Grade: 8th School: Arete Charter Academy District: Pleasant Ridge Union SD ACSA region: 2 Maisy Bishop was born at 24 weeks. She weighed 1 pound, 12 ounces. She survived heart surgery when she was only four days old. While doctors eventually released Maisy from the hospital with no major concerns, the long-term effects of her premature birth showed up by elementary school. She was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia along with sensory issues. She would require special education in reading, writing and math. As Maisy moves on to high school, she knows her strong work ethic will serve her well in overcoming any obstacles that come her way. What are your hobbies and interests? I play volleyball. I play guitar and write songs, paint, write poetry. I like to play with my cat, hang with friends, paddle board, ride my bike, do embroidery. I like spending time with my family. I like to express myself through my different hobbies and activities. I meditate and work on self-love and self-improvement.  What has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome to get where you are today? It was hard for me to accept help because I thought if I admitted that I needed help, then that was admitting that I failed and that I could not be like everyone else. I wish I could tell my younger self that it’s OK to ask for and receive help. What educator helped you along the way and how did they help you?   Maria Sinisi was not only someone who I could talk to about everything, but she made my day better and understood my brain in a way that no one else did at the time. She was my special education teacher. She helped me when I was anxious and nervous. She gave me strategies to understand other people and new ideas. She helped me learn to read and understood that I needed to see things in different colors, not just black and white, so I could understand what the words said. What advice would you have for students facing similar situations? Love yourself and accept that you may never be able to get rid of your disability, but you can affect how it impacts you and you can work to improve it. Learn as much as you can about it so you can learn yourself how to understand it. Never stop fighting to survive, whether it is mental, physical or emotional. The world will not stop for you, so you have to keep working at learning and growing. Love and trust yourself. What does it mean to win this award? It means that all the times I felt that I and life were hopeless ... are now causing me to be recognized for keeping at the hard things. It made me realize that I would never have made it to this point if all of the people who helped me through the years had not been there. They fought to help me learn the way I needed to.