Public service supports the goals of our society -- everyone needs to give a little to make it work. I'm an ambitious student but I appreciate the importance of balance in my life -- there's more to life than academics. So I give time and effort to youth and high-school sports officiating. I've refereed youth soccer for 10 years, high-school soccer for four years, and high-school basketball for three years. I'm planning on starting to referee high-school football this fall. It makes a difference in those kids' lives.

I got into it by accident -- literally. I was injured playing rec soccer when I was 12 and couldn't continue the season, so I starting reffing to stay involved. I fell in love with it and all I wanted to do was get better and better at it. Pretty soon, playing took a back seat to officiating. I love sports but I was never really amazing at them. I also have a thick skin, I'm good at managing people and I've always been a stickler for the rules.

It was more important to me to get better at officiating sports than at playing them. I spend way more time going over game tapes, rule books and talking to mentors than I do at the batting cages or kicking around a soccer ball. But I still participate in IM sports and a local rec softball league but only to have fun with my friends and get exercise.

Giving something to others is a good learning experience to apply to a professional career as well as to my personal development. I intend to become a professional engineer, but I'd also like to take a shot at officiating college basketball and professional soccer.