Justin Miranda
Justin Miranda is a freshman at the University of Miami. He graduated top 2% from G. Holmes Braddock in Miami, FL after playing three years of baseball with the Bulldogs. He has been baseball since he was 5, and also played basketball and football growing up. Although Justin did not play baseball his senior year because of personal reasons, he still feels that baseball has shaped him into what he is today. He received a full scholarship to Miami for his academics, and he is a prime example of a product of young athletes after they've grown up.
Justin was always a very good player. Being a lefty pitcher, he was a very desirable asset, and many schools wanted him to play for them. But Justin stayed loyal to his school, his teammates, and the program he helped build. "There were a few schools who said they could really use a lefty pitcher. Private schools that I could go to for free. But I knew that my loyalty was to the boys who have stuck by me all this time. Without them, I don't know what I'd be." This is a trait that Justin picked up through baseball, but has also helped him in real life too. During the summer he had a research internship at the UM, and since he was such a great intern, other departments wanted to have him intern for them. But Justin again stayed loyal to the team that built him up and stayed within the department. "I just felt that I needed to stay loyal to the people that made me as good as I am." Because of his loyalty, Justin may someday get a good job working with this professor; at the very least a very strong letter of recommendation.
If there's anyone that knows anything about dedication, it's Justin. As mentioned before, Justin graduated from the top 2% of our class - a class of 750 seniors. He finished high school with a GPA of about 6.1. His SAT scores were phenomenal, and he ended up getting a full ride to study at "the U". Justin wasn't all academics though. In addition to school, he played baseball. But he didn't just play. He worked hard at it everyday. He was always the last one to leave practice, and even when he left, he would go work some more with a coach or at home. He was never satisfied with himself. It doesn't stop there, however. Justin was also on the Model UN team for Braddock, in addition to being in multiple national honor societies, and not to mention being in the Cambridge program at Braddock - which is impossibly difficult. All of these activities on his plate, and he managed to excel at every single one of them. "I always wanted to be the best - no matter what I was doing. My dad always told me that if I didn't want to be the best, I didn't it bad enough."
Justin was always a very good player. Being a lefty pitcher, he was a very desirable asset, and many schools wanted him to play for them. But Justin stayed loyal to his school, his teammates, and the program he helped build. "There were a few schools who said they could really use a lefty pitcher. Private schools that I could go to for free. But I knew that my loyalty was to the boys who have stuck by me all this time. Without them, I don't know what I'd be." This is a trait that Justin picked up through baseball, but has also helped him in real life too. During the summer he had a research internship at the UM, and since he was such a great intern, other departments wanted to have him intern for them. But Justin again stayed loyal to the team that built him up and stayed within the department. "I just felt that I needed to stay loyal to the people that made me as good as I am." Because of his loyalty, Justin may someday get a good job working with this professor; at the very least a very strong letter of recommendation.
If there's anyone that knows anything about dedication, it's Justin. As mentioned before, Justin graduated from the top 2% of our class - a class of 750 seniors. He finished high school with a GPA of about 6.1. His SAT scores were phenomenal, and he ended up getting a full ride to study at "the U". Justin wasn't all academics though. In addition to school, he played baseball. But he didn't just play. He worked hard at it everyday. He was always the last one to leave practice, and even when he left, he would go work some more with a coach or at home. He was never satisfied with himself. It doesn't stop there, however. Justin was also on the Model UN team for Braddock, in addition to being in multiple national honor societies, and not to mention being in the Cambridge program at Braddock - which is impossibly difficult. All of these activities on his plate, and he managed to excel at every single one of them. "I always wanted to be the best - no matter what I was doing. My dad always told me that if I didn't want to be the best, I didn't it bad enough."