During my senior year of high school, I faced one of the most difficult challenges of my life — one that tested my health, mindset, and understanding of leadership. I suddenly became seriously ill and was unable to attend school for nearly two months. During that time, I could barely eat, sleep, or focus, and I fell behind in every subject. My teachers and classmates were worried, and I remember feeling helpless watching my grades slip away. I had always been a strong student, known for my energy, focus, and optimism, but that period forced me to face a different kind of test — one of resilience and faith. When I began to recover, I realized that I had two choices: I could allow my illness to define my senior year, or I could take control of my situation and lead myself back to success. I chose the second path. I reached out to my teachers to create a recovery plan and spent long nights catching up on missed lessons. I set a structured schedule, managed my assignments with discipline, and studied relentlessly to make up for lost time. I even helped classmates who were struggling in the same subjects, which gave me purpose and reminded me that leadership often begins with serving others. Through persistence and consistency, I not only caught up but graduated on time with a strong GPA. That experience transformed my understanding of leadership. Before that, I thought leadership was about holding a title or guiding others. Now, I know it begins with self-discipline, endurance, and the ability to remain calm in the middle of chaos. True leadership is not about perfection; it is about perseverance, faith, and empathy. These lessons stayed with me as I entered Georgia State University, where I was awarded the HOPE Scholarship for academic excellence. At Georgia State, I began majoring in Finance with a minor in Information Systems. My coursework, research, and professional experiences helped me discover how deeply STEM and finance are connected. I realized that technology is more than just innovation—it’s a tool for empowerment, especially when used to create financial access for underserved communities. My fascination with this intersection started long before college. When I was twelve, my twin brother and I became fascinated by cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. We believed it could change the world by providing financial opportunities to those left out of traditional systems. Though we couldn’t afford to mine crypto then, the spark it created never went away. Years later, I finally achieved that dream by working with a fintech company where I gained real-world experience in digital assets and blockchain analysis. There, I saw firsthand how financial technology could increase transparency, improve global access to capital, and help people build stability. I learned that fintech can be more than profit—it can be purpose. For me, the combination of STEM and finance represents a form of modern-day emergency management: creating systems that prepare people for unexpected hardships. Financial instability can be as devastating to families as natural disasters. Without savings, access to credit, or digital tools, people cannot recover quickly from crises. My goal is to build and lead financial systems that equip individuals and small businesses to withstand uncertainty—whether it’s a job loss, a medical emergency, or an economic downturn. I want to create solutions that make financial resilience possible for everyone, not just those with privilege or access. My Ghanaian heritage also drives my sense of purpose. Coming from a background where opportunities were limited, I understand the challenges that underrepresented communities face. I want to use my education and experience to bridge those gaps, combining financial literacy, innovation, and technology to empower the next generation. Leadership is not just about what you achieve—it’s about the systems you leave behind. My illness taught me strength, my education taught me innovation, and my experiences taught me compassion. As I continue my journey in finance and STEM, I hope to embody the values of resilience, service, and excellence by using my knowledge to create real impact. I want to inspire others to overcome their own challenges, to innovate fearlessly, and to lead with integrity, even in times of uncertainty.

I grew up in a normal family like any other kid, but from a young age i noticed my family faced various challenges. Mostly financial needs, when it come to being able to afford certain items at the right time. Financial needs were a constant burden growing up. Witnessing these difficulties ignited a determination within me to break free from the cycle of financial instability. As a result, from a young age I began to be very curious about crypto and business I found myself delving into books and online resources to understand how financial systems worked. The more I learned, the more I realized the transformative power that a solid foundation in business and finance could have on individual lives and communities. For example, many people around me and in my community. Don't know much about the government and business loans. So I decided with my brother and other people to help them earn those loans. My family's needs became the catalyst for my ambition to pursue a career in business. I saw it as a pathway to not only secure a stable financial future for myself but also to uplift my family and community. The dream of creating positive change and contributing to economic empowerment started to come to life. As I continue through my academic journey, I dedicated myself to mastering the intricacies of business and finance. I sought internships, engaged in extracurricular activities, and developed a network that exposed me to real-world applications of my studies. The goal was not just personal success but a commitment to leverage my knowledge for the benefit of those facing similar struggles. Post-graduation, my vision goes beyond what I see now. I plan to make a positive impact on my community by implementing counseling that address financial literacy and economic empowerment. Establishing workshops, mentorship programs, and community outreach efforts will be my way of sharing the knowledge gained during my academic pursuits. Furthermore, I seek to create opportunities for local businesses to succeeded. Whether through connecting them with grants or loans or providing support for sustainable practices, I believe that informing some about a complex economic environment can uplift the entire community. To conclude, regardless of my financial hardships and struggles I did not let that define me. Instead, It inspired me towards a career in business and finance with a mission to empower and uplift. At the end of the day I seek to create not just a brighter future for me and my family, but for my community and the world.

Hello, my name is John Koomson and since I was a child I was always interested in business and finance. I see education as a pathway to success which can open many doors and opportunities, but the cost to pursue a higher education is quite expensive in this generation. With more than 50% of college students taking student loans. I spend most of my time studying trying to not face the financial burden of student loans. Yet, by the time I had finished high school, I came to realize the career I was seeking in the banking industry had not changed for years. Therefore, I was conflicted on what my true passion in finance is. This placed a burning desire for me to pursue a higher education. I decided to attend Georgia State University which would end up being one of the best decisions I ever made. It was at college were I found out how education can bring value to someone. For example, during my first year in college, I realized how financial technology Is disrupting the banking industry and changing the lives of millions throughout the world. Later during the year I made connections and gained so much information which brought value to me and understanding in my career. The impact education made in my life helped me understand. being educated is not for a degree, but for me to improve myself and be a catalyst for innovation. likwise, I believe education can opens doors and opportunities to explore, learn, innovate, and impact the lives of those around you. I heard a former Butcher once say "Education is not a thing it is a process the older I get, the more I learn". being educated is a process as I get older I learn more which brings value to my life. obtaining a document or a degree does not necessarily make you smart, but it is about pursuing a passion and gaining understanding and knowledge in that subject. I've come to realize education brought value in certain areas of my life like I would not expect. For instance, when it came to time management, planning, social skills, and many more. Where made perfect and I developed new strengths through education. To conclude, I believe everyone should have the opportunity to be educated and pursue a higher education. Education brings value into almost every aspect of life and builds connections and bonds which last forever.

Hello, my name is John Koomson my passion for sports was not always there until around the age of eight. I can still remember the exact moment it was a cool evening and I was sitting on the floor eating a snack. Then I ended up scrolling on youtube upon a basketball video of Micheal Jordan. Also known as The Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T). From seeing him fly through the air like an eagle and dominate the court like a lion. From that moment the love for the game of basketball was in my heart. Yet, my environment growing up hindered me from pursuing my passion due to financial issues. As a result, I would go from trying out for multiple teams making the roster yet not being able to play for because of the fee. This occurred for most of my youth up until high school. High school for me was a new dawn an opportunity to play sports for free. Without having to worry about the financial burden, but not everything wen't occurring to my plan. During freshmen year I ended up getting cut from the basketball team. Which affected my confidence in my skills and ability. As a result, I ended up not trying out that year which still this day I regret. Not trying out hurt more than getting cut it felt like quitting on something you haven't given a chance. By this time I was junior and I felt my dream of playing sports in high school and beyond was catching up with me. So, I decided to train every day and become so great at basketball that getting cut would not be an option. Yet, I had doubts about trying out due to the fact some of my friends told me I should transition to track or football instead of basketball. Yet, tryouts were right around the corner. By the time tryouts came, I prayed and asked God what I should do and I had the interpretation to change sports which would be one of the greatest decisions I made. What ended up happening to me in those few months was a blessing that I will never take for granted. In that track season, I ended up going All-Conference All-Sectional and broke two of the school record for high jump and triple jump. Also, I received offers from two schools in Chicago to run college track and field. so in the end my past and failures rather encouraged me and my faith in God helped me be where I am here today.

Hello, My name is John Koomson and I am a freshman attending Georgia State University. During Covid-19 where many Businesses and families struggled, I interned at my father's company where I learned how small businesses and families can earn grants and money from the government(SBA). This sparked an idea that could positively impact my community and those around me. I realized that I could teach small businesses and those in my community how they can gain grants and support from government programs to support their business. Yet, from helping all these people I realized very few people in America knew about this program since it was pushed toward business. As a result, I started to learn more about how people can citizen support from various government programs and introduced it to them. My desire for community service comes from my childhood coming from Accra, Ghana where everyone knows everyone. This built a love for community service and helping those around me. Even though I'm eight-teen and still a freshman in college I believe my education alone isn't for my financial benefit and comfort. I believe that me attending college and earning a degree will not only open doors for me and my family, but those in my community. I've seen numerous people's lives who were changed by this small grant. As a result, I wish to change situations and help those in my community by empowering them with knowledge. On the other hand, I grew up in a neighborhood where the nearest library was 30 min to an hour away. This affected me not being able to study near home or find a book to read, but with funding and support the community was able to provide places of study and gyms. To conclude, my plan after college is to start my own business and learn more about business and I.T. One thing I am very passionate about is empowering the youth and the next generation. I believe that teaching the next generation about business and innovation is key. Most people don't realize, but the people that built PayPal, Door dash, Uber, Facebook, and more were all in college. I want to open schools and places for children to study after school to help with their academic lives. Furthermore, I seek to help those in need I see many homeless people walking to school. As a result, I wish to help them not by just building homeless shelter be equipping them with skills and tools to fit into society. I've seen how drugs have destroyed the people in downtown Atlanta. As a result, I believe I believe the best way to help people struggling with addiction Is not by giving them money, but by finding the root cause of their problem and helping them either through a rehab center or even finding a Church home.

Hello, My name is John Koomson and I am a freshman attending Georgia State University. During Covid-19 where many Businesses and families struggled, I interned at my father's company where I learned how small businesses and families can earn grants and money from the government(SBA). This sparked an idea that could positively impact my community and those around me. I realized that I could teach small businesses and those in my community how they can gain grants and support from government programs to support their business. I saw many businesses my father helped in Georgia earn up to thousands of dollars and expand and maintain growth from just qualifying for a grant. My passion for community service and disaster relief comes from my background coming from Accra, Ghana where everyone knows everyone I was close to my neighbors and those in my community. Furthermore, I was born in Tampa Florida and a majority of my family still lives there. Most people know living in Florida hurricanes and natural disasters are common. As a result, financial stability and housing can be an issue. I can still recall hurricane Ian, Nicole, and Fiona hitting my aunt's home and everyone evacuating. This affected me seeing how my family home was being destroyed by a hurricane and I couldn't do anything about it, but watch it live on TV. Yet, from this experience, I was motivated to give back to my community and help those around me. Even though I'm eight-teen and still a freshman in college I believe my education alone isn't for my financial benefit and comfort. I believe that me attending college and earning a degree will not only open doors for me and my family, but those in my community. I've seen how information and knowledge can make someone who's struggling understand how to gain help and support. This is one of the main reasons I seek to help my community. For example, I grew up in a neighborhood where the nearest library was 30 min to an hour away. This affected me not being able to study near home or find a book to read. After a few years, I entered high school and the community began to grow and resources and funding helped build libraries and gyms. To conclude, My passion for community and disaster relief has been there since I was born I always tell people I was born August,11,2004 when Hurricane Charley hit Tampa Flordia so you could jokingly say I was destined for this.

Hello, my name is John Koomson and I attend Georgia State University. The pursuit of higher education is important to me because  I need to be both schooled and educated at the same time. To be able to grow intellectually, academically, and socially and to become a person who can function across the board.  College is where I can add knowledge to my natural wisdom and in college is where all these tools are found in terms of new courses and mind-testing topics and books. I felt and still believe that this would lead me to major in business administration and see the world also from a financial perspective as I apply what I studied in college to a real-life example. As a result, I picked the prestigious Georgia State University known for its diversity and dynamism. During Covid-19 where many Businesses and families struggled, I interned at my fathers company where I learned how small businesses and families can earn grants and money from the government(SBA). As a result, this sparked an idea that could positively impact my community and those around me. I realized that I could teach small businesses and those in my community how they can gain grants and support from government programs to support their business. I saw many bussiness my father helped in Georgia earn up to thousands of dollars and expand and maintain growth from just qualifying for a grant. Furthermore, I saw this as an opportunity not only to help the community, but also schools, libraries, and more. The reason behind this plan is growing up in a small town where it was difficult to find access to a place of study like a library. I saw this opportunity as a way to help to fix that promblem and teach people in the community how they can get funding from the government. Likwise, a reason I pursued higher education is that I believe education enables a person to be a better citizen, find more opportunities, and bring people together. I don't look at GSU as a campus but rather as a community where young men and women go to learn and build themselves, this said, Education brings people together. To conclude, I believe there are various ways to help the community and I have just known a few. With more time and wisdom I believe I won't just impact my community but the world around me.

My struggle is strange even when I think about growing up as a kid I lived the American dream and money was never an issue till I hit the age of eight. My family is from Accra Ghana during the age of eight my parents decided to move back to Africa, but during that time my parents encountered financial trouble and he wasn't able to pay for my brother's and sister's school fees. My father told me when I grew up I couldn't see my kids sit home for weeks on the couch and say dad why aren't we going to school. As a result, he told my mother to take us back to America for a few months and wait till I gather money and I'll come back. A few months turned into years I remember being so confused that what going on we were just living in a big house and now we are living in someone's house sleeping on the ground. My parents ended up getting divorced which made it worse. As a result, I wasn't able to spend much time with my father. Going back to America wasn't easy and it wasn't the same as I remembered. Going to middle school was challenging I remember my mother always stressed, tired, and angry having to work the night shift and make sure there was food. My dad worked so hard that I barely saw him and when I did it was only close to a week. Sometimes he would travel and work for almost a year and come back for three days. My dad was amazing and worked so hard to provide, but due to financial issues and problems with my mother, I rarely saw him. So from the age of eight to fourteen, my dad felt absent from my childhood. We ended up moving into an apartment for the first time I thought things were getting better, but it seemed like as soon as things got better it would just get worse. My mother tried to hide problems from me and my siblings always wanting us to focus on school, but when I came home and saw pink slips on the door always I knew things were still tough. Yet through it all, I thank God. What led me to push through these challenges is my faith in Christ Jesus. There were days when I felt like quitting and just giving up, but I remembered what my father went through to get to America. My father's situation was 10x worse than mine he grew up in a big family with close to no financial support. He paid for his education by mining for gold and working after school to pay for the school fees he left home at the age of 15 so he could have an education. He always told me God is the only reason I'm here and If I had quit and lost faith In God I would been a statistic Hearing this motivated me to give my all in school. I got accepted into GSU and majored in business administration. Going to College I realized the door of opportunities I have and quitting back then would have hindered me. I see my life experience as an opportunity to educate struggling youth and those in my community. growing up in Chicago Illinois I saw many of my peers go down the wrong path due to drugs, abuse, and poverty. I believe that talking to someone and motivating others can change a person's attitude towards something or someone.

Hello, my name is John Koomson and I attend Georgia State University. The pursuit of higher education is important to me because  I need to be both schooled and educated at the same time. To be able to grow intellectually, academically, and socially and to become a person who can function across the board.  College is where I can add knowledge to my natural wisdom and in college is where all these tools are found in terms of new courses and mind-testing topics and books. I felt and still believe that this would lead me to major in business administration and see the world also from a financial perspective as I apply what I studied in college to a real-life example. As a result, I picked the prestigious Georgia State University known for its diversity and dynamism. During Covid-19 where many Businesses and families struggled, I interned at my fathers company where I learned how small businesses and families can earn grants and money from the government(SBA). As a result, this sparked an idea that could positively impact my community and those around me. I realized that I could teach small businesses and those in my community how they can gain grants and support from government programs to support their business. I saw how people my father helped businesses in Georgia earn thousands of dollars and expand and maintain growth from just qualifying for a grant. Furthermore, I saw this as an opportunity not only to help the community, but also schools, libraries, and more. The reason behind this plan is that growing up in a small town where it was difficult to find access to a place of study like a library. I saw this as an opportunity to fix that and teach people in the community how they can get funding from the government. Another reason I pursued higher education is that I believe education enables a person to be a better citizen, find more opportunities, and bring people together. I don't look at GSU as a campus but rather as a community where young men and women go to learn and build themselves, this is said, Education brings people together. To conclude, I believe there are various ways to help the community and I have just known a few. With more time and wisdom I believe I won't just impact my community but the world around me.

Hello, my name is John Koomson and I attend Georgia State University. The pursuit of higher education is important to me because  I need to be both schooled and educated at the same time. To be able to grow intellectually, academically, and socially and to become a person who can function across the board.  College is where I can add knowledge to my natural wisdom and in college is where all these tools are found in terms of new courses and mind-testing topics and books. I felt and still believe that this would lead me to major in business administration and see the world also from a financial perspective as I apply what I studied in college to a real-life example. As a result, I picked the prestigious Georgia State University known for its diversity and dynamism. During Covid-19 where many Businesses and families struggled, I interned at my fathers company where I learned how small businesses and families can earn grants and money from the government(SBA). As a result, this sparked an idea that could positively impact my community and those around me. I realized that I could teach small businesses and those in my community how they can gain grants and support from government programs to support their business. I saw how people my father helped businesses in Georgia earn thousands of dollars and expand and maintain growth from just qualifying for a grant. Furthermore, I saw this as an opportunity not only to help the community, but also schools, libraries, and more. The reason behind this plan is that growing up in a small town where it was difficult to find access to a place of study like a library. I saw this as an opportunity to fix that and teach people in the community how they can get funding from the government. Another reason I pursued higher education is that I believe education enables a person to be a better citizen, find more opportunities, and bring people together. I don't look at GSU as a campus but rather as a community where young men and women go to learn and build themselves, this is said, Education brings people together. To conclude, I believe there are various ways to help the community and I have just known a few. With more time and wisdom I believe I won't just impact my community but the world around me.