Personal Statement

Dominic Delano

Personal Statement

From a Whisper to a Scream

            An inauspicious commencement served as the cornerstone of what teachers, administrators, coaches, colleagues, classmates and community leaders describe as a remarkable high school story.  (Parade Magazine Inspirational Student)  Yes, I proffered nothing but straight ‘A’s through middle school and yes the varsity football and basketball coaches were actively seeking my parents signature on wavers to allow me to compete as a varsity starter my freshmen year in high school – yet I never spent a moment on the football field my freshman year.   Dr. Griffin’s call in June changed all that.

            The back pain was not insignificant during my final Pop Warner football season however it was chalked up to the usual cascade of aches and pains one inevitably endures playing competitive football.  As captain and the leader of a team that journeyed deep into the playoffs for the first time in several years I dismissed the affliction.  We consulted a chiropractor after the season and the diagnosis simply revealed growing pains in an otherwise healthy athlete.  The twinges of pain sharpened during the winter and especially through the spring season when I began practicing basketball with the high school varsity basketball team after my eighth grade classes.  More doctor visits resulted in the same analysis – growing pains.  The pain increased exponentially by May and the inability to sleep or lay down culminated in emergency room visits and, at last, an MRI in early June.  That first week in June the doctor dropped the bomb on my mom than my dad. My mom answers the phone and begins to cry, as I am sitting in the living room in terrible pain. Dominic needs to be rushed to Valley Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery to remove a four-inch by one-inch tumor embedded in his spine and spinal cord.  Nothing was off the table – paralysis, cancer, loss of my life. 

            My parents don’t want to read this statement and I really did not want to write it.  The fear, anxiety and apprehension almost overwhelmed all of us.  I was terrified.  Any attempt to describe the many hours of surgery, the weeks in the hospital, waiting for malignancy results and the agony of mere movement, post surgery, would easily consume the rest of this statement.  Nerves in my spinal cord were literally cut to expel the tumor.  Three weeks of bed rest and nine weeks of little physical activity, (no athletic involvement at all), and as I gingerly attended freshman registration, football – let alone varsity football – remained out of the question.

            This was the hardest time of my life. Football is one of my true loves, my passion. While the football team was practicing, going to scrimmages, I was ensnared in physical therapy so I wouldn’t walk with a limp and hopefully one day be reunited with my love. It was misery. I joined the leadership program at the High School. We have to run food booths for all home games, as my friends, previous and future teammates took the field, all I could do was watch. It was all the more difficult when our varsity football team made our section championship and I could only observe from the stands. I took it one day at a time. By doing all my work in all my classes, I maintained a 4.0 GPA and with hard work, discipline, and enormous efforts of physical therapy I made the varsity basketball team. As the basketball season came to an end in the playoffs (first playoff appearance for the school in years) I began my journey on coming back stronger.

            I was finally completely cleared. It was time to go to work. Everyday I would cut my lunch short and go lift weights and build up my body. I was going to be a starter on varsity football and no one was going to stop me. I finished my freshman year with a 4.0 GPA in the honors program and was bigger and stronger than I ever was before. Sophomore year arrived and I was the starting right tackle for our varsity football game. I also was the President of the sophomore class and was also enrolled in the honors program. I had a fabulous season and was named second team all league in a tough league, one vote shy of first team. Our team lost to the eventual state champions in the semi-final game of our section.

            Another good basketball season came and passed. And before I knew it, sophomore year was over and I still had a 4.0 GPA along with a successful year of student body activities as President of the sophomore class. Junior year was now around the corner. Our varsity football coach decided to retire from football. A new coach came took the helm and after a long summer of hard work and absorbing a new system we hit the ground running.  As a junior I was one of the team leaders amongst a few seniors. We lost in the second round of playoffs in many ways due to the loss of key players through injury.  Junior represented another sensational year. Elected Vice-president of the school and I was voted unanimous first team all league. I was also, as our coach stated, a critical pillar of the first basketball team in school history to go to the section championship game. Although we lost by three points in the last few seconds it was a tremendous experience.  Joining the track and field team I threw shot and disc. I had a superb junior year and once again finished with straight A’s, a 4.0 GPA.

            A long journey was now coming to an end. Senior year demarcates an ending - and a beginning. I started the final year as ASB president and the evident leader of the varsity football team. I anticipate earning only the top grades and making it a year to remember. The journey that started with a boy threatened by a tumor embedded in his spinal cord who could not support his own weight at one time turns full circle with a young man who carries the weight of a team and an entire school that believes in him, and sees him as a true leader. This is what I have to offer your school:  A courageous, honest and unrelenting man dedicated to excellence and sincerely impassioned to learn, lead and inspire.