I deserve this scholarship so that I can invest this money in my start-up business, whose mission is to destroy peers' college careers. Education is clearly a scam to distract us from the fact that the moon is not real, reptiles run every government, and trees are actually portals to our home dimension. This crucial message of TRUTH needs your funding. Help me free us all. My academic and career goals are to further my business, College Corruptors Incorporated: Clearly not a Cult. I was inspired by a fever dream to undermine the concept of education and replace it with liberty and much-needed revolution. Just last year, over 19.4 billion students attended colleges and universities. I will liberate the delusional masses. I do not measure my academic goals in terms of degrees, but rather outdated, biased social media articles. One time, I gathered the courage to present my thesis on the Educational Epidemic in a shady alley to several stray cats and one bystander. As a demonstration, I ran full force at a tree to try to achieve the very specific velocity at which interdimensional travel is possible. I failed and severely injured my left ring toe. Despite this devastating humiliation, I've continued to work on my public speaking skills.

I am passionate about protecting the environment for three reasons. Most importantly, nature is the foundation of all existence. The human race also has a moral obligation to live in harmony with other species. Finally, I admire the beauty of the environment, and having grown up on a small island, feel an innate urge to protect and preserve it. Natural resources are the base of everything that humans have built. Even advanced artificial technology relies on raw natural resources. Land, shelter, food, and water are all harnessed resouces and vital to the health and longevity of our species. The current climate and pollution crisis is harming people by damaging these resources. Around the world, 2.2 billion people are living without clean water, which increases disease and death. Others are living in areas of poor air quality, which increases the risk of respiratory infections and lung cancer. We are running low on natural resources like coal, which our society has become dependent on. Our irresponsible relationship with nature is directly harming people and creating an unsustainable dynamic. Ever since I can remember, I wanted to go into a career that helped others. In middle school, I found that I could easily dedicate my life to helping the environment because it is the foundation of all life, necessary for everyone, and is actively in dire need of help. The human race is responsible for living in harmony with the environment. Because we are in a position of power, it is up to our actions to create a sustainable and compassionate relationship with species around us. For the sake of biodiversity, decreasing extinction and endangerment, and for my love of flora and fauna, I want to dedicate myself to saving the environment. I was born and raised on Okinawa, Japan, a small island with minimal pollution, beautiful clear skies, plots of forest, natural caves, flowers and fruit spilling from ancient architecture, and oceans so clean you could see the fish swimming by your feet. Growing up there has shown me the value of living in a eco-friendly world. My studies will help me work toward combating climate change because I have based my entire college plan around getting a career in helping the environment. I am currently in the School of Engineering at UC Irvine as an Environmental Engineering major. Environmental engineers use engineering principles to protect the environment, ensure that companies are within regulations, and to contribute to innovation in the field of sustainability. I am minoring in Management and plan to get an MBA after completing my undergraduate degree to run an environmental non-profit to get clean water to underprivileged areas in the future. Next year, I will add another minor in Earth Atmospheric Sciences for a better grasp of climate change issues. I plan to work as an Environmental engineer, an officer in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Services, and contribute to humanitarian environmental missions in my future. The advice that I give to my loved ones is to consider their impact over their sacrifices. Common ways to reduce carbon footprint are seen as inconveniences, but if they focus on the meaning behind their actions, things like taking shorter showers, biking instead of driving, and unplugging unused appliances feel more justified. Focusing on larger goals like switching to solar for future houses or planning to one day get an electric vehicle will be less of a daily stress and a way to save money in the long term. Finally, I recommend going to ocean clean ups or volunteering with animals so that they can see their impact immediately.

Life on a small military base, Lester, in Okinawa, Japan, was a quaint existence. On that island that I call my first home, I was surrounded by astounding natural beauties. The shores were almost pure white, and the water was a clear turquoise, bursting with life. Vines and fruit spilled from cracks in ancient architecture. Cats, birds, and butterflies filled the streets and an army of cicadas made sure that it was never silent. And in this lush world, I would sit and wait for my father to come back home. As the daughter of a veteran, I have found that service is a key part of my career goals. Much like how my father devoted his life to his country, I feel the need to devote myself to my community. Because I was raised in Okinawa, I feel that this has personally manifested in a desire to protect the environment. From Japan to Texas to Maryland to California, I have had the opportunity to see a variety of biomes and climates. It is fascinating how much ones experience of a place can change based off of environmental safety. California’s drought and wildfires are a far cry from my island’s tsunami warnings, or Texas’s floods and Maryland’s storms. While these natural disasters are uncontrollable, we as humans can take smaller actions to help prevent them. The more pressing tragedy is that so much of the world lives in situations controlled by the environment even though there we have discovered ways to protect ourselves. Areas without access to clean water experience higher rates of disease and have less access to education. This is an unfortunate reality that I hope to solve during my career. Seeing my father working in the government has opened my eyes to opportunities in uniformed services. I plan to join the NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Services) after graduating college to serve the country and do research on oceanic and atmospheric issues facing the world today. I plan to do an internship with the NOAA the summer of my sophomore year in college. Another option I am interested in is joining the EPA, or the Environmental Protection Agency. My father served and protected the country and my family, and in my own way, I hope to feel that same fulfillment. There is a future where people can live in harmony with the environment, and the environment can live in better harmony with us. I see the world as a beautiful place full of life and biodiversity. Natural resources are the building blocks of our society and all technology. As much as the earth needs our respect and consideration, we need the earth to survive. Being a member of the military is a difficult and demanding job. My dad worked with both the Navy and the Air Force, and his rigorous training has left him disabled. The mental strain of the military is also a dangerous aspect. I appreciate my dad more than I can say for his sacrifice. In the future, I hope to do as much good as he has done for this world.