What is the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizens program and scholarship contest?

The DAR was founded after the Sons of the American Revolution, but kind of on the same principles. It’s for descendants of the people who helped out in the American Revolution, not just as soldiers but also as nurses or even the people that donated their livestock. The DAR helps out in all sorts of ways in Indiana; our chapter right now is helping out with the monument downtown, and they do all sorts of projects throughout the year. One right now is about commemorating unnamed soldiers that didn’t get buried. They really are more of a volunteer group based off of your heritage. And then the scholarship I found out about through the high school. 

What was the competition like?

At first, I wrote an essay talking about American principles and how I outlined those. And then when I was selected by the school off of that essay, I started to compete in neighboring schools like us (CHS), Tipton, Westfield, and other surrounding schools for our chapter. And that meant that we all wrote a timed essay and went to the chapter event and read that essay. They chose a winner based on that essay, which ended up being me.

How did you involve yourself in service and leadership during high school?

I’m an author of a children’s book I’ve been reading to our elementary schools, but also other elementary schools in Indiana. That’s really been the main part of my service. I’m a passionate advocate for disability awareness and inclusion because of the struggles I’ve seen my brother face, and I think it’s an issue we don’t talk about enough. And my children’s book kind of talks about that.

I’ve been preaching that message not only to the kids but also to our teachers about inclusive language and I’ve kind of started a whole campaign about how we can make our world a more inclusive place.

How do you think these involvements have helped you grow as a person?

Something I talked about in my speech actually is that I think the kids that I’ve been reading my book to have actually taught me more than I’ve taught them. For the first class I read to, the first question I got was “What is a disability?” And as someone who grew up around that, I wasn’t expecting that. I think the kids I’ve read to have taught me so much about the different perspectives in this world, how each individual person has their own values and belief systems, and how we can all coexist.

What does patriotism in the context of acts of service mean to you?

I don’t know that my friends would describe me as patriotic, but I’m very much the activist. I write to our local legislation a lot and I protest the things I don’t believe in, but I think that is equally as American. I think the idea that being patriotic is going along with what is going on in politics is outdated and incorrect, and I think being American is standing up for what we believe in, because that’s what our country is founded on. 

So I think in fighting for other people’s rights, for my brother and for anyone with disabilities, these experiences have really helped me feel more in touch with my community, and I believe we really are the United States of America and that the purpose of our country is to be united, not divided. 

What does being honored as a Daughter of the American Revolution mean to you personally?

I’m going to be honest, I was not expecting to be chosen. So I was not ready at all, but it’s been very eye-opening. I’ve gotten to go through my ancestry with my dad and learn about these people in my life that helped out during the war that I had no idea existed, so in a way, I’ve become more in-touch with my heritage and my identity. 

But I’m also just so incredibly grateful to be chosen for this opportunity. The people at the DAR are really welcoming and it’s so refreshing to be part of such a supporting community.

What are you looking to study in the future, and how do you think this program can help you?

I’m going into publishing, so I guess you could say I’ve gotten more practice writing and speaking in front of people, but really I’d say it’s more the opportunity to put this on my resume. One of the parts of the award was that I got a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in my honor, so having that award and the commendation from Victoria Spartz on my resume is going to be really helpful for me in the future.

What advice would you give other students wanting to make a similar impact on their community?

I would just say take action. It doesn’t do anyone any good if you just sit and think about an idea. Nothing gets done in dreams, right? I would say if you want to make a difference and you’re passionate about something, the key to getting that something done is to simply do it.