Tyler Duffrin

Exhibit: Three year varsity football plaque

Benchmark: Personal Management
Skills: P101 Have a good attendance record at school, work, and/or extracurricular activities
P102 Demonstrate safety and self-control requiring minimum direction and supervision
In order to play varsity football as a sophomore, one needs to be dedicated and have the right
mindset. Included in those two things are having a good attendance at all team events, and
demonstrating safety and self-control with minimum supervision. I am heavily involved with
extracurricular activities, and time management is the only way I can make it to all of them. This
year, each week has been packed full with meetings, practice, sporting events, and more. I realize
that showing up to the events Im supposed to go to and being professional in a setting where
adults are not present is important to me and the people around me. Most of the time,
extracurricular activities are supervised by adults, but the few that arent require leadership from
someone who is willing to take charge of the group.
More often than not, high school students (boys, in particular) cannot control themselves in a
setting with no adult supervision. Having been a varsity quarterback for three years, I have
experienced it firsthand. Stepping up and being a leader is challenging sometimes; when ones
friends are doing something fun rather than productive, it is hard not to join them, naturally.
What separates leaders from spectators and followers is the ability to step up when one realizes it
is time to do so, and take charge of the current situation when nobody else wants to, or to
replace the adult, for lack of a better term. Included in the skill set of a good leader is good
attendance. Whether you attend meetings, have practice every day, or volunteer your time,
presence is important. Not very often are people going to listen to someone who shows up half
the time.
Having a good attendance at whatever youre currently doing and demonstrating safety and good
self-control with little-to-no supervision are truly the two things that separate leaders from
followers. No matter the instance, someone who can behave properly and professionally in an
uncomfortable setting is someone to look up to. As a future physical therapist, remaining
proficient at all times is essential. Seeing as many patients in one day as a physical therapist
does, handling business in a professional manner is a must. Consistently being available in the
workplace by demonstrating good attendance is also imperative. Someone seeking physical
treatment as soon as possible will not look to someone who has a bad reputation of being absent.
The workplace, however, is by no means the only place that these two attributes are important.
All the time in life, people are called on to make hard decisions that dont always have a correct
answer. Remaining professional and taking charge of the situation at hand lead to the correct
decision more times than not.