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Africa Hayes

4,700

Bold Points

14x

Nominee

3x

Finalist

Bio

Greetings! As a first-generation college student hailing from a low-income background, I draw inspiration from my single mother, whose unwavering dedication and hard work serve as a beacon of resilience in my life. Witnessing her daily struggles and triumphs fuels my determination to create a brighter future for myself and my family. Alongside my journey, I am motivated by the desire to set a positive example for my younger sister. I aspire to demonstrate the power of perseverance, ambition, and education, showing her that dreams can be achieved through hard work and dedication. Currently pursuing a degree in computer engineering at North Carolina A&T, I am grateful for the opportunities that lie ahead. My experiences, including participation in FIRST robotics competitions during high school, have equipped me with invaluable skills such as welding, Python programming, soldering, wiring, networking, communication, management, and teamwork. With a resilient spirit and a commitment to excellence, I am poised to make a meaningful impact in the field of technology and beyond.

Education

North Carolina A & T State University

Bachelor's degree program
2021 - 2025
  • Majors:
    • Computer Engineering

West Hawaii Explorations Academy

High School
2017 - 2021

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Master's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Computer Science
    • Computer Engineering
    • Computer Software and Media Applications
    • Engineering, Other
    • Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Technology

    • Dream career goals:

      computer engineer

    • Program management intern

      Stellantis
      2023 – 2023
    • Crew Member

      AMC Theaters
      2021 – 20221 year
    • customer advocate

      Target
      2019 – 20201 year
    • cashier

      Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
      2019 – 2019

    Sports

    swim

    Intramural
    2018 – 2018

    Awards

    • first place brest stroke
    • second place frestyle
    • third place backstroke

    Research

    • West Hawaii Explorations Academy — Head Electrical Engineer
      2019 – 2020
    • Marine Sciences

      West Hawaii Explorations Academy — Statistician
      2017 – 2018

    Arts

    • Tony School of Music

      Dance
      The taste of oakland
      2019 – 2021

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Backpack Beginnings — packer
      2023 – 2023
    • Volunteering

      Linden Place Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — Rehabilitation attendant
      2023 – 2023
    • Volunteering

      West Hawaii Explorations Academy — Statistics Manager
      2018 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Girls in Engineering Math and Science — Educational Leader
      2018 – 2020

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Brandon Zylstra Road Less Traveled Scholarship
    Moving to Hawaii during my freshman year of high school was difficult for me. Being naturally introverted, I often found ways to be by myself. I decided to challenge this by joining the robotics team, the Sharkbots. Initially, I studied coding on my own, however, I felt like an outsider. This all changed when I decided to go on what was my first robotics trip to Honolulu. I shared a room with a teammate, actually worked with people during the competition, and shared a lot with the community about what we were doing. From that point forward, I started to feel like I was a part of something. Since then I’ve worked with various sized groups, gotten better at public speaking, and taught younger students what I learned. In what seems like a short period of time, I went from being an introverted girl learning about robotics to being an Overlord. When I accepted the position as Overlord, I didn’t know what it meant to lead others, but I jumped in with both feet. I was working with multiple groups of students on building the chassis, actuator, circuit board, and writing code for our robot. We decided to name our robot Saturn, I made deadlines and facilitated meetings every week to show Saturn’s progress, and helped team members stay on the same page. We entered Saturn into the regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in Australia. I began to feel more confident in being a leader and working with others. When part of our robot failed during a match, a teammate gave ideas on how to fix it. I took his ideas and contemplated if we had the time and materials, then put a plan together. The two of us were paired together because of his out-of-the-box thinking and my ability to determine if it was a plausible plan. We were finalists and qualified to compete in the FRC World Championships in Houston, Texas. Before going home we broke down our robot Saturn for travel, uncertain if we were going to be able to make it to the world championships. We exhausted our entire budget for the regional competition, and never in our high school history had a robotics team made it to the world championships. In the 4 weeks between getting home from regionals and the world championships, we fundraised enough money to go! When competing in the regional competition I learned how to get better organized and we worked better as a team. During my time in Houston, I lived and competed with my team and collaborated with other teams from around the world. Being a small team from Hawaii, we were a student-driven team and worked hard to make great accomplishments despite our limitations. In the world competition, we ranked high in the preliminaries, enabling us to become alliance captain in the playoffs. During my university search and applications, I have reflected on my high school experience and found satisfaction and pride in my progress. I pursued my interest in programming by initiating a study in Python, created and programmed sensors to collaborate with actuators, learned soldering and wiring, and helped build the circuit board for my team’s robots. I joined a project focused on building an electric car, and also joined a welding project, researching welding equipment and gaining experience at a welding expo. Facing the difficulty of moving from California to Hawaii in the middle of my freshman year challenged and changed me. Before robotics, I did not know much about what I wanted to do in college. After exploring engineering, I have found my passion.
    Art of Giving Scholarship
    My mom was not able to finish college because her mom wouldn't pay for it. My education has always been her number one priority. She has moved me and my sister to different states if it meant we would have a better environment for learning. Not many people in my family have been to college, because of that the whole process is new to us. My mom was there every step of the way from review my essays to helping me find schools. Now that I've picked to go to Prairie View A&M she will pay for me to go to college any way she can. Since she has done so much for me I just want to make one thing easier on her. I will do work-study and revive as many scholarships as I can to help out.