Justin Moeller Memorial Scholarship

In searching for computer science classes that were offered at my high school, it was unfortunate that it was very limited to the fact that only 1 existed. However, what sparked in my mind was its only pathway that it led to, Cybersecurity. Just like many people, while diving into this topic, I had no clue what it would do in terms of my learnings about computers. How far would it depart from learning what I actually want to learn? Despite this, the flame that was ignited towards my passion for technology strived within me, so I entered this path. I would soon realize that this was a possibility where I could be proficient in while enjoying the topics it includes. It gives me the opportunity of protecting people from attackers while indulging with code still. At the same time, I'll be able to use my knowledge and display it anywhere across the world, assisting anything and anyone anywhere. It furthered my interest to the point where I am going ahead and finishing the pathway in my final year of high school, which I academically displayed well with an A in my 1st senior semester. Yet, it brings up an important question of not applying for this major earlier. While applying as an early decision for Purdue, I was having a difficult time deciding whether to put this class or engineering as my alternative major, as I love both topics and insistently take classes of both. While I may have put Cybersecurity to the side, it would have been my obvious choice as a 3rd option, and now, my current option, which will impact me if I hold a degree in it. In the current state of the world, technology is becoming bigger and bigger everyday, however we neglect the amount of danger it holds and the malicious users that intend to go about their ways. We are able to see how people can get a hold of someone's device easily through devious tactics or utilize artificial intelligence to manipulate reality. Knowing this problem as I have personally seen it happen, it gives me the ability to step in and do something about it. By becoming a Cybersecurity analyst, I will help reduce the danger of vulnerabilities and security breaches and even if I may only be 1 person, I will do my best to fight for what is right.

Growing up, I have always been interested in technology. I found myself constantly interested in gaming and viewing it on YouTube. Watching video after video, I gradually began to ask myself critical questions, such as "How are these games even made?" and "Can I learn how to create something like this?". It was in 8th grade when I realized that coding was behind all of this, and it immediately encapsulated me. When I first discovered coding, I started on code.org. Through the curriculum, I selected a story game activity, where one could create a mobile story game. There were different endings to the story depending on the choices you made throughout it. It was exhilarating to develop a narrative and different outcomes for it. What I found to be the most thrilling, though, was the satisfaction I felt when my code would work. I believe it is a universal experience for every programmer to have a feeling of exhilaration and fulfillment when they eliminate all of the bugs and witness their code operate seamlessly. That feeling has persisted throughout my high school computer science classes I vigorously sought after, where I wrote in Python, HTML, CSS, Visual Basic, and (currently) Java and Pyret. In these classes, some of the most memorable, exciting things I developed both alone and with others include a slot machine, a Rube Goldberg machine and 3D game on Unreal Engine, a game of chance, and a birthday calculator, to name a few. In particular, I recently made a Hangman game on CodeHS using Java for my AP Computer Science A class project, which was probably the hardest thing I've coded so far. However, as difficult as it was, I enjoyed debugging and being able to finally complete it and let my friends play it. While I haven’t delved into advanced college-level coding yet, my aspiration remains strong to develop skills to a level where I can create successful video games or AI. Thus, computer science also connects to my future aspirations. After my collegiate years, I will improve diversity in the tech field and bridge the racial/ethnic gap in STEM jobs by creating a video game development team where colleagues will be able to cultivate a community where they can celebrate all types of cultures because of how diverse and culturally different each of the members are. Our mission would be to promote diversity in the games we develop and design. In a day and age where people like me make up such small percentages of jobs in the tech industry, it's important to have diverse teams like the one I aspire to create because it gives other historically underrepresented people the opportunity to see others who look like them and have the assurance that it's possible to pursue a STEM degree or career regardless of their race/ethnicity. It gives the feeling of "Wow, I can do that too!". The digital divide is real, but I believe this strategy is one of many ways to combat it. I realized the importance of representation firsthand by attending a predominantly white high school for the past (almost) 4 years and being only 1 of 2 Black people in my computer science classes, and I'm excited and determined to make that difference. I'm hoping that, by winning this scholarship, I will be able to do just that and more. Not just moneywise, but also knowing the fact that the creators of this scholarship believe in me and my aspirations, is what will push me to move forward.