Rose Murphy

I have participated in my school's Speech and Debate club both last year and this year. I mostly do Congressional Debate and my club is trying to compete at least once a month. We compete with other schools in the valley and it is a great way to better our understanding of effective communication and, it being a somewhat team sport, effective collaboration skills.

This project that I volunteered with the Idaho Trails Association for was the Warm Springs Trail project in 2025. This was a 3 day project in which the team I was with set along the Warm Springs Trail near Stanley, ID to maintain the trail. It was hard work, but I enjoyed the friendship I made and the satisfaction of work well done.

I was accepted into National Honors society in 9th grade, but sadly my school does not have a branch this year. I learned a lot about how to better our communities and what it means to be an outstanding citizen.

I was a part of my barn's Pony Club team for two years. We learned a lot about riding and working with horses, as well as competing with other clubs. My club competed two years in the Quiz trivia competitions, in Pocatello and Idaho Falls, respectively. The first year, my team placed 3rd, and I placed 2 individually, out of a pool of nearly 20 teams. The second year, my team placed 2nd and I placed 4th individually out of a similar sized pool of contestants. Each team is comprised of 3 or 4 contestants who would be judged as a group and individually about various topics and regulations. This experience taught me a lot about the importance of teamwork in accomplishing goals.

I started at Kaizen Farm when I was taking horse riding lessons there every other week. I quickly realized that I loved the community and camaraderie fostered by the shared care for horses. This is what led me to start volunteering for feedings and chores. I often took morning shifts multiple times a week that involved up to 4+ hours of feeding horses, managing turnout, and cleaning stalls. I did this on top of a job I had, helping with their assisted riding program, helping with up to 7 hour long lessons a week. Sadly, I had to quit when I moved my horse, Chaz, to a barn that was closer to my house.

In 6th grade, I was the Vice President of my STEM Club. I was the youngest on the council and my role was to assist and handle matters that the President was unable to do themselves. This often meant addressing the club and listing the lesson plan, as well as any updates that may have affected any previously planned schedule.

In my 6th grade year, I was a TA for a few of the younger classes at my school, Compass Public Charter. I helped out with the 2nd grade and kindergarten classes after school because the middle and high school schedules were shifted by an hour from the elementary schedules.

I was a member of my school's Girl Scout troop for four years. This experience taught me a lot about public service and how to work with others. It taught me how to view things from many perspectives and look at problems and judge how to best help everyone as much as possible. I believe that this teaching was vital in making me the person I am today.

I was elected as Class Representative in 3rd grade by my peers, and was in charge of communicating my class's wishes to the student body, as well as keeping my class up to date on any policies that may have been changed. I would say that this role taught me about leadership and accepting that you do not have to be in charge to be important.