Sportsmanship

2008 IESA Scholar Attitude Award

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Timoshanae Wellmaker

Cahokia Wirth

Timoshanae Wellmaker

Principal: Mr. Tony Brooks

Timoshanae Wellmaker, an 8th grader at Cahokia Wirth Middle School, has a passion for playing sports and just as strong feelings for the values learned through participation in interscholastic activities. She is the 2008 Scholar Attitude Award Winner from Board of Directors Division O.

"Sportsmanship is a valuable component of any type of competition because it allows individual talent to come together and be demonstrated as a team," she wrote in her essay. "Sportsmanship is best achieved when those involved remain respectful and cooperative regardless of differences in opinions or abilities. Although sportsmanship is mostly emphasized during sporting events, I believe it is a direct reflection of a person's genuine character. Before you accomplish sportsmanship, you must first have self respect. You can't pull out what is not within."

Timoshanae is a three-sport participant and captained all of the school teams on which she participated. She played point guard and small forward on the school basketball team. She was a starter on the volleyball team and competes in track and field where she is a long jumper and triple jumper and earned AAU All-American status in the triple jump. She also participated on the scholastic bowl team. A High Honor Roll student with perfect attendance, she also is heavily involved in the community through her church.

The person she admires most is Oprah Winfrey, "because she represents pure determination to me. Just knowing where she came from and where she is now inspires me to believe in myself and all of my dreams. Oprah is a very influential and wealthy woman today because she believed in herself, regardless of what others have said. She didn't let anything stop her from pursuing her dreams, and now she uses her wealth and influence to empower others to pursue their dreams."

In spite of her athletic accomplishments, what makes Timoshanae most proud is her 4.0 grade point average while participating in so many activities. "Although I love sports and helping at my church or in my community, keeping my grades up is the most important to me as a student. I am a person that gives my all in all that I do, so after a game or a physical task, I realize no matter how tired I am, I still have to give my all to my school work."

The one thing she would change if she could is to reduce the crime rate in the nation. "Crime not only affects the person directly involved, but it also affects their family members. It disrupts lots of lives. It sometimes puts people in a state of fear by making them afraid of living normal lives. I truly believe that if everyone learned how to resolve conflict peaceably and treat each other with respect and dignity, our crime would drop and our schools, neighborhoods and our nation as a whole would be a better place to live in."

Timoshanae loves basketball and running. She plans to participate in both sports in high school along with volleyball. She also will be involved with the school newspaper, drama club and as a good listener and communicator she wants to be in the student council. Her plans for college are to study communications with a minor in photography and she is most interested in attending the University of North Carolina.

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