Pursuing cybersecurity has not proved to be an easy feat so far. My interest for it was first piqued during my junior year of high school. I am now halfway through my associate’s program. Computer science has been a passion of mine for a long while now, and has only grown with time. In high school, when joining my school’s first ever chapter of the National Computer Science Honor Society, there were not many girls with me. The entire leadership committee was made up of boys who did not have pure intentions and motivations for the field. They would constantly make sexist and racist “jokes”, and didn’t care at all for the service projects we would showcase to the local elementary schools. In college, I thought I would be met with a more diverse, open-minded community in my classes. Now halfway through my program, there have never been more than four other women in the class with me. I haven’t had a single non-male professor. My male peers are helped before me, and my professors question my certainty in my work and understanding of it. Though, it has not deterred me from my pursuit. If anything, it has only served as further motivation. Cybersecurity is all about protection against cybercrimes. In my classes I’ve learned all about common vulnerabilities. I think of how I see them in my parents, in my family and friends, and in myself before I began learning about it all. In carrying on with my studies, I hope to educate people, especially young women of color, on the dangers of the internet and computers. And to show them that with the right knowledge, not only can they protect themselves and others, but that they can make the online world a safer, more positive one. Cybersecurity is also about the protection of data. When studying cybersecurity, one of the first things we’re taught is that data is always the most important asset. There is so much data in this world that is not meant for just anyone to access. There’s people’s personal information, passwords, plans, and so much more that need protecting. Though, there are also entire libraries of valuable information waiting to be consumed by right, noble minds. I want to teach people how to access information, and how to make sure of who has access to theirs. I chose to study at my county’s college because it was the cheapest option for me. My twin brother is also attending college on loan, and my father is the only one who works full-time. Neither of my parents have a college degree. Even when we try to save, costs creep up. We only have one car, so for my first year I rode the bus four hours round trip, each day. With the semester that's just started, I’ve already run into financial conflict due to miscommunications. This scholarship would alleviate much stress for me, and I could continue to focus on learning what I can and have an easier college experience.

Colorful circles flash across the screen in time with the surrounding sounds of a drum set, as I watch, unaware that my life is about to be changed. I sit in the dark theater, electric as the release I’ve been waiting on for years, finally begins: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. There’s always been a comfort, a sense of recognition, to be found in movies, in TV, music—but never like this. Growing up in the Bronx, with the sounds of the subway rumbling, music blasting at any and all times, I never felt alone. There is such a strong sense of community there, you could always find someone to help you out in whatever predicament you found yourself. No matter where you came from, there’d be someone in your corner. To move away from there, to grow out of the little girl I’d been, was daunting. I understood the world differently, as did the world to I. I felt the only connection and relations I could find were through TV and movies. To watch characters go through situations I’m in, to see so much of myself in them, was incredible. I’ve felt so many times that there were scenes written just for me. With Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, sometimes I think they wrote the whole movie for me. I am someone who speaks through characters. They say for me what I cannot say for myself. There are multiple different meanings and intentions involved in movies and TV. There is always at least one I find myself in. I often speak in references, and dress as my favorite characters to make myself feel stronger in scary moments. When I was anxious about driving, I thought to myself “This is just like Penny Robinson from Lost in Space driving the Chariot for the first time. Be brave like her.” When I feel my hands shake as I’m about to speak to someone I don’t want to, I think “Make it a performance. It’s not you on this phone call. Become someone else. Batman has his Brucie Wayne persona. Find yours.” I think of myself as an actor and as a scientist. Assess the variables, and adapt accordingly. Fictional characters have always been one of my greatest motivations and sources of protection. I’d like to be that for other people. It’s why I’d like to go into writing for TV and movies, but also why I’ve chosen to study Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is the practice of protection against cybercrimes. I have people I love who are incredibly vulnerable to online threats and scams. In the Bronx there aren’t many educational opportunities or special programs to teach and engage people in different interests. I want to learn what I can in college, and then I want to go to protect and educate the people in my neighborhood. Like Spider-Man, or Oracle. I also want to share my love for theater and writing, both of which have given me the greatest comfort and creative outlet I could ever know. With this scholarship, I would be able to relieve a great stress that comes with pursuing an education. It would allow me to continue to nourish, and hopefully succeed in, my most cherished ambitions.

My name is Anaya Diaz, and my parents are from the Dominican Republic. My father immigrated to New York City when he was 18, following his mother who had come a year earlier to establish a stable life. He hoped that his efforts would pay off for his children one day. I am proud to say that my brother and I have had many opportunities thanks to our parents' hard work. We are honors and AP students with a passion for music, surrounded by kind and intelligent people in a community that our parents could only have dreamed of. We grew up in the Bronx, NY, in an area that was beautiful but deteriorating. My parents moved us to a small town in New Jersey, where my brother and I discovered our passions; he found physics, and I found computer science. I took computer science seriously for the first time in high school. Though my middle school had offered an elementary level class, I didn't understand the importance and impact of computer science on our world. But now I do. I have learned multiple coding languages in high school, and just this past summer, I discovered the various branches of the computer science industry. Cybersecurity particularly fascinated me; it's the effort to defend and protect people against cyber crimes. Unfortunately, some people misuse their cybersecurity knowledge for unethical purposes, such as hacking. I want to fight against that. My parents, who grew up without the technology we have today, are vulnerable to the dangers of the cyber world. My family in the Dominican Republic and my old neighborhood in the Bronx don't have access to the same educational resources I was lucky to receive. I moved to New Jersey and realized the advantages that so many people had from the start, advantages I never would have had if my parents and their parents never immigrated here. In college, I hope to get the education and opportunities that everyone deserves. No one should be vulnerable to a growing threat just because they were never given a chance. Too often, lack of resources is taken advantage of because people don't know any better. I want to educate, give back to my communities, and advocate for the importance of computer science and the need for diversity in the industry. Someone needs to be the voice and the open door for those who are just waiting for an opportunity to come but need a little help to get there. I want to be that person for my parents, grandparents, and the generations that will come after me. I am the product of my parents' progress and triumph.