I was born and raised in an aging community in Southern California. My neighborhood consisted of immigrants from all over the world, with Pete and Evie from Slovakia in their 80s, John and Alice from Bulgaria in their 90s, Michael and Connie across the road from Taiwan in their 60s, and Nelly next door from Mexico, also in her 60s. In retrospect, getting to know them has been the best thing that has happened to me, and Evie was my best friend from the first day we moved in. I will never forget her genuine smile when she consoled my tearful five-year old self who had just lost their pet bunny, took my hand, and led me to her porch to sit. It was Pete and Evie who first introduced me into the world of the nearby adult care center that they frequently visited, primarily catered to senior citizens. I was constantly warned of potential unprovoked aggression, especially from those who were experiencing reality-disorienting conditions, yet never in my visits did I encounter anything of the sort. It’s not hard to understand why I liked the place. From the history of my own school to their personal prime times, I met a lot of people who were eager to tell me something that I would otherwise never have had a chance to grasp. They were teachers, veterans, police officers, and businessmen. I have lent an ear to the stories of people who had lost their words, and answered to any name that was assigned to me. I have reintroduced myself countless times, and I have gazed and flipped through the same photograph albums over and over, each experience rekindling their owners’ unfaltering, yet genuine nostalgic love. In the moments that I spent with them, history was out of the picture. Free from the burdens of an intertwined past, my novel presence came as a comfort. Over time, I realized they enjoyed my company as well. Every time Mrs. Mira wept because she had forgotten her son’s birthday, I held her hand and reassured her that no one was disappointed in her. Even Martin, who always could be found sitting silent with a distressed look on his face, whose furrowed brow relaxed slightly each time we listened to Billy Joel’s freeing belts while sitting on the small courtyard bench, eventually cracked a small smile when I presented him with a vintage vinyl I had thrifted. For me, they were just perfectly normal people, wise and funny, who merely longed for some company. While at different stages of life, all we craved were the innocence and merit of human affection. It was that simple and beautiful. My first spectation of Evie’s benevolent kindness had blossomed into my recognition of simple, even silent consolation‘s incredible value. To embrace my piece in life’s puzzle would be to become equipped with the tools to heal, save, or ease any part of someone’s path, because after all, people accept love from anyone who can give it.

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and what specifically motivates you. If you could do anything with your life, what do you imagine you’d do? I am a student-athlete. I have been diving for ten years, and will continue in college. Diving is a sport related to strength, control, and specifically body condition. So I pay a lot of attention to my food and body. I have been imagining a machine that can scan my body condition and suggest my food intake precisely everyday. It is not just weight, but also blood level precision. If I keep saying it, it would sound a lot like the infamous Elizabeth Holmes’ scandal. On the other hand, I also believe food is the main source that affects our bodies. It is a mystery that the same food has different effects on different people. Our choices of food are largely based on experiences or experiments with random people. If it is true that everybody responds to food differently, wouldn’t it be nice to suggest food intake based on the everyday’s body conditions? 2. What excites you about STEM? How do you feel you could make a positive impact on the world through a job in information technology? STEM holds the key to solving many problems that our society faces. One of such problems is obesity in America. Before Covid, the US population has the shortest life span in developed countries, in my opinion, among other things, due to obesity. We all know that during Covid, obesity is one of the many reasons that people died from the virus. I believe food is the main reason for obesity. People are aware of it. However, that knowledge has not served the population well. During the last ten years, the obesity rate in the United States has risen from 35% to close to 45%, even with the popularity of diet-conscious food, like diet coke. It is my understanding that by analyzing everybody’s food response, there is a way to optimize our choices of food. Obesity is just a phenomenon demonstrating that our food structure does not fit our body. I believe that by analyzing the relationship between food and our body on a personal level would ultimately lead to a healthy body, for everyone. So far, our food intake is largely based on empirical evidence. Nutritionists can periodically suggest food, based on our body conditions, before and after, as a wholesome approach. My dream is to be more precise and timely in measurement not just of our body, but of the food as well, particularly the interaction between the food and our body. 3. Please describe the greatest challenge you’ve had to overcome and how you managed to get past it. The Covid pandemic impacted us all. Some faced business shutdowns, some people lost their loved ones, but for me, it put my sport and my club at stake. It started with just the closure of my school, then our pools and gym closed as well. For someone who was constantly juggling between school and the pool, it was inconceivable. It was when USA Diving called off all future meets that I realized the serious magnitude of the situation. I was one of a few left who kept training on my own. Part of it was for myself, for the responsibility of being an athlete, but part of it was also to maintain the club team as a team. I hoped that one day when the stay-at-home mandate was lifted, we would still have a team out to compete. During the lockdown, my proficiency in technology skills underwent a tremendous increase. I introduced my coach to Zoom, suggested opening Zoom classes, and eventually worked towards establishing a regular schedule. At first, I was alone in these endeavors, but my teammates gradually trickled back in. However, the momentum of this novelty didn’t last long. In despair, I contacted several out-of-state diving friends. Although under a limited capacity, their teams had still managed to stay in operation. One thing led to another, and we finally arranged a training trip to compete in Florida. It was very fortunate that at least a number of my team members decided to go with us on this first trip. Then, on our second planned trip, more of the team followed suit to train and compete in Texas. It was the accumulation of those little efforts that kept our club and sport alive. A year later, all our club members made it to the national.

I was born and raised in an aging community in Southern California. My neighborhood consisted of immigrants from all over the world, with Pete and Evie from Slovakia in their 80s, John and Alice from Bulgaria in their 90s, Michael and Connie across the road from Taiwan in their 60s, and Nelly next door from Mexico, also in her 60s. In retrospect, getting to know them has been the best thing that has happened to me, and Evie was my best friend from the first day we moved in. I will never forget her genuine smile when she consoled my tearful five-year old self who had just lost their pet bunny, took my hand, and led me to her porch to sit. It was Pete and Evie who first introduced me into the world of the nearby adult care center that they frequently visited, primarily catered to senior citizens. I was constantly warned of potential unprovoked aggression, especially from those who were experiencing reality-disorienting conditions, yet never in my visits did I encounter anything of the sort. It’s not hard to understand why I liked the place. From the history of my own school to their personal prime times, I met a lot of people who were eager to tell me something that I would otherwise never have had a chance to grasp. They were teachers, veterans, police officers, and businessmen. I have lent an ear to the stories of people who had lost their words, and answered to any name that was assigned to me. I have reintroduced myself countless times, and I have gazed and flipped through the same photograph albums over and over, each experience rekindling their owners’ unfaltering, yet genuine nostalgic love. In the moments that I spent with them, history was out of the picture. Free from the burdens of an intertwined past, my novel presence came as a comfort. Over time, I realized they enjoyed my company as well. Every time Mrs. Mira wept because she had forgotten her son’s birthday, I held her hand and reassured her that no one was disappointed in her. Even Martin, who always could be found sitting silent with a distressed look on his face, whose furrowed brow relaxed slightly each time we listened to Billy Joel’s freeing belts while sitting on the small courtyard bench, eventually cracked a small smile when I presented him with a vintage vinyl I had thrifted. For me, they were just perfectly normal people, wise and funny, who merely longed for some company. While at different stages of life, all we craved were the innocence and merit of human affection. It was that simple and beautiful. My first spectation of Evie’s benevolent kindness had blossomed into my recognition of simple, even silent consolation‘s incredible value. To embrace my piece in life’s puzzle would be to become equipped with the tools to heal, save, or ease any part of someone’s path, because after all, people accept love from anyone who can give it. I am heading to the east coast for a college education. My parents want to support me with a different life experience so that I can figure out my future, although they burden most of the financial hit. Also, this scholarship matched my vision of future communities. I would like them to be proud of me.

My name is Avari. I was born and raised in a quiet neighborhood in southern California. My childhood was happy, and worry free. My family was financially self-sufficient. Ten years ago, after my baby sister was born, something inconceivable happened. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery, and treatment, the daily cancer depressing medicine made her uncomfortable all the time. She had to scale back her work from full time to part time. The event turned our family upside down. Life has never been the same ever since. My sister was still young at the time, she was not given the same level of toys I got when I was little. I started to make toys for her with paper. Four years ago, my dad accidentally broke his hip from a fall. After recovery, he could not keep his job as an engineer in the east coast. He lost his job. With the pandemic hitting, he is still jobless. I have been a student athlete throughout my student career and was recruited by Duke last summer. It was like having two jobs, and very little money. Due to financial stress, I have never used any tutor, or chance to participate in any afterschool programs. We could not afford it. Also my training schedule doesn’t allow it. The only choices left for me was to let it go or to study everything by myself. After school, I go to practice everyday. When I get home, it will be around 9PM. I took the most challenging classes in my school, that meant a lot of homework waiting for me. I usually do some homework during breaks at school, so that I can have some time reserved to help my younger sister. I usually prepare my course work one year ahead, because my availability is unpredictable once the season starts. It is not uncommon that I have to travel to compete. In the morning, I prepare breakfast for my family, wake up my sister and check her homework. Now, I am a senior. I remained the top student in my huge class {800) for all three years so far. I took all the core AP classes, self-studied computer programming. I am one of the few National Merit Semifinalists from my school. On the sports side, I qualified for the USA Diving Junior National four times. It was my dream to be a medical doctor after mom got sick. I picked Duke as my college because it has one of the best pre-medical programs in the nation. I am extremely relieved to see John J Costonis Scholarship recognizes personal hardship beyond the social and geographic landscape. My road to college is hard, but also rewarding.