A phrase I heard often while growing up is “Your dreams don’t work unless you do”. While a good phrase, if I were to make one change to it, I’d revise it to “Your dreams don’t work unless you work towards them”, as this subtle change highlights the importance of working towards your dreams specifically. Joe Gilroy understood this importance as he developed plans to work towards his goals each day through his notecards. I’m Kevin Akins, and I’m studying civil engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Two major goals I have include becoming a licensed engineer and joining a local band as a guitarist, and through the following paragraphs I’ll detail the plans I’ve set in place to achieve these goals in the spirit of Joe Gilroy’s legacy. I knew a career in engineering was right for me from day one of attending my local community college, and ever since I’ve set my sights on gaining my professional licensure to practice engineering. To obtain professional licensure, one must graduate from an ABET accredited four-year engineering program along with passing two engineering exams: the FE and PE exams. I’ve made great progress on achieving this goal so far, as I’m entering my last year of undergraduate study at an ABET accredited institution and have already passed the FE exam. My plan relies foremost on securing funding to finish my last year of school: My mother is my only source of financial support, and she just recently retired. We’ve therefore found it increasingly difficult to pay for MSOE’s high private school tuition, and I’ve began working during the school year and searching for scholarships to help alleviate the financial burden. Provided I remain on track to graduate in Fall of 2025, I’ll then secure a full-time position at a civil engineering firm to begin accruing the required years of experience to take the PE exam. As eligibility for the PE exam requires four years of in-industry experience, my current plan sees me taking the PE exam in late 2029. This will put me on track to fulfilling my goal of achieving engineering licensure by early 2030. I’m eager to continue implementing my plan to help ensure success in completing my licensure goal by 2030. In addition to career goals, I also have goals related to personal growth that I aim to achieve; one such is joining a band as a guitarist. Throughout my life, listening to music has acted as a therapeutic release for me during times of stress, and I’d love to help others by learning guitar well enough to perform live music myself. I’m at the early stages of learning guitar, as I first started playing in June of 2024 (My guitar must be fatigued from playing the main riff to Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple so many times). My current plan is to continue watching free online guitar lessons on YouTube until I graduate from college, at which point I’ll sign up for in-person guitar lessons using funds I’ve secured from my full-time position to develop further knowledge. Once I’ve developed a working knowledge of multiple songs, I plan on talking to friends who share similar music tastes to see if they want to start practicing playing music together. Developing plans to achieve your goals is a great way to ensure you’re working towards your dreams as “Your dreams don’t work unless you do”, and Joe Gilroy demonstrated this principle throughout his life. I’m confident that following through with my plans will lead me to success in achieving my own professional and personal goals.

The year is 2009, and an 8-year-old sits nervously inside a Taekwondo school as his father and the head instructor discuss the particulars of a yearlong membership for the boy. He couldn’t help but doubt he’d be able to achieve his goal of becoming a black belt in Taekwondo, a prospect which seemed incredibly distant. 12 years later, that same not-so-young boy, a black belt, would be thriving exceptionally well in his first semester of engineering courses at his local community college. My name is Kevin Akins, and I find Marian Sturz’s story particularly impactful as her success across multiple fields of interest, including as an adventurer, archaeologist, and spy, reflects what I strive to achieve across my own fields of interest, including Taekwondo, engineering, and music. In the coming paragraphs, I will further introduce myself and provide some personal and professional goals I have to achieve my overarching goal of having a positive impact on the world as Marian Sturz did through her multiple successful ventures. I’ll start by introducing myself: I’m a 22-year-old civil engineering student studying at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and I’m entering my senior year of undergraduate study. I’m currently planning on pursuing a master’s degree in structural engineering. As noted previously, one of my main hobbies is Taekwondo. I participated in Taekwondo from 2009 until 2021, when I left the art due to time constraints resulting from college. I earned my black belt in 2014, and helped teach classes at the Zion Park District’s Taekwondo program in Zion, Illinois from 2014 until my exit in 2021. I plan to reenter the art following graduation as I thoroughly enjoyed teaching others. I enjoyed teaching not only the physical techniques, but also mental characteristics promoted through the Tenets of Taekwondo, including courtesy, perseverance, and indomitable spirit, characteristics which Sturz demonstrated throughout her life. Some other hobbies of mine include playing guitar and partaking in amateur astronomy. Next, I’ll detail some professional and personal goals I have to achieve my overarching goal of benefiting the world around me. One professional goal is to achieve my licensure as an engineer. To become a licensed engineer, one must attain a four-year degree in engineering, along with passing both the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering Exam) and PE (Professional Engineering Exam). I’ve made progress toward achieving this goal as I passed the FE exam last summer and am working towards earning my bachelor’s degree in Fall of 2025. I plan on taking the PE exam once I become eligible after obtaining 4 years of in-industry experience. In addition, one personal goal is to develop my guitar skills enough to join a band. Listening to music has helped me immensely throughout my life by being a therapeutic release for me during periods of stress, and I’d love to develop my own knowledge of music enough to be able to provide that release for others through playing music. I’m working to achieve this goal by practicing a couple of hours a week, and I hope to take lessons after I’ve completed schooling. It’s through these goals that I hope to achieve success in my passions as Marian Sturz achieved in hers. To summarize, I hope to give back to the world through both my career and personal passions. I aim to help shape the built environment through structural engineering and shape my community by teaching others principles of self-defense and character while also being able to provide joy through music. Through meeting my goals, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to give back to the world as Marian Sturz did throughout her life.

I sat nervously as my dad and Grandmaster Cook discussed the financial details of my first year of Taekwondo courses. I couldn’t help but doubt that I’d be able to succeed in my goal of becoming a black belt in the distant future. Four years later, however, all doubt had been erased as I would earn my first-degree black belt in 2014. One of my favorite aspects of earning my black belt, however, wasn’t the new physical techniques I’d be able to learn, as by this point, I’d learned almost every technique the art had to offer; rather, it was the ability to help give back to others through teaching and judging that I was most excited for. My name is Kevin Akins, and I’m a 3rd-degree black belt in Taekwondo out of Zion, Illinois. Participating as a judge for both sparring and belt tests, both “referee” style positions in the art of Taekwondo, has been extremely impactful to me and I’m eager to go into detail on my experiences in the coming paragraphs. My favorite memory of being a Taekwondo judge involved judging a black belt test of a fellow student. First, I’ll provide some background: Around 2013, roughly a year before I tested for my black belt, I was invited to help teach classes at a local park district program. I would happily accept the invitation, and one of the students who practiced there was a young man named Ryan. Through my years there, I was able to see Ryan progress through the art as I once did, and tried my best to help assist him through his journey. Fast forward to 2019, and I would be fortunate enough to judge his first-degree black belt test. This is my favorite memory judging as it was a culminating moment not only for Ryan but also for me, as I had seen him mature and grow as a student since I started teaching back in 2013. After earning his black belt, he would step up to help teach some classes as I had, creating a truly full circle moment for me. Participating as a judge in Taekwondo has also helped me strengthen my character. One of the Tenets of Taekwondo that every student is to adhere to is “Integrity”, and acting as a judge is an exemplary example of this principle being taught in the art. Sparring judges control a sparring match and call “Point” whenever a clean hit is performed by one of the sparrers up to the fifth winning point. On a base level, acting as a sparring judge taught me to be integrous as I had to be sure I had a second judge’s support whenever calling “Point” to award the fighter the point. Deeper down, however, I also learned the value of integrity as acting as a sparring judge was a significant role that only an experienced student would be offered; I therefore felt a responsibility to execute the judge position with attentiveness and honor to maintain my good standing in the position. I’d like to end by describing my future when it comes to judging in Taekwondo. After completing my engineering degree, I’d like to pursue opening my own school to help teach others the art. In addition, I’d like to start judging at professional Taekwondo tournaments in my area as a second way of giving back. Judging in Taekwondo has helped me grow mentally much like the first years of Taekwondo helped me grow physically, and I’m eager to see what my future holds as a judge and instructor. Thank you for your consideration!

1) My name is Kevin Akins, and I’m a 22-year-old student studying civil engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. I’m currently going into my senior year of undergraduate study, with a plan to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in the Fall of 2025; I’m also intending on pursuing a master’s degree in structural engineering. I attended my local community college, the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, for my first two years of study. Passions of mine include spending time in nature, playing pickleball, and reading or watching shows on science fiction and history. 2) This scholarship will greatly help in easing the burden on my mother, who’s my only source of financial support. My mom fully retired from her full-time job two years ago, and relying on fixed income has made it very difficult for her to continue to support me. This led me to attend community college for the first two years in preparation for her retirement, along with working through college and securing paid full-time internships in the summer to most effectively contribute. Even so, the high cost of private school tuition at MSOE continues to have a harsh impact on me and my mother’s financial situation, leading me to search for scholarships such as this for outside help. 3) An overarching goal I have is to give back to society through my role as a civil engineer by helping shape and improve the built environment. I’ve established short term academic and career goals to help achieve this overarching vision; one short term academic goal I have is to graduate with a bachelor’s degree from MSOE with a well-versed understanding of the civil engineering field. To successfully achieve my overarching goal, I feel it’s important to have a well-versed understanding of the field as a whole, which I’m hoping to achieve through my diverse coursework at MSOE. In addition, one short term career goal I hold is to secure my professional licensure. I’ve made leaps towards this goal already, as I’ve completed one of the two required tests to gain professional licensure, the FE exam. I look forward to completing the other, the PE exam, after finishing college. 4) I’ve contributed to my community in different ways throughout my life. One hobby I partook in as a kid was Taekwondo, and after earning my black belt in 2012, I volunteered at my martial arts school and the Zion Park District’s Taekwondo program in Zion, Illinois, to help give back to the art through teaching and instructing others. I stopped in 2021 due to time constraints resulting from college; however, I hope to resume my participation in the art after I’ve finished school. More recently, I’ve contributed to the community by helping volunteer for MSOE sponsored events, one such being the Future City Competition, which aim to get today’s youth interested in the STEM fields. 5) A pivotal moment for me in my academic journey was failing my first Calculus II test, and it was quite a spectacular failure as I vividly recall earning a 37% on this exam. I refer to this test as my “Reality Check” exam as I knew I had to change how I studied to succeed through college courses after this test. I would end up passing this class that semester and haven’t failed an exam since. 6) My greatest strengths include holding an indomitable spirit and persevering through hardship. Indomitable spirit and perseverance are two of the Tenants of Taekwondo I learned, and it’s with these tenants that I’ve overcome adversities I’ve faced along my journey.

As a student studying civil engineering, I’ve learned many technical skills that are pertinent to my career path: from learning how to review shop drawings to analyzing forces on a structure, I’ve learned a great deal of technical knowledge from my time as a student. One underappreciated side of learning for many students, however, is the development of soft skills, and one such skill is the development of leadership abilities. I was fortunate enough to become well versed in these skills this past fall semester. My name is Kevin Akins, and I am a civil engineering student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering; Through this essay, I will discuss my time as team lead for a group project on subdivision design included in the course “Principles of Site Development”, which I took in the Fall of 2024. I will first highlight the challenges I faced in this leadership role, then proceed to discuss the strategies I used to overcome these challenges, and finally touch on the impact I had on my own understanding of the content and the overall success of the group. I faced numerous challenges after my decision to step into the team lead role for the subdivision design project. One such challenge involved learning how to use software I hadn’t used before. This project’s duration encompassed half of the academic semester, and focused on utilizing software like AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Bluebeam Revu to create construction plans for our subdivision design and to compile them into a client-ready report. As team lead, I decided to tackle all the drafting requirements as part of this project, and the primary software to be utilized was Civil 3D, a software I had no experience with. Another challenge I faced was learning how to properly delegate work among the team members. With this being my first leadership role, I often felt uncomfortable divvying work to others as I didn’t want to overload any of my peers who had multiple other classes to consider. These challenges required innovative solutions for overall project success, and I’ll discuss some of these solutions next. I employed varying solutions to overcome the challenges I faced in my role as team lead. First, I turned to outside resources for help in learning how to use Civil 3D. I consulted forums, fellow peers, and instructors for help in gaining sufficient knowledge to complete the drafting for this project. As for my hesitancy to delegating work, I worked through this by maintaining open communication with group members to determine what they could handle on a given week. I set up weekly meetings for us to touch base on our progress and to see what each member could tackle for the upcoming week. This method considered member’s schedules much more effectively, easing my hesitancy on delegating tasks. I am overall very happy with my impact as team lead for my group. We would score a 90% on the project, securing good grades for me and my group mates. In addition, I gained extensive knowledge on both technical and soft skills which will prove beneficial for my career, including developing a working understanding of Civil 3D and how to effectively manage a group to achieve a positive outcome; One specific way I’m hoping to make a positive difference is by applying my Civil 3D knowledge at my internship this summer with HNTB, where this software is widely utilized. I look forward to utilizing my experience from this project to achieve success in future engineering projects and to help shape the built environment! Thank you for your time and consideration.

After reading the background information surrounding this scholarship application, I have taken great interest in Mr. John Young as his life in many ways resonates with my own interests; his service in World War 2, for instance, was impactful as I have a keen interest in military history and have read much on the second world war. In addition, his transition to civilian life after the war also piques my interest as I’m extremely passionate about humanity’s exploration beyond our home planet (Saturn V and Space Shuttle models standing tall in my room speak to this interest), making Mr. Young’s transition into the aerospace engineering field fascinating to me. My name is Kevin Akins, a civil engineering student specializing in structural systems at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and I hope to make an impact through my life as John Young’s legacy shows he did through his. Through the following essay, I will discuss why I’ve chosen to study civil engineering, how I plan to create an impact through my work, and a personal goal I hold that will help me achieve my professional passion in striving to have an impactful life like that of John Young. To begin, I have chosen to study civil engineering as it’s my intended method of giving back to the world around me. The United States has received an overall infrastructure grade of C- from the ASCE’s latest infrastructure report card, showing America’s ailing need for infrastructure improvements. I’m hopeful that through studying civil engineering I will be able to develop a career centered on giving back to the built environment around me and work toward improving America’s infrastructure. Next, I plan on creating an impact through my work by focusing on promoting sustainable design. Like entities including SpaceX and NASA are currently building off the work of John Young and the Apollo staff to make spaceflight more sustainable, it’s my intention to do the same for the civil engineering industry, as much of modern construction is unoptimized. One specific concept I’d like to promote is circular construction. Circular construction focuses on reusing material from current construction for use in future construction, promoting both cost efficiency and sustainability. I’m hopeful that through promoting design alternatives which are both economical and sustainable I will be able to make a positive impact on the civil engineering field. Lastly, I’d like to discuss a personal goal I have that will help me achieve my professional passion of succeeding in the civil engineering industry. One goal I have is to pass my engineering entrance exams. To become a professionally licensed engineer, one must pass both the FE and PE exam. I successfully passed the FE this past summer, however I still must take the PE after obtaining 4 years of in-industry experience. Achieving this goal would allow me to become a licensed engineer and position me to make positive impacts for the world as John Young did throughout his life. Thank you for your time and consideration!

It was a cold and dreary night at a Culver's restaurant in Zion, Illinois, however the night was anything but cold and dreary for one employee of the restaurant. I had just figured out my path forward through a Calculus homework problem that had stumped me for the last 20 minutes, and I ecstatically began putting my pencil to the paper to jot down my thought process when the dreaded alarm went off on my phone: time to clock off break. I reluctantly returned my things to my school bag and went back to my position at the drive-thru. My name is Kevin Akins, and this anecdote summarizes much of my experience while attending college. In the coming paragraphs, I will expand upon my experience balancing work and school and how, despite its difficulties, I have grown from the challenge of working while pursuing an education. I worked at a Culver's restaurant roughly 30 hours per week while attending my local community college, the College of Lake County, in order to help offset the cost of tuition and seemingly ever-increasing gas costs to make the 45-minute drive to college. As I touched on in my opening, I always brought my school bag to work so I could make progress on assignments during my 30-minute break. With trying to juggle both work and school, I learned the importance of taking advantage of every spare minute to make progress on my schoolwork, and I figured my 30-minute break provided a great opportunity for me to make up some of the study time I lost due to work. Doing schoolwork during my break often led me to being frustrated with myself, however, for not getting as far as I intended or having to stop halfway through a complex problem, which would require having to get reacquainted with my train of thought later. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to resume vector calculus after an extended break! Overall, though, I am grateful for this period of working through community college as I learned crucial time-management skills that would help me succeed through the next phase of my academic career: Transferring to a four-year college and attending university full-time, which I'll discuss next. I transferred to the Milwaukee School of Engineering in Fall 2023 to pursue a degree in civil engineering. I can say many great things about MSOE; from high post-graduation placement rates to an excellent sense of community, there is much I love about attending MSOE. These great aspects come at a steep cost, however. My total expenses come out to around $22,000 per semester, and this wince-worthy cost has led me to finding a place of employment while studying here as well. I am currently working for the school's admissions office in a Student Ambassador role, providing prospective students and their families with feedback regarding my experiences attending MSOE. Working this position has helped me reduce the financial impact of attending school while also allowing me to get homework done on slower days. This position has also helped me expand upon my social skills, providing experience which will help me communicate more effectively in both my personal and professional life. I look forward to continuing in this role for semesters to come! My time balancing work and school is looking to continue into the future, with an internship and summer course planned for the summer of 2024 and another semester at the admissions office for the fall of 2024. Although often trying, I've grown greatly from working while going to school and look forward to expanding upon this growth in future semesters!

A freshman student walks into his local community college for the first day of 2021's fall semester classes, unsure if his decision to pursue a career in STEM was right for him. Two years later, any uncertainty has disappeared, and that same student is excited to enter the STEM workforce post-graduation. That student was me, Kevin Akins. I am a student studying at the Milwaukee School of Engineering pursuing a degree in civil engineering. I'm excited to divulge more on how my financial situation has affected my education, how this scholarship will help me achieve my dream of entering the civil engineering field, and how achieving my dream will have a positive impact on society. My financial situation has made pursuing a degree increasingly difficult for me and my family. One example can be seen in my college choice. Given that my mother is my only source of financial support for my education, I decided to attend the College of Lake County, a community college local to my area, to cut down the cost of my education and to gain credits which I can transfer to another university. While this decision helped my family save money, this decision also had its drawbacks; I spent roughly 2 hours in commuting time each school day, which took away valuable time that could've been used for studying or preparing for my classes. In addition, the lack of the traditional campus experience has caused me to struggle with making meaningful connections with my classmates. Because of this, I wasn't able to form study groups with my peers and often tackled confusing concepts by myself. A second example of my financial situation straining my education can be seen in my needing to work through college. I worked at my local Culver's restaurant throughout my time attending CLC to be able to afford important needs like my car insurance and gas. This impacted my education in that it meant I was only able to take roughly 3 classes each semester to afford time to work. This has since caused me to fall behind a semester compared to others who started at the same time as me who took 4 or 5 classes each semester. While my financial situation has made it difficult for me to pursue my educational dreams, I'm determined to see past the difficulties and achieve success! This scholarship will greatly help me achieve my dream of entering the civil engineering field. For instance, receiving this scholarship will allow me to better focus on my schoolwork. Given that my mother has just retired and is living on a fixed income, I have been working hard to lower the costs for us as much as possible; receiving this scholarship will lift a significant financial burden from us and allow me to better focus on my coursework rather than how I'll pay for upcoming semesters, aiding me in earning a degree and achieving my dream of entering the civil engineering field. I'm excited to achieve my dream as I believe it will have a positive impact on society. My support for this centers on analyzing what civil engineers do; civil engineers aid in the design of projects built in the world around us. Examples of civil engineering projects include bridges, roadways, municipal water systems, and dams. Achieving my dream of entering the civil engineering field will allow me to help in the design of these vital infrastructure projects and help do my part to further society. I'm excited for the future and I'm eager to make a positive impact on the world around me! Thank you!

A freshman college student walks into his local community college for the first day of classes during the Fall 2021 semester, unsure if his decision to pursue a college degree as a first-generation college student was right for him. Two years later, that student has overcome his initial uncertainty and is excited to earn his degree and see what the future holds! That student is me, Kevin Akins. I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering with a specialty in Structural Systems. Through this essay, I will discuss what being a first-generation college student means to me, go into detail on my passion for civil engineering, and describe my long-term goals. I'm extremely excited about being a first-generation college student as it makes me feel like a slight pioneer: Similar to how I'd believe Neil Armstrong must have felt with his first steps on the moon and Henry Ford with his first widely produced automobile, being a first-generation college student makes me feel like a trailblazer of sorts with me being the first in my family to strive towards a college degree. Furthermore, I view pursuing my degree as a way of carrying forward the family name in a way no one under my family tree has done before, and I'm very passionate about creating a positive outlook on my family and making my family proud. I will use these motivators to help myself persevere through the rigorous coursework ahead of me and to secure a spot on the stage in roughly two years! I am currently studying civil engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering [MSOE]. I am pursuing this major because I believe jobs in this field align well with my benchmarks for a rewarding career, those being making a positive impact on others and giving back to society. Some examples of civil engineering projects include bridges, buildings, municipal water systems, and roadways; helping design infrastructure projects like these which are utilized by thousands of people every day will allow me to have a large positive impact on others, fulfilling my first benchmark of a rewarding career. A career in civil engineering will also allow me to give back to society as many of the projects worked on by civil engineers are integral to the functioning of modern-day society. It's imperative that these projects be constructed safely and efficiently to protect the welfare of the public, reduce maintenance costs, and ensure the project functions as intended for the duration of the project’s lifecycle. Therefore, I will be able to help in the design of safe and efficient infrastructure projects which will greatly benefit society through a career in civil engineering, thus fulfilling my second benchmark. I am excited to continue my studies in civil engineering and see where the future takes me! I also have some long-term goals I'm reaching towards while pursuing my 4-year degree from MSOE. One such goal is to earn a master's degree in structural engineering; I learned after conducting some research on the structural engineering sector that many employers want new hires to hold a master's degree as it can provide much needed knowledge which a bachelor's degree doesn't cover, and for this reason I'm pursuing a master's degree along with a bachelor's degree. A second goal I have relating to this is to secure an excellent job in the structural engineering sector post-graduation. I'm excited to enter my prospective career field and have thus worked internships to bolster my field experience and prepare me for my entrance into the job market. Thank you!

When faced with choosing a book that I believe everyone should read, I chose one which depicts not a happy story but an important one. I chose one which was widely burned by the German people in the 1930s because of its contents. I chose one which is necessary for the public to read due to its brutal honesty in portraying the horrors of war. My name is Kevin Akins, and I would have everyone read "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque to provide the public with eye-opening truths about the consequences of follies of leadership and the disturbing nature of warfare. This book depicts how the foolishness of leadership can have drastic consequences. An example of this can be seen in looking at the character Kantorek. Kantorek, a German teacher who believes in the "Glory" of fighting for one's nation, preaches to his students on how it is their duty to enlist and help defeat the enemy. This persuades the protagonist Paul Baumer and his friend group to enlist in the military. The group would quickly see through Kantorek's rhetoric after gaining experience on the front, however, and by the end of the novel every member of the group had died from the war. This demonstrates how following the word of foolish leaders can cause profound negative consequences, and I believe this concept is an important one for everyone to understand in order to create a more aware populus. This book also does a great job at showing the true horrors of war. One of the biggest scenes I recall from the book demonstrates this. Baumer is thrown into a shell hole during a battle and notices an enemy French soldier taking cover opposite of him. Out of instinct, Baumer begins knifing the soldier and mortally wounds him. The soldier doesn't die instantly, however, and Baumer looks into the eyes of the defenseless soldier and feels immense regret for what he's done. It is after the soldier passes that Baumer finds a photograph of the soldier's wife in his coat, sending Baumer into a breakdown. Moments like this help put into perspective the widespread evil of war, especially when considering these are only two of millions who fought in the Great War. I believe the widespread reading of this novel would provide sobering clarity to the public and help in the prevention of future wars.

The year is 2009. An eight-year-old student walks into his first class of Taekwondo and states to the instructor his goal of earning a black belt. Four years later, that student would stand in front of that same instructor with his first-degree black belt in hand, understanding however that this was only the beginning of his journey. That student was me, Kevin Akins. I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering. My journey through Taekwondo exhibits characteristics which I believe fit well with what you're looking for in an intended recipient for the TEAM ROX Scholarship, so I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring! I will first touch on my experience developing my skills as a student of Taekwondo and then discuss my transition to an instructor role to help others in their pursuit of the art. Thank you for your time in reading and this is my story. As I alluded to earlier, my experience with Taekwondo started from a young age; I enjoyed watching "The Karate Kid" as a kid and displayed interest in pursuing some form of martial arts, so my parents enrolled me in a Taekwondo program at the age of eight. The art enveloped my interest in no time, with me attending all five classes each week and going to local tournaments to showcase my knowledge. After four years of hard work and dedication to the art, I would test for and earn my first-degree black belt in 2014 at the age of 12. I would continue studying and practicing the art up until 2022, where my full-time college study would require most of my time. One of my favorite aspects of my time in Taekwondo, however, was having the ability to help others understand the art through teaching, and this is what I'll highlight next. My school strived to give students increasing responsibility as they proceeded through the belt ranks, allowing them to lead warm-ups and gain other small experiences with leadership. I first gained true teaching experience, however, in the leadup to testing for my black belt; in 2013, one year prior to my black belt test, one of the instructors at the studio, Mr. Borre, approached me and asked if I'd like to help him out at our local park district where he ran a Taekwondo program. He mentioned how teaching a class of my own could garner me great experience in preparation for my black belt test. I agreed and thus began my incredible journey volunteering at the Zion Park District. Mr. Borre allowed me to run the Wednesday class sessions, giving me two hours of teaching experience through instructing both the beginner and advanced classes. I would continue in this position up until my pause in Taekwondo in 2022, helping teach classes for 9 years in a volunteering role. In my entire journey through Taekwondo, these years of service are the accomplishment I'm most proud of; being able to "Give back" to the art through helping others for all that it gave to me was an experience which rivaled no other. I saw aspects of myself in many of the students I taught, and serving in a role to help them foster their own love for the art was incredibly rewarding to me and an experience which I'm incredibly grateful for. If someone were to ask what my favorite part of Taekwondo was, I wouldn't say any certain kick or punch. Helping guide others through their own journeys with Taekwondo was more fulfilling than any technique ever could be!

A first-year student enrolled in an Engineering Statics course at his local community college is finding the typical beam and truss problems that frequent this course incredibly intriguing and expresses this interest to his professor. His professor responds by stating that the student should consider researching more into the field of civil engineering. That student was me, Kevin Akins, and this experience kickstarted my launch into the wide world of civil engineering. I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering with a specialty in Structural Systems. I'm excited to go in depth with my analysis of the civil engineering field in the coming paragraphs by discussing my thoughts on the significance of the field, my personal passion for the field, and the challenges I've had to overcome striving to enter the field. Civil engineering is an extremely significant field of study because of its large impact on the modern society in which we live. Civil engineering is a branch of engineering which focuses on the infrastructure of the world around us: Bridges, dams, roadways, municipal water systems, and buildings are all complex systems which are designed by today's civil engineers. The successful use of these systems is integral to the function of modern society and thus shows the high level of importance of the profession. Furthermore, civil engineers play a big role in ensuring these systems are not only built but built with safety and efficiency in mind. Without the codebooks created by the world's civil engineers, many built structures would likely be unsafe and extremely unsustainable. This would create a heightened risk of injury or death for the occupants of such structures while also raising the required costs due to repairs and maintenance. This further shows how civil engineers are incredibly impactful to our modern society and make the profession an extremely significant one. My passion for the field of civil engineering is strong and has evolved greatly over time. I'd say my first experience with the field was in taking the Statics course discussed above in the fall of 2022. Following this, I began searching for internships with civil engineering firms for the following summer. I did this so I could gauge my interest in the degree after learning what civil engineers do on a daily basis. I would receive an internship offer with the Kenosha Water Utility for the summer of 2023. This internship was in the water resources sector of civil engineering, and my day-to-day tasks included conducting manhole inspections, performing utility locates, and accompanying licensed civil engineers to jobsites. Any hesitancy as to if civil engineering was right for me was gone following this internship, for this experience enriched my love for the field evermore! I loved the opportunity to see principles I'd learned in school be applied in a workplace setting, and the combination of office and field work was great to me! My interest from my Statics course would lead me towards specializing in structural systems for my degree, however this internship experience was greatly rewarding and has led me to taking water resource electives whenever possible at MSOE. Overall, what excites me the most currently is gaining experience in the structural engineering sector to confirm that this is what I want to do for a future career. I'm excited to say I will have the chance to realize this as I have received an internship offer with CSD Structural Engineers for the summer of 2024! The future is bright, and I'm thrilled to see where my journey with civil engineering will take me next! While I've thoroughly enjoyed pursuing my entrance into the civil engineering workforce, I've been met with many adversities along the way. That being said, I'm proud to say that each adversity I've encountered I've approached "The engineering way" and brainstormed to find employable solutions. One such adversity was succeeding in Calculus 2. Calculus 2 was a big struggle for me, earning a 37/100 on the first exam. Given that this course was only graded on 3 exams and weekly quizzes, this set me in a large hole for the course. The solution I employed for this adversity included doubling the amount of time I spent studying and reworking homework problems and utilizing my professor's office hours more frequently to be sure I thoroughly understood the content of the course. I would end up conquering this adversity, fighting my way back to a C for the class at the end of the semester. A second adversity I encountered was searching for my first internship. Prior to my internship at the Water Utility, the only work experience I had was working at my local Culver's restaurant for 3 years. While better than nothing, this lack of engineering experience proved it difficult for me to receive call backs regarding internship positions. I knew I had to "Get my foot in the door" so to speak, so the solution I employed to fight this adversity entailed tidying up my resume and applying to as many internship listings as I could. I would overcome this adversity with receiving my internship offer with KWU. A final adversity I'd like to mention is my struggle to pay for college. MSOE, being a private institution, tends to lean on the higher side of tuition expenses; furthermore, my mother, who is my only source of financial help, has recently retired, furthering the financial strain. I'm taking strides to surpass this adversity by applying to scholarships such as this to help reduce the amount of money owed by me and my family. Adversities are a natural aspect of life, however having the right mindset can help create solutions to surpass any adversity. Pursuing civil engineering is a challenging endeavor; difficult classes and financial strains can be formidable obstacles. With my passion for the work and my belief in the importance of the field, however, I am setting out to conquer this challenge and pave the way for my future career.

The year was 2021 and a student walked into his first day of engineering classes at his local community college, worrying about if his major decision was a good fit. Two years later, that same student worries no more and is greatly excited to enter the engineering workforce! That student is me, Kevin Akins. I am a student studying at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and I am pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering with a specialty in Structural Systems. I'm excited to share more about my experience with Taekwondo and go in depth regarding my passion for my future career in the following paragraphs. I would like to focus the discussion about myself on one of the biggest aspects of my childhood: my participation in Taekwondo. I attended my first Taekwondo class in 2009 at the age of 8 and practiced the art up until 2021, marking 12 years of my life committed to the art. One of my favorite aspects of Taekwondo is how, contrary to many people's expectations, there is a large mental aspect to the art. For instance, students at the school I attended were required to understand and apply the following Tenants of Taekwondo: Integrity, courtesy, self-control, perseverance, and indomitable spirit. It was through understanding these tenants that students were tasked with becoming a mental black belt in a sense, but it was also these same tenants which guided me to earning my physical black belt after four years of hard work at the age of 12; I found perseverance and indomitable spirit particularly guiding as being able to persevere through hardship and having an indomitable spirit were essential to helping me forge through the rigorous black belt test. Learning the Tenants of Taekwondo has helped me immensely in my modern academics as well. For instance, I have applied my willingness to persevere to help me endure through hard classes in the pursuit to earn my degree. Furthermore, I have utilized holding an indomitable spirit to bounce back from academic setbacks, such as receiving a poor grade on a test or not understanding a concept, in my college courses. Overall, my experience in Taekwondo taught me the power of putting your mind to something and the importance of having great mental fortitude. Understanding and utilizing my experiences in Taekwondo and its tenants continue to help me greatly even today. I'll now switch gears and discuss why I'm passionate about my degree choice. One reason I am extremely passionate about pursuing my degree in civil engineering is because of how it enables me to help a multitude of people. Being able to have a positive impact on people's lives is a huge benchmark of success for me, and civil engineering as a profession I believe will allow me to have a large positive impact on many people's lives through the projects I work on. A second reason I'm passionate about my degree choice is it will help me give back to my community. I remember talking with one of my Taekwondo instructors once on why he enjoyed teaching, and he stated how it was his way of "Giving back" to the art for all it gave to him. I hold the same mindset regarding my degree choice; Earning this degree will enable me to work in positions which will help build the nation's infrastructure and make our communities better places to live. In this sense, I will be able to "Give back" to society for all of the wonderous luxuries I've been blessed with living in the modern era. Thank you for your time and consideration!

"Success" is an incredibly intriguing phrase, for it can be utilized by many people yet have different meanings to everyone all the same; accumulating wealth, starting a family, and achieving the American Dream are all different ideals which many people define as making one successful. My name is Kevin Akins, and I am a student pursuing a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering; I am pursuing my own definition of success through working towards achieving lofty personal goals and doing my part to give back to society. I will go further in depth on these personal characteristics of success and describe how winning this scholarship will greatly help me in becoming my own version of successful. Achieving lofty personal goals is a key characteristic in defining success to me. I developed this mindset at a young age from the time I spent pursuing Taekwondo. I was 8 years old when on my first day of martial arts class I declared to my instructor that I wanted a black belt. Four years later, this dream would become a reality in the spring of 2013 when I would earn my first-degree black belt at age 12. This was one of the first times in my life that I had achieved a serious long-term goal and I recall the rewarding feeling of bearing the fruits of my labor for the first time. This exuberant feeling has stuck with me and is the main reason achieving lofty goals has become a key cornerstone in my definition of being successful. A modern example I have of working towards achieving a personal goal of mine is my pursuit towards earning a 4-year degree from MSOE, of which I'm currently in my second year of study. Achieving this dream of mine would further myself in becoming my own version of successful. Giving back to society is also a defining characteristic of success to me. Like the characteristic discussed prior, I will begin my discussion on this topic with mentioning my martial arts career; following the earning of my first-degree black belt, I would begin helping my local park district with teaching classes for the Taekwondo program. The other teacher for the class, a fellow black belt, often stated how he enjoyed teaching as it helped him give back to the art. I would end up working alongside this instructor for the following 8 years at the park district, and I embrace this mindset he shared with me inside and outside of the art. I am pursuing Civil Engineering in part to further this mindset: Following my entrance into the field, I will be able to work on the nation's infrastructure to strive to make the world in which I live a better place. Being able to have a positive impact on people's lives is a huge benchmark of success for me, and civil engineering as a profession I'm hoping will allow me to have a large positive impact on many people's lives through the projects I work on. In this sense, I will be able to "Give back" to society for all of the wonderous luxuries I've been blessed with living in modern society, allowing me to accomplish this aspect of being successful. Winning the Redefining Victory Scholarship will be of great help to me in further achieving my version of success. This scholarship will be very helpful to me and my family in paying for the higher costs of tuition at MSOE, relieving a significant financial burden from our shoulders and allowing me to more ably focus in on my academics. This will allow me to make further progress towards the current personal goal of mine of graduating from MSOE with a bachelor's degree, helping me to achieve the first aspect of success discussed above. Similarly, receiving this scholarship will help ensure that I'm able to graduate from MSOE and enter the civil engineering field as quick as I can, allowing me to begin giving back to the communities around me and the profession as a whole as soon as possible, thusly achieving the second aspect of being successful. The word "Success" may take on many different forms to different people, but with the help of this scholarship I can ensure I meet my own personal definition of the term and live successfully. Thank you very much for your time and consideration!

A phrase I've often heard said in engineering classes is how engineers are "Life-long learners", for many of the biyearly requirements to maintain licensure as a professional engineer require attending seminars and classes to bolster your knowledge base. Thusly, seeing a scholarship honoring Mr. William A. Stuart, himself described as being a lifelong learner, caught my attention and I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring! My name is Kevin Akins, and I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering studying Civil Engineering with a specialty in Structural Systems. In the following paragraphs, I will touch on both my educational and career goals and describe how winning this scholarship will help me reach these goals. Educational goals are at the forefront of my short-term goals. A broad educational goal I am currently pursuing is to graduate from college with a degree in my intended field. As of writing, I am working towards earning a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from MSOE, with an eventual goal of earning a master's degree as well. Furthermore, one of my main takeaways from an interview with a company for an internship position was that many of the principles taught during a bachelor's degree program in civil engineering are incredibly important in the structural engineering sector. Therefore, a more specific educational goal I hold is to perform with excellence in my college coursework and develop a deep level of understanding of the material. This will help me build a great base of knowledge about the industry and set myself up greatly for my entrance into the structural engineering profession. Following my graduation, I am excited to begin pursuing more long-term career goals I hold. One of the first long-term career goals I'm excited to achieve is to work on my first real-world structural design project; I'm extremely passionate about pursuing a career which will allow me to "give back to society" and help make a positive impact on people's lives. Therefore, working on my first real-world project which will help thousands of people is a milestone I'm eager to achieve. A more specific goal I have in my field is to gain aptitude in both the design of bridges and buildings. Structural engineers typically tend to concentrate in either bridge or building design, however I would like to learn facets of both sectors to further my knowledge on structural engineering as a whole and to have a deeper understanding of how the design process for these two challenging structure types relate to one another. Winning this scholarship would be of great help to me in reaching my goals. It will help me achieve my first educational goal by helping ensure I am able to finish my schooling at MSOE. MSOE, being a private institution, tends to have a steeper tuition cost compared to other schools. In addition, my mother, my only financial support for my education, has just retired, increasing the financial strain on our family. Therefore, winning this scholarship will help me greatly in easing this financial strain and ensuring I can finish my degrees. This scholarship will also help me achieve my second educational goal in that I'll be able to focus more on my studies rather than on how I'll pay for the coming semesters, allowing me to put more time in to develop a stronger understanding of the course materials. Furthermore, this scholarship will help me in achieving my long-term career goals in that it will help me earn my degrees and, thus, help land my first job following graduation where I can pursue these goals. Thank you!

The year is 2019 and a student is walking into his first AP Physics class during the start of his junior year in high school. Little did that student know that his love for that class would propel him into pursuing Engineering for his college studies and launch his future career aspirations. That student was me, Kevin Akins. I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and I am pursuing a Master of Science in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Systems. I will firstly touch on my background and then dive deeper into the academic and work experiences which led to my decision to pursue civil engineering. I am from Zion, Illinois, and I graduated from Zion-Benton Township High School in 2021. Through my time there, I enrolled in 6 AP classes and was designated an Illinois State Scholar for the year 2021. Following graduation, I enrolled in my local community college, the College of Lake County [referred hereafter as CLC], to begin building credits towards an engineering degree. I began my work life with starting at a local Culver's restaurant during my junior year of high school in 2019 and worked there until May 2023 when I started working an engineering internship with the Kenosha Water Utility. I left this internship in August ahead of my move to Milwaukee to attend MSOE. As of writing, I have completed one semester at MSOE. I am also extremely proud to share my first semester GPA of 4.0 at this institution following earning all A grades in my 6 class for the fall semester. I'll now dive deeper into the academic experiences which helped spark my passion for civil engineering. Going into my initial studies at CLC, I didn't know what type of engineering to pursue or if engineering was even right for me. My enrollment in the course "Engineering Statics" changed all of that, however. This course primarily dealt with topics which are heavily based in civil engineering applications, including problems which incorporated beams and truss bridges. I knew that I wanted to choose a career which would be helpful to society and learning that I could work on civil engineering projects which benefit millions of people every day helped cement my decision to pursue a degree in civil engineering. My interests further gravitated towards the design and construction of large structures like buildings and bridges, which helped me decide on a specialization in structural systems design. Next, I'll discuss the work experiences which confirmed my interest in civil engineering. While I loved my time working at Culver's, entering my sophomore year of college I felt I had to get real-world experience to "Get my foot in the door" in the civil engineering field. After lots of searching and interviewing, I accepted an internship offer from the Kenosha Water Utility in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Through this experience, I got to work alongside licensed professional engineers and participated in many of their day-to-day tasks including visiting water main breaks, operating water valves, and conducting maintenance on the municipal water and sewer systems. While not in my intended specialty, this experience was incredibly valuable to me as it verified that civil engineering is what I'd like to pursue as my career field; I loved every minute of my time there! To conclude, this scholarship will greatly benefit me and my family as, being a private institution, MSOE has a steep tuition cost. Furthermore, my mother, who is my only financial support for my education, retired just this past year, increasing the financial strain. Thank you very much for your time and consideration!

The year is 2018 and SpaceX is livestreaming the first test-launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket. A student on a school bus in Illinois is watching the livestream with intent curiosity and knows at that moment that he wants to enter the wide world of engineering study post-high school. That student was me, Kevin Akins. I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and I am pursuing a Master of Science in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Systems. The story of Mr. Richard P. Mullen caught my eye, being a structural engineering student, and I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring! I am very thankful for your time in reading and this is my story. First, I'll provide some background information. I am from Zion, Illinois, and I graduated from Zion-Benton Township High School in 2021. Through my time there, I enrolled in 6 AP classes and was designated an Illinois State Scholar for the year 2021. I started working at my local Culver's during my sophomore year in 2019 and worked there until May 2023 when I started working an engineering internship with the Kenosha Water Utility. I left this internship in August ahead of my move to Milwaukee to attend MSOE. I'll now go more in-depth with my experience in engineering. I started my studies in engineering attending my local community college, the College of Lake County; being a first-generation college student, I wanted to remain local and continue working through my first years in college. Through my time at CLC, I was able to knock out many of the intimidating initial courses in a 4-year engineering curriculum, including Chemistry, Physics, and the Calculus series. One course that I'd like to focus on, though, was Engineering Statics, which I took in the fall of 2022. This course piqued my interest in civil engineering through my enjoyment of several topics introduced in the course, an example being Structural Analysis; I often say this class gave me truss issues! Shameless puns aside, I talked with my instructor further regarding the profession and decided to apply to MSOE to pursue my passion. I was accepted and I'm currently enrolled in my first semester here for the fall of 2023. Looking to the future, I have a semester of structural design courses ahead for the spring of 2024 and I'm also excited to say I have a structural engineering internship lined up for the summer of 2024 through CSD Structural Engineers out of Milwaukee. This scholarship will greatly benefit me as MSOE, being a private institution, tends to lean on the higher side of tuition costs. In addition, my familial assistance is strained at the moment due to my mother having just retired and my father having little to contribute. The Richard P. Mullen scholarship, therefore, will be of great help to me in taking a large financial burden off of my shoulders, allowing me to better focus on the rigorous coursework MSOE has to offer. I plan to utilize this scholarship to help reduce my out-of-pocket expenses for tuition and, coinciding with my paid full-time internship for the summer of 2024, position myself much better financially for the upcoming school year. Receiving this scholarship will also help me in saving for the fifth year of schooling I will have towards my master's degree. In summary, I believe I would be a great fit as the recipient of the Richard P. Mullen scholarship due to my passion for Structural Engineering and my background and qualifications detailed above. Thank you once again for your time and consideration!