During my early years of school, learning in the traditional sense was a major obstacle for me. My parents could not always understand it. I wouldn't always do my work making school a challenge for me. However, I found interests in other things I was curious about. Ranging from being interested in random facts to searching for "Easter eggs" (hidden clues) in various movies, and looking for minor details in the world around me. This grew into a fascination with Rubik's Cubes which I have solved a variety of sizes and shapes and in the arts particularly music. With my different phases of interests, my father recognized my strong inclination towards the Computer Science field. I knew immediately that this was something that I could see myself doing for a long time especially with a field that is constantly changing and growing. I was aware of the challenges that I would face because of the oversaturated market with this major. I had to make sure that I was willing to put in the work to achieve the goals that I want to achieve. I realized that they needed to be feasible and beneficial for my future! The summer before my junior year in high school, my parents encouraged me to take a computer science class with the University of South Carolina - Lancaster. Assuming it would be difficult, from the start I was tasked with the job of coding my name and then turning it into a webpage. I was instantly intrigued by the whole process of symbols and numbers creating new things. I looked forward to each weekly assignment to grow my creativity. The rigor of each assignment challenged my curiosity in a whole new way. Seeing people like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and others, I would think to myself that I want to have that same impact for others while doing something that I love, which is technology. With the technology field, there are many things that have been discovered about it and many things that will be revealed in the future. Having the potential to be a part of what is to come in the future is an invigorating feeling. However, the main thing is the awareness of the untapped potential for change and growth in the computer science field. Discovering what makes me “tick” helped me overcome my school day troubles. By middle school, I discovered what works for me in the area of retaining information, studying, and processing new information. As a result, I slowly moved through the ranks of my class becoming third out of one hundred twenty by my junior year and maintaining that spot during my senior year. In my early years although I was never classified as gifted, I learned what works for me causing me to soar. My goal upon college completion is to do something unique and helpful using my combination of talents, interests, limits and creations with a goal of sharing them where they are needed. Computer science is an excellent field to catapult me to the next chapter of my life.

Growing up in a blended family allowed me to experience a support system, not many people get to have. My parents knew what it felt like to be excluded, looked down upon, and rejected just because of what they looked like. They made one promise to my sister and me that we would never be treated that way by them and that we would never treat others like that as well. When I told my parents that I wanted to enter the field of Computer Science, more specifically, Cybersecurity, I also mentioned to them that I would be a minority. They were so proud of me for taking that step, and they knew that it would not always be easy for me, but I should never give up my interests and passions just because it does not align with another person's version of reality. As a person who has always been intrigued by facts and pieces of information, during my middle school years, I found that I genuinely enjoyed learning. As I journeyed through my school years, I realized this type of thinking was not typical of teenagers. However, I did not let that extinguish my joy for learning. The summer before my junior year in high school, my parents encouraged me to take a computer science class with the University of South Carolina - Lancaster. While I was taking the class, the language being covered was HTML. Assuming it would be difficult, from the start, I was tasked with coding my name and then turning it into a webpage. I was instantly intrigued by the whole process of symbols and numbers creating new things. As I was exposed to all the educational possibilities, I was excited about what was to come. I knew college was in my future because I didn't want my classroom journey to conclude after twelve years. When I was made aware of the research opportunities and higher-level courses offered at the college level, I made it my mission to continue my education at a four-year institution with the goal of taking advantage of every opportunity presented. I narrowed my area of focus to Computer Science so I will be able to have more opportunities to learn the science behind the technology I enjoy. Computer Science encapsulates everything about the future of technology. Our world is growing technology-wise by the day. In my senior year, I have explored different coding languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, and CSS. My passion has driven me to learn basic principles of each language on my own. My main goal before college has always been to learn as much as possible. As a result, I desire to earn my bachelor's degree and then further my education in more concentrated efforts to include my master's and doctorate. This will allow me to acquire more information about my field and build on the foundation I placed for myself. For that reason, being presented with the opportunity to make a complicated concept understandable makes my work and my peers' work around me rewarding. The time, work and effort that it takes to attend college, get my necessary degrees, and learning money for college to make a difference in the world will be worth any time and sacrifices that I have to make. It has never been said making the world a better place was going to be easy. As long as you are willing, and the skills are present, then the job will get done. I am willing to accomplish that. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

I am currently a high school senior who has been playing the trumpet for five years. I participate in the school's marching, jazz, and concert bands. Music has always been my way of expressing myself when words could not do the job. It is something that I could not get away from even if I tried. It is tied to my soul, and it has healed me from a lot of things in my life. It is a talent that I am honored to bless other with, and to do that justice, I plan to pursue music in my professional career. The world of music is a vast one, and because of that, there are many areas where one can make a difference when it comes to any genre of music. I predominately stay in the lane of classical, jazz and concert style music, because I play the trumpet. This is a field that I think has been very successful due to the likes of John Williams, Wayne Bergeron, Winston Marcelles, and Dizzy Gillespie etc. Although I love everything they have done in the world of music, I would like to make a contribution to that as well, being an African American and a female. I know that I am in the minority, but having the skill to play the trumpet takes hard work and talent, and according to my band directors, clinicians, and audition judges, they seem to think that I have both. To me, it would be a shame to waste it, since I plan on minoring in music, I would like to make a jazz album. What would be unique about this album is that it will be requested by the people and I would only be taking their suggestions. It could be something important, or something fun, but I know there are many people who have emotional connections to specific songs, and I would like to give them the gift of playing it for them in any style that they like, and they can listen to it as much as they would like to. I also plan to major in Computer Science, so that would give me the opportunity to create a website so that I could receive the requests there. Although this may seem like a small contribution, it is the least that I could do to thank the instructors that have trained me to be the musician that I am today. As I move my studies to the University of South Carolina-Columbia, I only hope to expand my knowledge there as well.

I am currently enrolled at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster online as a senior in high school. When I graduate, I will attend the University of South Carolina-Columbia. This entire plan had made me think about my major and what I plan to do in life with the skills that I will/have acquired. I chose to major in Computer Science- Cybersecurity specifically. My reasoning for all of this goes beyond my personal interests and delves into how I want to improve the world, in terms of making it more efficient. I see people like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk etc., and I think that I want to have that same impact for others while doing something that I love, and that is technology. Regarding coding, there are many things that have been discovered about it and many things that will be revealed in the future, but my main thing is that there is so much out there that goes untapped, because people do not look for it. I do not know what I will plan to do once I get the knowledge in order, but I know that it will be something unique and helpful to most, because I am my own combination of talents, interests, limits and creations, that no one can replicate. With that, I hope that my combination is the right one to uncover something that has been untapped, because that would be truly amazing for me. One of the common mistakes that people make when it comes to learning a language, is learning many languages at one, instead of working intensely on one language for an extended period. The difference in both methods is that one, while you may end up learning all the languages (if this is achievable for you), there is a greater chance that you will just be mediocre at all of them. The second option takes a lot more time, but you will see things that others cannot see, and pick up on things that others may not be able to, because you devoted your time and energy to leaning the language for hours, and if a person can do this with all of them, combined with some creativity and intellect, they have the potential to create something amazing, or just helping others in a simple fashion. Either way, Computer Science is a great way field to be yourself and be creative when it come to the projects you are working on, or if you are just learning a language. It is meant to be fun, which is why it is one of the most popular majors, but due to it being so popular, it will always be necessary to stand aside, and let your genius flourish, because it is your own, not to be replicated.

I personally do not have any connection to the military, but I have seen firsthand how it can affect someone because I have many family members who have participated in this way of life, I will talk about one today, and that is my uncle. He has always been a hothead, and I can see it in his children; it is an admirable trait, but it can also bring a lot of trouble if it is not aimed correctly. Even while he was in the military, my uncle had an alcohol issue while simultaneously struggling with anxiety and fear. This surprised me when he told me because he had always put on a tremendous front, whether charm or bravery. It was easy for him to hide, but hard for him to tell anyone. He said military involvement helped him appreciate life, build a family, and enjoy what God gave him. God was his life's ultimate power, and I have always respected that. Even when he messed up more than he thought he would, he would go back to God and take enormous leaps of faith. When I think about that today, I do not believe that the military gave him that talent, but it was something that the military deepened and nurtured so that he could stand before people and tell them his story. It is amazing how he continues to impact others even today. I do not know much about the armed forces, but he still made a tremendous impact on my life because of his ability to be open about his successes and struggles. I, too, would love to get to the point where I can talk about my pain and accomplishments. That is a talent I do not possess naturally, but it is something unique that I can learn from him. I get many things from him, the ability to play instruments, a drive for certain things; and I can also be very hotheaded at times, but those can all be good things, because I said earlier, if they are not aimed correctly they could become dangerous. That brings me to my last point. He taught me how to aim my ideas and attitude to the correct things, at the correct time, with the perfect amount of attention, so that I can continue to succeed in life with the most amount of control and grace. That is something I will take throughout my entire life.

I am currently enrolled at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster online as a senior in high school. When I graduate, I will attend the University of South Carolina-Columbia. This entire plan had made me think about my major and what I plan to do in life with the skills that I will/have acquired. I chose to major in Computer Science- Cybersecurity specifically. My reasoning for all of this goes beyond my personal interests and delves into how I want to improve the world, in terms of making it more efficient. I see people like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk etc., and I think that I want to have that same impact for others while doing something that I love, and that is technology. Regarding coding, there are many things that have been discovered about it and many things that will be revealed in the future, but my main thing is that there is so much out there that goes untapped, because people do not look for it. I do not know what I will plan to do once I get the knowledge in order, but I know that it will be something unique and helpful to most, because I am my own combination of talents, interests, limits and creations, that no one can replicate. With that, I hope that my combination is the right one to uncover something that has been untapped, because that would be truly amazing for me. One of the common mistakes that people make when it comes to learning a language, is learning many languages at one, instead of working intensely on one language for an extended period. The difference in both methods is that one, while you may end up learning all the languages (if this is achievable for you), there is a greater chance that you will just be mediocre at all of them. The second option takes a lot more time, but you will see things that others cannot see, and pick up on things that others may not be able to, because you devoted your time and energy to leaning the language for hours, and if a person can do this with all of them, combined with some creativity and intellect, they have the potential to create something amazing, or just helping others in a simple fashion. Either way, Computer Science is a great way field to be yourself and be creative when it come to the projects you are working on, or if you are just learning a language. It is meant to be fun, which is why it is one of the most popular majors, but due to it being so popular, it will always be necessary to stand aside, and let your genius flourish, because it is your own, not to be replicated.

The world of music is a vast one, and because of that, there are many areas where one can make a difference when it comes to any genre of music. I predominately stay in the lane of classical, jazz and concert style music, because I play the trumpet. This is a field that I think has been very successful due to the likes of John Williams, Wayne Bergeron, Winston Marcelles, and Dizzy Gillespie etc. Although I love everything they have done in the world of music, I would like to make a contribution to that as well, being an African American and a female. I know that I am in the minority, but having the skill to play the trumpet takes hard work and talent, and according to my band directors, clinicians, and audition judges, they seem to think that I have both. To me, it would be a shame to waste it, since I plan on minoring in music, I would like to make a jazz album. What would be unique about this album is that it will be requested by the people and I would only be taking their suggestions. It could be something important, or something fun, but I know there are many people who have emotional connections to specific songs, and I would like to give them the gift of playing it for them in any style that they like, and they can listen to it as much as they would like to. I also plan to major in Computer Science, so that would give me the opportunity to create a website so that I could receive the requests there. Although this may seem like a small contribution, it is the least that I could do to thank the instructors that have trained me to be the musician that I am today. As I move my studies to the University of South Carolina-Columbia, I only hope to expand my knowledge there as well. (The link attached is a Solo that I performed from the piece "El Toro Rojo Grande")

I am an African-American Christian who struggles with lust, greed, envy, and pride. These things have affected my life negatively in many ways, and this summer, I realized that I was done. I had suffered enough anxiety, bad grades, and family outings because of my mistakes and iniquities. I cannot eliminate them because that is impossible, and no one is perfect. Everyone struggles with their own set of issues, and I just happened to get this combination. They are baked into me from the beginning, and whether or not I will feed into it is my choice. In the past, my choice was always yes because I wanted the satisfaction of not feeling empty anymore. Still, it did not work because it only led to more emptiness and distracted me from the significant things in my life: religion, family, music, and academics. I plan to attend the University of South Carolina and major in Computer Science while minoring in music or theology. These things have become what I will do in the future and are the combination of good things within me. God gave me the talent to pursue these things, and I want to serve him to the best of my ability. My family is middle-class, and my education and interests matter significantly to them. They want to see me succeed, so let's return to the original question. What success means to me is to outweigh the damaging combination of things within me and overtake them with the beneficial combination of talents, family, interests, and academics. Becoming someone genuinely successful with a unique purpose that no one can replicate is what I plan to do in the world; it is a certainty. It is up to me, and my efforts will be easy. This opportunity will make my plan a lot easier because it will take the stress off of my parents and give me the assurance to go after what I want with my confidence intact. This is something that I struggled a lot with last year because I chose not to bring god into my life. I thought I figured out everything, but I am nothing without him. I cannot correctly use my talents and gifts without his help. I realized how complex the world is because my willpower is not enough to get me through all my hardships and challenges, but when I have God, my family, my friends, and my passions, everything seems to come together. It is a better combination than I could have ever hoped for. My idea of success is not conventional because it is an assortment of different things, but that is how I am; I do not have a set code because I am constantly moving and improving. This year, I want to have the same mindset I have right now as I write this because I do not want to lose my fire. When I say fire, I mean my desire for success, what I will do in life, and doing whatever it takes to achieve it because I possess a good combination.

My name is Christian Miller, and I come from a Christian African-American household, which consists of my mother, father, and sister. I am passionate about music, technology, my walk with God, and a desire for entrepreneurship. I plan to attend the University of South Carolina, majoring in Computer Science (CIS) and minoring in music. I participate in the BETA club, where I do robotics; the band, where I march; and the concert and jazz band. Last summer, I participated in an internship that helped you on your walk with Jesus and fulfill the Great Commission. For the second year in a row, I will be going to Boston to help others on their walk with Christ and help the less fortunate by packing backpacks and sharing the gospel through VBS. All of the activities I have listed have a common theme; none of them could have been done without the use of information technology. All of these events required money and emails to be sent, and that was done using a computer, cell phone, tablet, etc. When it comes to the Robotics Club, incorporating these things is a must because we have to be able to code on a computer using a third-party site and then send the information over to the robot that can then execute what we need it to do. Regarding the band, we have to orchestrate many events for many people with fees. That can be a hassle with only people, so we have to set up an app that includes all of the students and parents so that they can receive information that we have on all events and pay the fees that need to be paid. They can contact our band director if they require any action. The internship I participated in last summer required plenty of emails to be written because the group I was with basically took the admin job (the people behind the scenes that help the church run). After spending a couple of days writing papers and emails, I realized it is much more work than people realize. Another thing that I had to do was work the sound systems. This required another third-party program that controlled what you wanted the words and display to say and look, which were projected. It seemed like a lot of work for only one slide, but it helped me better grasp what I could be doing with my major. Boston is the mission trip that requires the least amount of IT, but it is still there. Whenever emails were sent out, they included permission slips and information on what we would do once we arrived. Since that is not my main church, there was no way I could have gotten the permission slip to him in time, so he sent it to me through an email, and I had my mother sign it online. I also got the roster for who would be showing up and what the event schedule would look like. IT is in everything, even when we do not realize it, and it is crucial when it comes to planning events for many people, so I am happy to be able to pursue Computer Science even if it is not specifically IT.