What you are about to read is only a short overview of how my parents have made me who I am and who I wish to be. My parents love me very much and try their best to give me everything they did not have. They work constantly, denying themselves entertainment, beautiful clothes, and travel. I see and feel this every day. They spare no expense for my development, however. The bicycle I like, the laptop I dreamt of, travel wherever I want, any chemistry, biology, and programming courses – I have all this. I was the last in school to get a smartphone, but I had more than 60 board games for learning English. Coming from a small village in Eastern Ukraine, I participated in the Future Leaders Exchange Program and finished high school the United States thanks to my parents’ support. I am also the first child in my family to receive higher education. I see how most of my friends live. Their parents are too busy with their own problems, so interactions between kids and parents are neither frequent, nor honest. Thus, I have something to compare my life with, so I appreciate my parents' sacrifices more and more every year. They are the most important people to me. Thanks to them, I know that honesty and kindness are the virtues I should value and bring into my life. Mom and Dad often tell me that what makes them the happiest is when their child is happy and healthy, when he has a goal and devotes every minute of his life to achieving it. I have clearly learned to do what I love because health, trust and joy cannot be bought for all the riches of the world. My parents' faith in my abilities is the strongest motivator and energy boost for me, so I never have the chance to experience a bad mood and melancholy or to complain. I love my parents very much and call them every day even when there is no news to share just to hear their voice and chat. I love the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in our family. Because of it, we can talk about virtually anything. I will build my own family based on these same principles. As a sophomore at Davidson College, I help my parents pay for my education as best I can. I work on campus and apply for numerous scholarships even if they are worth $200 to earn at least some funds for my education. I am trying my best to excel at everything I do because my parents’ biggest dream is to provide me with the best education possible, and I did not come to the United States to let them down! I love to bring people happiness and see the results of my work, so I chose to pursue dentistry as my career to bring people smiles. After graduating from Davidson, I plan to attend the UNC Adams School of Dentistry. My parents have invested so much of their soul in me that I want to pay back with something similar instead of material cars and houses. I have a little secret they do not yet know about: as soon as I can, I will take them to the most amazing places on our planet because they love travel so much but deny themselves it to raise me as best as they can. And a spa for my Mom is a must! I am very lucky to have my parents, and I want them to be lucky to have me!

When I travel, I grow wings! Every time I visit any new place, I am filled with so much energy that I feel I can move a mountain. Ever since I was two years old, my parents would take me on trips around Ukraine. By the age of 14, I had travelled to every corner of my home country and knew its history and culture extremely well. I loved those experiences as every new region I explored with my parents brought me more awareness about how diverse my country really is. After each trip, no matter how small, I experience a certain feeling of mind “reboot.” Even though I had never traveled abroad, when I turned 15, I knew I desperately wanted to learn more about the rest of the world. Finally, it all happened when I got the incredible opportunity to come to the United States as a Future Leaders Exchange Program high school exchange student. It was a truly life-changing experience for me as so many stereotypes were broken, numerous traditions were explored, and life-long friends were made. I realized that the world is truly so much more than I ever imagined it to be. My life changed after I stepped foot onto the American soil and saw a completely new life. I am now a sophomore at Davidson College, and I work harder than ever before to achieve my career goals because I understand that the world is truly limitless, and the only boundaries that exist are in my head. People are no longer bound to their socioeconomic status or ethnic background – every person is as free as never before to go out there and live they life they want. On the other hand, travel is also synonymous with realization. When I travel, I am reminded that everything in this world is relative. I may not have the latest laptop available, but it only takes a little bit of travel to realize that there are people in true need of help. They do not even have basic access to healthcare, nutrition, and housing. My trip to Los Angeles became my largest reminder for the rest of my life. I saw the most expensive houses I have ever seen in my life, but just 2 blocks away from them, I saw people with their children living under bridges in tents deprived of access to food, proper hygiene and healthcare. What broke my heart even more was when I saw the kids of those people living in the same exact conditions. I was once again reminded that I am the one to help those people by doing everything I can to help. After trips like these, I truly start to understand the value of what I have. Therefore, when I came back to North Carolina, I immediately started volunteering at the local education center for Elementary and Middle School students to ensure that they get the resources they need to live the life they all deserve.

What can a 12-year-old dream of? I dreamt of a smile. Ever since I could remember, I consciously chose not to smile because of my misaligned teeth. I was so ashamed of my smile that I always made the decision to keep my mouth closed. In the sixth grade, however, I got braces, and I could see the results after six months of wearing them. I was so happy to see my smile take shape that I started smiling whenever possible. Such an amazing experience made me choose orthodontics as my future career, and I strive to do everything I can to make that goal a reality because everyone deserves a great smile! I currently study at Davidson College and truly love every second I spend there! Even though I am struggling to meet my yearly expected family contribution, I desperately want to continue my education here to go on to become an orthodontist. I have started an initiative on the Davidson College campus to establish a dental office to make dental care more accessible for all students, and it is now my main mission. I love advocating for healthcare accessibility because I realize how important it is as I have experienced this issue numerous times. I want to make an impact as a dental professional by promoting equal access to dental care as well as improving oral hygiene culture in the United States because the best way to treat any disease is to prevent it. I want to be a healthcare professional with attention to detail in every patient without regard to their background. I know how hard it is to find a good medical professional since I have had an awful stutter since I was three years old, and I have visited numerous specialists with no significant improvement made. Because of my stutter, I have always struggled with communication. Elementary school, shopping, or meeting with friends always brought the same question: “What will the reaction to my stutter be?” They might giggle; they might pretend that they did not notice; some might not care at all. By the age of fourteen, I finally reconsidered my attitude towards stutter because I realized that it was preventing me from enjoying life and achieving my goals. My ultimate victory over myself was my graduation speech in front of the whole high school which I delivered flawlessly. It took so much effort and time to perfect it, but I realized that I am truly capable of anything when I give it my absolute best. Some people may not like having a doctor who stutters. They may think the doctor is incompetent. However, I am here to prove that a person with a disability is as competent as others and twice as persistent and goal-driven. Despite my financial struggles and neurological disability, I am more motivated and energized than ever before to continue to pursue my goal of becoming a great dental care advocate and professional for all the diverse American population.

It is no secret that we are what we eat. In high school, I developed a keen interest in organic food and healthy eating. I found myself particularly fond of organic products, so I decided to create a smart greenhouse that could control all growing conditions of vegetables and greens. The idea appealed to three of my classmates, and we started the work. The school also supported our project. As the organizer and the ideological inspirer, I assigned responsibilities and project zones to each team member. Besides work organization, I was also responsible for electronics. I had to learn how to use all the equipment from scratch since I had little computer experience at the time. My efforts taught me to be resilient, flexible, and adaptable as the project required frequent readjustments and learning through trial and error. After four months of hard work, we received a grant of $10,000 at a STEM competition that allowed us to build a 650 ft.2 greenhouse. To continue improving my project, I turned it into research focused on studying how my model of greenhouse can improve current farming techniques and expand the variety of products farmers can grow in any given climatic conditions. While conducting research, I compared different existing greenhouse models and consulted with 23 farmers and agricultural professionals in Eastern Ukraine, North Carolina, and North Dakota about the types of greenhouses they have used and consider helpful. The research showed that my greenhouse model was successful from the agricultural point of view, but 71% of the people I communicated with pointed out that they would love to see an affordable greenhouse with the capability to control internal conditions with no programming skills required of the user. Therefore, I am currently implementing Internet, SMS, and built-in LCD display control options in the prototype. My greenhouse model received two gold medals at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2022 and the 7th International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCan 2022. Before the introduction of this project into my community, there was little access to fresh produce for educational institutions, so it had to be bought from other suppliers. However, my greenhouse changed the situation, and now it provides my high school and local kindergarten with fresh fruit, vegetables, and greens all year round. Additionally, my project was incorporated into my high school’s curriculum, so it also facilitates computer science, physics, biology, and chemistry labs every single day. I decided to take the greenhouse project even further and created a STEM club for people of all backgrounds and ages currently ranging from kindergarten all the way to 40 years old to learn about STEM based on my project as it contains most of the STEM components in it. As a bonus, the greenhouse also created five job openings for members of our community. Now that I am studying at Davidson College, I can receive the education in biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, and business to make sure this project can affect not only my local community but also the whole world especially in the places where food is scarce, and its production is unfavorable. I also regularly attend seminars at the entrepreneurship center at Davidson College which help me develop the business side of the project to ensure its economic viability worldwide. What is even more amazing about earning my bachelor’s degree in the United States is that I make long-lasting connections with people from all over the globe, and I will be able to make full use of those friendships when the time finally comes to deploy my greenhouses worldwide.

What you are about to read is only a short overview of how my parents have made me who I am and who I wish to be. My parents love me very much and try their best to give me everything they did not have. They work constantly, denying themselves entertainment, beautiful clothes, and travel. I see and feel this every day. They spare no expense for my development, however. The bicycle I like, the laptop I dreamt of, travel wherever I want, any chemistry, biology, and programming courses – I have all this. I was the last in school to get a smartphone, but I had more than 60 board games for learning English. Coming from a small village in Eastern Ukraine, I participated in the Future Leaders Exchange Program and finished high school the United States thanks to my parents’ support. I am also the first child in my family to receive higher education. I see how most of my friends live. Their parents are too busy with their own problems, so interactions between kids and parents are neither frequent, nor honest. Thus, I have something to compare my life with, so I appreciate my parents' sacrifices more and more every year. They are the most important people to me. Thanks to them, I know that honesty and kindness are the virtues I should value and bring into my life. Mom and Dad often tell me that what makes them the happiest is when their child is happy and healthy, when he has a goal and devotes every minute of his life to achieving it. I have clearly learned to do what I love because health, trust and joy cannot be bought for all the riches of the world. My parents' faith in my abilities is the strongest motivator and energy boost for me, so I never have the chance to experience a bad mood and melancholy or to complain. I love my parents very much and call them every day even when there is no news to share just to hear their voice and chat. I love the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect in our family. Because of it, we can talk about virtually anything. I will build my own family based on these same principles. As a sophomore at Davidson College, I help my parents pay for my education as best I can. I work on campus and apply for numerous scholarships even if they are worth $200 to earn at least some funds for my education. I am trying my best to excel at everything I do because my parents’ biggest dream is to provide me with the best education possible, and I did not come to the United States to let them down! I love to bring people happiness and see the results of my work, so I chose to pursue dentistry as my career to bring people smiles. After graduating from Davidson, I plan to attend the UNC Adams School of Dentistry. My parents have invested so much of their soul in me that I want to pay back with something similar instead of material cars and houses. I have a little secret they do not yet know about: as soon as I can, I will take them to the most amazing places on our planet because they love travel so much but deny themselves it to raise me as best as they can. And a spa for my Mom is a must! I am very lucky to have my parents, and I want them to be lucky to have me!

What can a 12-year-old dream of? I dreamt of a smile. Ever since I can remember, I consciously chose not to smile because of my misaligned teeth. I was so ashamed of my smile that I always made the decision to keep my mouth closed. In the sixth grade, however, I got braces, and I could see the results after six months of wearing them. I was so happy to see my smile take shape that I started smiling whenever possible. Such an amazing experience made me choose orthodontics as my future career, and I strive to do everything I can to make that goal a reality because everyone deserves a great smile! I am currently on a research internship at the Masonic Medical Research Institute where I use 3D modeling as my main tool, and I will be able to apply this skill in my future profession. Therefore, my short-term goal is successfully completing my 3D model and deploying it for every scientist worldwide to utilize. I came to the United States as an exchange student from Ukraine in August of 2021. I had no idea that Russia would attack my country six months after that. Therefore, at the end of my exchange program, I had no option of returning to my hometown of Velyka Novosilka since it was literally burned to the ground, and my parents had to move to a different town where they are currently struggling to find any sort of employment. I had to stay in the United States to finish high school and try to find further education here. I currently study at Davidson College and truly love every second I spend there! Even though I am struggling to meet my yearly expected family contribution, I desperately want to continue my education here to go on to become an orthodontist. Additionally, I have made it my mission to establish a dental office on the Davidson College campus to make dental care more accessible for all students. I want to be a healthcare professional with attention to detail in every patient without regard to their background. I know how hard it is to find a good medical professional since I have had an awful stutter since I was three years old, and I have visited numerous specialists with no significant improvement made. Because of my stutter, I have always struggled with communication. Elementary school, shopping, or meeting with friends always brought the same question: “What will the reaction to my stuttering be?” They might giggle; they might pretend that they did not notice; some might not care at all. By the age of fourteen, I finally reconsidered my attitude towards stuttering because I realized that it was preventing me from enjoying life and achieving my goals. Five minutes later people had already forgotten that they hurt me, but I would stay worried and overwhelmed all day. Well, who needs it? I do not. My ultimate victory over myself was my graduation speech in front of the whole high school which I delivered perfectly. All I needed to do was be myself. Some people may not like having a doctor who stutters. They may think the doctor is incompetent. However, I am here to prove that a person with a disability is as competent as others and twice as persistent and goal-driven. Despite my financial struggles and the neurological disability, I am more motivated and energized than ever before to continue to pursue my goal of becoming a great dental care provider for all the diverse American population.