Roman was nominated for the contest by his mother, who shared: 

“Roman has exemplified resilience during his dad’s deployment. He has helped me care for his two younger siblings while overcoming the mental load of seeing all his friends at football, baseball, and track being trained by their dads.

Roman is the backbone of the family. He reminds himself that he is brave and strong, and he reminds me that I am brave and strong when the mental and physical load become strong.

Roman is the first to pick-up his teammates when they get tackled in football. He tells the smaller boys that they are strong and can do tough things. His favorite thing to say is: You are brave. In baseball, he lends his bat to others and always speaks to his teammates with kindness and motivation. Roman takes his losses as steppingstones to learn from his mistakes and do better in every single game. He works hard to do his best for his teams, even when he is tired.

Roman continued to excel in school and earned the All-Star Award during this deployment. He has made the most progress on his baseball team, where he continues to help his peers both in academics and athletics. He is always kind and welcoming to others, holds the door open, and has compassion while teaching his peers how to carry themselves with respect. He doesn’t like to let his teams down and is always giving his best even when he misses his dad.”