I grew up coming from a very family focused household where it was taught from a very young age that the family is everything. It was known that family will always have your back and will always be there for you when you need them. I’ve always had a great relationship with my parents and my younger sister. Coming up through the ages, it was evident that hockey was going to be the path I chose to follow. But coming along with hockey is the fact that to grow within the game you must go to those successful teams, wherever they may be, to be seen by college coaches. So when it came down to my sophomore year of high school I realized that if I wanted to be successful in my sport, I would have to move away from home to chase my dream. This was going to be a very difficult task because of how I was raised and how amazing of a bond I had with my family. But I had it set in my mind that no matter where I was, family could still be just as important to me even if they are not physically with me....

 Parker Rutherford 9/5/2022  I spent my senior year summer working with a teenage based youth volunteer camp at my local Fort Wayne, Indiana area YMCA.  I worked with the camp Monday through Fridays from 9 to 4 throughout the summer with kids ranging from age 13 to 16. The mission of this summer camp was for teenagers from the local area to spend the summer giving back to their community for those who are less fortunate . We volunteered at food banks, animal shelters, doing yardwork for the elderly, and many more activities. Once a day we would do a volunteer-based activity and the rest of the day we would spend doing fun activities around our local YMCA or going out in the community and doing different sorts of activities to make the kids summer a great one. I really enjoyed my time working with these kids and they truly changed my life in the matter of two months. I made amazing connections and a few best friends. I will never forget my summer being a team camp counselo...