Enjoying every rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on, watching countless hours of movies that were science fiction, and creating futuristic robots are all reasons that I decided to pursue an academic career path in STEM, plus the fact that being a woman in STEM changes the ballpark for the gender pay gap, creates a more diverse workforce and ensures further innovation in society. STEM has been a driving force in my life since I was just a child, I loved finding the different loopholes in video game coding, taking LEGOs and doing something completely different than what the instructions say, and leading my “Survivor” team to victory in elementary school because we had to come up with creative ways to balance things. But, the thing I remember the most about loving STEM and still do, came from watching the “Behind the Scenes” of Disney movies that explained the animation process to movies that I loved. Because of Disney Animation, I decided that was what I wanted to do as a career. I loved that they were able to input a code into their program and you could see the effect take place as soon as you watched the animation, it was fascinating to watch. It probably didn’t help that my family takes a Disney vacation once or twice a year, so I’m constantly surrounded by the animations that take place in the Disney World Parks. When I say that I feel magical when I go there, it’s an understatement. In my freshman year, I was placed into a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher class where I excelled in passing all the certifications. Since then, I have taken all of the Adobe software-based classes that are possible and learned how to work with Adobe Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. I love being able to take an idea that someone has and turn it into a reality, I love that the connection builds into something truly personal. My high school may not offer as many STEM-based classes as I wished they did, but they had just enough that it only furthered my passion for it. As a Digital Arts major, I can combine my love for STEM through Computer Science and my love for Art. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer, I love the process behind movies and TV shows. My long-term goal for me is to find myself working for an animation studio for Disney, which is a huge goal but one I am extremely passionate about. UNCW has an amazing advantage in that after completing the Digital Arts major, I am automatically credited with a Computer Science minor which will only further my education and my commitment to providing a positive impact to the world.

Technology has been a driving force in my life since I was just a child, I loved finding the different loopholes in video game coding, taking LEGOs and doing something completely different than what the instructions say, and leading my “Survivor” team to victory in elementary school because we had to come up with creative ways to balance things. But, the thing I remember the most about loving technology and still do, came from watching the “Behind the Scenes” of Disney movies that explained the animation process to movies that I loved. Because of Disney animation, I decided that was what I wanted to do as a career. I loved that they could input a code into their program and you could see the effect take place as soon as you watched the animation, it was fascinating and beautiful to watch. It probably didn’t help that my family takes a Disney vacation once or twice a year, so I’m constantly surrounded by the animations that take place in the Disney World Parks. When I say that I feel magical when I go there, it is an understatement. As a Digital Arts major, I can combine my love for STEM through Computer Science and my love for Art. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer, I love the process behind movies and TV shows. My long-term goal for me is to find myself working for an animation studio for Disney, which is a huge goal but one I am extremely passionate about. UNCW has an amazing advantage in that after completing the Digital Arts major, I am automatically credited with a Computer Science minor which will only further my education and my commitment to the STEM industry. I'm a personal believer that things that you put into the world will eventually come back to you and I like to believe if I put enough kindness and joy, it will come back. Thank you.

Many people who focus on their career for their entire life, don’t end up happy, but I have never in my life wanted that for myself. I want to focus on a career that I enjoy waking up in the morning for, not something that I dread walking into every day. What makes me the happiest is Walt Disney World. My dream career is to work as an Imagineer for Disney, they design and build theme parks, resorts, attractions, and everything in that area. I have been to Disney over twenty times in my short eighteen years and I have never found a place that makes me feel as magical as that one does. While being an Imagineer is an ambitious goal, which I am aware of, I would also love to focus my career on any type of animation programmer or graphic designer. I understand that starting with something that will benefit me, in the long run, would be the best option and I would love to start my career as soon as possible so that I can progress as much as possible. As a Film and Communications double major and Digital Arts minor, I am making dreams become a reality. I plan to use all of my skills to creatively impact people by inspiring them to know that they can become anything they set their minds to. I truly believe that working for what you want is the best way to achieve something. I want my career to have an impact on people. I want to create a personal connection with everyone that I meet or have a chance to experience the things that I create throughout my career. My future is extremely important to me because this is something that I have been working towards my whole life and I intend to make my dreams a reality.

Enjoying every rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on, watching countless hours of movies that were science fiction, and maybe one day going to space were all reasons that I decided to pursue an academic career path in Computer Science, plus the fact that being a woman in STEM changes the ballpark for the gender pay gap, creates a more diverse workforce and ensures further innovation in society. Technology has been a driving force in my life since I was just a child, I loved finding the different loopholes in video game coding, taking LEGOs and doing something completely different than what the instructions say, and leading my “Survivor” team to victory in elementary school because we had to come up with creative ways to balance things. But, the thing I remember the most about loving technology came from watching the “Behind the Scenes” of Disney movies that explained the animation process of movies that I loved. Because of Disney animation, I decided that was what I wanted to do as a career. I loved that they could input a code into their program and you could see the effect take place as soon as you watched the animation, it was fascinating and beautiful to watch. It probably didn’t help that my family takes a Disney vacation once or twice a year, so I’m constantly surrounded by the animations that take place in the Disney World Parks. When I say that I feel magical when I go there, it is an understatement. In my freshman year, I was placed into a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher class that I excelled in bypassing all the certifications plus Excel. It was one of the first things I really understood in high school and it just came naturally to me. Since then, I have taken all of the Adobe software-based classes that are possible and learned how to work with Adobe Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. I love being able to take an idea that someone has and turn it into a reality, I love that the connection builds into something truly personal. My high school may not offer as many STEM-based classes as I wished they did, but they had just enough that it only furthered my passion for it. As a Digital Arts major, I can combine my love for STEM through Computer Science and my love for Art. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer, I love the process behind movies and TV shows. My long-term goal for me is to find myself working for an animation studio for Disney, which is a huge goal but one I am extremely passionate about. UNCW has an amazing advantage in that after completing the Digital Arts major, I am automatically credited with a Computer Science minor which will only further my education and my commitment to the STEM industry.

Enjoying every rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on, watching countless hours of movies that were science fiction, and maybe one day going to space were all reasons that I decided to pursue an academic career path in Computer Science, plus the fact that being a woman in STEAM changes the ballpark for the gender pay gap, creates a more diverse workforce and ensures further innovation in society. Technology has been a driving force in my life since I was just a child, I loved finding the different loopholes in video game coding, taking LEGOs and doing something completely different than what the instructions say, and leading my “Survivor” team to victory in elementary school because we had to come up with creative ways to balance things. But, the thing I remember the most about loving technology =, and still do, came from watching the “Behind the Scenes” of Disney movies that explained the animation process to movies that I loved. Because of Disney animation, I decided that was what I wanted to do as a career. I loved that they could input a code into their program and you could see the effect take place as soon as you watched the animation, it was fascinating and beautiful to watch. It probably didn’t help that my family takes a Disney vacation once or twice a year, so I’m constantly surrounded by the animations that take place in the Disney World Parks. When I say that I feel magical when I go there, it is an understatement. In my freshman year, I was placed into a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher class that I excelled in bypassing all the certifications plus Excel. It was one of the first things I understood in high school, and it came naturally to me. Since then, I have taken all of the Adobe software-based classes that are possible and learned how to work with Adobe Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. I love being able to take an idea that someone has and turn it into a reality, I love that the connection builds into something truly personal. My high school may not offer as many STEAM-based classes as I wished they did, but they had just enough that it only furthered my passion for it. As a Digital Arts major, I am able to combine my love for STEAM through Computer Science and my passion for Art. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer, I love the process behind movies and tv shows. My long-term goal is to find myself working for an animation studio for Disney, which is a huge goal but one I am extremely passionate about. UNCW has an amazing advantage in that after completing the Digital Arts major, I am automatically credited with a Computer Science minor which will only further my education and my commitment to the STEAM industry. I hope that through this essay, you have been able to see my determination and passion for STEAM and will take my application into consideration. Thank you for your involvement in Women in STEAM and I look forward to hearing from you.

Enjoying every rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on, watching countless hours of movies that were science fiction, and maybe one day going to space were all reasons that I decided to pursue an academic career path in Computer Science, plus the fact that being a woman in STEM changes the ballpark for the gender pay gap, creates a more diverse workforce and ensures further innovation in society. Technology has been a driving force in my life since I was just a child, I loved finding the different loopholes in video game coding, taking LEGOs and doing something completely different than what the instructions say, and leading my “Survivor” team to victory in elementary school because we had to come up with creative ways to balance things. But, the thing I remember the most about loving technology =, and still do, came from watching the “Behind the Scenes” of Disney movies that explained the animation process to movies that I loved. Because of Disney animation, I decided that was what I wanted to do as a career. I loved that they could input a code into their program and see the effect take place as soon as you watched the animation, it was fascinating and beautiful to watch. In my freshman year, I was placed into a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher class that I excelled in bypassing all the certifications plus Excel. It was one of the first things I understood in high school, and it came naturally to me. Since then, I have taken all of the Adobe software-based classes that are possible and learned how to work with Adobe Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. I love being able to take an idea that someone has and turn it into a reality, I love that the connection builds into something truly personal. My high school may not offer as many STEM-based classes as I wished they did, but they had just enough that it only furthered my passion for it. As a Computer Science major and Digital Arts minor, I am able to combine my love for Computer Science and my love for Art. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer, I love the process behind movies and tv shows. My long-term goal for me is to find myself working for an animation studio for Disney, which is a huge goal but one I am extremely passionate about. I hope that through this essay, you have been able to see my determination and passion for Computer Science and will take my application into consideration. I feel that I have the determination and passion to pursue my career and use this scholarship to make my goals more achievable. Thank you for your involvement in my future and I look forward to hearing from you.

A special talent can have many different meanings, for some it's athletics, mathematics, or even saying their ABCs backward, (which I actually can do - I just couldn't figure out how to write an essay about my ability to say my ZYXs) but my special talent differs quite a bit from the standard talents that you may see. My special talent, no matter how dark and twisty it may be, is the ability to find humor in even the worst possible situations by making anyone laugh due to my own trauma. Now, trauma is a strong word, but when you've been through enough of it it's quite easy to make jokes about the circumstance. Spoiler Alert: My dad died when I was eleven. Yes, this may seem extremely insensitive, but it happened 7 years ago and there are instances where all I wanna do is cry about it, but there are way more instances where I have the ability to make a joke. My special talent is having the ability to make people laugh through dark humor, no matter what the cost may be, and not to speak highly of myself, I am quite good at it. Dark humor is a pathway that many people use, including me, that allows the mind to deal with the tragedies that people have been through. A lot of people that I come into contact with, who don't know the status of my father, are utterly shocked by some of the things that I say. After the initial shock, they look around at the other people standing there or even at me, to decide whether or not it's okay to laugh. It's always okay to laugh if I'm the one making the joke about myself. My closest friends have been through enough in their life and if something were to happen where I can make them laugh it off, I will take every chance I get. Trying to decide whether or not to write an essay on the fact that I make jokes about my dead dad, I had to consult my friends on whether or not they believed it was a good idea. One of them asked what I thought made the talent special and without hesitation, I asked, "Well, can you write an essay about it?" Her response was no, of course, I had met her dad plenty of times so she wasn't able to write an essay such as this one. If you want more examples, I am always free to make hilarious jokes such as this: One of my friends is talking about how she's the tallest one in her family beside her dad, who she's just an inch shorter than her. I say to her "I can't relate," and she asks "How? I mean considering…" and I look at her and explain "I am always, no matter what I'm doing, six feet taller than my dad." She absolutely cracked up, almost peed her pants, and then told me how awful of a person I was, which made me laugh. Listen, I miss my dad a lot. I'm not trying to take away the fact that his death didn't mean anything to me. It did, I mean he was my dad. But, to know my dad was to love him, he was the funniest person I had ever met in my entire life and he still is. I believe that he would be proud of me and he would probably get a freaking kick out of all the jokes he's mentioned in, well I mean, if he could still kick.

Going into my freshman year of high school, I was placed into a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher class that was, at the time, the least exciting class that I had ever heard of and I was completely dreading it. I didn’t know a single person in the class and they were all in different grades than I was. The only thing I slightly enjoyed was the teacher who told Friday jokes that were so horrible they ended up being funny. On that first day of class though, he told us about all the people on posters that were hanging up in his room. These four or five people that had been in his class were now on to things that I didn’t dream were possible in my small town, they were movie directors, screenwriters, and people that currently work for Google. I understood what I was doing with the software, it was one of the first things in high school that made sense to me. Since that class, I have continued to take all of the Adobe software-based classes that are possible and have decided to pursue a career in Digital Arts with a minor in Computer Science. As a Digital Arts major, I am able to decide what I want to do with my career after college as there are many different ways to go with this degree. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer and go on to work for Disney. My dream career is to work as an Imagineer for Disney, they design and build theme parks, resorts, attractions, and everything in that area. I have been to Disney over twenty times in my short eighteen years and I have never found a place that makes me feel as magical as that one does. While being an Imagineer is an ambitious goal, which I am aware of, I would also love to focus my career on any type of animation programmer or graphic designer. My long-term goal is to eventually find myself working for Disney in their animation studios or as a Graphic Designer in one of their many spots around the world. Growing up, all my family ever did as a vacation is going to Disney World, so my love for it is so strong that I want to pursue it as an eventual career. I am attending UNCW for this major and for the advantage that after completing Digital Arts I will automatically be credited with a Computer Science minor. With this, I will be considered a woman in STEM and have to strive to make my place in the community. I have spent time filling out many scholarships and saving up for college, but with the unreasonably high cost of tuition everywhere, I am in need of every single piece of financial aid/scholarship I can get. Having the opportunity to apply for scholarships across the internet is one of the best ways to be involved and have a better chance of receiving this scholarship. I am confident that the education I will be receiving will provide me with all of the necessary skills and knowledge to allow me to complete my dream of working in the STEM industry. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship and all of the applications, I look forward to hearing from you!

If you were to ask random students that go to my high school what they want to do after they graduate, you would find that over 80% of them have decided to pursue a career in the medical field. While I take nothing away from the students that have decided that is the career path for them, it’s never been my thing. Hi, my name is Alyssa Pope and I want to be a graphic designer. Graphic Design isn’t something that stays the same every single day, it is constantly changing into new ideas and new things to create which is what I love about it. I want to have my place in this field and be able to create new things for people to feel something. I’ve never wanted to sit at a desk and work for the rest of my life, I want to be up and doing something that has the potential to influence someone’s life even if it is just a little bit. In this essay, I will share my knowledge and personal experience with graphic design and take you through what it means to me. Throughout my four years of high school, I have had to take many classes that contributed to my knowledge of design. I have learned how to use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe InDesign, and most recently Adobe Lightroom. While taking these classes, I learned skills such as communication with the client and basing their needs on what I design, portraying the correct image that is wanted, and taking criticism to fix mistakes that may have been made. In my internship, I have done a number of things to help the school and my senior class. I designed my school’s senior shirts ideas, edited senior pictures, created a t-shirt for Breast Cancer Awareness, took part in the Miss Stanly County Pageant by creating the program for it, created the logo for the school store, and worked to get it running. Being in my internship and having the opportunity to take design classes, I got to further my knowledge and develop my skills in Graphic Design to truly decide that I want to go to college for this and become successful in this area. As a graphic design major, my ambition is to eventually have an effect on people’s lives through design. Whether it’s through magazines, movies, or even just a simple t-shirt, I want to be able to create things that have meaning for me and can mean something to others. While that’s my eventual goal, right now my ambition is to make it to college and get the education that I need to make my many dreams come true. I want to complete internships and focus on one certain area where I feel that I can accomplish the most. I am very passionate about graphic design and I want to achieve my dreams. One way to do that is to give back to the community that helped raise me today, whether it's creating new logos or even a new small-town city layout, my home is very important to me. I want to have the education needed to continue graphic design throughout my entire life. I’ve always heard that you are supposed to do something that you will enjoy for the rest of your life and for me, it’s being able to do this. I love getting able to do this every day and I want to continue to do that for as long as I can.

Growing up in a small town is something that I will never get tired of, running to the post office, grocery store, or the three restaurants that we have and always seeing somebody that you know is something that you just can’t find anywhere else. My name is Alyssa Pope and I live in Oakboro, NC, a small town in Stanly County where the population is about 2,000 people. It’s hard to live here and not see a single person you don’t know every single day no matter what you end up doing. My community is made of up many churches and the church I attend is Oakboro First Baptist, where I am a prominent part of the youth there and in organizing fundraisers for our youth. About two years ago, I was asked to serve on the Youth Committee as a student voice for the kids my age and younger to help plan events and make decisions as a whole. I have been able to influence and decide many important things in my church’s youth group. Setting up places to volunteer, such as serving at the Feeding Avery’s Families in Banner Elk on our youth trip this past summer, contributing to the Meals on Wheels program that we do, and always looking for new opportunities right here in our community like volunteering at Christian Ministries when they need our help. These are just a couple of things that I am able to participate in and absolutely enjoy helping others along the way, but going to college to pursue my major will improve the way that I am able to help people and it has already begun. Until my junior year, I had no idea what I wanted to do, just that I wanted to have a job that didn’t feel like I was going to a job every single day of my life. The answer lay in my Graphic Communications class that I took my sophomore year and could not get out of my head. My Career Development Coordinator at my high school, who was also my Graphic Communications teacher, approached me at the end of my junior year and asked if I would be interested in a Graphic Design internship. Every single thing pointed at me and told me, yes, so this year I have been in my Graphic Design internship and I plan on continuing my education in Graphic Design and majoring in that in college. Finally deciding on my career path and having the experience, my youth pastor asked me to design a logo for FBO Youth and I am proud to say that it is a work in progress, but it is getting there. Graphic Design seems like it is much fancier than it really is and that it may not belong in a rural community, but I’m here to prove that wrong. So many businesses are able to improve and utilize graphic designers as a way to build up their business through websites, logos, or advertisements. My skills will be a way to help my community grow and reach out to other people that aren’t just in my town. I can’t wait to share my passion for design with my community and I intend to. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my application. I appreciate this so much and this scholarship would be a huge benefit. Thank you!

This past summer, I had the privilege and honor to serve at Feeding Avery Families, a non-profit organization that provides the community within Banner Elk with the dream of eliminating hunger by distributing food. Never in my life had I met the most generous and supportive people that worked and volunteered there. I was happy to be a part of the amazing things that are happening in North Carolina. Feeding Avery Families doesn’t discriminate against anyone, they don’t force people to show their licenses or how much money they make a year to get food. Feeding Avery Families became an inspiration to all that volunteered there, they allow people once a month to come in and get around 60 pounds of food, from meats, bread, and desserts, to produce, they offer everything for people to truly survive and feed their families without having to worry about spending money to put food on the table. Since last summer, I have visited Banner Elk three more times just for the experience and joy that I get out of the organization that is Feeding Avery Families. I have never felt so close with people that I’ve never met before. The underserved, underprivileged, and underrepresented populations are all welcome here and they come in the abundance of people when they open their doors. One of the best things about volunteering here is meeting the amazing people that come through the line and being able to connect with them on such a personal level. I love being able to establish connections with people that are completely different from me, learn their stories, and see the things they have been through is such an emotional rollercoaster and I love every minute of it. Once arriving, I was introduced to all of the different stations. I started in the meat station, where we took the frozen meat and filled it up until it hit a certain point and then wrapped it up. Next, was the produce station where we were able to put an assortment of fruits and vegetables in baskets. After that was the bread and canned goods where there were different types of bread like sandwich bread, biscuits, and even Hawaiian rolls that were all put out for the families. Canned goods ranged from anything you can imagine that could be put in a can. The last station was desserts, which was my favorite, but not for obvious reasons. Desserts were the last things on the lists and were set up so that the families were able to choose the different desserts that they wanted, they ranged from cakes, and cupcakes, to cookies, and everything in between. The dessert station was truly where you were able to connect with people because that was the last place for them to go. I learned stories and experiences that brought me to tears many times while I was listening. This experience is unlike any other. As a person who has experienced less hardship than most, my eyes have been opened to the experiences and desperations that others have gone through that I never have. I have only benefited from volunteering here and I hope that I never stop feeling the overwhelming joy that comes from volunteering at places that serve all communities. I have spent time filling out many scholarships and saving up for college, but with the unreasonably high cost of tuition everywhere, I am in need of every single piece of financial aid/scholarship I can get. Thank you for your time and consideration for this scholarship.

Going into my freshman year of high school, I was placed into a Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher class that was, at the time, the least interesting class that I had ever heard of and I was completely dreading it. I didn’t know a single person in the class and they were all in different grades than I was. The only thing I slightly enjoyed was the teacher who told Friday jokes that were so horrible they ended up being funny. On that first day of class though, he told us about all the people on posters that were hanging up in his room. These four or five people that had been in his class were now on to things that I didn’t dream were possible from my small town, they were movie directors, screenwriters, and people that now work for Google. I understood what I was doing with the software, it was one of the first things in high school that made sense to me. Since that class, I have continued to take all of the Adobe software based classes that are possible and have decided to pursue a career in Digital Arts with a minor in Computer Science. As a Digital Arts major, I am able to decide what I want to do with my career after college as there are many different ways to go with this degree. My first choice would be to become an Animation Programmer/Engineer and go on to work for Disney. The long-term goal for me is to eventually find myself working for Disney in their animation studios or as a Graphic Designer in one of their many spots around the world. Growing up, all my family ever did as a vacation is go to Disney World, so my love for it is so strong that I want to pursue it as an eventual career. I will most likely be attending UNCW for this major and for the advantage that after completing Digital Arts I will automatically be credited with a Computer Science minor. With this, I will be considered a woman in STEM and have to strive to make my place in the community. In the STEM field, women have proven to be more innovative, fully represent the needs of society better, and tend to perform better. There have been many studies shown that young women are less confident in a STEM field because of the stereotypes surrounding women as they are not “as good” as men are. I want to change the entire stereotype, I want every single person to feel like they have the ability and confidence to excel in their passion. If their passion is in STEM, I want them to take it as far as they possibly can and then some. The gender stereotypes that revolve around a certain career are completely irrelevant and I am so tired of hearing young girls say that they don’t want to pursue a career because some guy told them they couldn’t. I’m sick of the gap it has created in the field when women are just as good (probably better) than men are in STEM. I plan to make a difference and not just be another percentage. Thank you for taking my application into consideration. This is a topic I am extremely passionate about & I hope that I was able to convey that to you. Thank you again.

In my high school, over 99% of students want to pursue a career in the medical field. Hi, my name is Alyssa Pope and I’m the 1% wanting to become a Graphic Designer. My dream college is High Point University where one of their alumni now designs for Disney, my life-long career goal. Through hardships and struggles such as my dad’s death, I have persevered and fought back for everything. I was accepted into all six colleges I applied to and my hard work in school has paid off so far but HPU is my dream destination. Thank you.