 A lot of people don't know a Joel's story, but she had to actually flee Ethiopia with her family due to genocide when she was fairly young and her family ended up in Kenya at a refugee camp. Her and her family lived at that refugee camp for four years. Over that time at the refugee camp they would receive food and water as little as two times per month. She did have schooling at the refugee camp in Kenya, but according to her she didn't really learn much from that schooling. She was brought over to the United States, I believe, in 2010 as a refugee and was put into Baltimore City with her family while a lot of her other friends that were at the refugee camp were put in other places around the country. She started middle school at the age of 13 when she moved to Baltimore and at that time she did not know any English. Over that time in middle school a Joel was bullied quite a bit due to her being different from the rest of the students in her school. Over her time in middle school and high school she actually, as a junior, became the SGA vice president and then as a senior was a student government association president. She created a group that worked with students to work against issues like racism and dealing with people that were different. A Joel did not take up track and field across country until she got to the high school age and I saw her at a track meet at the Baltimore Armory in indoor track and was intrigued by watching her run but not just watching her run and the place she finished but watching her determination and how much she was willing to push her body and I had a chance to talk to her high school coach that day and his eyes lit right up and he had nothing but amazing things to say about a Joel as a person. A Joel was one of the hardest workers on the team. She never complained. She always did what she was asked and the other student athletes saw that and because of that it made her even more of an important role model on the team and I could always look to her for her leadership throughout her career here at Stevenson. Over a Joel's time here at Stevenson she was a multiple time all conference runner in both cross country and track and field. A Joel has told me that when she graduates she's excited to eventually go back to Ethiopia. She has not been there since she left when she was a child and she has talked about what she wants to do eventually to give back not only to her country and her tribe but also to refugees that are going through similar stories like a Joel went through as a child. A Joel you are the epitome of what the Fighting Heart Award stands for. It has been an honor watching you develop as a student athlete and a person over these past four years and I'm forever grateful for having you as a friend and as a person that helped start our team culture and build our team culture here at Stevenson and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do in the future.