During my junior and senior years of high school, I was honored to be nominated and awarded the Service Above Self Award. When I applied to Wake Forest University, a school that emphasizes its motto – Pro Humanitate (For Humanity), my Service Above Self Award served as an external validation for the work I had completed with at-risk middle school students. This type of recognition program encouraged me to continue volunteering well beyond my high school career into college. I feel confident that receiving this award enhanced my application to my dream school, but more importantly, I was given encouragement from community leaders that volunteering was a worthy cause.