In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. My father would leave our household and I would not have contact with him until 11th grade. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take in order to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I would become very disheartened and frustrated at the world as I constantly asked myself, “Why me? What’d I do to deserve this?” I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. I would later learn to never compare your life to other peoples. This is because everybody has a different living situation and despite people’s lives appearing to be great from the outside, they can still be going through struggles and problems of their own. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math, ELA, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced into the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take in order to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. The feeling that I felt once I learned, understood, and completed my duties correctly was of great value as the feelings of pride and hard work mix to make a natural high. As months went by and eventually years, I had to learn more advanced skills and took on more duties, such as replacing our laundry dryer’s heating module, cleaning our tankless water heater coils, and making bookshelves from scratch. The skills and knowledge I gained from accomplishing these endeavors are invaluable, as I feel now that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. These experiences were uplifting as I had to learn on my own how to do these tasks with only the help of the internet. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. My father would leave our household and I would not have contact with him until 11th grade. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take in order to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I would even reach out to my father and forgive him for his actions, and have been rebuilding our relationship since the middle of 11th grade. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced into the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

Jack Terry's story inspires me heavily since he was able to come to America, a foreign land to him, and make a better life for himself after experiencing such an atrocity that was the holocaust. The total amount of awards and things that Terry accomplished is truly honorable and I aspire to be like him. In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house to never come back. This incident which lasted less than 30 seconds would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. At first, that feeling of being lost made me depressed as I had to come to terms with what happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community. I just could not stomach to bring myself out of bed. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by telling me positive affirmations. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house to never come back. This incident which lasted less than 30 seconds would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. At first, that feeling of being lost made me depressed as I had to come to terms with what happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community. I just could not stomach to bring myself out of bed. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by telling me positive affirmations. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house to never come back. This incident which lasted less than 30 seconds would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. At first, that feeling of being lost made me depressed as I had to come to terms with what happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community. I just could not stomach to bring myself out of bed. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by telling me positive affirmations. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I became depressed. I felt very disheartened and frustrated at the world as I constantly asked myself, “Why me? What’d I do to deserve this?” I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. I have learned to love that feeling of being lost as I know I will eventually figure it out; all it takes is patience and thought. The feeling that I felt once I learned, understood, and completed my duties correctly was of great value as the feelings of pride and hard work mix to make a natural high. As months went by and eventually years, I had to learn more advanced skills and took on more duties, such as replacing our laundry dryer’s heating module, cleaning our tankless water heater coils, and making bookshelves from scratch. The skills and knowledge I gained from accomplishing these endeavors are invaluable, as I feel now that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. These experiences were uplifting as I had to learn on my own how to do these tasks with only the help of the internet. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I would even reach out to my father and forgive him for his actions and have been rebuilding our relationship since the start of this year. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house to never come back. This incident that lasted less than 30 seconds would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. At first that feeling of being lost made me depressed as I had to come to terms with what happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community. I just could not stomach to bring myself out of bed. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by telling me positive affirmations. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

Minecraft's influence on education and career development when it is used in schools and by parents to help kids learn about fields such as engineering and computer science is my favorite aspect of the game. My school offers Coding with Minecraft Club and I was a member for a semester during my Sophomore year. The club helped further my interest in computer science by teaching me the basics of programming such as functions, conditionals, and what block-based coding is like. The club was very large and students would often fill up all of the seats in the classroom. I feel that the Minecraft graphics are what enticed everybody into coding and wanting to learn how to so that they can make their avatar move and complete certain tasks. I would also use Minecraft in my Civil Engineering class. We would use Minecraft to display what different styles of architecture looked like such as modern, gothic, and classical architecture. I remember doing a project where I had to display what Spanish architecture appeared like by making a house in Minecraft that had Spanish architecture. I enjoyed that assignment a lot and it was one of my favorite projects throughout the entire year in that class. Using Minecraft would help me grasp a better understanding on what these styles looked like, what materials are used to accomplish these styles, and what architectural planning looks like. I have also seen the lower grades in my school have Minecraft educational edition installed on their laptops and iPads and they are always talking about how much they love it and the projects that they are attempting to make in the game. I remember that one of the students told me how they were building circuits in Minecraft using Redstone and even showed me how they made a lighthouse on the beach. I was astounded and blown away at how much they were learning and how in-depth the game is. These kids were learning what I learned in Digital Electronics but by using Minecraft/ I feel that all schools should begin incorporating Minecraft education editions into their curriculum. I think that this would make students more engaged in class and make kids look forward to going to school rather than dreading it. I think that Minecraft can serve as a great introduction to careers like Civil Engineers, Home planners, Construction Developers, Construction Contractors, and Computer Scientists. The world of Minecraft and its community is vast and the use of mods can even further help and advance the education of students. For example, I have used the physics mod on my Minecraft and I feel that that could be used in physics classes to demonstrate problems and principles. I feel that the Minecraft seeds can also help with lessons in class like urban planning. Students can examine and critique how certain cities are designed and built in different seeds. They can relate it to real-world examples and talk about the pros and cons of each design. Minecraft is helpful in education and in teaching about careers to future generations.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house to never come back. This incident which lasted less than 30 seconds would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. At first, that feeling of being lost made me depressed as I had to come to terms with what happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community. I just could not stomach to bring myself out of bed. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by telling me positive affirmations. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Latinx community is one of the largest victims of the digital divide in America. The NTIA cites that only 72% of Hispanics use the Internet compared to 80% of White Americans. This digital divide significantly hurts the Hispanic community economically, socially, and mentally as they are not able to advertise their businesses, they are not able to connect with others in the community and are not able to search for the information they may need. I want to use my college degree to create a charity that will help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow as well as buy minority houses internet and teach them how to use it. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. My father would leave our household and I would not have contact with him until 11th grade. I would begin talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents. I always reflect on my past and how I could have easily fallen into a rabbit hole of crime, drugs, alcohol, and self-harm but somehow I did not. I like to think it's because of the people I had around me at the time. My sister ended up playing a bigger role in my life after my father left and my mother always tried her best to talk to me and check up on me. I like to thank my friends because they would still be there for me even after I pushed them away multiple times. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. My father would leave our household and I would not have contact with him until 11th grade. I would begin talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents. I always reflect on my past and how I could have easily fallen into a rabbit hole of crime, drugs, alcohol, and self-harm but somehow I did not. I like to think it's because of the people I had around me at the time. My sister ended up playing a bigger role in my life after my father left and my mother always tried her best to talk to me and check up on me. I like to thank my friends because they would still be there for me even after I pushed them away multiple times. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to use my college degree to help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house to never come back. This incident which lasted less than 30 seconds would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. At first, that feeling of being lost made me depressed as I had to come to terms with what happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community. I just could not stomach to bring myself out of bed. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by telling me positive affirmations. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events such as my friend's church which acts as a food bank every third Saturday. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. If I were to open a charity, I would create one that would help bridge the digital divide in my community by helping minority-owned businesses create websites, software, and apps that will help their businesses operate and grow. Participating in my high school’s National Honor Society chapter as a tutor for the lower grades has shown me that I have a passion for teaching and tutoring kids. I help kids with subjects such as math,ela, and social studies and I feel that I will have so much more fun teaching them subjects that I am very enthusiastic about. This has made me want to establish a coding boot camp for the kids in my community so that they can be introduced to the pathway and learn more about the various careers and responsibilities of those in the field. So my charity would also branch out to create coding boot camps. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school years.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I would become very disheartened and frustrated at the world as I constantly asked myself, “Why me? What’d I do to deserve this?” I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. At first, that feeling of being lost with nowhere to go was frustrating, but I have learned to love that feeling as I know I will eventually figure it out; all it takes is patience and thought. The feeling that I felt once I learned, understood, and completed my duties correctly was of great value as the feelings of pride and hard work mix to make a natural high. As months went by and eventually years, I had to learn more advanced skills and took on more duties, such as replacing our laundry dryer’s heating module, cleaning our tankless water heater coils, and making bookshelves from scratch. The skills and knowledge I gained from accomplishing these endeavors are invaluable, as I feel now that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. These experiences were uplifting as I had to learn on my own how to do these tasks with only the help of the internet. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I would even reach out to my father and forgive him for his actions and have been rebuilding our relationship since the start of this year. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents.

Ever since I was a kid, I always had an interest in how electronics work and the use of robotics in everyday life. This interest would further advance my mathematical skills since they go hand in hand with each other and I would begin to love math as well. Every time my family shopped at Walmart and Hobby Lobby, I would always beg my parents for educational robotics kits that they sell. They would not always buy them for me but when they did, it was the best feeling in the world. I have a collection of the kits that they bought me over the years and they consist of a solar-powered car, a walking crab, and a zip-line soda can to name a few. All these projects forced me to do the math to calculate items like how much solar energy it takes to charge the batteries on the car I made or how much string is going to be needed when I hang the zipline car across my room. Though my parents would reject my pleas and cries for these robotics kits often, I would not make a big deal because I would disassemble my old childhood toys and turn them into new creations. I remember once I turned my old remote-controlled car into a remote-controlled boat by disassembling it and turning the motors into a rotor whilst still using the outer shell of the remote-controlled car. Doing this took a lot of math to complete since I had to measure the dimensions of the boat and also how much power was going to be needed for the motors. My creation was not the most pleasing to look at but I remember filling up my bathtub with water and using the remote to drive the boat around. My love for math, robotics, and computer science would increase when my parents gave me an Arduino kit from Amazon for Christmas. The kit came with a guide that taught what the different electrical components do and how to code. This kit showed me how involved math is going to be in my life and I began loving using it in my code to do things like make an LED blink every few seconds or to make a motor turn to a certain angle. My love for mathematics would grow further in high school.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I would become very disheartened and frustrated at the world as I constantly asked myself, “Why me? What’d I do to deserve this?” I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. At first, that feeling of being lost with nowhere to go was frustrating, but I have learned to love that feeling as I know I will eventually figure it out; all it takes is patience and thought. The feeling that I felt once I learned, understood, and completed my duties correctly was of great value as the feelings of pride and hard work mix to make a natural high. As months went by and eventually years, I had to learn more advanced skills and took on more duties, such as replacing our laundry dryer’s heating module, cleaning our tankless water heater coils, and making bookshelves from scratch. The skills and knowledge I gained from accomplishing these endeavors are invaluable, as I feel now that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. These experiences were uplifting as I had to learn on my own how to do these tasks with only the help of the internet. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I would even reach out to my father and forgive him for his actions and have been rebuilding our relationship since the start of this year. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to others and Hispanic kids because I never had that when growing up.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take in order to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I would become very disheartened and frustrated at the world as I constantly asked myself, “Why me? What’d I do to deserve this?” I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. I still do these steps and it is how I maintain my current mental health. I would even later reach out to my father and forgive him for his actions and have been rebuilding our relationship since the start of this year. I am incredibly grateful as the situation taught me how to become emotionally mature with the situation that occurred between my parents and has taught me methods as to how to keep a stable mindset and a healthy mentality.

The faces of joy and content that I see when I have helped members of my community is what inspire me to give back and participate in community service events. I have participated at multiple food banks at churches backed by the North Texas Food Bank and I love seeing how excited and thankful people get when I load their boxes of food into their cars or hand the boxes to them. The feeling of cheerfulness and warmth that I feel when people constantly keep saying, “God bless you” or “Thank you so much” always chokes me up because I am helping the members of my community get to eat and survive another day. I believe that the most impactful I have felt is when I gave food to someone and after I finished loading it into their car, they stopped and said a prayer for me. The person prayed that I will not be forgotten in the kingdom of god, that when I need help or have an emergency, everybody I know comes to my help, and that my family and I prosper and remain healthy in life. The prayer touched me and brought me to the verge of tears. It showed me the importance of helping others and has remained my motivation to this day, it is a memory I will never forget to the day I die. I am also a tutor part of my senior class’s tutoring project to help the younger grades succeed in their classes and also in life since we mentor as well. I picked out a few kids and have made my tutoring groups of 7th and 8th graders who are struggling with their math classes, 9th graders who are struggling with their Advanced Placement Human Geography class, and 11th graders who are struggling with Advanced Placement United States History. I have helped the younger classmen with their homework and makeup tests and have been able to raise their grades by 10s of points. I have become close with them and when they need me, I talk to them and help them with not only concepts apart from their courses but also their life problems. I hope to make an impact on the younger generation in my school and make them want to follow in my footsteps and be better than me. What I mean by following in my footsteps is that I hope they also teach the younger classmen whenever they become seniors and help guide them like I am doing. I feel that this new generation needs leaders to guide them since there are a lot of people online attempting to mislead them I think we need people who are going to help reveal to the youth what their calling is and I hope that I am contributing to my community by doing that

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take in order to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I would become very disheartened and frustrated at the world as I constantly asked myself, “Why me? What’d I do to deserve this?” I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I now realize that crying was very healthy and letting my emotions out is necessary, but at the time, I believed that men should not show emotion, so I hated myself for showing an ounce of pain. That feeling of being lost with nowhere to go was frustrating, but I have learned to love that feeling as I know I will eventually figure it out; all it takes is patience and thought. The feeling that I felt once I learned, understood, and completed my duties correctly was of great value as the feelings of pride and hard work mix to make a natural high. As months went by and eventually years, I had to learn more advanced skills and took on more duties, such as replacing our laundry dryer’s heating module, cleaning our tankless water heater coils, and making bookshelves from scratch. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. This experience has shown me that my dream is to receive a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and then to become a Software Programmer at a tech company such as Google or Apple. I aspire to be the first person in my family to ever go to college and to help my family out financially after I acquire a stable career when I graduate from college. I have dreams of eventually starting my own business as a software programmer after I get several years of experience from a large tech firm. I would like to help small businesses with creating websites or making software for those who have new innovative ideas. I want to make my family proud and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to others and Hispanic kids because I never had that when growing up.

I believe the message I would write on the flag would be "Seize The Day" I have been living by these words for years because I have realized that life is extremely short. The days fly by like the snap of your fingers and hours can feel like minutes so it is important to not fall into the trap of time. It can be super easy for a person to not get anything done throughout their lifetime which is why we should all try our best to have achievements. This ties into my message because A person can resist the test of time by seizing the day. What this means is making a list of goals or items that somebody wants to get done in a day, and then checking them off as they go throughout the day. This way at the end of the day, A person can see what they got done in a day and thus be proud of themselves and can say they seized the day. My message is a piece of advice for future generations and myself. I feel that the world would be a lot more productive and efficient as well and the overall happiness of our population would increase if we all did this.

In 9th grade, my mother and father engaged in a physical altercation, which resulted in me not conversing with my dad for three years and my father moving out of my house, never to come back. This incident, which lasted less than 30 seconds, would change my life forever as I now inherited new responsibilities and was forced to take on a new role in my household. In the first months, I was forced to learn how to perform essential home maintenance duties such as unclogging sinks and tubs, repairing cracks in the ceiling, and changing the air filters. At first, that feeling of being lost and stranded on what even to look up and what steps to take to get the job done was frustrating, and I cried for days as I had to come to terms with what had happened and what my future was going to look like without a father figure. I cut off most of my friends since I could not stomach talking to anybody and hearing about what I thought were their little perfect lives compared to mine. I have learned to love the feeling of being lost as I know I will eventually figure it out; all it takes is patience and thought. The feeling that I felt once I learned, understood, and completed my duties correctly was of great value as the feelings of pride and hard work mix to make a natural high. As months went by and eventually years, I had to learn more advanced skills and took on more duties, such as replacing our laundry dryer’s heating module, cleaning our tankless water heater coils, and making bookshelves from scratch. The skills and knowledge I gained from accomplishing these endeavors are invaluable, as I feel now that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. I began slacking in school and stopped volunteering in my community during this time. I eventually began talking to my close friends about the problems I was facing in my life, and they helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel by giving me positive affirmations and micro-expressions that showed that they cared for me. I would begin finally doing my school work and excelling to rank 1 in my freshman, sophomore, and junior years. I would also begin participating in community events. Through this process, I learned how important it is to talk to others about my feelings, not to suppress my emotions, and to reflect on situations by looking at them from an optimistic point of view. This experience has shown me that I want to make my family proud by going to college and show them that the countless sacrifices they have made for me have been worth it. I want to be a leader in my community and a role model to others and Hispanic kids because I did not have that during my high school career.

Leadership means everything to me and I attempt to be a leader in my everyday life. I have been a leader through the various community service projects I have participated in. I am a leader at my friend's church in Arlington called RCCG Holy Ghost Zone. The church hosts a food bank every third Saturday backed by the North Texas Food Bank and my job is to supervise others who are carrying boxes of food to people’s cars. I too also carry boxes of food to people’s cars but I also help participants who have never worked at the church before. I help the new members by making them comfortable and giving them directions on how they can help whether it be loading food into boxes, carrying carts of boxes of food onto the palettes we have outside, or loading the boxes of food into people's cars. I usually become friends with those who I have supervised and led at the church and they have always told me I made them feel welcomed and wanted at the food bank. I enjoy and look forward to going to these food banks because I love seeing the smiles spread on people's faces when I give them their boxes of food and also how appreciative they are of me and the blessings that they give me. The other way I have led via my community service is at my school's tutoring program. I am a tutor part of my senior class’s tutoring project to help the younger grades succeed in their classes and also in life since we mentor as well. I picked out a few kids and have made my tutoring groups of 7th and 8th graders who are struggling with their math classes, 9th graders who are struggling with their Advanced Placement Human Geography class, and 11th graders who are struggling with Advanced Placement United States History. I have helped the younger classmen with their homework and makeup tests and have been able to raise their grades by 10s of points. I have become close with them and when they need me, I talk to them and help them with not only concepts apart from their courses but also their life problems. I hope to make an impact on the younger generation in my school and make them want to follow in my footsteps and be better than me. What I mean by following in my footsteps is that I hope they also teach the younger classmen whenever they become seniors and help guide them like I am doing. I feel that this new generation needs leaders to guide them since there are a lot of people online attempting to mislead them I think we need people who are going to help reveal to the youth what their calling is and I hope that I am contributing to my community by doing that.

I have volunteered in various community service projects such as my friend's church in Arlington called RCCG Holy Ghost Zone. The church hosts a food bank every third Saturday backed by the North Texas Food Bank and my job is to supervise others who are carrying boxes of food to people’s cars. I too also carry boxes of food to people’s cars but I also help participants who have never worked at the church before. I help the new members by making them comfortable and giving them directions on how they can help whether it be loading food into boxes, carrying carts of boxes of food onto the palettes we have outside, or loading the boxes of food into people's cars. I usually become friends with those who I have supervised and led at the church and they have always told me I made them feel welcomed and wanted at the food bank. I enjoy and look forward to going to these food banks because I love seeing the smiles spread on people's faces when I give them their boxes of food and also how appreciative they are of me and the blessings that they give me. I am also a tutor part of my senior class’s tutoring project to help the younger grades succeed in their classes and also in life since we mentor as well. I picked out a few kids and have made my tutoring groups of 7th and 8th graders who are struggling with their math classes, 9th graders who are struggling with their Advanced Placement Human Geography class, and 11th graders who are struggling with Advanced Placement United States History. I have helped the younger classmen with their homework and makeup tests and have been able to raise their grades by 10s of points. I have become close with them and when they need me, I talk to them and help them with not only concepts apart from their courses but also their life problems. I hope to make an impact on the younger generation in my school and make them want to follow in my footsteps and be better than me. What I mean by following in my footsteps is that I hope they also teach the younger classmen whenever they become seniors and help guide them like I am doing. I feel that this new generation needs leaders to guide them since there are a lot of people online attempting to mislead them I think we need people who are going to help reveal to the youth what their calling is and I hope that I am contributing to my community by doing that. I wish to eventually earn a bachelor's in Computer Science and use the skills and talents I am learning from these community service projects to teach younger kids about robotics and coding.

I have been a leader through the various community service projects I have participated in. I am a leader at my friend's church in Arlington called RCCG Holy Ghost Zone. The church hosts a food bank every third Saturday backed by the North Texas Food Bank and my job is to supervise others who are carrying boxes of food to people’s cars. I too also carry boxes of food to people’s cars but I also help participants who have never worked at the church before. I help the new members by making them comfortable and giving them directions on how they can help whether it be loading food into boxes, carrying carts of boxes of food onto the palettes we have outside, or loading the boxes of food into people's cars. I usually become friends with those who I have supervised and led at the church and they have always told me I made them feel welcomed and wanted at the food bank. I enjoy and look forward to going to these food banks because I love seeing the smiles spread on people's faces when I give them their boxes of food and also how appreciative they are of me and the blessings that they give me. The other way I have led via my community service is at my school's tutoring program. I am a tutor part of my senior class’s tutoring project to help the younger grades succeed in their classes and also in life since we mentor as well. I picked out a few kids and have made my tutoring groups of 7th and 8th graders who are struggling with their math classes, 9th graders who are struggling with their Advanced Placement Human Geography class, and 11th graders who are struggling with Advanced Placement United States History. I have helped the younger classmen with their homework and makeup tests and have been able to raise their grades by 10s of points. I have become close with them and when they need me, I talk to them and help them with not only concepts apart from their courses but also their life problems. I hope to make an impact on the younger generation in my school and make them want to follow in my footsteps and be better than me. What I mean by following in my footsteps is that I hope they also teach the younger classmen whenever they become seniors and help guide them like I am doing. I feel that this new generation needs leaders to guide them since there are a lot of people online attempting to mislead them I think we need people who are going to help reveal to the youth what their calling is and I hope that I am contributing to my community by doing that.