I definitely didn't project enough to get the "Crowded Gym" feel for the read.

Good job! Remember you don't have to slate for homeworks. You only ever wanna slate unless told in an audition, but normally its unnecessary. We're missing your projection here (And its great that you pointed that out yourself so that you're aware!), so remember you want to project your voice like you're in a gym with no microphone. You want to think about the scenario given to you and perform yourself in that scene. When your voice doesn't fit, then it becomes unrealistic so imagine yourself there and let your voice be heard. I want you to take bigger breaths to not only help with the projection, but to also minimize those micro breaths and unplaced pauses. You wanna find a nice flow and have natural pauses vs having an overabundance of them. Keep working on your exercises and doggy pants everyday to help build on your breath control and remember to use your diaphragm. I want you to have more fun to break up the monotonous tone you got going. It sounds more like you're reading this to yourself versus trying to grab your audience's attention. Think about ways to vary up your take to make it unique. Keep it up!