Before I joined the Red Cross Club at my school, I didn’t think too much about what it meant to be part of a community. To me, volunteering was just something people did to earn service hours or boost their college applications. I never imagined it would actually change how I saw the people around me, or how it would give me a real sense of hope for the future. But after a few years in the club, that’s exactly what happened. Through events like clothes drives and trash pickups, I saw firsthand how powerful connection, kindness, and teamwork could be. My school isn’t huge, and it’s not the most well-funded either. But what it does have is a lot of heart. There’s a strong feeling of unity among the students. Even though we come from different backgrounds, we all want to support each other. I felt that same energy when I first joined the Red Cross Club. Everyone was welcoming, and there was a clear goal: to help others however we could. We weren’t just planning events. We were forming bonds, sharing laughs, and building something bigger than ourselves. One of my favorite events was a clothes drive we organized one winter. We put collection boxes in classrooms, made posters, and encouraged students to donate what they could. I expected a few bags of old shirts, but the turnout blew me away. People donated coats, sweaters, and even brand-new socks. I realized then how generous people can be, even when they don’t have much. After school, we stayed behind to sort everything. It was tiring, but I didn’t mind. We talked, played music, and worked together. Dropping off those clothes at a local shelter felt like more than just checking off a task. It felt like we’d made a real impact. Another event that stood out to me was a neighborhood trash pickup. It was simple: gloves, trash bags, and a few hours walking around near the school. But I’ll never forget how many people stopped to thank us. One woman told us it made her feel hopeful to see young people caring about the community. That stuck with me. It made me realize how even small efforts can mean something to someone else. Most importantly, the Red Cross Club helped me build stronger friendships. Working alongside classmates during these events brought us closer. Some of my best friends now are people I met through the club. We’ve shared early mornings, long afternoons, and a lot of laughter along the way. These friendships made me realize that being part of a community isn’t just about helping others; it’s about growing with others, too. Through all of this, I’ve learned that community service isn’t just about giving back. It’s about building hope, hope that people can come together and make something better. My experience in the Red Cross Club has shown me that change doesn’t have to be big or loud. Sometimes, it’s as simple as showing up, working hard, and caring. And that gives me a lot of hope for the future.

Since entering my first gaming cafe, I had an inexplicable love for computers. At first, the only reason I was interested in computers was to get one to play video games with my friends. After I spent hours upon hours researching what makes a good computer, I was hooked. Before I knew it, researching and learning more about computers became my only pastime. Once I finally had enough money, I used everything that I had learned to build my very own computer. I found the process to be the most fun thing I had ever done and I wanted to spend the rest of my life building computers. From then on, I knew my career would be computer hardware engineering. My goal is to enter a 4-year university with a great engineering program like Rice University or the University of Texas at Austin. While I am enrolled in university, I will take rigorous courses about computer engineering and seek internships in related fields. If all goes smoothly I will graduate with my bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering or even continue my education by going to graduate school and getting a master’s degree. My goal is to use my degree and the connections I have gained from the university to obtain any job relating to computer engineering. After a couple of years in the workforce, I hope to move up to a job relating to CPU or GPU architecture or silicon manufacturing at a company such as Intel, AMD, or Nvidia. If not, an alternative job that I would be interested in would be working with memory and storage technologies that are utilized in SSDs and RAM. As a computer hardware engineer, I hope to make an impact on the right to repair. Recently there has been a cultural shift to technology that can’t be repaired without first-party parts or employees. There used to be a time when anyone could fix or mod anything they wanted. All this does is take the money out of innocent consumers who have no choice but to dish out extra money because that is the only want to continue to use their product. I want to make a difference in my future profession by fighting for the right to repair. I want to learn extensively and build a reliable background in technology so that I can educate others on how to get involved. I want to start something, whether it’s a blog or a YouTube channel where I can extend my reach to people all over the world. Even if I can just get one person interested in computers and how to tinker with them, I’ll consider my goal achieved. As long as one more person learns how to work with technology better, the right-to-repair fight will be stronger. As long as one more person learns how to work with technology better, the right-to-repair fight will be stronger. As long as one more person learns how to work with technology better, the right-to-repair fight will be stronger.

Since entering my first gaming cafe, I had an inexplicable love for computers. At first, the only reason I was interested in computers was to get one to play video games with my friends. After I spent hours upon hours researching what makes a good computer, I was hooked. Before I knew it, researching and learning more about computers became my only pastime. Once I finally had enough money, I used everything that I had learned to build my very own computer. I found the process to be the most fun thing I had ever done and I wanted to spend the rest of my life building computers. From then on, I knew my career would be computer hardware engineering. My goal is to enter a 4-year university with a great engineering program like Rice University or the University of Texas at Austin. While I am enrolled in university, I will take rigorous courses about computer engineering and seek internships in related fields. If all goes smoothly I will graduate with my bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering or even continue my education by going to graduate school and getting a master’s degree. My goal is to use my degree and the connections I have gained from the university to obtain any job relating to computer engineering. After a couple of years in the workforce, I hope to move up to a job relating to CPU or GPU architecture or silicon manufacturing at a company such as Intel, AMD, or Nvidia. If not, an alternative job that I would be interested in would be working with memory and storage technologies that are utilized in SSDs and RAM. As a computer hardware engineer, I hope to make an impact on the right to repair. Recently there has been a cultural shift to technology that can’t be repaired without first-party parts or employees. There used to be a time when anyone could fix or mod anything they wanted. All this does is take the money out of innocent consumers who have no choice but to dish out extra money because that is the only want to continue to use their product. I want to make a difference in my future profession by fighting for the right to repair. I want to learn extensively and build a reliable background in technology so that I can educate others on how to get involved. I want to start something, whether it’s a blog or a YouTube channel where I can extend my reach to people all over the world. Even if I can just get one person interested in computers and how to tinker with them, I’ll consider my goal achieved. As long as one more person learns how to work with technology better, the right-to-repair fight will be stronger.

My name is Ben Nguyen and I am a current high school senior at Early College High School at Brookhaven. I have a strong interest in computer hardware and as a result I hope to gain a Bachelor's Degree in computer hardware engineering. With my education I hope to work to work in the computer hardware industry as a chip designer or display panel designer. Many of the top schools for computer hardware engineering are extremely expensive though. With my parents being first-generation immigrants, I may not be able to afford the schooling I need to become the best computer hardware engineer I can be without being in debt. This scholarship will help jump start my career so I can make a different in the world. Technology is a bigger part of peoples' lives than people realize and as such, the issues in the technology industry often reflect onto society. As a future computer hardware engineer, I hope to use my power in the space alleviate, if not resolve, some of these issues. A common conflict in the technology industry is a consumer's right to repair their own technology, also known as right to repair. This issue is not only present on things you might think of as technology such as smartphones and computers, but also on common household items such as vacuums, fridges, washing machines, and thermometers. Many of the companies that manufacture these items in such a way that it is impossible to fix on your own, requiring consumers, and even some technicians, to go to certified stores and buy certified parts which often increases the cost of repair greatly. With my career in computer hardware, I will join a company that stands for the consumer by creating products that are much easier to repair and much more consumer friendly. I will also use my knowledge of technology that I obtain through my education to create online guides for others to follow and repair their devices for cheaper. Another issue in tech is planned obsolescence. Companies will often design their products to eventually break down and become unusable so the consumer has to buy another product to use. In my career, I will aim to create only the most quality pieces of technology that ensures the consumer will get what they paid for. I will also advocate against these practices on the producer side and I will raise awareness on how to repair things that have planned obsolescence. With this scholarship, I hope to fund my scholarly endeavors into my intended field. The scholarship will help me achieve enough education and knowledge so that I can have an influence in the space in the future and make an impact on these problems. Thank you for taking the time for reviewing my scholarship application.

My name is Ben Nguyen and I am a current high school senior at Early College High School at Brookhaven. I have a strong interest in computer hardware and as a result I hope to gain a Bachelor's Degree in computer hardware engineering. With my education I hope to work to work in the computer hardware industry as a chip designer or display panel designer. At the time I had started researching computer parts to build a computer, I had only the goal of gaming in my mind. As I started to research further and further though, I realized that there was something else driving me. I was much more interested in learning about computers than I was in gaming. Ever since then, I’ve had an undying interest in computer hardware. I love learning about each component of a computer and researching how they work. I love the process in which each component is interconnected with another, each completing an essential role. My love for computer building is so great that instead of a process, it feels like an art to me. Each computer build is its masterpiece and is unique in every way. I love adding my stroke to each build by selecting the components and aesthetics that make each build unique. With my love for computer hardware, I hope to become a computer hardware engineer to design and manufacture my own computer hardware that will drive the dreams of millions. I want to create my magnum opus of computer hardware by creating silicon that truly pushes the boundaries of what is possible. As a computer hardware engineer, I would also like to create an educational database for those like me who are also inspired by computers. I will help make their journey into computer hardware easier and inspire them to create something even better than me. Technology is a bigger part of peoples' lives than people realize and as such, the issues in the technology industry often reflect onto society. As a future computer hardware engineer, I hope to use my power in the space alleviate, if not resolve, some of these issues. A common conflict in the technology industry is a consumer's right to repair their own technology, also known as right to repair. This issue is not only present on things you might think of as technology such as smartphones and computers, but also on common household items such as vacuums, fridges, washing machines, and thermometers. Many of the companies that manufacture these items in such a way that it is impossible to fix on your own, requiring consumers, and even some technicians, to go to certified stores and buy certified parts which often increases the cost of repair greatly. With my career in computer hardware, I will join a company that stands for the consumer by creating products that are much easier to repair and much more consumer friendly. Another issue in tech is planned obsolescence. Companies will often design their products to eventually break down and become unusable so the consumer has to buy another product to use. In my career, I will aim to create only the most quality pieces of technology that ensures the consumer will get what they paid for. I will also advocate against these practices on the producer side and I will raise awareness on how to repair things that have planned obsolescence. Thank you for taking the time for reviewing my scholarship application.

Being a first generation student has been a difficult journey due to the many obstacles along the way. One of the hardest obstacles along the way has been the lack of guidance there has been for certain systems in my life. Because my parents are immigrants and did not grow up here in the United States, they don’t know about the processes many people growing up in the United States went through. As a result, I grew up with many questions that were unanswered and I had to figure out the answers through my own life experiences. One of the simplest examples of this was when I had a question about my school work. If I had any confusion over some of my homework, I was unable to ask my parents for help since they did not go through the American education system and did not know how to help me. I then had to learn independence by creating processes to figure out the answer myself or I had to learn how to find different ways to get help. Another obstacle as a first generation student has been the fact that my parents must oftentimes rely on me instead of me relying on them. Like I said before, most of the time my parents actually have equal or less knowledge about processes in this country than I do. To make matters worse, my parents’ English is not great as well so they must rely on me to speak for them as well. As a result, I often have to spend much of my time assisting them with paperwork or attending appointments for them so they have some sort of guidance. For instance, I will have to help them fill out the paperwork required for the medical insurance, then help them book an appointment at the doctor’s office, then help them fill out the medical paperwork at the doctor’s office, then I finally have to act as a translator to both my parents and the doctor. As a result of these obstacles, I have become an extremely independent person. I don’t often go to others for help and when I do I do not enjoy the help very much. Most of the time, I would much rather work on the problem and learn how to fix it myself rather than approach someone else for help, even if it takes me more time to solve it myself. I am also extremely resilient and I refuse to give up if it really matters to me. After so many years of failure and repetition, I’ve gotten used to the fact that it won’t be truly over unless you give up. . I have a strong interest in computer hardware and as a result I hope to gain a Bachelor's Degree in computer hardware engineering. With my education I hope to work to work in the computer hardware industry as a chip designer or display panel designer. Technology is a bigger part of peoples' lives than people realize and as such, the issues in the technology industry often reflect onto society. As a future computer hardware engineer, I hope to use my power in the space alleviate, if not resolve, some of these issues. A common conflict in the technology industry is a consumer's right to repair their own technology, also known as right to repair and planned obsolescence.

At the time I had started researching computer parts to build a computer, I had only the goal of gaming in my mind. As I started to research further and further though, I realized that there was something else driving me. I was much more interested in learning about computers than I was in gaming. Ever since then, I’ve had an undying interest in computer hardware. I love learning about each component of a computer and researching how they work. I love the process in which each component is interconnected with another, each completing an essential role. My love for computer building is so great that instead of a process, it feels like an art to me. Each computer build is its masterpiece and is unique in every way. I love adding my stroke to each build by selecting the components and aesthetics that make each build unique. With my love for computer hardware, I hope to become a computer hardware engineer to design and manufacture my own computer hardware that will drive the dreams of millions. I want to create my magnum opus of computer hardware by creating silicon that truly pushes the boundaries of what is possible. As a computer hardware engineer, I would also like to create an educational database for those like me who are also inspired by computers. I will help make their journey into computer hardware easier and inspire them to create something even better than me. Technology is a bigger part of peoples' lives than people realize and as such, the issues in the technology industry often reflect onto society. As a future computer hardware engineer, I hope to use my power in the space to serve my community and solve some of these issues. A common conflict in the technology industry is a consumer's right to repair their own technology, also known as right to repair. This issue is not only present on things you might think of as technology such as smartphones and computers, but also on common household items such as vacuums, fridges, washing machines, and thermometers. Many of the companies that manufacture these items in such a way that it is impossible to fix on your own, requiring consumers, and even some technicians, to go to certified stores and buy certified parts which often increases the cost of repair greatly. With my career in computer hardware, I will join a company that stands for the consumer by creating products that are much easier to repair and much more consumer friendly. I will also use my knowledge of technology that I obtain through my education to create online guides for others to follow and repair their devices for cheaper. Another issue in tech is planned obsolescence. Companies will often design their products to eventually break down and become unusable so the consumer has to buy another product to use. In my career, I will aim to create only the most quality pieces of technology that ensures the consumer will get what they paid for. I will also advocate against these practices on the producer side and I will raise awareness on how to repair things that have planned obsolescence. With this scholarship, I hope to fund my scholarly endeavors into my intended field. The scholarship will help me achieve enough education and knowledge so that I can have an influence in the space in the future and make an impact on these problems. Thank you for taking the time for reviewing my scholarship application.

My name is Ben Nguyen and I am a current high school senior at Early College High School at Brookhaven. I have a strong interest in computer hardware and as a result I hope to gain a Bachelor's Degree in computer hardware engineering. With my education I hope to work to work in the computer hardware industry as a chip designer or display panel designer. In order to gain an education in computer hardware, I hope to attend an expensive school so that I can get the most education that I can. Unfortunately, the amount of money that those types of universities need is very out of reach, so I have high financial need for higher education. I hope to keep children and youth safe in my community and online by raising awareness about the potential dangers around them. Many children these days are often immersed on the internet without knowing the dangers that they could enter to the fullest extent. Because kids enter the internet at such a young age, I hope to create resources for parents to educate their children on how to stay safe online. Even so, many adults do not know how to stay safe on line so I would create resources for them as well so they can become more tech literate and it will then be easier to influence their children to be tech literate and safer as well. I will teach parents and children about potential scams, such as phishing scams, and I will educate them on how to verify what information they find online is true and untrue. I will educate children about the various social media apps they use and how those apps collect a huge amount of data about them. I will then teach them about how others online, not just companies, can see their data and I will show them how to keep their data the most secure. To combat cyberbullying, I will let children know on my resources to see a trusted adult and to never take anything online at face value. With this scholarship, I hope to fund my scholarly endeavors into my intended field. The scholarship will help me achieve enough education and knowledge so that I can have an influence in the space in the future and make an impact on these problems. Thank you for taking the time for reviewing my scholarship application and I hope you have an amazing day.

My name is Ben Nguyen and I am a current high school senior at Early College High School at Brookhaven. I have a strong interest in computer hardware and as a result I hope to gain a Bachelor's Degree in computer hardware engineering. With my education I hope to work to work in the computer hardware industry as a chip designer or display panel designer. Technology is a bigger part of peoples' lives than people realize and as such, the issues in the technology industry often reflect onto society. As a future computer hardware engineer, I hope to use my power in the space alleviate, if not resolve, some of these issues. A common conflict in the technology industry is a consumer's right to repair their own technology, also known as right to repair. This issue is not only present on things you might think of as technology such as smartphones and computers, but also on common household items such as vaccuums, fridges, washing machines, and thermometers. Many of the companies that manufacture these items in such a way that it is impossible to fix on your own, requiring consumers, and even some technicians, to go to certified stores and buy certified parts which often increases the cost of repair greatly. With my career in computer hardware, I will join a company that stands for the consumer by creating products that are much easier to repair and much more consumer friendly. I will also use my knowledge of technology that I obtain through my education to create online guides for others to follow and repair their devices for cheaper. Another issue in tech is planned obsolescence. Companies will often design their products to eventually break down and become unusable so the consumer has to buy another product to use. In my career, I will aim to create only the most qualitity pieces of technology that ensures the consumer will get what they paid for. I will also advocate against these practices on the producer side and I will raise awareness on how to repair things that have planned obsolescence. With this scholarship, I hope to fund my scholarly endeavors into my intended field. The scholarship will help me achieve enough education and knowledge so that I can have an influence in the space in the future and make an impact on these problems. Thank you for taking the time for reviewing my scholarship application.

Growing up in Vietnam, my family has always been a family of strong traditions, practicing many of the norms in Vietnam and holding many values that were considered essential in Vietnam. One of my family's most important values in the United States was going to college. It felt like every day I was badgered by my parents to do well in school so I could go to college and be successful in life. Maybe it was because I didn't grow up in Vietnam like they did, but growing up I didn't understand the importance of college and I didn't know why my parents emphasized it so much. I only understood college as the next step in life, similar to how you move up in grades as you grow up. It wasn't until the end of middle school, during which I was learning about computers, that I started to realize the importance of going to college. At first, I had only begun learning about computers because I wanted to play video games. Our family computer was extremely outdated and slow, so even attempting to play any video games was impossible. Hearing that building a computer was the best way to get a gaming PC, I began learning about the different components of a computer. I quickly learned that I was fascinated by the way computers work and that computers were something much deeper than machines that play games. The fire that ignited in me that day made me realize the reason why I want to go to college besides my parents. I've decided that I want to go to college to learn the most I can about computer hardware and to major in computer hardware engineering. I want to create the hardware I admire so much and push it to be even better than anyone can ever imagine. I spend my spare time building computers, researching components, and watching videos of the newest technology to aid my journey in computer hardware engineering.