I am a graduating senior at Ann Sobrato High School. I view being raised by a single mother as a strength, rather than a weakness. Helping my mom with everyday tasks and juggling school gave me a much stronger work ethic than most. As time progressed her responsibilities dwindled which left a void in my heart, one that I have filled by helping others in need. I began by creating my volunteer program with Sourcewise (a non-profit organization that focuses on the well-being of seniors in my community). Every Saturday, I, and a group of high school students I recruited go to a senior living center to help older adults learn how to use technology. The Digital Literacy Program was created as a way to bridge the digital divide but has grown into something much more. Every week I see not only my volunteers teaching seniors, but the seniors teaching the volunteers life lessons and passing on their wisdom. The most important things that we teach our seniors are digital safety, how to connect with their family by using video calls, and how to schedule doctor appointments which are overwhelmingly becoming digitalized. The joy that this program brings has exceeded all expectations. I also programmed an app and website called Scholarly which is designed to simplify free peer tutoring. I did this because my school's peer tutoring is extremely confusing and a very minimal amount of students know how to get help or become a tutor. Scholarly's flexibility is extremely important for students who can't stay after school for peer tutoring because they have jobs or need to take the bus. Scholarly makes peer tutoring extremely simple for students with just 4 steps 1. Login to Scholarly with a student Google account 2. Post a request with what you need help with 3. Wait for a tutor to accept 4. Meet at a specified location or Google Meets If students want to become a tutor they just need to talk with their counselor, who will then upgrade their account to tutor status. My school's staff has complete oversight of all schedules, requests, request options, and reports. My school district has accepted my program and it's going into effect soon. Website: https://thescholarly.app If you want to try it out here is my admin password for staff Email: burbankandrew@gmail.com Password: CXWpyGWMDDtmb3m I am currently running an independent fundraiser for Cecilia's Closet (a non-profit organization for the less fortunate). I have raised over $500 so far. I am also working on AI reading glasses to help people with visual impairments. I am doing this to both, help people and enhance my experience with hardware and AI. This scholarship will help ease the stress on my mom and I. Because she is a single mother money has always been very tight, and every scholarship I can get will help greatly. My goal after I pay off my student debt is to start a company that will help people in need. My Digital Literacy Program and Scholarly have been my way of gaining priceless experience in the realm of start-ups. Every scholarship I can get will be less student loans that I need to pay off in the future and allow me to help people sooner.