Taylor Heverly's character and determination speak volumes.

Diagnosed with an amplified pain disorder during her sophomore year at Salisbury High School, a disease that amplifies any pain she encounters, Heverly had missed parts of both her sophomore and junior years.

For a month in her sophomore year, she was in an outpatient physical therapy program, and spent a month and a half in Cleveland, Ohio in an inpatient program. She missed her entire junior year at Salisbury and attended cyber school for the first half.

But despite everything, that did not stop Heverly from remaining focused on graduating with her senior class. She did just that returning to Salisbury for her senior year and showed everyone how far one's determination can carry them.

She was recognized with the Mark Turbedsky Award on the school's awards night, an acknowledgment rewarded to a student who has overcome adversity.

"I'm really self motivated," Heverly said. "When I have a goal in mind I won't stop until I get what I wanted to achieve." She adds, "I wanted to graduate and be pain free. I took it day-by-day and each day was a day to get further than the last."

Heverly admits there have been tough speed bumps along the way. For instance, during the end of her junior year, she got news she would need spinal surgery after she went into remission. It certainly was a tough time, but with the support of family and friends, as well as her constant determination, Heverly has continued to overcome the hurdles.

"That's when my family really pulled through and they calmed me down and supported me and helped me through everything with the spine surgery. It was a lot easier than it could have been." Heverly added, "The support I had with my family helped a lot."

Now, a year later, she has accomplished her goal of graduating high school and continues to fight every day.

She is a lover of the arts. After having to give up her passion of dancing because of the pain, Heverly participated in two plays at Salisbury "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Romeo and Juliet: A Musical Tragedy" including playing the lead role in "Little Shop of Horrors."

Heverly said, "When I danced, it was my entire life. Then, ever since I had to stop, there was kind of like a hole there. When I auditioned for the first play, I got the lead. That whole experience, performing on stage and the support you get from the theater system completely filled that empty hole I had from dance."

In fact, her fellow colleagues that participated in those plays with her were some of the most helpful individuals along the way. "I met so many people and got a lot of my support for my pain now through those kids and the directors as well. That whole experience pretty much made my senior year."

Looking to make a difference in the lives of others who experience similar pain, Heverly has her eyes set on becoming a pediatric rheumatologist in the future. Pediatric rheumatologists help children who experience pain in the bones and joints, similar to what Heverly experiences.

"At least with my experience and the kids that have the same thing as me when I was in the hospital, it's really difficult for someone like a physical therapist to do a certain activity when they don't know how it feels for you," Heverly said. "The medical field interests me from a patient side of things. When I did my job shadowing and everything I got to see the background of it and research it a little bit and it's really something I want to do."

Despite the rare disease that she's been diagnosed with, that won't veer Heverly off her path one bit. She remains determined to make a difference in the lives of others. "I want to make it more known and find more ways to have people know about it," Heverly said.

Heverly will attend Temple University in the fall and major in biology.