Dear Mr.

C,

August 18, 2013

Thank you so much for the letter! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I was very excited for our first class to be able to meet you in person. I would like to tell you about my family. My family is extremely important to me, and they stand as my support columns whether I can see them in person or not. My mother is one of the most patient, kindest people I have ever met. She will do anything for anyone, and will over-extend herself for the comfort of others. My brother and I are her world. My dad and I are alike in many ways; when I was young, I called him my teddy bear. He appears tough, but in actuality, he is the best father in the world. I value his advice and my moms advice more than anyone elses. My brother, Marcus, is 20 years old and is entering his senior year at University of Florida. Even though we argue, at the end of the day, he is my best friend. I am almost as close with my grandparents as I am with my parents because when we were children, my brother and I used to spend the summer days at their house since both of my parents worked at the time.

I am Greek Orthodox, and my faith is something that is very important to me. I attend church with my family every Sunday and we are involved in all the volunteer work as well. This summer, I attended a camp called CrossRoad at Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline, Massachusetts. We had lectures from priests and from a professor who has his PhD from the Harvard Divinity School. We also did community service, including visiting a nursing home, and sitting with the homeless for breakfast in Harvard Square. As team bonding, we participated in a group ropes course, in which we had to depend on others for our own safety. This camp was the best 10 days Ive ever spent at an organized program, and the people I met became my family; we are all still very close friends. When I was three years old, I started reading the Magic Tree House Series. Reading is my haven. Ever since childhood, Ive enjoyed sitting down with a book and becoming so engrossed that I feel the emotions of the characters. In elementary school, my parents were mad at me for reading because I would wait until they went downstairs to watch TV and then dim my lights just enough to see the words on the page. Or occasionally, I would get into trouble at school for reading during math class. I was born and raised on Long Island in New York, and when I was 11 years old, we moved to Miami, FL for my dads job. Little did I know that five years later, we would move back to New York for my junior and senior year of high school because my dad started a new job; his office is in Times Square. I have been asked the same question many times about if I like New York or Miami better. In all honesty, New York has always been home for me. It is where I spent my childhood, and where all of our family and friends live.

As much as I enjoy reading, and sometimes a little less or sometimes a little more, I enjoy writing. Ever since 12 years old, I would love to sit down and write poetry when the mood struck. I currently have four poems published. In addition to poetry, I love writing essays. In my junior year of high school, all the other students would groan on days of in-class AP analysis essays. However, I looked forward to those days because I felt a certain sense of accomplishment every time I completed an essay that I know I put my best thought into. I am stoked to be at UNCC because I always imagined the college experience to be something imaginary that only grown-ups participate in. Therefore, it will be nice to make it my own individualized experience. My major is currently undecided. I have so many different passions (animals, children, journalism, writing, medicine) and interests that it was hard for me to pick one specific area to study, so I am exploring my different options. As for activities and sports, I would like to tell you about my volunteer work at childrens hospitals and crew and fencing teams. In the tenth grade, I participated in a group called Travelin Tunes at Miami Childrens Hospital, one of the top childrens hospitals in the country. It was one of the most rewarding experiences Ive ever participated in. When I moved back to New York in the 11th grade, I missed seeing the children every week and going to the hospital. Therefore, I decided to start my own program at my local childrens hospital, and we got the program off the ground and running with seven other student volunteers. If I had to choose one activity throughout high school that was my favorite, it would be my time with the children in the hospitals.

I have rowed since eighth grade, and in Miami, we used to practice along the Miami skyline. We saw dolphins and manatees, and that was always the most exciting part of practice for all of us. In my first year, my boat won the Florida State championship, which was very exciting, considering I was only 13 years old at the time. I continued crew after I moved to New York as well, however, the competition became more intense and it was not fun anymore for me, so I did not continue it for twelfth grade. I was on the varsity fencing team of my high school in both my junior and senior year and I loved how the mind was involved in each move and how I had to try to calculate how to outsmart the opponent. At home, I have a pet dog that I miss very, very much. I tell people I meet that I have a younger sister who is eight years old and her name is Snowflake. We adopted her from a local animal shelter when I was in the fourth grade. She has driven the East Coast with us twice! She is a yellow lab mix, and I already miss her and cannot wait to see her!! I had a pet rabbit from fifth to eighth grade, but unfortunately, he passed away due to glaucoma. It was the first time I was ever truly devastated. My rabbit was my life, and I tried my hardest to care for him as a mother would care for her child. I still think about him to this day all the time.

(Snowflake is really young in that picture; she looks a bit different now! I do not have a picture of my rabbit on my new laptop, but he was white with black spots and black ears.) As for meaningful experiences, this past summer, I completed a month-long backpacking trip in the Absaroka mountain range (Rocky Mountains) in Wyoming through NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). Through the Levine Scholars Program, 15 of us set out at the beginning of July for our expedition. I was nervous since I had never been camping before in my life. However, it turned out to be one of the best experiences Ive ever had. There is something about the simplicity of our routine and the difference between the backcountry and the front country that makes it hard to put the entire experience into words. It was absolutely incredible. We slid down drainages, camped on a mountain pass, scaled rocky and steep cliffs, and bonded in a way I did not expect. Our entire trip covered 110 miles, and we gained 24,000 feet in elevation overall. I unfortunately sprained my ankle as we were hiking down a steep drainage, but we had to keep going. My ankle is still swollen to this day. However, I wouldnt trade any of my entire experience. It taught me about myself and my endurance levels both mentally and physically, and how sometimes it is so important to trust others with your life. We hiked about 6-8 miles per day, and on the day that we did the Continental Divide, we hiked for 12 hours straight. On our last night in the field, three of us slept under the stars and it was magical. I am looking forward to our class, as English has always been one of my favorite subjects. Thank you so much for this assignment; it is a great way for us to get to know you and vice versa! I am excited for your course.

Sincerely, Isabella Calpakis