Phase 2: Katie's 90 Second Elevator Pitch

Hi, my name is Katie. I live in West Palm Beach, Florida, and I'm a junior at Florida Virtual School. Have you ever thought about what it means to be unique? We are all unique in certain ways, but the biggest struggle is identifying these special qualities and using them productively. I believe that “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." --Charles Swindoll. For example, I never liked being very tall, until I realized all of the opportunities that come along with my height of 5'11" such as excelling in Dancing Ballet, Varsity Swimming, and Varsity Tennis... and overall, just being ME :) Moving from Virginia to Florida just before high school was another factor in my life that made me different, But I have realized that I can take this experience to help me take a completely new situation and successfully adapt to it. If I hadn't moved, I would not have found the church and youth group that I attend, where I am part of a community that has helped me grow to be a person with a purpose, though activities like yearly mission trips, weekend retreats and volunteering. In addition, today, I am still learning to embrace the unique experience of being homeschooled since 2nd grade and completing my education online for high school. I am thankful for all it has given me, including flexible schedules, time for my family, true friends and technology experience that has led to me to unique programs like DOTCOM which provides me with an opportunity to work on developing my knowledge of media to help me make a difference in the world, even if just in a small way. Overall, I have found that Life is 10 percent of what you get out of it and 90 percent of what you put in it.