Since I was a kid, technology and the way it worked fascinated me. When I learned that computers require instructions written in a specific way to work, that grew my interest more. And then I saw a touch-screen smartphone for the first time, the iPhone 4. At the time, my idea of a computer was a big, heavy tower paired with a massive desktop monitor. To see a device that entirely changed the way a user interacted with it through touch as opposed to with a keyboard and mouse, it blew my mind. I was so curious to know how the display understood a touch gesture. It was through this curiosity that I discovered that computers run on software made up of programs written in a computer language. My fascination and desire to see technology advance has grown ever since then. After my Bachelor’s degree, I am interested in getting a Master’s degree in this same field. One area of interest to me for a Master’s program is Artificial Intelligence. My dream job would be to work for a company that works to increase the limits of what machine learning and artificial intelligence can currently do. I would be thrilled to work for a company like Google or Amazon in their AI division, or at a company like OpenAI that is changing the way users engage with AI models. This fall, I will be starting my junior year by transferring to a university. I have successfully made it this far into my academic journey, having completed the lower levels of my major. There is no backing out for me. I am about halfway through my undergraduate program, and I want to make it very clear that I could not have made it this far without financial aid. I do not come from a family that can pay for my education, I rely on all of the financial aid that I am eligible for. With the award from this scholarship, I will be able to fund my tuition and school expenses. Even with the struggles of paying for school, I am passionate about my field of study and cannot wait to become a professional in the field of computer science. The schools I attended before college never had funding for programs that could give students an introduction to the world of computers. One of my short-term goals is to be able to introduce a coding workshop or extracurricular program at one of the schools I attended. I want to give younger students an early opportunity to learn about the introduction to computer programming. I am someone who accepts all help as a blessing. And just like I appreciate the help I receive, I also enjoy helping others every time I can.

Ever since I was a young kid, I knew I wanted to work on computers. I was very interested in how they worked and what the world could do with them. As I grew up and learned more about computers, my interest focused on the software that runs computers. Before I graduated high school, I knew that I wanted to become a software engineer. It was my dream at the time to one day work at Apple. My high school graduation passed and it was time to pursue my degree to fulfill my dream. My plans would not go as planned due to my own fears of failure, resulting in a setback of my own doing. The realization of this self-created setback became my motivation to pursue my degree and fulfill my career dreams. After my high school graduation, I started college as a major in computer science. Shortly after starting, I began to feel overwhelmed with the coursework, especially from my programming class. At the start of my first computer programming class, it felt like everyone but me in the class already had experience in programming. I started to think I was out of my depth. I felt as if I didn’t have what it took to learn the skills I needed to become a software engineer. The feelings of stress, self-doubt, and worry came to a head when I decided to change my major to undecided. A few semesters after that, I stopped going to college. Jumping forward a little bit, I was working in a completely different field, one that I knew wasn’t meant for me. One day on that job, I had a conversation with a coworker that made me start thinking. He knew that that job wasn’t the right fit for me, so he asked me a question. He asked if I was thinking at all about returning to school. I didn’t give him a solid answer, because I myself wasn’t sure. Then he said to me that if I was thinking of returning to school, that I better return right away and not waste more time. At that time, I wasn’t even sure returning to school was what I wanted to do. But that conversation led to a realization I made all those years after leaving school. When I switched majors, I had conned myself into believing that I didn’t want to work with computers anymore. I made myself believe that my dream of becoming a software engineer wasn’t what I wanted. I made up every excuse instead of facing the truth; that I was afraid of failure, of not having what it took to learn what I needed to graduate and become a software engineer. When I understood that I caused my own setback, my eyes were opened. I realized my love and interest for technology, computers, and programming never left. Every time I thought of my future career after leaving school, my mind still went to software engineering. From that day, I have been on fire to get back the lost time due to my own past insecurities. I returned to college in 2022, working a full time job, supporting my family, and taking as many classes per semester that I could fit in order to graduate as soon as possible. I chose to major in computer science again to fulfill my dream of becoming a software engineer. I learned that I can’t let fear or self-doubt get in the way of my dreams.

Since I was a kid, technology and the way it worked fascinated me. When I learned that computers require instructions written in a specific way to work, that grew my interest more. And then I saw a touch-screen smartphone for the first time, the iPhone 4. At the time, my idea of a computer was a big, heavy tower paired with a massive desktop monitor. To see a device that entirely changed the way a user interacted with it through touch as opposed to with a keyboard and mouse, it blew my mind. I was so curious to know how the display understood a touch gesture. It was through this curiosity that I discovered that computers run on software made up of programs written in a computer language. My fascination and desire to see technology advance has grown ever since then. One of the many things that I plan on doing is giving back to my own community with my skills in computer science. The schools that I attended before getting into college did not have any clubs or extracurricular activities geared towards computer science or computer programming. It’s one of my missions to present these schools with an opportunity that would let me offer workshops that would show middle school students what computer programming is and how it works. It would be a great chance for young students to become familiar with a career field that has a lot of growth and potential. Especially since their school currently does not offer this opportunity. After my Bachelor’s degree, I am considering pursuing a Master’s in this same field. One area of interest to me for a Masters program is Artificial Intelligence. My dream job would be to work for a company that works to increase the limits of what machine learning and artificial intelligence can currently do. I would be thrilled to work for a tech giant like Google or Amazon in their AI division, or at a company like OpenAI that is changing the way users engage with AI models. My main goal for the future is to contribute to the advancements and developments being done in computer science on machine learning, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence. I have a deep interest in these subfields. My career goal is to find a company that works towards advancing and incorporating machine learning models and their capabilities. My hope is to become a leader in this field and make a noticeable impact on where machine learning is going. All of these dreams of mine that are based on my higher education rely heavily on financial support. I don’t come from a family that can afford to pay for my school. It’s all on me to secure funding for my academic journey. Scholarships like this one that are geared towards minorities and underprivileged individuals are the reason that I can make it through college. It would be an incredible blessing to be the recipient of this scholarship award. I am passionate about my field of study, and I am determined to graduate and fulfill my dreams.

Since I was a kid, technology and the way it worked fascinated me. When I learned that computers require instructions written in a specific way to work, that grew my interest more. And then I saw a touch-screen smartphone for the first time, the iPhone 4. At the time, my idea of a computer was a big, heavy tower paired with a massive desktop monitor. To see a device that entirely changed the way a user interacted with it through touch as opposed to with a keyboard and mouse, it blew my mind. I was so curious to know how the display understood a touch gesture. It was through this curiosity that I discovered that computers run on software made up of programs written in a computer language. My fascination and desire to see technology advance has grown ever since then. One of the many things that I plan on doing is giving back to my own community with my skills in computer science. The schools that I attended before getting into college did not have any clubs or extracurricular activities geared towards computer science or computer programming. It’s one of my missions to present these schools with an opportunity that would let me offer workshops that would show middle school students what computer programming is and how it works. It would be a great chance for young students to become familiar with a career field that has a lot of growth and potential. Especially since their school currently does not offer this opportunity. After my Bachelor’s degree, I am considering pursuing a Master’s in this same field. One area of interest to me for a Masters program is Artificial Intelligence. My dream job would be to work for a company that works to increase the limits of what machine learning and artificial intelligence can currently do. I would be thrilled to work for a tech giant like Google or Amazon in their AI division, or at a company like OpenAI that is changing the way users engage with AI models. My main goal for the future is to contribute to the advancements and developments being done in computer science on machine learning, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence. I have a deep interest in these subfields. My career goal is to find a company that works towards advancing and incorporating machine learning models and their capabilities. My hope is to become a leader in this field and make a noticeable impact on where machine learning is going. All of these dreams of mine that are based on my higher education rely heavily on financial support. I don’t come from a family that can afford to pay for my school. It’s all on me to secure funding for my academic journey. Scholarships like this one that are geared towards minorities and underprivileged individuals are the reason that I can make it through college. It would be an incredible blessing to be the recipient of this scholarship award. I am passionate about my field of study, and I am determined to graduate and fulfill my dreams.

I grew up in a family where my dad only had an education up to the 6th grade in Mexico, and my mom only went up to the 3rd grade in Mexico. I was born here in the US into the loving care of my parents who were Mexican immigrants. Since I was very young going to school, I was never able to rely on or get the help of my parents in school. It’s very easy to understand that my beloved parents, no matter how much they wanted to help, didn't have the educational background to help me beyond the 6th grade. As I grew up and went through middle school, then high school, and now in college, school has increasingly often felt like a solo journey. My academic journey has not been a road without challenges, but I am determined to become the first-generation university graduate in my family. My parents raised me with the belief that a college education was a must. They knew and understood the struggle of making a career without a formal education. My parents would tell me to focus on school while they took care of our livelihood, but it wasn’t always easy to do that. There were times in my young life that I knew that my dad would have to find odd jobs to be able to provide for us. Seeing the financial struggle that my parents faced while they kept encouraging me to do my best to focus on my school would hurt a lot. I knew it was imperative that I make a solid career for myself to be able to help them for everything that they helped me with. When I got to college, there was an incredibly apparent difference in social background. Coming from a background where formal education was not the norm, I often felt a difference among peers who had grown up with higher education as part of their upbringing. There were times where internally it felt difficult to relate to classmates who didn’t understand the financial struggles I was very aware of as a young kid and what that meant for my education. I kept these challenges to myself, I didn’t really feel like I had someone to share them with. It became that much more important for me to find support amongst peers that knew the struggles of a first generation college student. Despite the obstacles I’ve encountered as a first-generation Hispanic college student, these struggles have changed me in profound ways. Every hardship I have overcome has made me more determined, resilient, and grateful for the opportunities in my life. Every challenge I’ve faced has only strengthened my ambition to succeed. My drive for success is not only for myself, but for my family. My goal is to be an example for the future generations that come in my family. That they too can find success through higher education.

Since I was a kid, technology and the way it worked fascinated me. When I learned that computers require instructions written in a specific way to work, that grew my interest more. And then I saw a touch-screen smartphone for the first time, the iPhone 4. At the time, my idea of a computer was a big, heavy tower paired with a massive desktop monitor. To see a device that entirely changed the way a user interacted with it through touch as opposed to with a keyboard and mouse, it blew my mind. I was so curious to know how the display understood a touch gesture. It was through this curiosity that I discovered that computers run on software made up of programs written in a computer language. My fascination and desire to see technology advance has grown ever since then. After my Bachelors degree, I am considering pursuing a Masters in this same field. One area of interest to me for a Masters program is Artificial Intelligence. My dream job would be to work for a company that works to increase the limits of what machine learning and artificial intelligence can currently do. I would be thrilled to work for a tech giant like Google or Amazon in their AI division, or at a company like OpenAI that is changing the way users engage with AI models. This fall, I will be entering my junior year of college. I have successfully made it this far into my academic journey, having completed the lower levels of my major. There is no backing out for me. I am about halfway through my undergraduate program, and I want to make it very clear that I could not have made it this far without financial aid. I do not come from a family that can pay for my education, I rely on all of the financial aid that I am eligible for. Even with the struggles of paying for school, I am passionate about my field of study and cannot wait to become a professional in the field of Computer Science. The schools I attended before college never had funding for programs that could give students an introduction to the world of computers. One of my goals is to be able to introduce a coding workshop or extracurricular program at one of the schools I attended. I want to give younger students an early opportunity to learn about the introduction to computer programming. I am someone who accepts all help as a blessing. And just like I appreciate the help I receive, I also enjoy helping others whenever I can. These are the reasons I believe I am the best candidate for this scholarship award.