My interest in computer science began long before I ever set foot in a college classroom. As a kid, I was always fascinated by technology. I was the one pressing every button on the remote to see what would happen, or typing on a keyboard as a toy. When I discovered MySpace, I found myself spending hours customizing layouts with HTML and CSS. At the time, I didn’t realize I was coding. I only knew that I loved the process of experimenting, breaking things, fixing them, and eventually seeing my work come to life. Those small moments planted a seed in me that would eventually grow into a passion for web development. As an adult, my first professional taste of coding came while working at a resort. Our team used HTML-based email to communicate with guests, and I quickly took ownership of designing and refining them. The positive feedback I received sparked a realization: I wasn’t just curious about technology, I had the potential to build a career in it. I began teaching myself more through online courses, and eventually enrolling in college to study web development. Today, I am pursuing an Associate’s degree in Web Development with a 4.0 GPA. My dream job after receiving my degree is to work as a front-end developer, building websites that are not only functional but also accessible. For me, success is not about creating flashy interfaces for their own sake, but about designing digital experiences that feel human. Technology is powerful, but it only matters if it truly serves people. Long term, I want to grow into a senior developer role, mentoring new coders and continuing to learn as technology evolves. I feel I am the best candidate for this scholarship because my path to education has not been easy. I grew up in a home where education was not valued, and by the age of 18 I was homeless. My early attempts at college ended in failure because I lacked the stability and support to succeed. At 30, I made the decision to try again, this time with focus and determination. I live with my father to save money, and I rely on student loans to cover tuition and basic expenses. I recently left my job so I could dedicate myself completely to school. It was a difficult choice, but I know my education is important. Maintaining my GPA has been proof to myself that I am capable. This scholarship would make a meaningful difference in my journey. It relieve some of the financial stress that comes with balancing life and education, and it would also be a validation of the progress I have made. Like Chris Jackson, who overcame financial struggles to earn his degree and build a rewarding career in technology, I believe that perseverance and passion can overcome difficult circumstances. I want to carry that same spirit forward in my own life, building a career in computer science and using my skills to help others along the way.

My story is not one of a straight line to success. It is one of setbacks, resilience, and rediscovering who I am and what I want to create in this world. I grew up in a home where education was not a priority. My parents did not instill in me the value of school, and by the time I turned 18, I was homeless. For a few years, my life was defined by survival, not ambition. I tried college once at 19, but without support, stability, or direction, I failed out. In my twenties, I worked paycheck to paycheck, moving from one run-down apartment to the next, eventually facing bankruptcy. Those were hard years, and for a while, I convinced myself that success and opportunity were for other people. But something inside me refused to give up. At 30, I decided to turn my life around. I returned to school to pursue my Associate’s degree in Web Development. I knew it would not be easy, but I was determined to break the cycle I had been trapped in and finally invest in myself. Today, I am proud to hold a 4.0 GPA while balancing a full academic load, personal projects, and a vision for my future in technology. What inspires me about web development is the mix of creativity and problem-solving. Even as a child, I loved tinkering with technology. I was the kid who pressed every button on the remote to see what it did or organized the cables behind the TV just because I wanted to make sense of it all. My first exposure to coding came through MySpace, where I experimented with HTML and CSS to customize layouts. Later, while working at a resort, I designed HTML emails for guests, and the positive feedback I received lit a spark in me. For the first time, I felt the satisfaction of creating something that others could use and enjoy. That spark became the foundation of my decision to study web development seriously. My aspirations today are simple but powerful. I want to build a career as a front-end developer, creating digital experiences that are not only functional but welcoming and human. I want to achieve financial independence so I never again find myself stuck in cycles of instability. Most importantly, I want to use my story to show others that it is never too late to chase a dream, to start over, and to succeed. This scholarship would be more than financial help to me; it would be a validation of my journey. I live with my father rent-free to save money, and I am paying for college through loans. I recently made the difficult choice to leave my full-time job so I could focus completely on my studies. I know that my education is the most important investment I can make in myself, but it has also been the most challenging one financially. Support from this scholarship would ease that burden and allow me to stay fully focused on my academic goals and future career. Resilience, kindness, and self-belief are values I hold close to my heart. They have carried me through homelessness, financial hardship, and self-doubt. They continue to guide me as I build a new future. I believe education is the key to breaking cycles and opening doors, and I am committed to carrying that lesson forward, both for myself and for others I hope to inspire along the way.

One of the projects I am most passionate about came from my job in the travel industry. I had been working as a Guest Services Specialist, and my role often required me to process long lists of reservations, validate guest forms, and create Excel reports. These were tasks that consumed hours of time every single day. I watched coworkers spend entire afternoons clicking through web forms, copying and pasting data, and fixing mistakes that could have been avoided in the first place. I knew there had to be a better way. I decided to take on the challenge of automating the process. I was not formally trained in software development, but I had always been curious about technology and enjoyed figuring out how things worked. I started experimenting with Power Automate Desktop, writing flows that could simulate the exact clicks a person would make in the reservation system. I combined that with small JavaScript snippets to validate form fields and Excel Office Scripts that could automatically reformat raw data into a polished report. It did not work right away. My first attempts crashed, and more than once I had to completely reset the program after breaking something. But each time I failed, I learned something new. Slowly, the pieces started coming together. I built a working prototype that could handle a task from start to finish without human input. It would open the browser, expand the form, check for missing information, auto-fill data when possible, and then move the completed record into a clean Excel sheet. The first time I showed it to my team, their reaction made all the effort worthwhile. Instead of watching hours of dull, repetitive work, they saw the computer complete a job in minutes. Coworkers laughed and cheered as the automation clicked through pages like an invisible assistant. Seeing that joy and relief on their faces was one of the most rewarding moments I have ever experienced. That project taught me that working in technology is not only about lines of code or systems running in the background. It is about solving problems for people and making life a little easier. When I saw my coworkers freed from tasks that drained their energy, I realized how powerful technology can be when paired with empathy and creativity. This experience also showed me why I am passionate about pursuing a career in web development. I love that technology gives me tools to take an idea and bring it to life. It inspires me that with curiosity, experimentation, and persistence, I can create something meaningful that others can see and feel. Every project reminds me that technology evolves quickly, and with that comes endless opportunities to keep learning. That constant change excites me, because it means there will always be new problems to solve and new ways to make an impact. Working in technology inspires me because it is about more than keeping up with the latest trends or mastering the newest programming language. It is about creativity, curiosity, and the joy of building something that connects with people. The project I built at my job was just one example, but it confirmed that this is the path I want to follow. Whether I am developing websites, experimenting with automation, or learning new frameworks, I want to keep creating things that make others feel the same sense of delight I saw in my team. That is the kind of passion that will carry me forward in my career and the kind of inspiration I hope to bring to every project I take on.

When I think about a time I delighted others with my tinkering skills, I go back to a project at my job in the travel industry. Our reservations system required hours of repetitive work, entering guest details, validating passports, formatting Excel reports, and retyping information into multiple systems. I could see my coworkers growing frustrated, watching valuable time drain away on tasks that did not require creativity, just endless clicking and copy-pasting. Instead of accepting that this was “just the way things are,” I wondered if I could build something to help. I did not have a computer science degree, but I had curiosity, patience, and a willingness to experiment. I started tinkering with Power Automate Desktop and some JavaScript injected directly into the browser to simulate user interactions. I also taught myself how to extend Excel with Office Scripts, restructuring and formatting raw reports automatically. At first, my experiments were messy. Scripts crashed, loops froze, and more than once I accidentally shut down the whole process. But little by little, I refined it. I designed a flow that could open the reservation system, locate the right passenger form, validate information, and even submit the form on its own by mimicking the exact clicks a human would make. I added a second layer of validation logic to catch mistakes before they caused problems, like missing emergency contacts or expired credit cards. Finally, I linked it all to an Excel macro that produced clean, formatted reports in minutes instead of hours. The first time I demonstrated it to the team, I could feel the mood shift. Instead of groaning about another long day of manual work, my coworkers were leaning forward, laughing as they watched the automation “pretend to be a person” and complete tasks on its own. What used to take half a day was finished in fifteen minutes. That moment of relief and joy made all the tinkering worth it. For me, the fun was not only in solving the problem but in surprising people with something they did not think was possible. Like Kyle Lam, whose spirit this scholarship honors, I do not think in terms of what cannot be done. I don't take it well when people exclaim, "Well, that's just how we've always done it!" Instead, I ask, “what if I tried this?” and then I keep experimenting until I find a way. The process is messy, but the delight it creates when others see the result is what motivates me to keep going. This experience also changed the way I see my future. I realized that hacking and tinkering is not about writing perfect code, it is about curiosity, creativity, and generosity. By freeing my coworkers from repetitive tasks, I gave them time to focus on what mattered: helping guests. By pushing myself to learn tools outside of my comfort zone, I discovered how much I love the challenge of bending technology to solve real-world problems. Now, as a Web Development student with a 4.0 GPA, I am channeling that same hacker spirit into my education. Whether I am designing a website, writing JavaScript, or building a portfolio project, I bring the same mindset: experiment, fail fast, try again, and create something that makes someone’s life easier. That is the joy of tinkering, not just making things work, but delighting others with what you have made. At the time of this essay, I have spend about a week trying to figure out how to set up my personal networking firewall. My father is frustrated that the Wi-Fi keeps going out, but he is supportive nonetheless.