Growing up in a small town instills a certain sense of community into a person. In this small town, the person who cuts my hair has known me my whole life. My tennis coach also show up regularly at the hometown pizza place where I work, he typically orders the medium pepperoni with olives, with half mushrooms and half onions. The sense of knowing almost everyone in Urbana means that you get a feeling of togetherness that is missing is a bigger environment. This has lead to a sense that no matter where I go in town, I wont be afraid to look around to ask anyone for help with anything because I most likely can find someone I know. This has given me the impression that people that you meet in everyday life should not be something to avoid, but something to be valued. This amount of connection to those around me has lead to me having a trusted network of support that I can rely on to help me through life's struggles. There is a feeling of my hometown that I'm not sure I'll ever find anywhere else. However, there are some difficulties that come with living in a small town and it's in these places where I can seek ways to give back. As a person who has been heavily interested in technology and computer science growing up, I have always found the amount of technology based tutelage to be lacking. There was only class available to me in my town mostly comprised of farmers, small business owners and factory workers. It was a basic computer technology class more geared towards people who were first learning how to use computer than anything else more complicated. There were also a few courses that were very clearly designed to either prep students for college, or to prep them to become farmers with programs like FFA. However, I believe that this is precisely where I can step in to make a difference. After returning from college I would want to educate both people who are interested in technology and those who don't know what they want to pursue with their future. I would explore setting up a non-profit that connects local leaders, educators, and anyone else whose interested, to high school aged students. I would strive to reach into small pockets of Urbana where often more advance technology doesn't reach. One way to entice students could be through a simple video game tournament. I could host a video game competition that is free to enter and has a small prize for the top placers. On the final day of the tournament we would offer a very short presentation on different avenues of technology related to video games and other computer fields. This would utilize their passion for video games to bring people from all kinds of income levels and backgrounds. I could create opportunities to take part in courses involving various STEM fields such as computer science, video game design, graphic design and computer engineering, teaching at first basic concepts and expanding as the program's needs change. After the students had finished their courses they would be given the chance to apply for a scholarship in order to pursue whatever tech related higher education path they wanted to pursue. While small towns do have their limitations, they are also filled with those who care about others and are ready to take advantage of opportunities to help.