Martin Luther King's legacy is rooted in social justice, nonviolence, equality, and helping others. His role was pivotal in the American civil rights movement, and he made many changes in legislation for the African American community. Not only did he change society for the better regarding racial discrimination, but he did so nonviolently and rallied people to support his vision of a nondiscriminatory and nonprejudiced society. Dr. King's civil rights activism and calls for peace positively impacted the African American community in many ways. Through his promotion of nonviolence, he allowed people in his community a voice to speak on various social issues through the movement. The legislative changes that were put in place due to his activism outlawed discrimination for many different groups of people who were oppressed and were a significant victory in achieving equality for all. The desegregation of schools allowed through King's efforts also allowed many opportunities for African Americans that would not have been possible due to the lack of enforcement and implementation of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. I resonate deeply with his goals of making education accessible to everyone, and his efforts to help his community are something I aspire to achieve throughout my lifetime. In middle school, I was always amazed by the intricacies of technology. However, I needed help exploring those interests. My middle school offered few computer science and engineering electives, and any program that could help expand my knowledge was too expensive for me to partake in. I have made it a personal mission of mine to give children access to the knowledge I craved when I was younger. I started working at a company that teaches children how to develop and program video games. Using the knowledge I learned from my job, I instructed and created curriculums teaching children programming and game development for free. I volunteered at my local library and my school with some of my peers, and we hosted classes during the summer, giving children of any income bracket access to learn more about programming and video game development. These summer camps allowed children in my local and school communities to learn more about their technological interests and expand upon their passions in computer science and video game development. I loved watching my students grow; seeing the children happy and passionate about programming was always my favorite part of running the summer camps. I would love to continue volunteering in the future to give back to my community and ignite passion in young computer scientists. Service is necessary to improve the lives of the people in my community, and in college, I aspire to continue helping others with my passions and abilities. Education is necessary for people to think correctly and make good decisions, and allowing the youth of my community this is necessary. Like Dr. King, I want to enable children of any income bracket, race, and location to access equal resources and opportunities to grow and pursue their passions.

As a child, The Backyardigans held a special place in my heart and was one of my favorite shows to watch. Notably, the episode “Castaways” stood out as a cherished memory and is one of my favorite episodes of the show. I highly enjoyed the episode, and the song titled “Castaways” was etched in my mind as something delightful to listen to. While I initially appreciated its catchiness, it wasn’t until I faced the complexities of growing up that I could truly appreciate the song beyond its surface charm. Growing older brought many challenges — financial struggles, familial complexities, and the overwhelming pressure of academia. My grandmother was also diagnosed with dementia and cancer. Many aspects of my life felt like they were falling apart, and I could do nothing about it. Overwhelmed and seeking an escape from these stressors, I embarked on a journey of nostalgia, revisiting shows and songs from my childhood. One day, I was browsing Spotify and stumbled across “Castaways” from The Backyardigans. Remembering how fond I was of the song, I listened again, hoping to rediscover the magic that had captivated me in my youth. Anticipating a wave of nostalgia, I pressed play with modest expectations. Yet, the experience transcended mere reminiscence. Once obscured by the innocence of childhood, the lyrics and context of the song now struck a profound chord. The upbeat tropical melody belied the dire circumstances of the main cast — Pablo, Tyrone, and Uniqua stranded on an island after their ship sank. The group had just gone through a severe event and should not have been happy. Despite the imminent danger, they chose joy and sang: “Castaways, we are castaways. Ahoy there, ahoy, we are castaways. On an island at sea. Just me, me, and me. Castaways, ahoy, we are castaways.” Perhaps it is unconventional to find profound meaning in a song from a children’s show, and maybe the creators were aiming for a catchy tune. Regardless of the intended purpose, the song’s impact on me is undeniable. The show’s main cast had no chance of escaping and nothing else but each other on the island. Instead of being sad and moping about the situation, they decided to make the most of it and sing a joyful song about their problem. They then found water and food and built themselves a hut to stay in and calmly deal with the dire situation they were put in. This lesson resonated deeply with me — a reminder that, even in bad conditions, expressing gratitude and taking proactive steps can pave the way for solutions. “Castaways” is my forty-sixth most listened-to song on Spotify, and to this day, I still listen to and think about that song when struggling with issues in my personal life. Its upbeat melody and the resilience it symbolizes have inspired me during my struggles. The music serves as a reminder that, regardless of the complexities of life, choosing to appreciate what we have and taking action can turn challenges into opportunities for growth. It has moved me immensely and given me a new perspective on how to live my life. “Castaways” remains a beacon of positivity and a timeless anthem that guides me through adversity for me.

My name is Jadon Oliver, and I have been interested in technology since I was young. I was always fascinated by computers and curious about how they worked and everything you could do with them. I decided to go to a vocational high school for computer science and expand my knowledge of the intricacies of technology. Until one day, tragedy struck: in my sophomore year of high school, my grandma was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. I was devastated by the news and felt helpless in the matter. We had to shave all of her hair off to prepare her for chemotherapy, which is what made me fully realize the severity of her illness. A couple of months later, she was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Seeing her in such a deteriorated state did a number on me, but I realized that sulking about it would not change anything. I needed to stay strong and fight to support her in any way I could. While trying to figure out anything I could do to help her with her illness, I ran into a major issue: I did not have any medical or biology experience, and I was not that interested in the healthcare or biomedical engineering fields. I started to search for different ways to impact cancer and dementia in the medical field with my computer science and engineering experience. While many hospitals had information technology and data science roles available, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to make a difference in a way that could help my grandma and, if not her, people struggling with cancer and dementia in the future. While thinking of different ways to apply my interests and knowledge practically to help combat these diseases, scientific research seemed to be the best place I could help. While I didn’t hold much biomedical understanding, if I learned more about data science and artificial intelligence models, I would most likely be able to help research relating to helping cancer and dementia patients. Even though I wasn’t qualified to assist with any scientific research directly, most researchers have to work with data, and in some cases, data sets get to immeasurable sizes. The data becomes challenging to work with and analyze, making it difficult for scientists to gain insight through their experiments. My data science courses taught me how to wrangle, tidy, and present data in a way that is easy for anyone to understand, regardless of whether they have data science experience. With these newfound skills, I felt better equipped to finally make an impact to help with medical research and, in some way, help my grandmother. A few months into taking my classes, I was offered an internship working with cell cytometry. By closely analyzing cells, scientists can take the data from various types of cells, develop treatments for patients, and improve the effectiveness of existing treatments. Taking the data science courses has paid off, and now, with my knowledge and experience, I am working with a team on a project to improve data collection and analytics for single-cell cytometry. I finally felt like I was using my computer and data science skills to impact my grandma’s condition significantly. Through my work now and in the future, I hope to help people in the medical field find ways to treat diseases more effectively. Overcoming Adversity Jack Terry Memorial Scholarship will allow me to attend university despite my financial struggles to achieve my goals of bettering myself through learning and bettering society through technology, research, and innovation.

My name is Jadon Oliver, and I have been interested in technology since I was young. I was always fascinated by computers and curious about how they worked and everything you could do with them. I decided to go to a vocational high school for computer science and expand my knowledge of the intricacies of technology. Until one day, tragedy struck: in my sophomore year of high school, my grandma was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. I was devastated by the news and felt helpless in the matter. We had to shave all of her hair off to prepare her for chemotherapy, which is what made me fully realize the severity of her illness. A couple of months later, she was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Seeing her in such a deteriorated state did a number on me, but I realized that sulking about it would not change anything. I needed to stay strong and fight to support her in any way I could. While trying to figure out anything I could do to help her with her illness, I ran into a major issue: I did not have any medical or biology experience, and I was not that interested in the healthcare or biomedical engineering fields. I started to search for different ways to impact cancer and dementia in the medical field with my computer science and engineering experience. While many hospitals had information technology and data science roles available, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to make a difference in a way that could help my grandma and, if not her, people struggling with cancer and dementia in the future. While thinking of different ways to apply my interests and knowledge practically to help combat these diseases, scientific research seemed to be the best place I could help. While I didn’t hold much biomedical understanding, if I learned more about data science and artificial intelligence models, I would most likely be able to help research relating to helping cancer and dementia patients. Even though I wasn’t qualified to assist with any scientific research directly, most researchers have to work with data, and in some cases, data sets get to immeasurable sizes. The data becomes challenging to work with and analyze, making it difficult for scientists to gain insight through their experiments. My data science courses taught me how to wrangle, tidy, and present data in a way that is easy for anyone to understand, regardless of whether they have data science experience. With these newfound skills, I felt better equipped to finally make an impact to help with medical research and, in some way, help my grandmother. A few months into taking my classes, I was offered an internship working with cell cytometry. By closely analyzing cells, scientists can take the data from various types of cells, develop treatments for patients, and improve the effectiveness of existing treatments. Taking the data science courses has paid off, and now, with my knowledge and experience, I am working with a team on a project to improve data collection and analytics for single-cell cytometry. I finally felt like I was using my computer and data science skills to impact my grandma’s condition significantly. Through my work now and in the future, I hope to help people in the medical field find ways to treat diseases better. Jiang Amel STEM Scholarship will allow me to attend university despite my financial struggles to achieve my goals of bettering myself through learning and bettering society through technology, research, and innovation.

My name is Jadon Oliver, and I have been interested in technology since I was young. I was always fascinated by computers and curious about how they worked and all the things you could do with them. I decided to go to a vocational high school for computer science and expand my knowledge of the intricacies of technology. Until one day, tragedy struck: in my sophomore year of high school, my grandma was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. I was devastated by the news and felt helpless in the matter. We had to shave all of her hair off to prepare her for chemotherapy, which is what made me fully realize the severity of her illness. A couple of months later, she was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Seeing her in such a deteriorated state did a number on me, but I realized that sulking about it would not change anything. I needed to stay strong and fight to support her in any way I could. While trying to figure out anything I could do to help her with her illness, I ran into a major issue: I did not have any medical or biology experience, and I was not that interested in the healthcare or biomedical engineering fields. I started to search for different ways to impact cancer and dementia in the medical field with my computer science and engineering experience. While many hospitals had information technology and data science roles available, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to make a difference in a way that could help my grandma and, if not her, people struggling with cancer and dementia in the future. While thinking of different ways to apply my interests and knowledge practically to help combat these diseases, scientific research seemed to be the best place I could help. While I didn’t hold much biomedical understanding, if I learned more about data science and artificial intelligence models, I would most likely be able to help research relating to helping cancer and dementia patients. Even though I wasn’t qualified to assist with any scientific research directly, most researchers have to work with data, and in some cases, data sets get to immeasurable sizes. The data becomes challenging to work with and analyze, making it difficult for scientists to gain insight through their experiments. My data science courses taught me how to wrangle, tidy, and present data in a way that is easy for anyone to understand, regardless of whether they have data science experience. With these newfound skills, I felt better equipped to finally make an impact to help with medical research and, in some way, help my grandmother. A few months into taking my classes, I was offered an internship working with cell cytometry. By closely analyzing cells, scientists can take the data from various types of cells, develop treatments for patients, and improve the effectiveness of existing treatments. Taking the data science courses has paid off, and now, with my knowledge and experience, I am working with a team on a project to improve data collection and analytics for single-cell cytometry. I finally felt like I was using my computer and data science skills to impact my grandma’s condition significantly. Through my work now and in the future, I hope to help people in the medical field find ways to treat diseases better. Chris Ford Scholarship will allow me to attend university despite my financial struggles to achieve my goals of bettering myself through learning and bettering society through technology, research, and innovation.

In my sophomore year of high school, my grandma was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. I was devastated by the news and felt helpless in the matter. We had to shave all of her hair off to prepare her for chemotherapy, which is what made me fully realize the severity of her illness. A couple of months later, she was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Seeing her in such a deteriorated state did a number on me, but I realized that sulking about it would not change anything. I needed to stay strong and fight to support her in any way I could. While trying to figure out anything I could do to help her with her illness, I ran into a major issue: I did not have any medical or biology experience, and I was not that interested in the healthcare or biomedical engineering fields. I started to search for different ways to impact cancer and dementia in the medical field with my computer science and engineering experience. While many hospitals had information technology and data science roles available, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to make a difference in a way that could help my grandma and, if not her, people struggling with cancer and dementia in the future. While thinking of different ways to apply my interests and knowledge practically to help combat these diseases, scientific research seemed to be the best place I could help. While I didn’t hold much biomedical understanding, if I learned more about data science and artificial intelligence models, I would most likely be able to help research relating to helping cancer and dementia patients. After realizing this, I decided to take dual enrollment data science courses through high school during my senior year. I went on track to receive a data science certificate through the college. I slowly increased my knowledge of data handling by learning more about Python, R, SQL, and databases. As I learned more, I started to think about how to apply my newfound knowledge to help with research in the medical field. Even though I wasn’t qualified to assist with any scientific research directly, most researchers have to work with data, and in some cases, data sets get to immeasurable sizes. The data becomes challenging to work with and analyze, making it difficult for scientists to gain insight through their experiments. My data science courses taught me how to wrangle, tidy, and present data in a way that is easy for anyone to understand, regardless of whether they have data science experience. With these newfound skills, I felt better equipped to finally make an impact to help with medical research and, in some way, help my grandmother. A few months into taking my classes, I was offered an internship working with cell cytometry. By closely analyzing cells, scientists can take the data from various types of cells, develop treatments for patients, and improve the effectiveness of existing treatments. Taking the data science courses has paid off, and now, with my knowledge and experience, I am working with a team on a project to improve data collection and analytics for single-cell cytometry. I finally felt like I was using my computer and data science skills to impact my grandma’s condition significantly. Through my work, I hope to help people in the medical field find ways to treat diseases better. The Morgan Levine Dolan Community Service Scholarship will allow me to attend university despite my financial struggles to achieve my goals of bettering myself through learning and bettering society through technology, research, and innovation.

In my sophomore year of high school, my grandma was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. I was devastated by the news and felt helpless in the matter. We had to shave all of her hair off to prepare her for chemotherapy, which is what made me fully realize the severity of her illness. A couple of months later, she was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Seeing her in such a deteriorated state did a number on me, but I realized that sulking about it would not change anything. I needed to stay strong and fight to support her in any way I could. While trying to figure out anything I could do to help her with her illness, I ran into a major issue: I did not have any medical or biology experience, and I was not that interested in the healthcare or biomedical engineering fields. I started to search for different ways to impact cancer and dementia in the medical field with my computer science and engineering experience. While many hospitals had information technology and data science roles available, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to make a difference in a way that could help my grandma and, if not her, people struggling with cancer and dementia in the future. While thinking of different ways to apply my interests and knowledge practically to help combat these diseases, scientific research seemed to be the best place I could help. While I didn’t hold much biomedical understanding, if I learned more about data science and artificial intelligence models, I would most likely be able to help research relating to helping cancer and dementia patients. After realizing this, I decided to take dual enrollment data science courses through high school during my senior year. I went on track to receive a data science certificate through the college. I slowly increased my knowledge of data handling by learning more about Python, R, SQL, and databases. As I learned more, I started to think about how to apply my newfound knowledge to help with research in the medical field. Even though I wasn’t qualified to assist with any scientific research directly, most researchers have to work with data, and in some cases, data sets get to immeasurable sizes. The data becomes challenging to work with and analyze, making it difficult for scientists to gain insight through their experiments. My data science courses taught me how to wrangle, tidy, and present data in a way that is easy for anyone to understand, regardless of whether they have data science experience. With these newfound skills, I felt better equipped to finally make an impact to help with medical research and, in some way, help my grandmother. A few months into taking my classes, I was offered an internship working with cell cytometry. By closely analyzing cells, scientists can take the data from various types of cells, develop treatments for patients, and improve the effectiveness of existing treatments. Taking the data science courses has paid off, and now, with my knowledge and experience, I am working with a team on a project to improve data collection and analytics for single-cell cytometry. I finally felt like I was using my computer and data science skills to impact my grandma’s condition significantly. Through my work, I hope to help people in the medical field find ways to treat diseases better. The William A. Stuart Dream Scholarship will allow me to attend university despite my financial struggles to achieve my goals of bettering myself through learning and bettering society through technology, research, and innovation.

In my sophomore year of high school, my grandma was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. I was devastated by the news and felt helpless in the matter. We had to shave all of her hair off to prepare her for chemotherapy, which is what made me fully realize the severity of her illness. A couple of months later, she was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Seeing her in such a deteriorated state did a number on me, but I realized that sulking about it would not change anything. I needed to stay strong and fight to support her in any way I could. While trying to figure out anything I could do to help her with her illness, I ran into a major issue: I did not have any medical or biology experience, and I was not that interested in the healthcare or biomedical engineering fields. I started to search for different ways to impact cancer and dementia in the medical field with my computer science and engineering experience. While many hospitals had information technology and data science roles available, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to make a difference in a way that could help my grandma and, if not her, people struggling with cancer and dementia in the future. While thinking of different ways to apply my interests and knowledge practically to help combat these diseases, scientific research seemed to be the best place I could help. While I didn’t hold much biomedical understanding, if I learned more about data science and artificial intelligence models, I would most likely be able to help research relating to helping cancer and dementia patients. After realizing this, I decided to take dual enrollment data science courses through high school during my senior year. I went on track to receive a data science certificate through the college. I slowly increased my knowledge of dealing with data by learning more about Python, R, SQL, and databases. As I learned more, I started to think about how to apply my newfound knowledge to help with research in the medical field. Even though I wasn’t qualified to assist with any scientific research directly, most researchers have to work with data, and in some cases, data sets get to immeasurable sizes. The data becomes challenging to work with and analyze, making it difficult for scientists to gain insight through their experiments. My data science courses taught me how to wrangle, tidy, and present data in a way that is easy for anyone to understand, regardless of whether they have data science experience. With these newfound skills, I felt better equipped to finally make an impact to help with medical research and, in some way, help my grandmother. A few months into taking my classes, I was offered an internship working with cell cytometry. By closely analyzing cells, scientists can take the data from various types of cells, develop treatments for patients, and improve the effectiveness of existing treatments. Taking the data science courses has paid off, and now, with my knowledge and experience, I am working with a team on a project to improve data collection and analytics for single-cell cytometry. I finally felt like I was using my computer and data science skills to impact my grandma’s condition significantly. Through my work, I hope to help people in the medical field find ways to treat diseases better.