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P a g e | 1 What Makes Me Me Brittney Westermeyer

Rita Mae Brown said, “About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will

love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won't like you at

all” (Dowler). Over the period of J-term I have understood more about who I am and why I am

the way I am. My signature strength is industry, diligence, and perseverance. I have discovered

what makes me mad or happy and why. Recognizing my relationships and the way I react in

certain situations tells me more about myself and what I’m striving for and working for in life.

My signature strength comes out in my past, is apparent in my present, and will hopefully

continue into the future.

To me, industry, diligence, and perseverance means that you never quit. You get tasks

done in a timely manner and always finish what you have started. You get great satisfaction out

of completing tasks and simply knowing they are done. I feel this strength describes a great part

of my work right now and fits me very well especially in this stage in life.

As a young child, I was very persistent. I was involved in tap and dance until first grade

when I started sports. I was always practicing and one time I needed my mom’s help with a back

bend. She was reading the paper and told me she’d help me later but I didn’t want to wait and I

wanted to practice right at that moment. I remember batting the paper out of her hands and

making her help me. I then fell on my head and got really upset and tried to blame it on her.

From a very young age I think I found it hard to fail and didn’t want to put the blame on myself.

I remember that even though I fell on my head, I didn’t quit until I achieved the back bend and

mastered the skill.

I asked my mom if I displayed persistence as a young child and she told me about when

my brother was born. (See email in appendix A) I always wanted to help with my brother and


do everything on my own. It wasn’t enough for me to just feed him or change his diaper. I

wanted to do it all. Whenever I gave him a bath, I would use a thermometer and make sure the

bath water stayed at the recommended ninety degrees the entire bath. My brother and I shared a

room for the first couple years and I would often wake up when mom was feeding him. I

remember telling my mom to go back to bed and I could take care of him and that I would wake

up whenever he started crying. I wanted to be the grown up and help her out no matter what

time it was.

I have always been a very determined person. Throughout my childhood I always strived

for good grades and to excel in athletics. All through grade school we had three tiers of reading

and math groups and I was always in the highest or smartest group. I remember the day in first

grade when my teacher moved me from the middle group to the first reading group and I was so

happy. When I was in fifth grade I was invited to UD for kids at University of Dubuque. UD for

kids was a program where only the top performing kids in the class were invited and they got to

take a couple fun classes for a couple weeks. I participated in a science class where we made

goo and a whole bunch of other unique items and I also partook in a writing course. The day I

got the invite letter, I was so happy because I now had proof that I was one of the smartest and

this felt so good. In high school I always took all the tough classes when other students might

have been lazy and took the easy way out. (See appendix B for report card). I was always in

accelerated classes and looking for AP and college credits. As a result I wasn’t a valedictorian,

because we only had a 4.0 scale and didn’t get extra credits for accelerated classes, but I was still

in the top ten. My mom always pushed me to get good grades and always emphasized the

importance of grades. This might be where some of my strength was nurtured into me. I always

thought my mom was crazy and emphasized grades way too much. It was just high school and it


was easy to me. All you had to do to get good grades was complete and turn in homework on

time. I never worried about getting into a college or graduating. As annoying as it was then, I

sometimes wish I had my mom’s persistence now to help me in college when I have to work

really hard and strive for a good grade point average to get into pharmacy school and achieve my

ultimate goal.

In seventh grade I decided I wanted to learn how to play an instrument. Most students start

band in fifth grade so I was two years behind everyone. I had no musical talent or experience

reading music at all. My instructor was very good and helped me a ton and I would go home and

practice an hour every night. By the end of my first semester playing the trumpet I was first

chair. I won awards the first year I started and throughout high school for being voted the best in

the band by both my instructor and classmates and having the most practice minutes. (See

appendix C for band awards) When I want something I go after it and tend to throw my whole

self into it.

Throughout high school I was involved in many leadership opportunities. I feel that each of

these organizations set me apart and above the rest of my class. I was involved in DAYLC

(Dubuque Area Youth Leadership Council) which is an organization in Dubuque that involves

the surrounding towns and schools. A group of senior students are picked to represent each high

school based on their extracurricular and academic standings. A couple times throughout the

year all the students selected gather to do leadership and team building activities. I was also

involved in National Honor Society which was a program with students of good character who

also perform well in the classroom. (See appendix D).


I was also involved in many sports earlier in life and in high school such as softball,

basketball, track, and volleyball. My dad was always involved in coaching and I think he had a

big part in my athletic success. He was always getting me to the gym to practice and talking to

me about how to improve my game. He had a lot of persistence and athletic knowledge and I

have a lot to thank him for in my athletic achievements. I was always going to a bunch of clinics

and trying to improve my skills. In high school, I was the only underclassmen pulled up to

varsity volleyball right away my freshman year. In basketball, I played Junior Varsity my

freshman year and varsity my sophomore year. In track, I ran varsity all four years and every

year we went to state. My team still holds the record at my high school in the shuttle hurdle race.

Every year I competed at the varsity level I had all conference honors. My senior year an army

scholarship award was given to a boy and girl who excelled in athletics as well as academics and

I was the selected girl. (See Appendix E) I also was awarded the E. Wayne Cooley Scholarship.

This award recognized one girl from every high school in Iowa that displayed characteristics of

the “most elite academic girl, not only on the playing field but in the classroom, in her school

and in her community. Her profile will reflect discipline, perseverance, character, citizenship

and leadership” (E. Wayne Cooley). I didn’t actually receive the scholarship but I was one of the

six finalists and only the top three received a scholarship.

My senior year I had one of the best athletic experiences of my life so far. I was asked to

play on a volleyball team called Six Pack an hour away from where I lived. The coach hand

selected girls from all over Iowa that he wanted to play for him and it really was a team of all-

stars. All the girls I played with were girls that I always heard of in the paper but never knew.

They were amazing all around athletes and also excelled in other sports besides volleyball so it

was a pretty big honor to play on this team. We competed in tournaments in surrounding states


and it was some of the most competitive volleyball I’ve ever played. I was the only girl on the

entire team that didn’t go to a division one school to play. I will never forget the tournament we

played in in Kansas City that year. There were eighty teams and we got first place and were

undefeated the entire weekend. (See figure 1 in Appendix F) This gave us our ticket to compete

at nationals in Miami in June. (See figure 2 in Appendix F) After being undefeated the first

three days and playing out of our minds we ended up losing one crucial game in a three way tie

and went down to the bronze bracket and placed eighteenth. Nobody was satisfied with the

outcome but it was still a great feeling to know we made it to nationals.

In college, I played volleyball and started on varsity as a freshman. I never expected to

be given that chance but I feel that Six Pack really prepared me. I led the stats in hitting

percentage, blocking, and number of kills my freshman year and was in the top three in all stat

categories my sophomore year. My sophomore year I actually broke the Loras Hitting

percentage record with a kill percentage of .733 in a game at University of Dubuque (See

Appendix G Figure 1). I made many all-tournament teams throughout my career and was

selected as female underclassmen of the year my freshman year. (See Appendix G figure 2 and

3) Both my freshman and sophomore year I was first team All-Conference and my sophomore I

then went on to be athlete of the week in the conference and achieve All-Region honors. (See

Appendix G Figure 4, 5, and 6) I was really hard to quit the team my junior year because it was

really interested to see what I could end up achieving but the amount of coursework I had left me

no choice.

In college my grades are a huge part of my life. This is where my strength is most

apparent. Without industry, diligence, and perseverance I couldn’t stay in a science major and

achieve the pharmacy career goals that I want. All the goals I accomplished in high school were


a direct result of diligence and perseverance but college and the required coursework really tests

me and my perseverance every day. Right when I graduated high school I came to Dubuque that

summer and took two semesters of chemistry so I could get them out of the way and make my

semesters easier. My first semester I got three A-‘s and was incredibly upset. I was so mad and

discouraged because I was so close to an A and I felt that I put so much work into the classes and

deserved that A. That grade to me was so close to perfection but not good enough. I still

remember all the anger I felt the day grades came out. I felt worthless and like all my time and

hard work was wasted. This really discouraged me the next couple semesters because for the

first time in my life I couldn’t succeed to my standards and achieve what I wanted when I really

put all the effort and hard work in. I let partying and other social distractions get in my way.

During the fall semester of my sophomore year I was on academic probation for the first time in

my life and got the first D ever. I feel I hit an ultimate low when I got caught in a bar the week

before finals. I got a drinking ticket and my license suspended for six months. The feeling of

being such a screw-up and disappointing my parents was overwhelming. It was clear to

everyone that I wasn’t putting all my effort into school anymore and putting other things in front

of my grades and school work. This was the point where I decided to completely devote all of

myself to my school work and my goal of being a pharmacist and nothing could get in the way of

that. I later retook Organic Chemistry, where I received the D, and with a little more focus easily

got an A. When I put my mind to something I can really accomplish a lot.

I asked my boyfriend to describe my work habits now and he replied, “You study for

many hours each day, consistently throughout the week. You find times during the day and at

night to work on homework while maintaining a heavy class schedule, work, and workout

schedule.” (See Appendix H) I quit volleyball because I would have missed too much class and


had a hard time finding time going in to talk to professors and ask for help. I never want that

feeling again of failure so I now throw my whole self into my school work to achieve my

ultimate goal of becoming a pharmacist. This class has helped me realize why I get so incredibly

upset when I can’t succeed academically. When we were first asked if we were happy I gave

myself a very low score because it’s so hard for me to focus on the positives sometimes. It’s

harder than ever for me to achieve my goals in college. I’m miserable all the time trying to get

perfect scores and grades but I’m hoping it will pay off and my success in a couple years will

repay me for it.

I think this strength is also displayed through my relationships. I highly value honesty

and frankness in relationships. I don’t like to waste time with petty drama and when people treat

me poorly I have a hard time forgiving them. The capacity to love and be loved is my second

strength and I highly value my relationships but when someone doesn’t deserve my love it is

hard for me to forgive and give it to them again. On the empathy scale (Bolt, 47), I score an

eleven which is well below the seventeen or eighteen average. I feel that I can step back and see

other people’s sides of an issue but when someone acts out of stupidity it is hard for me to see

that as ok because it is a waste of my time. Through industry, diligence, and perseverance, my

time is highly valuable and I don’t appreciate when other people carelessly waste it. On the

maximization assessment (Bolt, 129), I scored a fifty-eight which is above average. I try to get

the most out of every situation and always make the most of my time and efforts. It is very

challenging for me to do activities like mindful photography because I feel like I am wasting

time and could be more productive.

In the positive relationships I do have in my life I realize that forgiveness and empathy

are a huge part of their success. My close relationships are usually very supportive to me and


give me a lot of flexibility. There are many times when my boyfriend wants to hang out but I

can’t because I’m working or in the library studying at late hours. He gives me a lot of support

and is very understanding when I need to do other important things and this flexibility leads to

our success.

On the first day of class we were asked if we thought we were happy. I really thought I

wasn’t. School really upsets me sometimes and I get really frustrated and unmotivated. In the

moment I think I’m really unhappy but the more I thought about it, I have a lot to be thankful for.

I have great relationships and many people that I can depend and count on, and I have

accomplished many things in life so far that I am very proud of. I scored a twenty-one on the

satisfaction with life scale (Bolt, 118) which is about average. However, the only scores that

were low were the questions regarding to the future. In the past, I have achieved a lot, but there is

so much more I want to do in the near future. I feel that if I achieve my goals and get into

pharmacy school, I will achieve ultimate happiness for the rest of my life as long as my

relationships continue to have success. It makes sense that I’m not happy because my strength

will not allow me to be happy until I achieve my goals.

One might argue that industry, diligence, and perseverance should not be my top strength

and does not describe me very well. The VIA describes this strength as “You work hard to finish

what you start. No matter the project, you "get it out the door" in timely fashion. You do not get

distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks” (Seligman, 4). The

semester I was on academic probation and got a drinking ticket I let many distractions get in my

way. Sometimes I struggle with self-control and procrastination. I scored a thirty-three on the

procrastination scale (Bolt, 73) which is below the average of forty. When friends want to do

something I am very quick to put off studying until later. When I don’t want to do something I


am pretty good at finding any excuse in the book to put it off. Hard projects that will require a

lot of time are especially put off till later. If I was a prodigy of this strength I would not

procrastinate.

It is very rare that anyone is a prodigy of their strength and can say that they practice it

24/7. Industry, diligence, and perseverance fits me a large portion of the time and I feel it is

what motivates me to achieve my goals. It is very evident in my past accomplishments, I can see

it now in my academics, and I hope it will continue to strengthen in the future. I have high hopes

for pharmacy school and am a fairly optimistic person according to the Optimism test. I was

moderately hopeful scoring an overall seven with beliefs that good events will be more

permanent and have a bigger effect, and bad events will be short term and affect little parts of my

life. This directly relates to my goals. I believe I will be incredibly happy if I get accepted and

succeed, and if I have to I will find a different career and path in life and still find happiness.

Industry, diligence, and perseverance is my top strength and fits into many parts of my

life. I get great satisfaction out of achieving my goals and finding success. I like to finish tasks

once I start them and to get them done quickly and sufficiently. Industry, diligence, and

perseverance drive many parts of my life and without it I would not be the same person I am

today.


Works Cited

Bolt, Martin. Pursuing Human Strengths: A Positive Psychology Guide. New York: Worth, 2004. Print.

Dowler, Candy A. "Personal Potential Quotes: Inspiration To Change Your Life ..." Manifest Your Potential: Find Your Life Purpose, The Work You Love & Become A Master of Expert. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2012. <http://www.manifestyourpotential.com/life/game_of_life/discover_your_potential/quotes_personal_potential_famous_inspirational.htm>.

"E. Wayne Cooley Scholarship Award Application." IGHSAU - Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. IGHSAU. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ighsau.org/aspx/cooley_award.aspx>.

Seligman, Martin. "Chapter 10: Industry." Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths. By Christopher Peterson. Oxford UP, 2002. 4-8. Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths. 4 Jan. 2002. Web. 11 Jan. 2012. <http://elearn.loras.edu/file.php?file=%2F4863%2FVIA_book%2Fviamanualcourage.pdf>.


Appendix A: Email from mom explaining how I showed industry, diligence, and perseverance as a child.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 8:17 AMJulie Hermsen [[email protected]]

In response to the message from Brittney A. Westermeyer, Tue 10:34 PMTo:Brittney A. Westermeyer

When you were little you always liked to follow me around and act like you were the mom in charge. It was very obvious after the birth of Austin when you were eight years old. You insisted that you could take care of him as well as any mother could, and you did. When it came time to feeding, bathing, changing, and caring for your little brother you were there to take control. You loved to prepare Austin's bottle and always made sure the milk was the perfect temperature. Never did you warm it in the microwave as it could get a 'hot spot' that could burn a baby's throat. You were always sure Austin wasn't taking in air when taking the bottle, and never would you prop it for fear he could choke. You wanted to be the 'best' care giver in the world. Austin loved his bath time with you in his little blue tub. Remember the blue fish thermometer? You always made sure the bath water was 90 degrees! You were so careful how you held his head and neck and placed him in his tub. You would then pour water (and again, you wanted to be sure it was 90 degrees) over him to keep him warm. With my assistance you would take wet cotton balls and wipe his face and eyes... and the eyes 'always' had to be done first, so that no germs would get in his eyes. You took every precaution possible to prevent any mishaps from happening. I'll never forget the first dirty diaper changing you insisted upon. We thought 'No way would she be able to handle this one!', but you fooled us. You amazed us at how determined you were to do it all with little or no assistance, and all so well. You used the wet wipes and cleaned everything up as well as anyone could have. You even discarded the dirty diapers in the garbage! You couldn't wait for the next dirty diaper. You would beg to care for Austin on your own, always wanting to rock him and make sure his covers were on him just so. You were meticulous with him. You had the best motherly instincts and always wanted to be like your 'mother'. And you loved it when people would say how much you looked like your mother. We were so proud of you... as we are today! You have always strived to go above and beyond your call of duty. You were the best at what you did and it showed. Now, if you can continue this through your


college years you will have the world at your fingertips... and we hope you do! Mom :)

>>> "Brittney A. Westermeyer" <[email protected]> 1/17/2012 10:34 PM >>>

Sent ItemsTuesday, January 17, 2012 10:34 PMBrittney A. Westermeyer

ActionsTo: [email protected]

Hey Mom, Can you remember any times when i was little or growing up of times when I showed industry dilligence and perseverance?

Thanks,Britt


Appendix B

Figure 1: Report card from 5th grade

Figure 2: Report card from 8th grade


Appendix C: Band

Figure 1: Award for most practice time in 7th grade.

Figure 2: The Growth Award was voted on by students. Students picked the player they felt improved the most over the year.


Figure 3: I was voted most outstanding in 8th grade by other students.

Figure 4: Award for most outstanding player that I received in 9th grade. This award was voted on by students.


Figure 5: I was awarded the Directors Award in High School my Freshman Year. Our instructor chose one person every year that he though stood out and was a great player and put a lot of time and energy into their music.


Appendix D: Leadership

Figure 1: Me speaking at NHS induction

Figure 2: NHS Certificate


Figure 3: DAYLC Certificate

Figure 4: I received the President’s Award my senior year which recognized academic excellence.


Appendix E: High School Athletics

Throughout high school I achieved many all-conference teams and all-academic teams every year I played varsity. Here are a few certificates but not all of them.

Figure 1: Academic Excellence within the conference

Figure 2: Academic excellence within the Iowa Athletic Union


Figure 3: 1st team all-conference

Figure 4: Academic All-State


Figure 5: All District team

Figure 6: Most points on basketball team in one season.


Figure 7: I was selected to compete in the post season conference All Star game.

Figure 8: Race number for Drake Relays senior year.


Figure 9: Track medals and some varsity letters.

Figure 10: I was selected my senior year for the E. Wayne Cooley Scholarship. This award is given to the “most elite academic girl, not only on the playing field but in the classroom, in her school and in her community. Her profile will reflect discipline, perseverance, character, citizenship and leadership.”


Figure 11: The National Scholar Athlete Award was given to one boy and one girl in each senior class who excelled in athletics and academics.


Appendix F

Figure 1: Winning first place at Kansas City with golden ball trophy

Figure 2: Team picture on the beach in Miami for nationals.


Appendix G: Loras Volleyball

Figure 1: This image of our yearly media booklet shows the single match attack percentage record that I broke.

Figure 2: These are a few of the all tournament team plaques I received.


Figure 3: Plaque from the Dewey Awards when I was named Female Underclassman of the Year at Loras my freshman year.

Figure 4: These are the two plaques I received for being named first team all conference my freshman and sophomore year.


Figure 5: This is a certificate is from sophomore year when I was named female Athlete of the Week. I was also Offensive Player of the Week but didn’t receive a certificate or anything for that.

Figure 6: Certificate from sophomore year when I was named Honorable Mention All-Region


Appendix H: Email from boyfriend explaining my study habits in college.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 11:25 PMCody Snitker [[email protected]]

To:Brittney A. Westermeyer

You study for many hours each day, consistently throughout the week. She finds times during the day and at night to work on homework while maintaining a heavy class, work, and workout schedule.

Sent ItemsWednesday, January 11, 2012 4:00 PMBrittney A. Westermeyer

To:[email protected]

Hey can you describe my study habits a little bit so I can use your words as proof for this paper?

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