I was not too fond of the environment I grew up in. Never did it even cross my mind that my parents had made an impossible situation possible with sheer dedication and a decisive goal in mind. Only after visiting the place where my parents grew up at age 14 did my entire ideology shift. I went to Africa the summer of my 3rd middle school year. I visited the home my mother grew up in and stayed there for a whole month. Slowly I integrated into a life that seemed much more challenging than I'd ever experienced while in the U.S. The people in this compound had little to no clothing, and I noticed that my mother had given away a considerable amount of my older clothing to the community. Volunteering along with my mother in Africa allowed me the mindset to change how I thought about the world and the people around me. Though we didn't profit from giving away any of my old clothes or toys, it allowed us to sprout a sense of happiness in our community, leading me to want to give back even more. (My mother had been doing that for years.) Within Metro-Atlanta, a growing number of homeless people deal with the harsh conditions that come along with living in the cities. There must be reasonable access to showers or clean clothing without spending money. The number of people that lay beneath the busy, traffic-filled bridges increases over the months. People lay in their filth while also dealing with Atlanta's freezing/bipolar conditions and constantly had to beg for money. Even if it's only a tiny contribution, whenever given a chance, I attempt to provide extra clothing or food to those I find on the street. I began pursuing my higher education for two reasons. First, I am a First Generation African American college student, and my parents grew up in a little impoverished country called Gambia. Throughout my life, I lived with an image that my parents were perfect, and I never truly comprehended what money meant in the broader spectrum of societal hierarchies. The younger version of me never thought of the hardships that my parents had suffered to get me to a place where I had opportunities in the first place and my life wasn't chosen for me. Secondly, high education gives me access to influence I never had in the past and a method for giving back to the people who have supported me and my dreams over the years. I have barely been able to attend college without being in debt. My mother and father would have no way of financing my college if anything were to happen without sacrificing the very little we currently have. The tuition and living expenses are high, and it's not easy to find a middle ground where I could stay on campus. I never want my children to have an experience such as that, where every decision they make is based on whether they can afford it. I wish their choices to be their own regardless of the price tag. Creating a small cybersecurity corporation focused on doing more jobs and earning steady revenues over time as it expands through experience is becoming a common theme. My long-term idea is to create a network of companies interested in cybersecurity and provide a platform for companies to develop contracts with my corporation and employ interested independent contractors to build long-term relationships with talented and experienced technicians.

I was not too fond of the environment I grew up in. Never did it even cross my mind that my parents had made an impossible situation possible with sheer dedication and a decisive goal in mind. Only after visiting the place where my parents grew up at age 14 did my entire ideology shift. I went to Africa the summer of my 3rd middle school year. I visited the home my mother grew up in and stayed there for a whole month. Slowly I integrated into a life that seemed much more challenging than I'd ever experienced while in the U.S. The people in this compound had little to no clothing, and I noticed that my mother had given away a considerable amount of my older clothing to the community. Volunteering along with my mother in Africa allowed me the mindset to change how I thought about the world and the people around me. Though we didn't profit from giving away any of my old clothes or toys, it allowed us to sprout a sense of happiness in our community, leading me to want to give back even more. (My mother had been doing that for years.) I began pursuing my higher education for two reasons. First, I am a First Generation African American college student, and my parents grew up in a little impoverished country called Gambia. Throughout my life, I lived with an image that my parents were perfect, and I never truly comprehended what money meant in the broader spectrum of societal hierarchies. The younger version of me never thought of the hardships that my parents had suffered to get me to a place where I had opportunities in the first place and my life wasn't chosen for me. Secondly, high education gives me access to influence I never had in the past and a method for giving back to the people who have supported me and my dreams over the years. I have barely been able to attend college without being in debt. My mother and father would have no way of financing my college if anything were to happen without sacrificing the very little we currently have. The tuition and living expenses are high, and finding a middle ground where I could stay on campus is difficult. I never want my children to have an experience such as that, where every decision they make is based on whether they can afford it. I wish their choices were their own, regardless of the price tag. I believe that creating a small cybersecurity corporation focused on doing more jobs and earning steady revenues over time as it expands through experience is becoming more of a common theme. My long-term idea is to create a network of companies interested in cybersecurity and provide a platform for companies to develop contracts with my corporation and employ interested independent contractors to build long-term relationships with talented and experienced technicians.

I was not too fond of the environment I grew up in. Never did it even cross my mind that my parents had made an impossible situation possible with sheer dedication and a decisive goal in mind. Only after visiting the place where my parents grew up at age 14 did my entire ideology shift. I went to Africa the summer of my 3rd middle school year. I visited the home my mother grew up in and stayed there for a whole month. Slowly I integrated into a life that seemed much more challenging than I'd ever experienced while in the U.S. The people in this compound had little to no clothing, and I noticed that my mother had given away a considerable amount of my older clothing to the community. Volunteering along with my mother in Africa allowed me the mindset to change how I thought about the world and the people around me. Though we didn't profit from giving away any of my old clothes or toys, it allowed us to sprout a sense of happiness in our community, leading me to want to give back even more. (My mother had been doing that for years.) I began pursuing my higher education for two reasons. First, I am a First Generation African American college student, and my parents grew up in a little impoverished country called Gambia. Throughout my life, I lived with an image that my parents were perfect, and I never truly comprehended what money meant in the broader spectrum of societal hierarchies. The younger version of me never thought of the hardships that my parents had suffered to get me to a place where I had opportunities in the first place and my life wasn't chosen for me. Secondly, high education gives me access to influence I never had in the past and a method for giving back to the people who have supported me and my dreams over the years. I have barely been able to attend college without being in debt. My mother and father would have no way of financing my college if anything were to happen without sacrificing the very little we currently have. The tuition and living expenses are high, and it's challenging to find a middle ground where I could stay on campus. I never want my children to have an experience such as that, where every decision they make is based on whether they can afford it. I wish their choices were their own, regardless of the price tag. I believe that creating a small cybersecurity corporation focused on doing more jobs and earning steady revenues over time as it expands through experience is becoming more of a common theme. My long-term idea is to create a network of companies interested in cybersecurity and provide a platform for companies to develop contracts with my corporation and employ interested independent contractors to build long-term relationships with talented and experienced technicians.

I was not too fond of the environment I grew up in. Never did it even cross my mind that my parents had made an impossible situation possible with sheer dedication and a decisive goal in mind. Only after visiting the place where my parents grew up at age 14 did my entire ideology shift. I went to Africa the summer of my 3rd middle school year. I visited the home my mother grew up in and stayed there for a whole month. Slowly I integrated into a life that seemed much more challenging than I'd ever experienced while in the U.S. The people in this compound had little to no clothing, and I noticed that my mother had given away a considerable amount of my older clothing to the community. (My mother had been doing that for years.) I began pursuing my higher education for two reasons. First, I am a First Generation African American college student, and my parents grew up in a little impoverished country called Gambia. However, we also have Caribbean decent. Throughout my life, I lived with an image that my parents were perfect, and I never truly comprehended what money meant in the broader spectrum of societal hierarchies. The younger version of me never thought of the hardships that my parents had suffered to get me to a place where I had opportunities in the first place and my life wasn't chosen for me. Secondly, high education gives me access to influence I never had in the past and a method for giving back to the people who have supported me and my dreams over the years. I have barely been able to attend college without being in debt. My mother and father would have no way of financing my college if anything were to happen without sacrificing the very little we currently have. The tuition and living expenses are high, and it's not easy to find a middle ground where I could stay on campus. I never want my children to have an experience such as that, where every decision they make is based on whether they can afford it. I wish for their choices to be their own regardless of the price tag. I believe that creating a small cybersecurity corporation focused on doing more jobs and earning steady revenues over time as it expands through experience is becoming more of a common theme. My long-term idea is to create a network of companies interested in cybersecurity and provide a platform for companies to create contracts with my corporation and employ interested independent contractors to create long-term relationships with talented and experienced technicians. This way, those of similar backgrounds, such as mine, can present themselves to a world catering to their skills.

Growing up, I wasn't good at pretty much anything. However, somehow I had good grades and a knack for attracting good energy towards me. So when I hit the age of 13, as my body began to change and I got taller, as someone who hadn't been good at sports, I started to become more open to them once more. During Covid, while I was running track and field, I opened up an opportunity I'd never even pictured having a chance at doing. I became a thrower and quickly gained a grasp on throwing a discus. I struggled with the shotput since I'm a pretty skinny guy. While I didn't make it very far or win anything too prestigious, I learned how to enable my focus on a singular topic. Throwing Discus allowed me to trust myself to follow through with a particular task/goal, not only when practicing but when I did pretty much anything, even if the goal/obstacle was big or small. I reached a level of focus that allowed me to close my mind off from outside thoughts and think about what guided me and helped me figure out what I needed to get done. Even with this scholarship, I am typing up right now. I began pursuing my higher education mainly for two reasons. I am a First-Generation African American, and my parents grew up in a little African country called Gambia. Throughout my life, I lived with an image in my head that my parents were perfect. Younger me never thought of the hardships in their life that they'd encountered to get to this country and make a name for themselves. Two, higher education can give me the access I need to give back to the people who raised and took care of me and allowed me to be in the position I'm in now. Instead, I grew up hating the environment I'd grown in without even thinking that my parents had made an impossible situation possible with sheer dedication and a decisive goal in mind. Even if I come from somewhere that others might consider ghetto or underdeveloped. That place made me who I am today. I grew up in a two-parent household with two African parents with powerful moral goals and expectations for their children, and while I don't always agree with how they choose to do things, it all is with love. Because of that, I strive to be similar to them in that regard. I decided to pursue my higher education after going on a trip to Africa when I was 14. I visited the home my mother grew up in and stayed there for an entire month, living in a house right before the rainy season hit. The people in this compound had little to no clothing, and I noticed that a considerable amount of my older clothing had been given away to the community. (My mother had been doing that for years.) I vaguely remember when it began to rain, but when it did happen, the streets, driveways, and backyards were flooded with water so much that it looked like a lake, and some houses were flooded. Yet these people went outside in the morning to fill buckets of rainwater and remove them from their homes. I aspire to help those kinds of people. However, I knew everything I needed to do started in my community. My dream begins with becoming a wealthy person. Someone capable of taking care of a large family and still donating to charity and people indeed in need of help and change. In downtown Atlanta, there are far too many homeless individuals without the means to take a shower or even use the restroom in public bathrooms. Contributing to a life-changing experience is something I have always dreamt of doing, and it all begins with becoming successful myself.