I’m Rebecca, a girl who grew up playing sports and had plenty of siblings to laugh with, play with, and of course, occasionally fight with. My parents got divorced when I was 2 years old, so I don’t remember ever living with both parents. I used to wonder how things would have been if they stayed together, but then I remember how great they both have always been as parents, and I try not to question it.

Also, I believe that everything happens for a reason, and even through the bad things that happen, we can always find some good in them, even if we have to dig a little deeper. My parents had 5 children together, I am the youngest. They both got remarried and I now have 9 siblings, 5 brothers and 4 sisters – I think it’s pretty neat that we ended up with an even split with the boys and girls.

Life has had its ups and downs, as each person can testify to their own life. For me, I have been as low as depression and thinking that my life wasn’t worth living, to being so grateful for the ways that God has blessed me and kept me that I couldn’t imagine giving up.

I am currently a summer intern and I will have earned my MS in Health Promotion and Education with a concentration in Exercise and Fitness at the end of the summer. I don’t know exactly where I will be after this, I’m just trying to find the best way to do what I love and help as many people as possible.

Growing up, I was always very shy and I would leave my comfort zone as little as possible. As I have grown and matured, I have realized the importance of helping and serving others, which has forced me to see the necessity of coming out of my comfort zone more and more if I am going to reach my full potential in that area. At this point in my life, even with so much more to live, I get so much more out of helping others and seeing others smile than ever before, so that fuels me and gives me that extra boost to leave my comfort zone.

There is one major thing that I have done that has pushed me the furthest out of my comfort zone but has also been the most rewarding, and that is coaching. This surprised me because I never dreamed of coaching. I was pushed to coach by my high school basketball coach – just a reminder that sometimes others see things in us before we see them.

If there was one thing that I could share with someone that reflects who I am and I thought could help them, I would tell them to approach every moment in a way that not only makes them proud, but to those that they hope to influence and inspire, to make them proud, as well.

Here is a quick video that Rebecca put together to share who she is and what her future holds: