Being an American to me is following the American dream. I plan to complete a Bachelor's in Culinary Science which I can achieve in a year and a half more. I wish to help develop new ideas for snacks as well as to one day work with NASA and elevate space food. As we continue our exploration of Mars and the possibilities of living there, I foresee a new niche in the culinary industry of gourmet space food. There are a lot of restrictions regarding food in space due to gravity changes and possible accidents between food and the equipment of the spaceship. So far, the criteria for space food is that it has to be edible, nutritious, and travel well in space (which means no crumbs or liquid). Notice how taste isn’t a part of the criteria. Food is something that is meant to be enjoyed not just a substance that you need to survive. I wish to change how we approach space food. If we incorporate other ways of molecular gastronomy, I believe that we can achieve meals that are enjoyable, nutritious, and still meet the requirements to go through space. However, before that, I wish to start small with food research and development for the snack market. I’ve noticed that the creation of snacks is food and science. Popular snacks like Hot Cheetos, Pringles, Gushers, and Twinkies had to start somewhere. After watching Snack vs. Chef on Netflix, I have become inspired by different snack ideas for all ages. For example, adult snacks can include the use of alcohol like wine to add complexity and balance of flavors. By playing around with different textures and flavor profiles, I hope to create a product that hasn’t existed before. One thing that can help, is staying on top of trends in the food market. Consumers will be more interested in a product if they can understand or relate to the concept that the company is trying to convey. A prime example of this is the many different ramen snacks. People all over the world enjoy ramen no matter their age. However, college students love instant ramen for their affordability, variety of flavors, texture, and easy preparation. The instant ramen snacks provoke a sense of nostalgia for some adults of the times when they were in college. It also appeals to little kids due to its fun texture. With this scholarship, I can achieve my Bachelor’s degree and be one step closer to my goals of creating new possibilities in the culinary industry as a food scientist.

My humor has become so broken recently that a piece of bread falling made me laugh. A few days ago I came across a TikTok video of a guy cutting a loaf of bread. The slice of bread fell so slowly that the sound it made when it finally hit the table caused me to unexpectedly laugh. I now can't stop watching slices of bread fall without emitting a little giggle.

I am a Vietnamese American girl named Amanda Duong, and I am the second child of my immigrant parents. I plan to complete a Bachelor's in Culinary Science after my graduation this April from my Associate's degree in Culinary Arts. In this changing environment, I wish to use my education and passion for food and wine to help develop new ideas for snacks as well as to one day work with NASA and elevate space food. As we continue our exploration of Mars and the possibilities of living there, I foresee a new niche in the culinary industry of gourmet space food. There are a lot of restrictions regarding food in space due to gravity changes and possible accidents between food and the equipment of the spaceship. So far, the criteria for space food is that it has to be edible, nutritious, and travel well in space (which means no crumbs or liquid). Notice how taste isn’t a part of the criteria. Food is something that is meant to be enjoyed not just a substance that you need to survive. Using what I learn from the Culinary Institute of America’s Bachelor’s in Culinary Science program, I wish to change how we approach space food. If we incorporate other ways of molecular gastronomy, I believe that we can achieve meals that are enjoyable, nutritious, and still meet the requirements to go through space. Let’s not stop there. Why don’t we take it a step further and add wine pairings? After all, wine is 85% water so there has to be a way we can achieve good wine production that still retains the same attributes of any wine yet modified so that it can be rehydrated or liquified when ready for consumption. However, before that, I wish to start small with food research and development for the snack market. I’ve noticed that the creation of snacks is food and science. Popular snacks like Hot Cheetos, Pringles, Gushers, and Twinkies had to start somewhere. After watching Snack vs. Chef on Netflix, I have become inspired about different snack ideas for all ages. For example, adult snacks can include the use of alcohol like wine to add complexity and balance of flavors. By playing around with different textures and flavor profiles, I hope to create a product that hasn’t existed before. One thing that can help, is staying on top of trends in the food market. Consumers will be more interested in a product if they can understand or relate to the concept that the company is trying to convey. A prime example of this is the many different ramen snacks. People all over the world enjoy ramen no matter their age. However, college students love instant ramen for their affordability, variety of flavors, texture, and easy preparation. The instant ramen snacks provoke a sense of nostalgia for some adults of the times when they were in college. It also appeals to little kids due to its fun texture. With this scholarship, I can achieve my Bachelor’s degree and be one step closer to my goals of creating new possibilities in the culinary industry as a food scientist.

On the night of January 13, 2022, I contemplated ending my life. I had been struggling for years to find a reason to live. Not that long before that night, I had lost my entire friend group at my school, I was trying to keep my other roommate alive as well as her dog since she didn’t want to take responsibility for the poor thing. That day during class things were said and I felt hurt, so I posted a rant on social media about everything that had been building inside of me for years. It felt like no one truly cared for me and I wanted to be heard for once. I had been self-harming for a while but I hadn’t done anything that would leave marks or scars. That night I decided to take a blade to my skin and inside I was scared yet curious. In one swipe I could finally rest, however, I hesitated and moved the blade away from my wrist to my forearm deciding to not go through with it that night. Around 2:45 am January 14, 2022, I received a call from the police stating that they were outside my apartment door. I was emergency detained at a hospital wondering if I had made the right choice to stay. That weekend I was given help and diagnosed with Major Depression and Severe Anxiety. Sometimes I wonder if I was truly helped or told to take these medicines so that they can make money. I am not the same girl I was before. I don’t recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror. I don’t know who I am. My therapist has suggested that if I play pretend and believe that I am this awesome person who has a lot of confidence and can do anything, eventually I’ll be her. Surprisingly, I think it’s working. I definitely have more confidence than I did before and have achieved things that I thought I couldn’t. I act as if I am sure that I will be here in the future. I have made plans to complete a Bachelor’s in Culinary Science. I wish to live and experience all the things I missed out on during my childhood. I one day hope to work with NASA and elevate space food since it’s a possibility we might eventually live on Mars. This scholarship can make this dream a reality. I know I’m not done growing; in fact, I think I just started my path of self-discovery.

A healthy lifestyle is important to me because your mood and generally how you feel is based on how well you keep your body. I have found out that I am more motivated and energized when I eat 3 meals a day, drink plenty of water, and exercise. This is due to the fact that I am maintaining and feeding my body so that it has what it needs to properly function. If I don't do that I fall back into the habit of only eating junk and processed food. Doing that long term isn't giving your body the nutrients it needs to stay awake and do its job, therefore you find yourself lacking in energy.

Growing up, I was never allowed to have a pet. My parents would always cite excuses as to why I couldn't have one. Every year I would ask for a dog. The answer was no. I told myself that when I become an adult one day, I will get a dog. For the past few years I have been struggling with depression. The one thing that keeps me able to hold on is the dream that one day, I will get myself a dog so that I'd never feel alone again.

I have stayed optimistic through tough times by looking ahead. I know everything that is happening here and now can only help me grow. I am currently attending the Culinary Institute of America and this will be my final year. I started out knowing practically nothing compared to my peers. I made a lot of mistakes and through trial and error, have found ways suited for me. Each mistake I made was just a learning moment of what not to do. Like Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed 10,000 times, I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work". I was able to adapt and overcome in order to succeed in class. My future will be different than my classmates because I have chosen a different culinary route than them and that's ok. I don't have to be better. I just have to be the best I can be because there will always be someone better than you no matter what.

A personal finance lesson I find important is to not spend so frivolously. There may come a time where you didn’t plan ahead for something or an emergency happens and you find yourself in a bit of a pickle. Growing up, I was taught not to buy things we don’t need, and to save my money because we don’t have a lot. However, what I focused on was that my parents were trying to make excuses on why I couldn't get it. When I started my first job at the age of 17, I was ecstatic. I was going to be able to earn my own money that I could spend on whatever I want. What I didn’t take into consideration was that the following year I would be starting college. I had decided to go to The Culinary Institute of America which unfortunately happened to be the most expensive school I could possibly go to for culinary. I was blinded by the fact that I had money now to spend on random things I didn’t need but wanted. I am now about to enter my 2nd year at The Culinary Institute of America; my last year. The only problem is I don’t have the funds to finish my education and get my associate’s degree. Because the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio doesn’t offer on campus housing, I am forced to find housing elsewhere. Another obstacle in my way is that I can’t drive, so I have to find housing near the school but they’re so expensive I can’t possibly afford it. I wish I had listened to my parents when I was younger because I probably wouldn’t be struggling so much now.