Resumé
Miranda Brady
Early Life Bio
I was born and raised in Rowan County. I've lived here all of my life, and that is the number one reason why I do not want to live here in the future. I have two older brothers, David an Daniel, and a half-sister from my dad's first marriage, Heather. My parents got divorced when I was five years old, and during elementary school, I moved between about a dozen houses, and four schools. Once I entered middle school, I found my home in Salisbury, and at Southeast Middle School. I thought Southeast had the nicest, most caring teachers, but they simply cannot compare to those at Carson.
High School
I entered the ninth grade at Jesse C. Carson High School as the third and final person in my family to attend this school. My oldest brother, David, was a senior, and my other brother, Daniel, was a sophomore. When I began my high school career, I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future, the only idea I had was to be a teacher, just like my mom. With the mandatory core classes, and some crazy electives, I found my passions. The most influential teachers to me were and still are, Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs. Byrd, and Mrs. Stillings. As a combination, they taught me acceptance, appreciation, and respect. I feel like they will always be with me wherever I go, because of all they have done for me. If I ever end up back in Rowan County (cross your fingers), I hope they still all teach at Carson, and that I can teach there, too. That way, my mentors would become my friends.
Future
In the fall, I will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I will have a double major in World History and the Latin Languages. My housing was recently accepted, so I will be at Granville Towers! I hope to grow up and become a translator for the United Nations. In effort of achieving this, I will become a Student Ambassador to the UN while at Chapel Hill. I will also study abroad on most summers, which coincides with my latter major. I hope to attend the University of California-Berkeley for graduate school, and to get my doctorate in one of my two favorite subjects.
Girl Scouts
I have been a Girl Scout for twelve years now, I joined in the first grade when I attended Hanford Dole Elementary School. I have done so much community service, mentoring hours with the younger girls, and learning respect and kindness for myself. My Bronze Award was a Christmas Giveaway for the Battered Women's Shelter, in which I received tons of donations and gifts for the women and children. My Silver Award was a massive donation for the Battered Women's Shelter where I raised $3,000 of donations and $2,000 worth of clothes, toys, paint, and other things for the women and children there. Finally, my Gold Award was a 27 page ISD Model Lesson Plan on Violence Against Teenagers. This lesson plan encompassed signs, symptoms, definitions, and myths of date rape, stalking, and the four most common forms of abuse-verbal, psychological, sexual, and physical. I put on my lesson plan for 20 county officials, representing 30 organizations in the county. After the presentation, I sent a copy of this to all of the people present, and all of the local schools and organizations, in an effort to raise awareness and prevention of these Violences Against Teenagers.
Relay For Life
I have been attending Relay For Life in a number of areas my whole life. I personally do not know anyone who has had cancer, but I know how much it can affect a person, family, and community as a whole. For this reason, in middle school, I began a Relay team with my father. For three years, we held a booth at Relay and raised nearly $3,000 total for Relay For Life. Once I began high school, I had too many extracurricular activities to keep up with to have an actual team, but I did not want to give up something that meant so much to me. My dad became the Regional Chairman of Relay For Life, and he helped me join the Information Booth, with two of my closest friends- Hayley Wilhelm, and Michaela Teeter. For four years, we have managed the Info Booth, sold t shirts, helped people find their way, managed donations, and have tried our hardest to pave the path for generations to come with helping those who need it most, but would never ask. You should come out to see us tonight!
Sweet Frog
I have held a part-time job at Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt for about 15 months now, and it is very much worth it. I learned at a young age that nothing is free, and you have to work for something if you want it. For about three months during my junior year, I had 3 jobs-McDonald's, Sonic, and Sweet Frog. This was actual torture, but I saved a lot of money for college, and I learned a very strict work ethic and responsibility as in how to balance time. When I attend Chapel Hill in the fall, I hope to get a job at the Sweet Frog on Franklin Street, while also having a work-study to help pay for the tuition. I'm thankful for being employed at such a clean, and loving environment. My job means a lot to me, and I'm glad I have been able to hold it for so long, even with all of the school stuff and extracurriculars I have.
JCHS Marching Band
Marching Band, to me, always seemed like it would be for the nerds. This is the reason why I didn't join my freshman year, but rather my sophomore year. Come to find out, band had the coolest people I had ever met. I found a new love for the piano, and pianos that were six feet long and wooden. I found a life changing man, who believed in hard work and dedication paying off in the long run. With band, I have traveled to many parades in this area, and the Washington DC Memorial Day Parade. Over Thanksgiving this year, I hope to travel to Chicago to march in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Without being the section leader, captain, or even drum major, I developed some much needed leadership skills without having the credit for it. A lot of times in my life, I feel like I have been cheated, but it was a very humbling experience to hold together my section in the background, without having my own name branded with it.
Community Service
I have always known to help people who are less fortunate than you are, because one of my parents is a police officer, and the other is a teacher. Beginning with Girl Scouts, I volunteered at Rowan Helping Ministries, a homeless shelter that doubles as an outreach for people who need groceries, a place to stay, or help finding a job. I did a variety of things there, but the most important was interviewing people and finding their needs, and what I could do to help. I've also been regularly volunteering at the Battered Women's Shelter, and helping there whenever I could, with anything and everything, such as, painting, playing with the kids, building a playground to help with my brother's Eagle Scout Award, and many other things. The place you come from leaves a mark on you for the rest of your life, so I believe it is necessary to do the same for it.
Travel
Traveling is one of the most important things to me. My mom believed in expanding her children's horizons, and understanding that there is a world outside of Smallsbury, NC. I have traveled to nearly every corner of the globe, at the expense of my mom being extremely thrifty at home, or depending on me to pay for certain things. Below is a list of places that have helped me find my love for other cultures, and appreciation for all kinds of people. France was by far my all time favorite, and that is where I hope to study abroad in the future, hopefully at the Sorbonne.
- All 50 states
- Canada
- Mexico
- Panama Canal
- Bahamas
- Belize
- Russia
- Finland
- Sweden
- Belgium
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Denmark
- Norway
- Latvia
- Estonia
- England
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Turkey
- Egypt
- Cyprus
- Greece
- Australia
- New Zealand
Friends and Family
My family and I are not as close as some of my friends are to me, but that is typical of a majority of teenagers. My closest friend is Hayley Jane Wilhelm, and I met her in the second grade. That was a weird part of my life, because I was always moving, and I never had a constant to keep me grounded. Hayley became that constant, the person who was always there for me, even after I switched schools two more times. We've stayed best friends for ten years, and it breaks my heart to know that we are going to separate schools next year. I know we will always be close, and I have the most appreciation for her for teaching me that love can exist, and faith is real, and it can be found between the closest of friends. My mom is my role model, and I hope to one day be just like her- strong, independent, and wise beyond my years.
Fun Stuff
I have been an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers for many years now, and I chose that team because they won the Super Bowl the year I was born. This coming fall, I will travel to Green Bay for the second time, to watch the Seahawks play the Packers.