2026 – Eliza Groneman – Maple Mountain High School HS

High School

I had brain surgery May 15, 2018. Yes this was a long time ago, but it has still made it hard through high school. I had a tumor in my left hippocampus causing seizures. I would have them at least three times a week. After all the EEG testing, hospital stays, doctor visits, etc. they didn’t see anything. Until we did an MRI and saw the tumor in my brain. We decided to get it removed. But getting that removed had a big consequence. The surgery went well but a couple days after surgery I ended up having a grand mal seizure in the play room of the hospital. I ended up dying but the hospital employees brought me back to this earth. And since the tumor was located on my hippocampus, it left me to forget things super easily and fast and mix things up. So taking hard classes, like AP or Concurrent Enrollment classes, it made it super hard for assignments and especially tests I couldn’t retake. I study super hard and still forget things. But I will be graduating with a 3.9 GPA and will be continuing my academic career studying biology. I have also grown up in a very low income family. No big houses, cool cars, pools, vacations, etc.  My parents got divorced when I was six and have only had my mother in my life. With her working three jobs, I didn’t only have to care for myself, but my little sister also. I help her with homework, make dinner, clean the house, care for the animals, and care for my mom. While I care for my family, I am also working on my own to help pay for monthly expenses while playing a sport.