Ever since I was a kid, technology has been something I wanted to explore. My first experience with technology comes from Fortnite. What struck me was Fortnite's ability to continuously evolve from year to year without sacrificing the core nature of its game. Its complex building mechanics, virtual concerts, and skin collaborations featuring celebrities and other notable games, demonsrated to me how technology could create entirely unseen experiences. These aspects were unique for its time and fascinated others as well. Ever since its release, Fortnite has continually updated its graphics, storyline, and gameplay, leaving people in anticipation of the next update. No matter how large the game grew, the creators continued improving their product. Fortnite taught me to pursue advancement and recognize the beauty of innovation.
All my life, without a doubt, I have found myself looking to improve processes to perfection. Whether it was altering the Wi-fi modem to better accommodate my big family, adjusting weight of my mock rocket to account for unexpected weather conditions ,or creating a template for a repetitive assignment, I continually found myself identifying problems and improving upon them. These experiences taught me that even small adjustments, when backed by careful observation and critical thinking, can create meaningful improvements.
After much contemplation about what degree I should study, I realized that what I love to do is not simply being a perfectionist, but create technology. Technology represents growth and I love to witness the world become better because of it. What I have done so far may not seem as electrical or computational as technology is often perceived as, but to me, real technology is today's solution to yesterday's problem. If given this scholarship it will help me become one of many to find solutions for society.
This mindset has formed a deeper mission in my life: to serve others and help them. While it may be exciting seeing problems solved and new technology emerging, the main focus is the people it impacts. How I can impact others lives makes my passion much more enjoyable. It takes people who are passionate and willing to create technology for growth to be noticed. I want to be that person to create that new technology, to make new protocols, and figure out how we can grow as individuals and as a society.
I have found ease and happiness in technology, and I want that to be shared among the world. Beyond our devices, the network, and the common electrical advancements, I want people to know there is more to technology than electronics. Technology can be as big as a cancer cure or as small as a video game update. Technology is all around us in ways big and small. Recognizing these possibilities is what inspires me to continue learning and contributing to the innovations of the future.
I've chosen data science to understand why systems and services are not being maximized to their fullest. I want to work with businesses and leverage their data to optimize their performance and strategy. Ten years from now, I see myself holding a lead role in a company's logistics and analysis team. I also see myself owning a consulting firm for individuals and businesses, whether they are pursuing personal endeavors or making business decisions. I want to build a world where solutions are sought and found, not walked past. This scholarship will not only provide financial support, but also confirm that others see the value in my mission. I am determined to test the boundaries of what technology can accomplish.
The first system I ever built was for a temple. The owners were older and didn't have anyone handling the technical side, so at seventeen I set up a donation system using PayPal and Zelle, configured so that payments were routed directly into a dedicated account and triggered automatic notifications to the owner. Once it was running, I couldn't stop thinking about the layer underneath it. A person across the city tapped their phone, and within seconds money moved, an account updated, and someone got notified, all without anyone manually doing anything in the middle. I didn't have the vocabulary for what I was curious about yet. I just knew I wanted to understand how something like that was built.
That question is what drove me toward technology. Not the tools themselves, but what they make possible when someone actually understands how they work. I grew up between cultures and watched early on how unevenly technology was distributed, how the same systems that made businesses run smoothly in one place were completely out of reach somewhere else. That gap never stopped bothering me. The temple system was small, two apps serving maybe a hundred people, but the logic behind it was the same logic that runs enterprise systems at a scale I can barely imagine. One input moves through a system and creates effects nobody sees until something breaks. A delay in one place creates a problem three layers removed from where it started. I want to understand those connections at a level where I can actually do something about them.
That's why I'm pursuing information systems with a minor in AI. Not because I landed on it by process of elimination, but because it sits exactly at the intersection I've been drawn to since I was standing in that temple figuring out routing logic on my own. I'm an international student from a background where opportunities like this aren't guaranteed, and I've had to be deliberate about every step I've taken. I finished my STEM Early College program on the Dean's List every semester while managing real responsibilities outside of school. I wasn't doing it to build a resume. I was doing it because I knew what I wanted, and I understood that getting there required showing up consistently even when it was hard.
In ten years I want to be consulting on enterprise technology across industries, the kind of work where understanding how a system is built at a deep level actually matters. I want to be someone companies call when something is broken in a way nobody can explain, or when they're trying to build something that hasn't been done before. Getting there means building a real foundation now, not just learning tools but understanding the thinking behind them. This scholarship would make that path more accessible at a moment when every resource counts. I'm not asking for something to make things comfortable. I'm asking for something that makes finishing what I've started possible.
As long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with technology. As a little kid, I used to take apart my grandma's phone and put it back together, mess with my mother's computer, and play around with my PlayStation 2 to figure out exactly what made them work. This passion never faded. When I learned to code in 7th grade, it was like a switch flipped in my mind. I wasn't just able to use technology; I could create things with it, and from that moment on, I was hooked.
Since then, I've been learning all types of things about technology, primarily coding. I've learned to program small pieces of games, think logically to come to solutions, and think differently from before. What I like about technology is the fact that it allows people to develop solutions to real-world issues, and I want to be a part of it. For that, I am studying technology. I want to take something I enjoy and make it a career, something that will also stimulate my mind and make it grow, and something that will allow me to contribute to something with meaning.
A decade from now, I see myself as a senior-level software engineer. I see myself in the position of contributing to the creation of something impactful, whether applications, programs, or technology-enabled solutions for the general public. Beyond career development, though, there's a more personal motivation to excel in such a career. I come from a not-so-nice neighborhood in Southeastern Wisconsin. My upbringing has held me back, preventing me from having the same access to resources as others. I want to truly make a difference.
If I become successful in my dreams, I want to give my success back to my community. Whether that means creating programs to expose children to coding, helping to fund the deliveries of supplies to schools, or simply being a mentor to someone who is going through the same struggles I have gone through, I want to be a positive force in someone else's life so they know that they too can accomplish it.
I think the two-year degree is a great addition to my journey. It will provide the foundation of the technical knowledge I will need to be a software engineer, but it’s also a means of demonstrating to myself and others that I am serious and dedicated to putting in the work. Entering the two-year program means that I can establish a foundation of knowledge, gain some confidence, and move in the direction of obtaining a bachelor’s degree or joining the career world. It’s not necessarily about getting a job—it’s about creating something for myself and others. This scholarship would not only be monetary aid but also a vote of confidence in all that I am striving to accomplish. I am ready to demonstrate that where I am from will not determine where I am going.
