In high school, I was always afraid to push myself to my full potential out of fear of being wrong and facing judgment by my peers so when choosing a university to attend, I knew I wanted to challenge myself academically. I found what I was looking for at Longwood. I decided to also be a part of the Cormier Honors College for not only the community aspect, but to challenge myself academically as well. My first year was anything but easy, but I am very proud of my academic achievements. Along with good grades and scores, I am also proud of my ability to contribute to discussions and debates in my courses. In high school, I never participated out of fear of judgment but I decided that I wanted to contribute and get the most out of a course as I could. Public speaking is something that I have greatly improved on this year and I owe it all to my time at Longwood University. I appreciate the challenge that Longwood academics has given me and I am even more grateful for the resources that the Cormier Honors College has provided me to help me become the most successful student I can be.