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Katya Tumanova

Bio

Hello! My name is Katya, and I'm a current freshman at Georgia Tech, double majoring in computer science and mathematics. I have a large interest in space exploration and astrophysics - one of my goals is to work at a space agency and write code that contributes to sending rockets or rovers to space. In addition, while I'm passionate about helping humanity become an interplanetary species, I'm also devoted to climate activism, and helping our own planet. I am a competitive swimmer, and have been training for the past 12 years, showing up to practice every day (6 days a week, 3 hours a day). I am a hard worker, both academically and athletically, and am excited to pursue my academic and athletic journey in college. Through a strong work ethic, I am committed to putting in the hard work and effort required to succeed in life. I’m a great candidate for any scholarship because of my desire to consistently learn more, which is one of my main goals for my college years.

Education

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

Bachelor's degree program
2025 - 2029
  • Majors:
    • Mathematics and Computer Science

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

High School
2023 - 2025

Henry W Grady High School

High School
2021 - 2025

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Majors of interest:

    • Astronomy and Astrophysics
    • Applied Mathematics
    • Computer Science
    • Mathematics
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Computer Software

    • Dream career goals:

      My goal is to improve the state of our world - whether that be through writing code for a rocket that makes it to Mars, or improving our own world by helping with climate change.

    • Mission Operator: Train across multiple certified flight control positions and support real-time mission operations for NASA's Green Propulsion Dual Mode satellite.

      NASA + Georgia Tech Space Systems Design Laboratory
      2026 – Present5 months
    • Computer Science Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: tutored students through office hours and recitation sessions, allowing them to understand the material (Object Oriented Programming) at a deeper level.

      Georgia Tech School of Computing Instruction
      2025 – 20261 year

    Sports

    Swimming

    Club
    2025 – Present1 year

    Awards

    • College Club Swimming National Qualifier: 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley, 400 individual medley
    • 14th Nationally in 200 butterfly

    Swimming

    Varsity
    2021 – 20254 years

    Awards

    • City of Atlanta Champion in 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke
    • State Champion in 400 Freestyle Relay
    • Bronze Medal at States in 200 Freestyle Relay
    • School Record holder in the 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay
    • State championship finalist: 200 Individual Medley, 100 Butterfly, 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, 400 Freestyle Relay
    • Team Captain for Junior and Senior years

    Swimming

    Club
    2013 – Present13 years

    Awards

    • Senior State Top 20 Champion
    • High School Championship Finalist
    • Age Group State Top 3 Finalist
    • Varsity Team Captain at High School

    Cross-Country Running

    Junior Varsity
    2021 – 20221 year

    Research

    • Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering

      NASA + Georgia Tech Space Systems Design Laboratory — Undergraduate Researcher focusing on flight software, assembly and integration, and mission operations. Focused on building the satellite and developing procedures to later command it in orbit.
      2026 – Present
    • Computer Science

      Georgia Institute of Technology — Co-authored “Assessing LEO Satellite Networks for National Emergency Failover”. Researched Low Earth Orbit satellite spectrum allocation policies and capacity as opposed to terrestrial networks.
      2024 – 2025
    • Mathematics

      Georgia Governor's Honors Program — Researched and presented game strategies on a rarely studied combinatorial game (Nim on a Vertex-Edge Graph) through a solo research project.
      2024 – 2024

    Arts

    • Cornell Elementary Musical Theatre

      Theatre
      The Jungle Book (Shere Khan)
      2017 – 2018

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Knack Tutoring — Private Tutor in Differential Equations, Discrete Mathematics, and Finite Mathematics. Helped others find their understanding of various problems, topics, and the subject as a whole.
      2025 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Saturday School: Midtown High School — Peer Tutor in STEM. Educated fellow high school students in various subject areas, including geometry, pre-calculus, trigonometry, calculus, biology, and statistics. Tutored an average of ten students per every four hour session.
      2023 – 2025
    • Volunteering

      Georgia Tech Girls Who Code — Facilitator: Empower young coders through partnered programs, mentoring students in Python and problem-solving fundamentals.
      2025 – Present

    Future Interests

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Sabrina Carpenter Superfan Scholarship
    While many people grew up watching Sabrina transition from Disney Channel star to pop icon, I discovered her differently. A high school friend's obsession with ‘emails i can’t send’ introduced me to her music. But I became a true fan with ‘Short n’ Sweet’ and ‘Man's Best Friend’, the two albums that launched her into pop's mainstream while showcasing something genuinely rare: a refusal to choose between femininity and power. In a patriarchal landscape, women are constantly forced into a false choice: be "serious and professional" or be feminine. As if confidence in one's appearance somehow diminishes intelligence, many female artists construct careers by appealing to the male gaze just to seem credible. Sabrina rejects this entirely. Her music demonstrates that a woman can control her own narrative. Her image, her sexuality, and her confidence exist regardless of whether patriarchal structures deem them "respectable." By embracing sexually mature lyrics and unapologetic sensuality, she claims sexual agency on her own terms, not waiting for permission. This discomfort she creates is the point: when women are this firm in their conviction, younger women gain permission to be louder and bolder. As a woman in STEM, I’m usually one of five girls in a class of 300 people. Being a minority in a room already makes you stand out, so if you try and embrace your femininity even further, you’ll become a flamingo in a sea of pigeons. So for years, I thought the solution was to strip away my femininity, appealing to the field that I was in. But Sabrina showed me something different: that I don’t have to choose between being taken seriously and being myself. She showed that women can be both feminine and intelligent. That we can care about how we look and dominate the field at the same time. Watching her refuse that false choice gave me the confidence to stop making it myself. In interviews, Sabrina models exactly what she sings about: she’s a woman who is in control of her image, who lifts other women up, and who stays kind while doing it. That’s what makes her rare. What makes Sabrina a role model isn't just her talent. It's her refusal to diminish herself. She proves that femininity and strength aren't opposites, that a woman's worth doesn't require male validation, and that sometimes, making the patriarchy uncomfortable is exactly the point.
    Speed League Swimming: Rising Stars Scholarship
    My own story begins underwater. For some odd reason, I felt most comfortable in a place where I couldn't breathe. Over the years, I transitioned into staying more on the surface of the water, learning to love the different strokes and sets that defined my afternoons. And yet, even after spending over 10 years with the pool as my second home, I didn't hold a passion for the sport that had grown to characterize me. I remember the exact moment that I realized how much it meant to me. During my sophomore year of high school, I was busy taking over 6 AP classes and preparing for the exams at the end of the year. When I got to practice, suddenly, without realizing it, all thoughts of assignments and stress left my head. It was always replaced with laughter, some random song lyrics, and absolute dread for the main set that I knew I was going to suffer through. If not for swimming, I would have burned out years sooner. The academic pressure that I held only completely left me in the water. The pool was not only my home, but my blanket of comfort from the outside stress. Even if the main set was so hard that I had to hold back tears to be able to push off the wall, this discipline shaped my character, helped me conquer the hard problems I then stayed up late solving. While my career is more focused on computer science, mathematics, and aerospace, swimming will always be the reason for my discipline and character. Now that I'm in college, it's insane to see how much swimming is put down. People love dressing up for football games and standing in the bleachers in the hot sun. Not enough people enjoy sitting and watching people pour their hearts out in the water. The importance of swimming cannot be neglected. Even if you don't look at the fast-paced races, knowing how to swim is a critical life skill. People getting scared by a 12ft deep pool is not normal, and I believe that swimming should be normalized much more than it is now. While my experience has been wonderful, the system itself is not. Swimming is overlooked, those who dedicate their entire life to this sport are disregarded unless they beat a big record, and there are huge misconceptions that surround this sport. Compared to baseball, football, and basketball, swimming receives a fraction of the general sports budget. To increase this funding, we need to focus on the visibility of this sport. There are many wonderful clinics devoted to teaching young children how to develop this important skill, but not enough exposing the significance of it. By increasing the visibility of high-level athletes and allowing them to speak on the importance of the sport, it would get more kids wanting to join swimming. If more people want to join us, it's both more funding for the sport and continuous visibility for subsequent generations. The main difference between swimming and the popular sports like football is that swimming is much more predictable than they are. Those who watch football and basketball understand what's going on. The most important thing is that there's always something new happening. Because all swimming events are the same, it's not as interesting to watch the same meets happen over and over again. The solution to this might be to hold a couple of fun meets in order to get swimming out into the broadcast platforms. During these fun meets, the teams would each spin wheels or complete some swimming challenge to decide which events they're going to swim. Thus, each meet won't be the same on who wins and what times they get. It would be more interesting to watch, and more like the spontaneous games that football is like. I believe that swimming will always continue to evolve. I don't think that rebuilding the sport itself is the right solution. I believe that the sport itself has reached a point where no new strokes are going to be discovered, we've reached the plateau of discovery. While nothing is set in stone, making everyone watch 50s back-to-back is not the correct approach. We need to focus on discovering how to utilize our resources including technology, AI, broadcasting, and attention in order to improve the view of the sport itself. Seeing nothing but white water and sprinters will not encourage people to sit down at a TV with their friends and stare at the pool for hours. As a whole, I absolutely love our sport. Swimmers have the absolute best sportsmanship out of almost all of the sports, and I can argue that we are some of the strongest athletes out there. The only part that needs to be fixed is the media coverage, broadcast, and social media updates to increase the visibility of our sport by tenfold. Speed League Swimming is needed now because it addresses this gap directly. A league would change everything by giving elite swimmers the visibility, financial support, and platform that we deserve. This is where my ambition meets reality. I see myself as both a competitor and a voice for change in swimming. As an athlete, I want to compete at the highest level and contribute to records that inspire future swimmers. But more importantly, I want to be a defining voice in this new era. Speed League Swimming would give me the opportunity to do exactly that. I'm ready to be both a competitor and an architect of swimming's future, helping to build the system that young swimmers need.
    Trees for Tuition Scholarship Fund
    I’ve always believed that knowledge becomes meaningful only when it’s shared. The moments I remember most from learning weren’t the grades I earned, but the times I helped someone else finally understand a concept that once intimidated them. We’ve all heard the traditional quote, "Knowledge is Power.” However, less commonly heard, is the continuation to that phrase: “Sharing knowledge is the key to unlocking that power.” Hoarding one’s knowledge will usually get you nowhere; knowledge only blossoms into something real when it is shared with others. I believe that the best way to connect and improve our community is through the mutual sharing of ideas and knowledge. Over the past five years, I’ve spent hours volunteering and tutoring for different organizations in order to reach this goal. This past year, as a freshman in college, I jumped at every opportunity that I could get to share my curiosity with others. During my first semester, I took on the job as a Teaching Assistant for Georgia Tech’s Object Oriented Programming class. With this role, I spent 20 hours a week leading recitations and hosting office hours. Standing in front of a class of 30 students every single week and sharing my passion for the subject with them was an absolute gem throughout the whole semester. Once the semester ended and I received thank you emails from students, I finally understood why I loved teaching others so much. It was less about reciting the material that I already knew, and more about allowing others to understand it on the level that I did. The ability to understand something is important, but the ability to clearly share it with others is crucial. After my semester of teaching object-oriented programming, I decided to move on to a different subject. During my second semester at Georgia Tech, I tutored Differential Equations, Discrete Mathematics, Finite Mathematics, and Computer Architecture for over 55 hours via a platform associated with our school. A notable moment from these sessions was when I was going through different proof techniques with a student for an upcoming exam. I knew that for me, repetition was the best way to understand a concept. At the beginning of the session, I came up with a quick technique to remember each concept (Contrapositive? Assume not q, prove not p). In a couple of weeks, the student, ecstatic, reached out to me to share their aced exam. This was my first quantitative indication that I could actually help someone become confident in a subject that they found uncomfortable at first. Next semester, I’m going to be part of GT Athletics’ Tutors, helping student-athletes succeed in their courses and find their own passion for the subject, the way I did. As I move through my next three years in college and beyond, one of my main focuses will always lie on mentoring future STEM students, allowing them to engage with complex ideas rather than believing those subjects are inaccessible to them, as I once did. The greatest inventions were found as a result of collaborative teamwork and mutual sharing of knowledge. While going over how to find an eigenvalue in Differential Equations isn’t going to solve the universe, it may just help someone reach one of their goals: whether that be to pass a class or finally find their love for a subject.
    Female Athleticism Scholarship
    I was almost sobbing when I pushed off the wall to start my thirteenth 100 that set. I wanted to quit. The morning practices and hard workouts were taking a toll that summer. As I took a couple of underwater kicks, I understood that if I started crying when I resurfaced, I would likely swallow way too much water. I had two options: Cry or Swim. As always, I chose to swim, to push myself once again. And again, and again. Seventeen more times. The water has been my second home for the past twelve years. The dedication and time commitment that went into a singular activity taught me numerous lessons as I grew older and matured. Especially throughout high school, when the toll of school worsened, my unfaltering attendance at my swim practices allowed me to understand the importance of strength. Physical strength is what I strived for at first. During my dryland practices, I increased the weight every month, pushed myself to complete more pull-ups, and noticed the improvement in the water. However, mental strength — the strength that I didn’t expect to develop — appeared even more important over the years. Mental strength allows you to understand your own body at a deeper level, to compete against yourself, and to develop techniques impossible to attain through brute force alone. The balance that I developed between my swimming and school demanded the stronger me – mentally, physically, and academically. As I was swimming three hours every day, I learned to prioritize my time. I created strategies for time management, effective studying, and exam preparation. I excelled as a student, became stronger in the water, and developed mental fortitude for life itself. I believe that it’s a rite of passage for an athlete to go through a period of wanting to quit. The passion is still there, burning, but your legs burn even more. The motivation is hanging on by a thread, screaming every time you see an exhausting set on the board. However, that summer allowed me to understand the true passion that I hold for my sport: the lengths that I would go to stay in the water, to strive for the best. My renewed understanding and admiration for my sport reached a new height that year. Swimming became my outlet as the coursework increased. I had registered for numerous college courses during my junior and senior years of high school, and my time in the water kept my mind clear. Even if my arms were burning, my brain was able to take a break, choosing a singular line from a song to repeat the whole time. Ultimately, my high school relay took gold at our State Championship in our 400 free relay, breaking the school record by an unprecedented 7 seconds. At the same time, I graduated with a 4.632 GPA, fourth in my graduating class. My athletic and academic lives, while separate, were intertwined, supporting each other, as one would not have survived without the other. Participating in a sport has developed my work ethic and time management, but it has also helped me understand the importance of following your passions and developing a life outside of academics. I’m entering college this fall, majoring in computer science and mathematics. Historically, these fields have been primarily male dominated, and the gender disparity in computing persists. But I stand prepared, with mental fortitude forged through twelve years of competition, thirty 100s that summer, overcoming impostor syndrome, persisting through grueling sets, and taking Gold at States. I stand ready for my future, with confidence rooted in grit.
    Elevate Women in Technology Scholarship
    Have you ever existed in two places at once? It might seem like a simple question – so simple that you might consider it a rhetorical question. However, the future of technology holds a different answer. Unlike classical computers, quantum computers utilize the properties of superposition and entanglement to perform calculations faster than ever before. Superposition is defined as the ability of a quantum system to be in multiple states at the same time (usually until a measurement is performed), while entanglement adds complexion by linking the states of two or more particles, such that the state of one is instantly correlated with the state of the other. As part of my Modern Physics class at Georgia Tech, I explored these various foundations, experiencing the real-world application through visuals such as the double-slit experiment. While a particle isn’t measured (explained through the Observer Effect), its states are described through a “probability distribution”, instead of one particular location in space. These quantum laws have found their way into computing, where they are creating revolutionary machines that can process a massive number of possibilities simultaneously. This is done through the use of qubits, which, through superposition, can exist in a state of 0 and 1 at the same time, and are commonly described through their “probability state”, rather than a location. For specific problems, qubits offer exponential speed-ups in their computation. For instance, our modern-day cryptography (on which banks, government secrets, and bank encryptions depend) is based on mathematical problems that are deemed extremely hard to solve. However, a quantum computer can factor a massive number into its prime components with ease, cracking cryptography keys in minutes through Shor's Algorithm. Nevertheless, with their power, these computers have introduced quantum physics into every field. Quantum cryptography utilizes computers to create truly unbreakable encryption, while quantum medicine utilizes the language of quantum computers to simulate the behavior of molecules and discover new drugs. Most importantly, our own future can depend on the help of quantum computers. Utilizing quantum for climate and energy could allow us to simulate the Earth’s climate with unprecedented accuracy, and could help us invent better solutions. Every industry has the possibility to be transformed by quantum computing. After receiving my degree in computer science and mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, I plan to go into space exploration, where, without a doubt, quantum computing will follow close behind.
    William Griggs Memorial Scholarship for Science and Math
    I took modern physics as a dual enrollment class, aiming to try and satisfy the never-ending intellectual hunger that brewed inside of me. Through this course, I was able to learn about lasers, time dilation, special relativity, and my favorite cat ever. As part of our quantum mechanics unit, I learned about the many worlds interpretation, which implies that all possible outcomes exist in parallel “worlds”. Better known as parallel universes, it states that every decision you’ve ever made in life created a parallel world in which you made the opposite decision. And somehow, we’ve ended up in this universe. In this parallel universe, the future of our species depends on action. Action both on our own planet and in the deep space that stretches above us. I understood this at a very young age, and set my mind on two goals: space exploration and climate activism. Through my ceaseless intellectual curiosity, I developed foundations in computer science, mathematics, and physics. These classes allowed me to understand the world around us through a logical and elemental standpoint. But while math and physics are the disciplines that allowed me to think and understand, computer science enabled me to create. When I connected my computer to a small Roomba-sized robot, I was able to implement my code on a real-world application. I watched my software respond to each input that it collected, bringing forth the important realization of the impact that I could have through the simple lines of the code that I write. In high school, I discovered that the passion I held for my favorite subjects was not reciprocated around me. I wanted to teach them how to see the problem from a different angle – I wanted them to see the same light that I saw whenever I figured out a solution, to feel the same satisfaction that I felt when the code ran perfectly. Knowledge is the cornerstone of society, and as the first stone set down in the foundation, it’s the most important. By becoming involved in tutoring over the last four years, I aimed to share my interest for various subjects through the short conversations I held with my peers. By providing them with a different perspective, they were able to see the problem from various viewpoints, breaking beyond their formulaic ways. Seeing my peers learn how to dynamically solve a problem is one of the highlights of teaching. As a woman in STEM, I’m inspired by the multitudes that came before me. From Margaret Hamilton, who handwrote all of the code used for NASA’s Apollo mission, to Greta Thunberg, who demanded political leaders for immediate action to mitigate the extreme effects of climate change. William Griggs’ work is an inspiration in numerous ways. The Saturn V rocket is the biggest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever flown. This rocket is a scientific and mathematical feat. I want to continue Griggs’ line of work: to develop reusable rockets and advance exploration through the deep space around us, while encouraging fellow women in STEM to reach for the stars. This fall, I’m entering the Georgia Institute of Technology as a computer science and mathematics major. Not only do I want to protect our planet from the ground, through climate activism focusing on walkable cities and smart transportation, but I also want to soar into the stars and help future generations discover what lies beyond our own planet. Throughout this journey, I want to ensure that the knowledge is spread, not confined. That the cornerstone of society turns to face the right way.
    Trees for Tuition Scholarship Fund
    In a world of uncertainty and misinformation, teachers and educators stand as the backbone of society. Throughout the past twelve years, I have attended five different schools in three different states. However, the consistent support among my numerous teachers over the years has shaped my character, goals, and ambitions. From my 4th grade math teacher, who answered every question I eagerly asked on the rainbow carpet, to my 10th grade world history and economics teachers, who allowed me to understand the past in order to comprehend the present – my teachers contributed greatly to fueling my intellectual curiosity. Moreover, they showed me the importance of passing knowledge down – starting my tutoring journey of sharing my passion for a subject with others. For the past three years, I have participated in a program hosted by my school – Midtown High School’s Saturday School Tutoring. As part of this program, I spend my Saturdays helping my peers with assignments and allowing them to understand the material that they’re struggling with. Throughout multiple sessions, I’m able to clarify difficult questions and carefully work through math problems – ranging from geometry to calculus – to ensure that they hold the mathematical foundations that will help them throughout life. By providing my mentees with a student perspective, I allow them to look at the problem from a different angle – a full turn from the one provided in class. My hope is that this teaches my fellow classmates to always look for a different solution, an approach that hasn’t been introduced yet. I believe that knowledge is the most important possession that one can hold. It allows you to comprehend the world around you in a logical and sophisticated manner, to differentiate between rational and emotional decisions. In a generation of “following the crowd”, I want to teach how to process the situation you are in to make your own, calculated, decision. As a dual enrollment student at Georgia Tech, the experiences that I have had with college professors during their office hours and teaching assistants (TAs) during studios allowed me to realize the tremendous impact that they can have on a student. This pushed me to pursue my own TA position in my first semester of college at Georgia Tech. I hope to share my own passion for one of my favorite subjects and cultivate it in others, contributing to their own intellectual curiosity. Beyond inspiring and educating those around me, I plan to utilize my degree after college to contribute to the saving of humanity’s future. This depends on our ability to both address existential threats and continue exploring new frontiers in space. By becoming both an astrophysicist and a climate activist, I believe that we can save our current generation while helping future ones get a bigger boost forward. This scholarship will support my ability to continue sharing knowledge and inspiring others while furthering my own education. Not only will it contribute to my goal of continuously learning through taking a multitude of classes, but it will help me pursue my dreams, driven by the desire to help others and bring a change to the world. I’m entering the Georgia Institute of Technology this fall, pursuing a double major in computer science and mathematics. This scholarship will enable me to build the foundation necessary to make a lasting impact on the future of humanity, through both education and action.
    Anthony Bruder Memorial Scholarship
    The summer after my sophomore year, I was hanging onto the wall of the pool, wheezing after my 23rd sprint that practice. But as I dove back into the water, frustration melted away, replaced by the rhythm of my underwater kick and the quick breath I took as I resurfaced. I have spent my afternoons and early mornings in the pool ever since I could speak. I found solace in the water – watching the bubbles rise to the surface, counting the seconds for which I could hold my breath – I grew up with the water as my second home. I truly dedicated myself to the sport when I entered high school. Having just moved, I joined a new club team, unsure of what to expect. As I grew and developed through high school, my relationships, critical thinking, and time management skills all blossomed as a result of my swimming journey. Nevertheless, I hit a wall. I was nearing my tenth year as a competitive swimmer, and thoughts of burnout were common and persistent. I had taken on a heavy course load – six AP classes during my sophomore year, and the burden of the work had taken a toll on me. Instead of spending my afternoons reading textbooks and analyzing homework, I was stuck in the pool for three hours, staring at a black line as my mind went insane. Passion kept me going. When motivation died, the fire of discipline grew inside of me. My new coach fixed my technique, and I became a butterflier. That year, I placed Top 20 in the state at one of the biggest state meets of the season. Throughout this time, I focused on prioritization. I made to-do lists, wrote down schedules, marked down assignments in my planner. My time management skills arose from the challenges that I faced as a student-athlete. Without reaching discomfort, I wouldn’t have grown as a person. My senior year, I was knee deep in college applications and rigorous dual enrollment courses. I talked to my coach about my relationship with swimming – one that has held strong over the years, that has kept me strong and motivated. He encouraged me to treat it as a ‘hobby’, putting academics first instead. That season, I not only got accepted to a big school, but I hit personal bests in almost every event that I swam. The encouragement and self-motivation that I gained through showing up every day pushed me both academically and athletically. Even though my relationship with swimming may be perceived as a ‘hobby’, the skills and lessons that I have gained through the sport will stick by my side as I go to college and beyond. I will forever be thankful for my sport. My experiences as a student athlete have had a significant contribution to my motivations and values. Swimming allowed me to analyze my priorities and goals: making time for what I actually cared about. This allowed me to find my interests: computer science, mathematics, and astrophysics became my focus outside of swimming. I want to utilize my academic pursuits to help build sustainable habitats on Mars and safeguard the future of humanity. This scholarship will support my desire to further my own education and help me pursue my future plans. My academic and career goals center on addressing the existential threats facing humanity, particularly climate change and the need to establish a multi-planetary species. I plan to pursue studies in computer science, aiming to develop sustainable technologies and contribute to space exploration efforts.
    Nickels Student Athlete Scholarship
    The summer after my sophomore year, I was hanging onto the wall of the pool, wheezing after my 23rd sprint that practice. But as I dove back into the water, frustration melted away, replaced by the rhythm of my underwater kick and the quick breath I took as I resurfaced. I have spent my afternoons and early mornings in the pool ever since I could speak. I found solace in the water – watching the bubbles rise to the surface, counting the seconds for which I could hold my breath – I grew up with the water as my second home. I truly dedicated myself to the sport when I entered high school. Having just moved, I joined a new club team, unsure of what to expect. As I grew and developed through high school, my relationships, critical thinking, and time management skills all blossomed as a result of my swimming journey. Nevertheless, I hit a wall. I was nearing my tenth year as a competitive swimmer, and thoughts of burnout were common and persistent. I had taken on a heavy course load – six AP classes during my sophomore year, and the burden of the work had taken a toll on me. Instead of spending my afternoons reading textbooks and analyzing homework, I was stuck in the pool for three hours, staring at a black line as my mind went insane. Passion kept me going. When motivation died, the fire of discipline grew inside of me. My new coach fixed my technique, and I became a butterflier. That year, I placed Top 20 in the state at one of the biggest state meets of the season. Throughout this time, I focused on prioritization. I made to-do lists, wrote down schedules, marked down assignments in my planner. My time management skills arose from the challenges that I faced as a student-athlete. Without reaching discomfort, I wouldn’t have grown as a person. My senior year, I was knee deep in college applications and rigorous dual enrollment courses. I talked to my coach about my relationship with swimming – one that has held strong over the years, that has kept me strong and motivated. He encouraged me to treat it as a ‘hobby’, putting academics first instead. That season, I not only got accepted to a big school, but I hit personal bests in almost every event that I swam. The encouragement and self-motivation that I gained through showing up every day pushed me both academically and athletically. Even though my relationship with swimming may be perceived as a ‘hobby’, the skills and lessons that I have gained through the sport will stick by my side as I go to college and beyond. I will forever be thankful for my sport. Swimming has been a constant in my life for the past 12 years – not just as a competitive sport, but also as a retreat. Under water, there’s no noise, no deadlines – just the soothing flow of movement and the clarity it brings. Even on the hardest days, it’s a place where I can escape and recharge – it’s my refuge. The joy I find in the simple act of swimming keeps me coming back, from sharing laughs with teammates to celebrating small victories in the pool. For every grueling set, there’s a moment of pure pleasure that makes it all worthwhile.
    Team USA Fan Scholarship
    July 27th through August 9th, 2024. Those two weeks bring out the internal American in me, as I cheer for athletes I hadn’t known a second ago. The atmosphere of the stadium, cheering for the best and strongest in the world, brings out a unifying community seen nowhere else. Even though everyone is competing against each other, the sense of community brings different countries together as they cheer on their respective favorites. Cheering for Team USA brings a special amount of pride. Hearing the national anthem play in the giant stadium is extraordinarily different from the hundreds of times I’ve heard it play at my swim meet, yet it forges a connection between young athletes and those competing on the world stage. Swimming at the 2024 Olympics was a fireball of never ending records, cheering, and cowbells. The determination seen in swimmers to WIN brings a unique sense of pride when you’re sitting at home watching them. Torri Huske was one of Team USA’s standout athletes. She brought home multiple winning relays, including the women’s 400 medley relay, as well as the mixed 400 medley relay. Not only that, but Huske went home with 3 gold medals and way more podium finishes. Huske, only 21 years old, has set records, demonstrated immense hard work and patience, and is my favorite athlete to cheer for due to her incredible resilience and pivotal role in the 2024 Olympics. Huske had seen success in swimming from an early age. In high school, she set six Virginia State records and became the youngest member ever inducted into the Yorktown High School Fall of Fame. She broke the girls 15-16 National age group record in the 100m butterfly and won six medals at the 2019 World Junior Championships 2019. This culminated in her performance at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she qualified as a finalist for the 100m butterfly. After a grueling race, she missed the podium by 1 ONE-HUNDRETH of a second. However, Huske used this opportunity to continue pushing and working towards her dreams. She became the first collegiate swimmer to sign a sponsorship deal as a Stanford student. She competed in the 2022 NCAA Championships, and once again qualified for the Summer Olympics - this time, in 2024. Huske exceeded all expectations at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Expected to win the 100 fly was world record holder Gretchen Walsh - but Huske pushed through the last 25, surprising everybody, and taking gold. After missing the podium by 0.01 seconds 4 years ago, she was now standing on the very top, holding her first Olympic gold medal. Her growth and resilience kept shining through, as she carried Team USA relays to two new world records in the 400 medley mixed and women relays. Her hard-working journey and achievements have inspired both me and countless other people, both within and outside the swimming community. Torri Huske’s journey, grit, and determination are seen through her improvements from 2020 to 2024. Huske will always have my respect for all the work she puts in to receive her well-deserved results. In a Team USA picture, Huske was seen standing next to Katie Ledecky - one of the greatest female swimmers of all time. These two outstanding swimmers proved themselves at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games as ones who could fight, push through, and never give up. Torri Huske’s legacy in the sport will always be remembered, as she embodies everything that Team USA stands for - grit, determination, and winning.