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Age
18
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
Black/African
Hobbies and interests
Skateboarding
Bowling
Music
Comedy
Benjamin Watson IV
1,065
Bold Points1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/dsc080934ae311f1f3534e03bfff46da190e39b1.webp)
Benjamin Watson IV
1,065
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
I was born with a rare blood disease called hemophilia and nearly lost my life. I was very limited in what I could do as a kid because anything could result in a hospital stay or doctor's visit. While I couldn't do many of the things kids would normally do at my age, I found my passion to create things early on.
This resulted in me exposing myself to homemade engineering projects at a very early age and even later on when my hemophilia was able to be controlled more. I now skate, make music, and draw. I plan to go to college for Mechanical Engineering where I can use my passion to help the world and solve problems.
Education
Albuquerque High School
High SchoolGPA:
3.6
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Bachelor's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
- Mechanical Engineering
Career
Dream career field:
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
Dream career goals:
To have a job that makes an impact everywhere
Sports
Bowling
Varsity2022 – Present2 years
Public services
Public Service (Politics)
NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) — Chapter President2023 – 2024Volunteering
God's House Church — Serving food to the homeless2017 – 2019
Future Interests
Entrepreneurship
Donald Mehall Memorial Scholarship
My obstacles started eighteen years ago at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. I was considered a normal birth. Doctors later found out I had severe hemophilia A, which is an extremely rare bleeding condition. I was transferred to Hawaii when I was less than a week old. This was my first plane ride to Hawaii. After living in Hawaii, we moved to New Mexico and have been here since 2006. It was always hard to find something I enjoyed and could do with my hemophilia. I was always faced with challenges throughout my life. During elementary school, I missed several days due to central line infections. I missed the first day of third grade and had to spend Christmas in the hospital. During that early part of my childhood, I could not do everything the other kids would do. This made things hard, but I came out successful either way. Life is challenging, but those challenges make me a better person every day.
My whole life I have been using the engineering design process to learn tricks on my skateboard and understand why a note does not sound right in a song. Skateboarding is a very rigorous hobby. In skateboarding, failing is certain, but it is the only way you could ever learn anything new. If you are not failing you are not trying hard enough to grow. Music also follows this principle. You have to understand what works and what does not. When you do not understand what makes a song good it is difficult to make a song that is pleasant to your ears. The hardest part is experimenting with the song to see if the melody will sound right. It can take hours of failure just to make an eight-second melody sound how you want it to sound. Failing is the first part of learning and it has been taught to me when I am working on engineering projects.
I have been an engineer since a kid, dealing with challenges, but now I can become one. The only way I can become one is through college and working to achieve my aspirations. Being creative is challenging no matter which way you want to be creative. You have to learn how to produce things of value which takes trial and error. There are many times when you are challenged but you must push forward. I am glad to say I have overcome all my challenges to reach greater heights. That is all college is, a challenge. Challenging yourself to be better than you. Challenging your mental and physical self is the only way to grow.