Story by Joseph Boyle
Everyday we hear and read stories about young people doing bad things.
Don’t you just hunger for a story about a young person who does good things? I do. Well I have just such a story.
Just the other day I was talking with Penny Rarick. She is the proud mother of a young woman named Erika Mueller.
Erika grew up spending her entire life in the Town of Steilacoom until she made her first big move after high school by travelling East to attend Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Erika graduated from Steilacoom High School in 2009. It was apparent, early on, that Erika has what it takes to accomplish great work. She served as Class President. The Town of Steilacoom gave her the Young Citizen of the Year Award. The Tacoma Athletic Commission gave her an award for her athletic achievement.
The past is Erika’s solid foundation.
Steilacoom residents, are you paying attention? You will be proud.
Erika is a junior with an Ethnic Studies Major.
She has played for 3 years on the Brown’s Varsity Softball Team. She serves as Team Captain. Additionally, she is Co-President for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Now for the big news. Erika just received an Ivy League Fellowship – The Royce Fellowship.
This summer, Erika will be serving as the program’s only intern in London at Beyond Sport.
Erika wrote, “Beyond Sport is a global organization that promotes and supports the use of sport to create positive social change across the world. Sport is used to tackle serious global issues.”
If you would like to gain a greater understanding of how a young woman from the small quaint Town of Steilacoom goes national and then global, check out the web sites listed below.
Brown University – http://www.brown.edu/about
Ivy League Fellowship – The Royce Fellowship http://swearercenter.brown.edu/fellowships/royce
Beyond Sport http://www.beyondsport.org/
I hope you enjoyed reading about a young person doing good things as she works for the betterment of mankind.
