While it seems difficult and abnormal to say, I often find myself grateful for the challenges and unimaginable misfortunes that I have experienced. Harsh experiences have only made me a stronger person and helped shape my personality. Only through the passing of my parents was I able to change my perspective on life and realize how much I had to be thankful for. Although I am strongly against using the death of my parents to define myself as an individual, it has undeniably shaped my character. During my transition from middle school to high school, both my parents unexpectedly passed away, flipping my world upside down and completely changing my environment. At first, I was filled with self pity and anger, but I then realized that the most unfortunate aspect of this situation is that I never learned to appreciate how much they had helped me and how much I truly needed them. From this realization, I instead learned to use this tragic event as motivation to stay committed to goals that I know would impress them. Overcoming the challenge of not having them by my side has helped me become independent and has put me in the position to lead my own life. I had a newfound purpose to my life which I held close to my heart throughout my freshman year, allowing me to persevere and succeed throughout high school. Adversity and challenges that I had to overcome have only taught me valuable lessons and provided me with determination to achieve my goals. Hardships and painful experiences are what taught me to respect the principles of gratitude and how to find happiness in times of defeat. The lessons that challenges like these have taught me are what push me towards success.

My hobbies and activities are a big part of my life and my main source of happiness. What makes them special to me is not just my personal passion, but primarily the priceless reward of having others enjoy the experience with me. Video editing is one of my favorite hobbies and the most rewarding part of it is being able to spread a positive message to my clients and their viewers. Being able to see the smile on the face of an impressed viewer provides me with happiness and motivation to constantly improve my work for their enjoyment. I refrain from considering video editing a job because I edit for all the reasons other than money. What motivates and encourages me to pursue editing is the countless amount of people that I’ve made laugh or smile at my work. I created Project Code Red because I knew it would be a place for people to be themselves and make new friends in. From building bridges between people over the internet through our community to helping people I’ve never met through charity fundraisers, Project Code Red was all about positivity and the passion for spreading it. Each day, I’m able to see this message in effect with the interactions of over 100 people from all over the world that I personally helped link together for a single cause. Having people tell me how much they love the community and how they’ve made some of the best friends they’ve ever had through it brings me an unexplainable amount of joy. Together, video editing and Project Code Red never fail to brighten my day. Since starting these two activities, I’ve been able to find happiness every day, as I know those involved with them have, too.

I believe that influence is the power to create impact. To me, influence and leadership are inseparable. Leaders of character are people who have learned to wield the power of influence to create lasting change or effects. As the founder and president of Project Code Red, I have great influence everyday on the lives of our members, who have told me about the value of Project Code Red in their lives. Statements like these hold me accountable to the incredible responsibility of influence over all those around me. This power of influence has allowed me to create the impressive support base of Project Code Red that allows us to make positive and real change in the world that stems from the gaming community. While it seems difficult and abnormal to say, I often find myself grateful for the challenges and unimaginable adversities that I have persevered through. Although I am strongly against using the death of my parents to define myself as an individual, it has undeniably shaped my character. During my transition from middle school to high school, both my parents unexpectedly passed away, flipping my world upside down and completely changing my environment. At first, I was filled with self pity and anger, but I then realized the most unfortunate aspect of the situation was that I had never learned to appreciate how much they had helped me and how much I truly needed them. I instead learned to use this tragic event as motivation to stay committed to goals that I know would impress them. Overcoming the challenge of not having them by my side has helped me become independent and has put me in the position to lead my own life. I had a newfound purpose to my life which I held close to my heart throughout my high school journey. I plan to pursue a degree in computer science at the United States Air Force Academy and serve as an officer in the United States Air Force upon graduation. Since first playing video games with my father at 4 years old, I have dreamed of a career in computer science. After taking multiple computer science courses in high school, including AP Computer Science Principles in my sophomore year, I became increasingly ambitious about combining my interest in computer science with my dream of serving my country. I received a maximum score of 5 on the 2020 AP Computer Science Principles exam for my research of the technology used in a US Air Force drone and coding a jet flying game. Furthering my education at the Air Force Academy would allow me to use a computer science degree to assist in the defense of my nation. As an avid gamer and friend of many associated with NorCal Esports, this scholarship truly spoke to me. I believe many of us, myself included, are inspired by Jack and his desire to positively impact the world, and this scholarship would bring me one step closer to pursuing this feat.