall the way throughtomy graduation.I ambeyond grateful and hopeoneday I can helpthe community asmuchasthey do