My name is Gary Long III and I am a senior at Millwood High School. I enjoy programming and creating websites. I want to pursue a college education because I'd like to learn more about programming and create new things. I want to be an impact in the technology world by offering my unique perspective and ideas to fulfill a project. The reason I specifically want to get a STEM degree is that I am very passionate about programming and I believe that the STEM field needs more diversity. The STEM field is a white-dominated industry and I think that we need people from different backgrounds to also be a part of such a rapidly developing field. Perspectives that people have from different backgrounds are very important because the more diversity that is found, the better decisions can be made as there is more room for discussion. Technology needs unique voices from different groups of people to account for the diversity in the world. A STEM degree also opens up a plethora of opportunities as the world becomes more dependant on it, which is another reason I'd like to obtain one. My favorite subset of STEM would be Computer Science. Programming is what allows for all technology to function and it is crucial that well-qualified people can do the job. I've done many activities and programs that relate to computer science; I am a student at Metro Technology Centers in the Computer Science program which has taught me a variety of programming techniques. Along with that, for the past two summers, I have joined a programming BootCamp known as Cultivating Coders. Cultivating Coders is very important to me as it taught me about Website Development consisting of both front-end and back-end programming. I found it fascinating to learn how much goes into the development of websites and found it enjoyable to create websites. I plan to make a positive impact in the world by doing what I love, which is creating new things. Computer Science has allowed me to be able to express my creativity as well as make something functional to accomplish a goal. With the lack of diversity in many STEM careers, I think it is imperative that we begin to open the conversation to people of different backgrounds. I hope that I can inspire someone who looks like me and let them know that they can do anything if they try, no matter how many obstacles may be ahead of them. Growing up and attending a predominately black school all my life has taught me that one of the biggest obstacles that we face is the fear of branching out. Black kids are constantly told to "be realistic" in their dreams which discourages us from even trying. I hope that I can serve as an example that no matter where you may come from, you can accomplish anything if you believe in yourself. We must not let other people become setbacks in our dreams, nor should we let them tell us what we are capable of so I hope I can be a positive impact in someone's life!

My favorite artist is Aliyah Nadal. I find their art very moving as it touches on pop culture and very important social issues. Their art consistently features people of color, which is crucial as they are underrepresented in both the world and in media. They are not only a great artist but an inspirational person and wonderful friend who I can depend on, which are all reasons why they are my favorite artist.

My name is Gary Long III and I am a senior at Millwood High School. I enjoy programming and creating websites. I want to pursue a college education because I'd like to learn more about programming and create new things. I want to be an impact in the technology world by offering my unique perspective and ideas to fulfill a project. The perfect match between STEM and Art in my opinion would be websites. We look at websites every day and take in the majority of our information from them so they must be functional and look nice. Whenever we are judging a website, we tend to trust them more when they look polished and the information is clearly displayed. This summer when I was designing websites for a coding BootCamp, I had to have a balance between functionality and webpage design. I learned that even if a website has millions of different features if it isn't artistically creative/well-adapted then it will see less traffic than a website that meets both characteristics. I believe that the STEM field needs artists because visuals play a huge role in the way people understand information. Visuals such as a nice-looking home page, a creative logo, and quality buttons can be the difference between a great website, or a mediocre website which is why I believe that it is the perfect union between art and STEM.