Growing up, my family faced financial challenges that instilled in me a deep appreciation for the value of economic stability and financial empowerment. As the son of hardworking parents, I witnessed firsthand the sacrifices they made to provide for our family's needs and ensure a better future for us. My parents' resilience and determination in the face of adversity inspired me to pursue a career in business and finance. I recognized the transformative power of financial literacy and strategic decision-making in achieving long-term prosperity and stability. From an early age, I developed a keen interest in understanding economic principles and exploring opportunities for wealth creation and investment. Moreover, witnessing the impact of community support and resources on our family's well-being fueled my desire to make a positive difference in the lives of others. I believe that access to financial education and resources is essential for empowering individuals and communities to overcome economic challenges and achieve their full potential. Venture capital, in particular, captivated my interest as a powerful mechanism for fueling innovation and driving economic growth. The prospect of investing in visionary startups with transformative potential resonated with my entrepreneurial spirit and desire to create positive change. I recognized venture capital as a catalyst for supporting innovative ideas, fostering entrepreneurship, and generating economic opportunities. Post-graduation, I am committed to leveraging my skills and knowledge in business and finance to make a meaningful impact on my community. Through initiatives focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and economic development, I aim to empower individuals and families to build a brighter future for themselves. Specifically, I plan to collaborate with local organizations and educational institutions to offer workshops and resources on financial management and entrepreneurship. By equipping individuals with the tools and knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions and pursue entrepreneurial opportunities, I hope to foster economic empowerment and resilience within my community. Furthermore, I aspire to support initiatives that promote economic inclusion and address systemic barriers to financial access and opportunity. Whether through mentorship, advocacy, or strategic partnerships, I am committed to driving positive change and creating pathways to prosperity for all members of my community. In essence, my upbringing and experiences have shaped my passion for business and finance and inspired my commitment to making a positive impact on my community. I am eager to embark on this journey post-graduation and contribute to building a more equitable and prosperous future for generations to come.

My favorite artwork I've ever created is a 7ft 3 inch Earth Dragon mixed media sculpture I made in my 11th-grade year. It took roughly five months to complete as a solo project between my academic and art classes-- it is also the largest artwork I've ever created to date. I started working on it on September 10th, 2021, and finished in May of 2023. The body of the sculpture is made from yards of chicken wire that I twisted and shaped with my bare hands and pliers. I wanted the Earth Dragon to have a throne, so I went to a local supply store, Construction Junction, where I found two chairs of the same make and model for $10. I brought the chairs to my school and then up to my classroom on the 6th floor, where I began cutting them apart with a hand saw, stacking the chairs on top of one another, and wood-gluing them together to make the Dragon's grand throne. After working on the Dragon for two months straight, skipping lunch, and working four hours a day or more, I had to stop because the next round of students for the sculpture class didn't have room for it. After all, it was one solid piece. So, the work advancing the sculpture halted for about a month and a half. Realizing the problem with moving a 7ft 3-inch sculpture everywhere I go. I cut the work into smaller pieces to transport it more easily. As if the Earth Dragon wasn't an intensive sculpture already. I made handmade paper from recycled plant fibers and embedded them with seeds to cover the Dragon. The Earth Dragon was on display at the Contemporary Crafts BNY Mellon Satellite Gallery between April 2022 and June 2022, Manchester Craftsman’s Guild art competition MCGI, along with Carnegie Mellon University's Hall of Fine Arts for two weeks. It was even the star in two of my school's middle school dance recitals. As I previously said, it took roughly five months to complete as a solo project, and here is the story behind the work. The Earth and The Earth Dragon The Earth and the Dragon have a special connection. When the Earth is in pain, so is the Earth Dragon. The Earth is held in the Earth Dragon's left claw, on fire, symbolized by its covering of red plastic. Its burns, illustrated on the body as the peeling of flesh from the Dragon's face, with smaller openings across its legs, torso, and back. In the right claw lies a purple human skull, with purple being a sign of mourning and a symbol of the pain and suffering which we have inflicted on the Earth. It also signifies the dark side of human greed and intentions. As a last-ditch effort to heal the Earth, the Earth Dragon's body, covered in handmade paper embedded with seeds to regrow the Earth. The Dragon, because of the burns we caused it-- looks like a scary monster, which is a misrepresentation of what's on the inside – someone who wants to heal the planet, not destroy it. The conflicts on our planet inspired me to create this sculpture. I aimed to present a mirror to us as a society, how we treat our world, and our ignorance of the consequences of our actions. In addition to the sculpture signifying a protector of the planet, It's also about me and every other black person worldwide. Often as black people, we are stigmatized, racially profiled, hated, and berated for nothing more than the color of our skin. No questions asked.

My plan for educating my community on financial literacy involves various approaches. Financial literacy is an essential life skill that many individuals lack, and I believe it is crucial to empower individuals with the knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions. One approach I plan to use is to continue to develop and expand the Financial Solutions Club of which I am president and founder. The club currently provides financial literacy lessons to high school students, and I aim to develop it into a non-profit organization that serves the broader community. Through this organization, I will work with public high schools and middle schools to provide financial literacy education to students. This will involve working with teachers and school administrators to integrate financial literacy lessons into the curriculum, as well as offering after-school programs that provide additional instruction. The concept of community engagement can be interpreted in various ways, depending on an individual's perspective. For me, community engagement embodies a proactive approach to social responsibility, empowering individuals to effect positive and lasting changes in their neighborhoods and local communities. It involves understanding the needs and concerns of the community and working collaboratively to address them. Another approach that I will use is to create online courses that cater to students from the 5th grade to the college level. These courses will be designed to be interactive and engaging and will cover topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, and financial planning. By creating online courses, I can reach a wider audience and make financial literacy education more accessible to individuals who may not have the opportunity to attend after-school programs. In addition to the above, I also plan to organize workshops and seminars to educate adults in the community about financial literacy. These workshops will cover topics such as managing debt, saving for retirement, and investing, among others. These workshops will be tailored to the needs of the community and will be delivered by financial experts, including myself. Finally, I will use social media and other digital platforms to spread awareness about financial literacy and engage members of the community. I plan to create engaging content such as videos, infographics, and blog posts that simplify complex financial concepts and make them accessible to everyone. With social media, I can reach a wider audience and engage individuals who may not be able to attend workshops or other events. My plan for educating my community about financial literacy involves a combination of approaches, including after-school programs, online courses, workshops, and social media engagement. My ultimate goal is to build a more financially literate and equitable society, using my future career as a business entrepreneur. I plan to collaborate with brands, apps, and non-profit organizations that share my vision to create more financially literate communities. I believe that by using these approaches, I can make a significant impact on financial literacy education in my community and empower individuals to make informed financial decisions.

My name is Jason Garland Jr. I am a 17-year-old artist, innovator, and entrepreneur. I founded JG's Plant Nursery, a garden business that combines environmental sustainability with AI technology. Awarded an agricultural technology grant from Carnegie Mellon University, which I used to build and program a farming robot that weeds, seeds, and waters the plants I sell to my customers. This endeavor allowed me to feature on PBS NewsHour's "Crafting the Future" and WQED Pittsburgh's "The Growing Field: Future Jobs in Agriculture." Where I spoke about the intersection of technology and agriculture, I am in the process of getting this AI technology into local communities and schools that would benefit from the education and learning experience my farming robot can provide students. Though this is not the career I want to pursue, it is one of the many ways I impact my community. I plan to make a positive impact with my future degree by getting a business degree and using the knowledge I will acquire to improve the economic state of my community. As a senior in high school, I serve as the President and Founder of Financial Solutions, a club I started to enhance economic awareness among my peers by providing lessons on budgeting, tax laws, real estate, and stock market investing. As I enter college, I plan to build on the skills I have acquired from teaching finance lessons and transform the club into a non-profit organization that addresses financial and social inequities in Pittsburgh. I believe it's important for young teens and adults to have the skills to be financially savvy. My goal is to make financial literacy accessible to everyone by creating online courses that cater to students from the 5th grade to the college level. Through my future career as a business entrepreneur, my goal is to create a more financially literate and equitable society by partnering with brands, apps, and non-profits that align with this mission. I was fortunate enough to have access to my dad's vast collection of books on business and finance, which exposed me to the world of investing at an early age. My parent's guidance has given me the knowledge and resources to invest, budget, and save money. I have learned never to take for granted the life I have. More importantly, I have acquired the opportunity to help other people who are less fortunate than I am to become better.

Since the age of 5, I have had an intense love for business and entrepreneurship. I set up quarter-operated candy machines at my local barbershop, started a neighborhood lemonade stand in the summer months, built a fully operational Plant Nursery business in my 9th-grade year of high school, and became the President of Financial Solutions. A Club that teaches High school students how to take finance into their own hands through Company Analysis, Stock Market, Paper Trading, tax laws, and Real Estate. Over the past month, I have been researching a specific piece of technological advancement that merges the world of finance with tech and computer science. Quantitative investing uses mathematical modeling and data analysis to calculate the intestine values of companies. I love going through the income and balance sheets. But the ability to expand my knowledge into a program that can take the process I have used to find value companies is a software I am working to build. Over the past few weeks, I've been teaching myself javascript and python to fast-track my way to success by not waiting for a mandatory assignment but taking the initiative myself. I want to solve Finacial inequity by creating access to what I have been teaching to my club and speaking engagements. The vast majority of economic disparity is cyclical from the previous generations. But, I know it only takes one person to break the cycle for the betterment of themselves, their family, and future generations. Which is a service I know I can provide.

In 9th grade, I started a business, My Civics teacher gave the class a prompt: Make a promotional presentation for a commercial business. While searching for a company to research, I thought, Why not just make up my own company? I had some plants at home, including lucky bamboo, and decided I would start a plant business. I've never been one to take an assignment lightly, so I created a commercial for my plant nursery business: JGs Plant Nursery. I used a 5-Stalk Lucky Bamboo to star in my commercial, and my entrepreneurial journey began. I ran the books managing every sale- I started an Instagram page to reach a broader audience, and I went to concerts and theater play venues to set up shop in and out of school. The joy of running my own company and transforming my mock civics project into a recognizable brand outside the classroom is something I will take with me outside of high school into a future career. Success is consistency, not straying away from the challenge. When I started my plant business, I didn't know if people would like it. I didn't do a survey or pre-trial. The most powerful tool you can have when pursuing anything is to start. These are the lessons we must share with the youth, as without a start there is nothing. We often let the lack of funds holt our ability to make a change. Change isn't simply currency; it's a relationship, a conversation, it's a start to build a better space for the next generation.