I get asked often, “What is it like to have a sister with Down syndrome? Do you ever get sick of helping her? Is it hard to have to deal with that?” I usually reply with “No, she’s pretty much like all my other siblings.” Danielle is 19 and is two years older than I am. I guess the main difference is that while she is my older sister, she could not drive me places when I was younger and...

Junior year starts just like any other year, except the students know it is different. It is the year when everything really matters. Granted, the underclassmen years matter too, but 11th grade is when standardized tests and the college search begin. It’s when juniors get their licenses and start to make choices that will affect their life in the future. These issues bombarded the class of 2014 as we walked through the doors in early September. While these were ideas...

I had a lot of preparation when it came to applying to college, but if I could change one thing about my college applications, it would be to make them more me. It's easy to get caught up in the professionalism in...