Ever since I was a kid I enjoyed creating games. I would use Legos and action figures to build games that my younger brother and I would play-test. Sometimes they were pretty fun, and other times they were "too much" (as my brother would tell me). I learned about many different elements of a game's creation when I was in high school. Art, production, design, sound, etc. but the aspect of game design that really grabbed my interest was programming. I loved taking an idea or system and getting it to work in real life. It felt like I was back making games for my brother, but I realized I could do it professionally this time. As I was finishing high school, I applied for an internship at Simcoach Games. This is a game company dedicated to making educational and transformational games, that help to better people through interactive experiences. After working there for two summers as a game developer, I created two games focused on how anyone can help save the environment, and one game that teaches people with learning challenges how to navigate cities via public transit. I worked as the main developer in all my groups, using my prior experience from my college-level game design and computer science classes. I had to know how to communicate with other roles within my group to ensure we were all on the same page, and making steady progress with our game. I loved being able to focus on mechanics. I would get the art, the storyline, and the music that my talented group members created, and implement them to all work in harmony to create something you can play and have fun with. I knew I wanted to work in games since high school, but these internships showed me that I wanted to work with code specifically. It just reminded me of when I was a kid designing choices, rules, and systems, piece by piece. I also realized I wanted to work for a company like Simcoach, where I would work towards games that are more than just fun, but enriching and transformational as well. However, getting an education in computer science can be challenging coming from a single-parent household where the price of college falls entirely on me. I feel I am the best candidate for this scholarship because I want to use my knowledge from my computer science degree to do my part in creating games that aim to improve people's lives by conveying lessons they may not fully engage with through other mediums like books or videos. Many computer science majors use their degrees for financial gain, trying for high-paying jobs at companies like Google or Facebook. However, I believe true fulfillment comes from using technology to create meaningful experiences that positively impact the world, which is why I want to continue to create experiences that make life more enjoyable for everyone.

Imagine missing your bus four times in one week, forgetting to pull the stop request line, and ending up in a random town when you are just trying to get home. That was me during the first week of my internship in downtown Pittsburgh. But later that summer, I found that I would use that experience to create something to help people with this exact problem. Two summers ago, I worked as a project assistant for Simcoach Games, a company focused on creating both entertaining and educational games. The project I contributed to was called Next Stop, designed to teach people, especially those with learning differences, how to confidently navigate public transportation. My rocky start with public transit made me realize how hard it can be for young people with learning challenges. How do they manage commuting without any guidance? Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that our project for the summer would teach just that. Next Stop would guide players on how to get where they need to go without all the chaos I’d experienced firsthand. Over six weeks, our team of two artists, two programmers, and one level designer built a prototype of a 3D bus simulator using Unreal Engine. We used agile scrum development to make sure everyone stayed on track and contributed their best work. We also learned how to more comfortably use GitHub to collaborate and make changes to our project as needed I served as one of the programmers, and I was responsible for developing mechanics that made the experience feel real. One of my tasks was to create an in-game public transportation app similar to Transit or Google Maps. Players could pull up their virtual phone, complete with GPS, a clock, and specific instructions for pickup and drop-off. I also programmed various player interactions, such as pulling the stop request wire, flagging down the bus, and sitting down in the bus without flying off as soon as it moved. To add more realism, I created NPCs who moved around the city, walking only on sidewalks or crosswalks, and slowing down the bus when necessary. The coolest part of this project? It was later used in a study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh. The study focused on which medium was most effective in teaching individuals with learning differences how to navigate public transportation. Knowing that our work might contribute to helping millions of people get to where they need to go without feeling lost or intimidated was incredibly rewarding. I took my struggles with public transportation and, with my technical and teamwork skills, turned them into something that could help others avoid the same headaches I went through. That’s a pretty great feeling. To answer how working in technology inspires me, I think back to the end of that summer, when a researcher said to our team, “Thank you. We hope this game helps a lot of people.” It’s Moments like these, and the fulfillment of creating something meaningful, that inspire me to want to continue using technology for positive change through games and interactive experiences.