Madison Marcus

806 Ashby Drive

Davidson, NC

February 27, 2015

Review Committee
Pine Lake Preparatory
104 Yellow Wood Circle
Mooresville NC, 28117

Dear Review Committee,

My name is Madison Marcus and I am currently a senior at Pine Lake Preparatory. I began my
education at Pine Lake Preparatory in ninth grade. I have found that this school has provided me
with an excellent education and prepared me to be successful in college. I have challenged
myself by taking very difficult, college-level courses in science, English, and history. Beyond
academics, Pine Lake has given me the opportunity to participate in the arts during high school.
I am the concertmaster of the schools advanced orchestra and a member of the schools chamber
music ensemble. I have channeled my passion for violin into the volunteer work I do outside of
school. Every year, I teach violin to a few students. Also outside of school, I have pursued
dance at Grand Central Academy of Performing Arts where I dance 11 hours a week and am the
captain of the dance team. Additionally, I worked as a tutor at Lake Norman Tutoring during my
junior year, where I tutored students ages 5-18 in math, reading, and writing. During my time at
Lake Norman tutoring, I found that I had a passion for working with children and I wanted to
incorporate this into my Pride Project.

Since I was eight years old, I knew I wanted to become a psychiatrist. Learning about how the
brain works and uncovering the mysteries of human behavior fascinated me, so I had a very easy
time choosing psychiatry as my Pride Project topic. My uncle told me about his experiences
working as a psychiatrist and it sounded so interesting to me that I knew I had found a career I
was passionate about. I still wanted to incorporate working with children into my project, so I
decided to focus my research on adolescent psychiatry. I found that ADHD is the most
diagnosed disorder in children, and that depression is also very prevalent in young girls. I also
learned that beginning treatment while children are still young is critical in preventing these
disorders.

From my research, I came to the conclusion that the most influential product I could create
would be a presentation to fifth grade Pine Lake students designed to prepare them for middle
school by boosting their self-confidence and teaching them helpful organizational techniques. I
will plan a series of fun activities based on my in-depth research to help the students uncover
their own positive attributes, see the good in their peers, and discover ways to stay organized and
on top of their schoolwork. This will help fifth graders feel more prepared for middle school and
give them tools to battle symptoms of ADHD and depression. By partnering with the lower
school counselor, Jackie Kurtz, I will find a half day where I can give this presentation to fifth
grade classrooms. I expect the total amount of time put into this presentation to be around 10
hours. To present my product to the judges, I will show pictures from my presentation in the
lower school and have the judges participate in an activity that I did with the fifth graders. I
hope to have completed my presentation by December 1st so I will have ample time to find a day
to give the presentation to the lower school and prepare for my presentation to the judges. I look
forward to sharing the insights and information I have learned about psychology with the fifth
graders and with the judges.

Sincerely,




Madison Marcus