Hello,

My name is Ciara Buckingham. I am twenty years old and I was born and raised in York Pennsylvania. I am one of three children to my two parents. I have an older brother Dakota and a younger sister Cheyanna. Yes, I do suffer from middle child syndrome. I have been known by my parents to be the rowdier of the bunch which always hasn’t been a bad thing. It has allowed me to better branch out and always bring an outgoing personality to a group of people.

All throughout middle and high school I struggled with school. All throughout middle school I was in helper classes if you may, and this destroyed my self confidence in my intellect. I was bullied because I was attending these classes and everyone looked at me different. Luckily in high school I tested out of my IEP classes and was a free bird in college. However, I was a below average student in high school. I put in hours studying and was never able to make sense of the information I was trying to retain. I would go to my teachers for extra help and study tips but I was never able to make sense of the information. I became very frustrated and started to put less into school and more into my athletics. I was a volleyball player since the 7^thgrade. I loved the sport. It benefited me in so many ways. I was able to redirect my frustration from school to sports. Its gave me a family of girls to get through school with. It also taught me discipline, leadership, and team work. With this outlet I found that school was starting to come easier. I knew if I wanted to continue to play I would have to keep good grades. I also had study partners on every bus trip to games and during the downtime before practice. I graduated high school with a 2.7 GPA. I refused to settle for this and I felt as if by discipline and work ethic would have to increase when I went off to college, well if I could make it in anywhere.

During high school I received an ultra sound on my stomach. I became so intrigued with the job that I decided to do a shadow program at York Hospital in the radiology department. I fell in love with it and knew this is what I wanted to pursue. I applied to Bloomsburg University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I was accepted to both but felt more home at IUP. I was a walk on athlete for the women’s volleyball team and decided to continue my athletic career alongside my academic. I also work at Sheetz while taking on school and sports. My parents told me that if I decided to go to college it would be at my expense so I started working when I was young in order to pay for school. With better discipline and work ethic I was able to overcome my lack of confidence in my intellect. I am currently an A and B student which blew my mind because in high school I was always a C and B student. With the help of college and extra circulars I was able to keep a tight schedule which I feel kept me on tract with school.

After my sophomore year season with the volleyball team I decided to quit due to injury and not being able to juggle everything. I knew I had to work more in order to keep up with my school bills which led to me having to choose to leave the volleyball program. I was happy for the opportunity but knew my priorities where needed somewhere else. However I decided to stay amongst the team and picked up a second job with the communications and media department at IUP commentating the volleyball games. My background with the sport as well as knowing the girls on the team lead to me to be successful and my new job. I was also alone for a game allowing me to direct my own game.

My future endeavors include graduating from IUP with a Bachelors in Science. Acquiring a radiology technician job in a hospital setting and beginning my life in a city environment. I hope with my job I can make families and kids feel comfortable in a hospital and impact them in a positive way just like the technologist did when I went for my ultra sound.

I was always given a great amount of opportunity to show what I can do. In high school I was named All American 2^ndteam for volleyball two years in a row. As well as showing my leadership skills and being named team captain two years in a row. I earned dean’s list recognition both my freshmen year semesters and my fall semester of my junior year. I’m striving for spring semester and senior year as well. I’m excited to continue to grow and challenge myself with the years ahead.