Jennifer Balatinos, a freshman at Virginia Tech, always sets her goals high and works hard to achieve great things. She comes form a good family and is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a very sociable and friendly person. Her teachers describe her as the happy, bubbly one in class. She always walks around with a smile.Jennifer was a very bright student and earned honor roll in elementary and middle school. As she entered her high school years, her focus and determination never wavered, but she faced some very difficult times. When she was a freshman, one of her good friends committed suicide. This was not an easy thing for her to take. She could not help, but think about all the good times that she and her friend had shared. It was hard for her to believe that their friendship had come to such a tragic ending. She turned to God for help and used her strong Christian faith to get through such a tough time. She could not help, but get behind in school while dealing with all her emotions from what had happened. Being the strong, determined person she is, Jennifer got herself back on track and she regained her honor roll status.
Jennifer enjoys being active and getting plenty of exercise. She said "I believe that staying healthy and fit is good for your mind. I always feel better and more relaxed after working out". She played lacrosse and soccer in high school. She really enjoyed playing sports, but there would come a time when she would have to give that up. Just one year after she had dealt with the tragic loss of her friend, Jennifer was faced with the horrible news that her father had been diagnosed with cancer. She was shocked and very afraid. She said "I really didn't know how to handle it, but my family is always there for each other and we are very strong". She kept her head high and from that time on, she spent all her time after school at the hospital with her father. She did her best to get her homework done while she was there, but with everything she was dealing with her grades tended to slip. She didn't tell her teachers because she didn't want to make any excuses. Some of them found out was she was going through and were shocked that she was holding up as well as she was. With all that was going on, Jennifer made the difficult decision to give up sports so that she could focus on things that were more important at the time. She knew that she needed to be their for her dad while he was going through a very tough battle with cancer. And while giving her father her utmost support, Jennifer continued to work hard in school. She knew that if she wanted to get into a good college and meet all her high ambitions, then she would need to make good grades.
Her father kept fighting hard to overcome his illness. He was willing to try any treatment that gave him a chance to survive. It was not easy for Jennifer to watch him suffer from the painful disease. Her father had two children at home and he wanted to be there for them. He could not imagine them having to grow up with out him and Jennifer could not imagine losing her father, who she dearly loved. As her sophomore year passed by, her father's condition continued to improve and eventually he was back home again. He had won his battle with cancer and the whole family was much more at ease.
With her father's disease behind them, Jennifer's family could get back into their normal, daily routines. Her mom went back to work with her advertising company. Her dad slowly got back into his business of selling restaurant equipment. Her brother was a student at the University of Richmond at the time, so he was now able to study with his mind at ease. Jennifer was now able to relax and get her assignments done without all the stress of her father's illness.
After getting through such tough times, Jennifer could finally get back to doing all the things she enjoyed. She now had much more time to get things done and more time to have fun and hang out with her friends. She loves to run so she was very happy to get back to doing that on a regular basis. After a long run, Jennifer likes to take a good nap or watch a movie.While Jennifer enjoyed some time for fun, she wasted no time putting most of her spare time to good use. She began work as a babysitter her junior year. She enjoys spending time with children anyway, so it was it good way for her to start earning some money. Jennifer also has been very involved in her community. She has served as a camp counselor numerous times during the summer. She has also done lots of community service. Her most recent project was helping serve food to the homeless.
Jennifer's family owned a house in Greece for most of her childhood, and she always enjoyed making trips there every year to visit the country where her father grew up. She was happy to get return there one last time after her father's illness before her family decided to sell the home. She also took a trip to the Bahamas recently. While she is not away on trips, Jennifer likes to support her hometown teams: The Phillies, The Sixers, The Eagles, and The Flyers. The atmosphere at professional sporting events is really fun and exciting for her.
Jennifer graduated with honors from her high school in Philadelphia. She gladly accepted an offer of admission from Virginia Tech and is now a student there. She continues to work hard in school and to always strive for success. Her great determination and will to always do her best are the reasons why she will accomplish great things in college and in life. Jennifer wants to become a reporter some day and she continues to work hard towards that goal.
