Creativity is at the core of my personality. From a young age, I used design to solve problems in my life. At 7 years old, when I wanted house shoes, I used recycled foam board, paper, cardboard, and rubber bands to make myself a pair of sandals. Using my knowledge of rubber band bracelet design, I developed a rubber band strap to hold my feet in place and promote comfort. This early experience ignited my passion for solving problems through design. In middle school and high school, I joined graphic design classes and various art classes to expand my knowledge of design. Going into my junior year of high school, I knew I would have to determine what area of design I wanted to pursue long-term. Captivated by augmented reality, I delved into development using Adobe Aero, despite my lack of programming experience. One of my earliest projects, a playful take on the classic “He loves me, he loves me not,” allowed me to harness my design skills in Adobe Illustrator to create a 2D-based interactive experience. It was then that I discovered my love for mixed reality design, finding joy in the blend of art and technology. Despite the project being relatively simple, it allowed me enough freedom to fall in love with mixed reality development. It quickly became my favorite type of design and art. Despite years of developing products and graphical designs, I experienced the most joy when creating in mixed reality. At the University of Colorado Boulder, I am majoring in Creative Technology and Design, focusing on virtual and augmented reality development. Naturally, I have taken courses in programming, 3D modeling, and mixed reality development. My mixed reality class was easily the most enjoyable course I have taken in all my years of schooling. I was thrilled to bring all my prior education together to create products similar to the ones I would want to work on as a career. Two of my favorite projects to come out of this class were my AR timer assistant and AR fraction educational activity. Both projects are web-based, marker-based products developed in A-Frame. My AR timer assistant is a project where the user prints specific stickers that the user later scans to enable the associated timer. My AR fraction activity is a series of fraction posters that, when scanned by the user on the website, show the fraction in standard form, as a decimal, as a percentage, and as a pie chart. In the future, I plan on using digital design resources such as Unity, Blender, and the Adobe Creative Suite to create virtual or augmented reality products that improve the lives of users. I have used Blender in the past for 3D modeling, but I plan to expand my knowledge of the software to make higher-quality assets. Within the next few months, I will complete a certificate program aimed at guiding me through using Blender for asset creation. Unity will be used to create and deploy the app-based mixed reality projects. It serves as the master software, combining all the other development elements to produce a cohesive product. The funds from the Dave Cross Design Arts Scholarship will be instrumental in bringing my capstone project to life. In my senior year, I aim to create a mixed reality escape room that tells a compelling narrative around mental health. This project has the potential to make a lasting impact, sparking dialogue and understanding. I appreciate the opportunity to invest more in my future ambitions and to stretch the boundaries of design and technology in service of my community.

Since high school, I have been interested in AI. After realizing that I had been frequently using AI without knowing, I knew there was potential for seamless additions of AI in society. However, through research throughout the years, I knew this would not be a simple task. There is no question that AI is a hot topic in the media. Most media portrays AI as a malicious tool that will take over people's lives. I have made it my personal mission to be a member of a project that changes people's perspective of AI. I attend the University of Colorado Boulder and study Creative Technology and Design, focusing on AI and mixed reality. With this degree and focus, I have taken classes that have allowed me to implement AI in video games and augmented reality applications. In my first programming course, we created a basic AI to accompany a game we were making in Python. My professor walked us through implementing reactive AI for our non-player enemies to chase the playable character around the screen. While this was not a sophisticated AI application, it was a good introduction to AI development and its applications. This semester, I am also taking a mixed reality development class. For the AR app I am working on now, I am creating an app that uses AI facial recognition to give users affirmations based on their moods. I am using Unity to create this project and plan to have the affirmations displayed at the bottom of your screen and change when your facial expressions change. I want to use what I learn from that project to develop an education-based application with real-time feedback using AI. I want the app to accompany the current elementary education curriculum to help break down mathematical concepts in a digestible format. Once I graduate from college, I plan to combine my experience in augmented reality and machine learning to assist current and former military personnel. As someone who grew up in an army town with veterans in my family, I have seen firsthand how the military can deteriorate people's mental health. It is hard to see someone you care about hurt themselves and others both physically and mentally. To mitigate this, I want to use my education to make mental health resources more accessible. I am currently taking an AI ethics course to better understand the shortcomings within AI today and brainstorm ways to mitigate these dilemmas in the future. Since I plan on integrating AI within AR applications, I want to be cognizant of the potential downsides of different machine learning practices. This knowledge is quintessential if I use AI and mixed reality in healthcare. I enjoy reading case studies and hearing from guest speakers regarding AI programs greeted with public backlash due to ethical issues. They allow me to learn from my predecessors and think about ways to program more ethical AI applications. With the AROC AI/ML scholarship funds, I could pay half a semester's cost of attendance. As I go into my last year of college, it has been essential for me to do everything I can to help my parents afford my college bill. While my parents have been able to cover the parts of the bill I cannot cover, I want to lower the amount of money my parents spend on me to be able to save for my siblings going to college. Hopefully, when I graduate college and get a job, I aspire to attribute money to my siblings' educational pursuits.

Growing up, most music artists did not come to my state; if they did, it was not in my small town. The nearest concert would be over an hour away in Denver, so it was rare for my family to attend concerts. I have only gone to four concerts in my lifetime because of this reality. My first concert came as a shock to me. I was in elementary school, and my parents had just recently finalized their divorce. My mom, sister, and I saw the "Fresh Beat Band," a group from the Nickelodeon television show of the same name. I did not actively watch the show because it was out of my age range, but I watched episodes with my sister when we would watch TV together. Looking back at the event, it was likely my mom's way of getting our minds off the divorce. There are significant gaps in my memory of the event, but certain aspects stuck out. I recall having floor seats with a good view of the stage. You could feel the warmth of the strobe lights and the people around you. The brightly colored lights and loud sounds were a shock; I had never been in that type of environment before. Little kids were running around and dancing throughout the performance in any free space they could find. Parents often recorded their kids dancing or the band on stage. At one point, singers from the band went into the audience to interact with the kids in the crowd. During this time, I greeted and hugged one of the members. My sister, then a toddler, was apprehensive and did not interact with the band members. While my first concert memory will remain engraved, it was not my favorite. My favorite concert was the one I recently attended, Chris Brown's. I have enjoyed his music since I was young; I saw his development as an artist and a man in real time. Naturally, I was elated at the thought of seeing him perform. It fulfilled every criterion I have to consider a concert worthwhile. It was a monumental moment because it was the first concert I paid for and attended with a friend rather than my family. In a way, it was a step into adulthood. I didn't have to ask anyone for permission or check other people's schedules. I just bought my ticket and waited for the special event to come. The Chris Brown concert itself was perfect. My friend and I dressed nicely and drove to the arena together. Even before Chris Brown took the stage, I enjoyed the performances by the opening artists, Maeta and Muni Long. Their beautiful voices and relatable lyrics enticed the audience. My friend and I reserved floor seats near one of the stages Chris Brown would be performing on. We always had a clear view of the performance. When Chris Brown stepped on that stage, he did not disappoint. Chris Brown is easily one of the best performers; every part of his production was perfect. Nothing could beat the feeling of hearing your favorite songs performed live while singing the lyrics with your friend. Everything felt more surreal when he got to the stage near me. There is little that compares to the feeling you get when you are mere feet away from one of your favorite musicians. Everyone else faded away, and it felt like he was singing specifically to me. I feel forever changed by the level of detail and artistry Chris Brown possesses. I am excited to see him again next year!

I have always been an ambitious individual, and I work hard to do everything I want to do in life whenever I want to do it. I work to be a highly-valued person within society and achieve financial freedom early in life. To be what I would consider "successful" in life, I have to be able to give back to my community and influence others around me. Due to my rigorous schedule throughout high school, I did not work a job; instead, I focused on giving back to my community. I played tennis every year of high school, played on every team the school had, and held the leadership position of JV captain in my junior year. Aside from sports, I was the section leader for the second Altos for two years in choir and was section leader for the bass drums in the marching band in my senior year. I also actively participated in my school's national honor society and sources of strength. Since graduating high school, I have displayed my leadership skills within my job at Vector Marketing. Within a month of working, I got promoted to assistant manager. In the assistant manager position, I have had various opportunities, like hosting team meetings, operating group interview sessions, managing a team of sales representatives, and more. This experience has allowed me to progress toward financial freedom while helping people in my community with their career journeys. I am entering my second year of university at The University of Colorado - Boulder. I am majoring in Creative Technology and Design with a certificate in music technology. I have been working hard to graduate from college within three years and set myself up the best I can for the best career. I have made a point to push myself with the amount of credit hours I take while holding myself to a standard of keeping my GPA above 3.0. I want to graduate on the dean's list and have a six-figure technology job lined up for when I leave college. I strive to attend various networking events and make as many connections as possible to set myself up professionally. Regarding my future career, a few fundamental aspects must be in place. I want to contribute to a project that positively impacts a community. Whether I am working with a team to create a video game or spearheading the creation of a new Google feature, I want to better other people's lives with what I create through my job. I also prioritize making six figures before 25. I strive to better myself daily and become someone of high value; I do not want to settle for a low-value life. I did not come this far to only come this far. I want people to view me as capable of obtaining a high position in my company and managing my money from a young age. I am not interested in flashy cars or a mansion but in money to live comfortably and generate generational wealth for my bloodline. With the funds from the Deion Hampton & Associates African Americans in STEM Scholarship, I would use the money to pay off my fall semester cost of attendance. I am nearing the end of college and have thought significantly about what I want my capstone project to look like. I want to create a high-tech, immersive escape room with an entertaining storyline for the participants to interact with. While ambitious, I want to complete a capstone that my professors have not seen before and dazzle the nearby community with every facet of my creativity.

I have always been a creator. Like many other children raised in the early 2000s, my favorite toy was Legos. I remember going to my grandma's house and playing with Legos with my cousin. Often, we would use the blocks to create various carnival games for each other and our stuffed animals. While our carnival experience required imagination, I was obsessed with having the games function for real people. Clearly, from a young age, I was drawn to game development. Naturally, I decided to major in an engineering degree in college to help hone my game development skills. I am entering my second year of university at The University of Colorado - Boulder. I am majoring in Creative Technology and Design with a certificate in music technology, allowing me to get a wide range of engineering knowledge with a design-based focus. Within my first year, I have gotten the opportunity to explore computer science, virtual reality engineering, and sound engineering. My computer science curriculum heavily focused on creating video games. In my first coding class, I designed my first video game, "Fishing Season." This pixel art, 2-dimensional game had the user play as a fish trying not to touch the fish hooks coming down from the water surface. The art was not great, and the game loop was not enticing, but it was a pretty good solo project for my first time. With the knowledge I gained after developing "Fishing Season" and the curriculum from my second coding class, I created my second game, "3 Nights with Dug," with one of my classmates. The improvements from one project to another were staggering. This "Five Nights at Freddy's" inspired spot the difference game had music, sound effects, lighting changes, multiple levels, and nine different game states. Needless to say, "3 Nights with Dug" holds a special place in my heart. In my quest to have the perfect music for my projects, I learned how to create and edit audio clips using different sound software. I had fun working as a sound producer to see my vision come alive. I took classes teaching the physics and biology involved in sound propagation and formation. Through these courses, I learned how the medium a sound is in and bounces off of affects how the sound is perceived. This knowledge allowed me to add audio to my creations that made more sense for the theme and environment of the scenes. Due to the nature of my classes, I spent the least time experimenting with virtual reality. I have always been interested in virtual reality and its ability to transport users into a new world. For the last project in my Image class, instructions were to create a VR world with little to no prompt. I wanted to add a game-like spin to the assignment and have interactivity. The finished project was a game where you looked around a library to find the painting I placed within the scene. It was a simple concept, but it got good reviews from everyone who played it. With the funds from the Anderson Engineering Scholarship, I can buy the materials needed to create the immersive storytelling games I have brewing in my mind. I have enough credits to graduate early, so I have thought considerably about what I want my capstone project to be. I want to create a high-tech, immersive escape room with an entertaining storyline for the participants to interact with. While ambitious, I want to complete a capstone that my professors have not seen before and dazzle the nearby community with every facet of my creativity.

When most people think of disabilities, they think of the ones that drastically alter the person's way of life. Thus, when creating products to help people with disabilities, engineers often neglect individuals who do not appear to be physically disabled. As someone with a physical disability that is not visibly obvious, there are not many resources available for me. Being in college, I do not have access to a physical therapist or a paid professional to aid my physical pain. To fix this, I want to use my degree in creative technology and design to create a medical app that guides you through physical therapy stretches tailored to your physical state. I intend for the app to utilize the user's smartphone camera to ensure that the user completes the stretches with the proper form. Using incorrect forms or doing improper stretches for the disability can hurt the patient more than help them. The app will bring the physical therapist to where the patient is, allowing the patient to receive simple healthcare when in-person care is not easily accessible. The funds from the @ESPdaniella Disabled Degree scholarship will allow me to learn the skills necessary to make my app a reality.

Growing up a black female in America means the only successful people who looked like you were in sports or the entertainment industry. The media made it seem like the only way I could be respected and valued in my career was to be the best in sports or be a talented performer. The only black women featured were ones like Oprah, Serena Williams, and Beyonce. As someone who has known from a young age that she wanted to work in technology, my selection of famous African-American women in technology was nonexistent. The only people on the news making a difference in the technology industry are older white men. Of course, seeing other black women succeed is inspiring, but nothing would have been more inspiring than seeing someone like me make a significant impact in the technology industry. It was not until I started researching college that I genuinely found my role model in life. By my first year of high school, I knew I would attend the University of Colorado- Boulder and major in creative technology and design. I knew this engineering sector was emerging and small, but I was curious to see if there were any successful black alumni. That is when I came across Donna Auguste. She had just graduated from the University of Colorado- Boulder with her Ph.D. in creative technology and design, but she had a more than impressive resume behind her. Donna was and still is everything that I want to be. What immediately caught my eye was her research on virtual and augmented reality. Growing up, I only saw augmented reality in video games. Learning that Donna and her peers developed an augmented reality display for astronauts opened my eyes to the wide range of untapped potential immersive reality. I predict augmented or virtual reality will integrate with most career fields in less than 20 years. I was also intrigued by her managerial past. I held many leadership roles throughout my K-12 education and wanted to carry that on into my future career. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Donna worked as a senior engineering manager at Apple. In this position, she helped coordinate the development of the Newton personal digital assistant and led her team to earn three patents for their work. With the new information about Donna Auguste and her accomplishments, I was more driven than ever to pursue creative technology and design at the University of Colorado- Boulder. I worked hard in high school to achieve a GPA higher than 4.0, graduating in the top 10% of my class, and playing Varsity level sports. I left my legacy at my high school and happily moved to leave my mark at the University of Colorado- Boulder. The first semester of college was difficult with the rigor of some of my courses, but I could not let Donna Auguste down. She would want me to get my degree and push past the adversities. With the funds from the C.L. Scholarship of Black Women in Engineering, I will pay for my class resources without my parents' contribution. I have begun to take classes that teach me how to create an immersive experience using virtual and augmented reality. I am doing my best to get all the benefits from college and set myself up for the best career possible. I want to become someone a future black engineer sees in mainstream media and aspires to be. I am destined for greatness, and I will settle for nothing less.

I am fortunate enough to come from a family of gamers. Everyone from my grandparents to my younger sisters has competed in gaming. As a family, we have easily clocked in years' worth of hours towards video games. While we all love competing, we spend most of our time playing cooperative games. Cooperative games became a staple activity during holiday get-togethers. Since most of my relatives grew up playing Nintendo games and on Nintendo gaming systems, most of the games we play on family nights are Nintendo-created. One game is nearest and dearest to my heart: Super Mario Bros.Wii. I remember unwrapping Super Mario Bros.Wii during Christmas in 2014. Happiness radiated from my body as I realized the gift I received. I had previously completed two other Super Mario games on my Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, so I was excited to have another challenge to complete. Since I was still in school, I did not start playing the game until the following summer. Almost every day of the summer, I tried to complete the game to the best of my abilities with my sister and cousin. Weekdays during that time went pretty much the same. My mom would get off work, pick up me, my sister, and my cousin from our grandparents' house, and take us back to my house. The three of us would immediately sprint to the basement to turn on the Wii and argue over who gets to be controller one. As the oldest, I will die on the hill that I need controller one. We would then put in the disk, pick our characters, and try our luck with the incomplete level. It would usually take three attempts to complete the level and get all the stars. During the first play-through, we would all get a feel for the level and likely lose many lives. As young kids, all of us believed our method of solving the level would be best. Naturally, we engaged in petty arguments and forced compromises. As someone who does not like arguing, I often was the one compromising. The second play-through consisted of testing the ideas and likely winning the level with a few casualties. We would be satisfied with the win, but we would want more. As perfectionists, my cousin and I needed to get all the star coins for each level. We were the definition of "try-hards." My sister did not care about the star coins, but she did not get to make the decisions. Thus, the third play-through would begin. We would get the star coins by any means necessary, regardless of whether we would lose lives. Collaboration became essential as acquiring all the star coins and completing the level required teamwork. The cycle continued for a few hours until my aunt would come to pick up my cousin. While there were numerous arguments and disagreements, we completed the game in two summers. Nothing will beat the feeling of beating the final boss and getting a rush of satisfaction and relief. It was the first co-op game that any of us have played through completion. Super Mario Bros.Wii brought me, my cousin, and my sister, together and taught us communication and collaboration skills. Now that we are all older, we often reminisce on the times we spent sitting on the couch in the basement playing Super Mario. With our busy schedules, we haven't been able to play video games together much, but it would be fun to tackle the game again.

I have always been an ambitious individual, and I work hard to do everything I want to do in life whenever I want to do it. Throughout the past three years, I have been intrigued with personal finance and working towards financial freedom early. The very first step towards financial freedom is making money. I never had a job in high school because I was playing sports and an active member of multiple clubs, so I got my first job the summer after my senior year. The job allowed me to work from home with the option to come into the office, which was perfect for me. As someone without my license or a car, I needed employment that did not require me to leave my house. Within a month, I got promoted to assistant manager. Naturally, I wanted to keep working my job going into college. I knew it would be challenging to juggle work and my engineering classes, but I knew it would be better for me in the long run. My position in the company allows me to work in both sales and human resources. For part of the job, I find potential customers, show them the company's product, and attempt to make a sale. For the other part, I recruit new employees, host interviews, run onboarding training sessions, and check in on current employees. While the job is unrelated to what I want to do for the rest of my life, I am gaining soft skills that all jobs would look for and making money to help pay for school-related expenses. Juggling college and work causes me to reflect regularly on my priorities and time management skills. While I knew I would have to manage attending my late-night work meetings and doing homework, I never knew I would have to manage the times I eat and decide which school events to attend and which ones to miss. I am an active member of my university's black student association and African/African-American living-learning community, and there are meetings and social networking events associated with both. Unfortunately, these events tend to be at the same time as designated meetings for work, causing me to choose between logging on to work or attending my club events. On top of that, most of my math exams fall on days when I have a work meeting, but I can consistently take those days off of work to focus on school. Another advancement opportunity has opened up for me in the company. I am currently working towards running my own office in the summer of 2024. With this opportunity, I got to go to Olean, New York. This work trip took place at the beginning of November 2023 and took me out of two school days. Thanks to my planning and time management skills, I felt comfortable going on the trip without getting behind in coursework. This professional development trip was the perfect opportunity to hone my soft skills and learn how to manage my finances. It felt nice to take a break from school yet still develop as a person. With the money from the Bruce & Kathy Bevan Scholarship, I will reallocate the money I am earning through working towards growing financially instead of using it on school expenses. As of now, I allocate 75% of my earnings toward college-related fees, but I hope to reduce the percentage to 50%. I plan to continue to work throughout college to gain work experience and set myself up for more mid- and late-twenties. Wish me luck!

I am not going to lie; I used to hate K-pop music. It was a controversial opinion, but I stood ten toes down on my opinion. I thought K-pop was overhyped and overplayed because it was an emerging genre. Music was near and dear to my heart, but I was very close-minded when exploring new genres and artists. I was a huge fan of R&B, hip-hop, and rap and mainly listened to the same artists I had grown up with. In middle school, several friends and a few family members became huge BTS fans. I frequently questioned why they enjoyed BTS and K-pop music because it was something I could not get into. My perception of the genre changed in my first year of high school. I heard about a Korean artist that Jay-Z signed with Roc Nation. His name was Jay Park, and he was the first Asian artist to sign with the label. Roc Nation signed a multitude of legendary artists like J. Cole, Rhianna, and Alicia Keys. I wondered how this newer artist compared with the established talent. As a lifelong fan of Jay-Z, I trusted his judgment and listened to the artist's music. I plugged in my headphones and pressed play on Spotify. My ears filled with the catchy beat and clever lyrics of his music. I could not help but crack a smile. It was clear why Jay-Z chose Jay Park to join Roc Nation's legacy. I listened to Jay Park's music on repeat for months. I fell in love with songs like "Mommae," "All I Wanna Do," and "Don't Try Me." His lyrics were my gateway into the world of Korean music. Jay Park's music led me to listen to other artists such as BAEKHYUN, NMIXX, and HWASA. Aside from respecting Jay Park's level of lyricism, I could not help but admire his influence on the music industry. Not only was Jay Park influential in the United States, but he also made a huge difference in South Korea. He was and is one of the most prominent figures responsible for the commercial acceptance and mainstream popularization of K-hip hop in South Korea. Very few artists can say they had such a fundamental influence over their respective musical genres. While he doesn't know it, Jay Park got me through some hard times. In December 2020, I had spinal fusion surgery to correct my scoliosis. After the surgery, I was a helpless toddler. I had to relearn basic actions like standing, sitting, and lying down. I had to have a family member help me use the bathroom, take showers, and eat food during the first month of recovery. At a time when I could not do anything on my own, listening to Jay Park's music gave me a sense of control over my life. I could always put in my earbuds and immerse myself in his lyrics whenever I became bored or sad. His songs motivated me to keep working hard and persevering through what felt like a neverending recovery. My mental stability was partially thanks to him. With the Ultimate K-Pop Stan scholarship funds, I will continue my studies at the University of Colorado- Boulder. I am majoring in creative technology and design at the College of Engineering. With my degree, I intend to work with augmented and virtual reality. I am excited to continue my studies while listening to Jay Park's lyrics in the background. I know his discography will enhance the good memories and aid the challenging moments college provides. I hope one day to impact my respective industry like he did.

@kayla_5275

Since I was young, I dreamed about the type of house I would want to spend the rest of my life in. The specifics progressively changed from wanting an in-home slide and ball pit to a movie theater and a spa. Over the past five years, I've solidified what I would consider my dream house. It took time to truly understand my personality and what I truly aspire to have in my living space. While a ball pit, slide, movie theater, and spa would be enjoyable, I would not want amenities like that in my living space. I want a big house that can support a family of 5 and entertain guests. When it comes to the exterior of a house, I believe it is just as important as the interior. While people shouldn't judge a book by its cover, everyone does it. First impressions are everything. I want a Spanish Colonial-style house in San Diego, California; the style and location reflect my personality. I love how clean and tropical Spanish Colonial houses look and how beautifully hand-crafted the architecture is. I see myself living in San Diego out of everywhere else in the world because of the climate in the city and how many job opportunities the city has for me in my sector. The interior of a house is undoubtedly the most influential part of the house. The inside of the house is what turns the house into a home. I want a five-bedroom and five-bathroom home to accommodate the family of five I aspire to have and have an office space. For the master bedroom, I want an en suite bathroom with a separate tub and shower. My dream house would have a big kitchen with black cabinets and gray granite countertops. The decor inside the house is what most people are around the most. I want modern decor and fixtures with personal accents from crafts my family and I create. I like displaying my family's successes while maintaining a beautiful, contemporary look. The backyard is in a separate category because it's not part of the interior but is more of a private space, so it's not part of the exterior. As stated, I want to entertain guests. I can see myself best entertaining guests with an outdoor kitchen and fire pit. I envision hosting barbecues for my family and having my husband cooking in the outdoor kitchen as the kids roast s'mores. While having a lot of grass in the backyard is effective when you have kids, I prefer a backyard with little to no grass. As someone allergic to grass and pollen, I want as little allergens as possible in my dream house. I want a basketball court in the backyard to keep my and my family's bodies healthy. Basketball was my first love, and I want to spread that love to the rest of my family. While living in my dream house would be incredible, it would cost a lot of money to make my dream a reality. The house listings that roughly fit my dream house cost over two million dollars. With the support from the Barbie Dream House scholarship, I will be one step closer to graduating from college debt-free and saving for the lifestyle I deserve. I aspire to get a job in augmented or virtual reality and save up money for my future lifestyle. While I can't go and build my dream house tomorrow, that is not a bad thing. The best dreams are ones that take more than five years to accomplish.

Some of my earliest memories revolve around my parents arguing. No matter what I was doing before the argument, I always found myself in my parents' crossfire. I wanted to mind my business but could not watch my two favorite people hurt each other. While this was unannounced to me at the time, I learned the arguments had surrounded my dad's infidelity during their marriage. To no one's surprise, my mom filed for divorce. My parents finalized their divorce in the summer of 2012. For my younger sister, the divorce arrangements are all she knows; for me, this divorce completely changed the trajectory of my life. The divorce agreement stated my parents would have 50/50 custody over me and my younger sister. I assumed this would mean that my sister and I would switch between our mom's and dad's houses every week. This lifestyle seemed to be the case for my friends growing up with divorced parents, but my assumption was wrong. In June 2012, my sister and I began to alternate which house we would stay at for the night bi-daily. My dad was, and is, responsible for paying child support as he makes more money. My sister and I had separate clothes, shoes, toothbrushes, and more in each household. Our parents have vastly different parenting methods, so we lived a completely different lifestyle every two days. I could tell the divorce took a significant toll on my mom. She has dreamed about being a mom her entire life, and now she only gets to see her kids 50% of the time. She often cried when she thought she was alone. I pushed my emotions down during this time to better comfort my mom. I did not want my mom to feel worse about her decision because I was upset I no longer had a two-parent household. Even today, it is hard to describe how I felt throughout the year after the divorce because I never took the time to feel my emotions. I was a relaxed, go-with-the-flow kid, so I had no big sentiments regarding the change I was experiencing. I mainly had annoying inconveniences like missing a party because I was at my dad's house or splitting holidays between the two households. While she made nearly half my dad's income, she did everything to give us the most memorable childhood. My sister and I always had several gifts under the tree for Christmas, and we always had elaborate birthday parties. While I do not say it enough, I truly appreciate everything my mother has gone through to give me and my sister a good life. Since I was little, I made it a point to try to make my mom's life easier in any way possible. I never took home a grade below a B and respected my teachers. I never wanted other people to judge her parenting because she had misbehaving kids. With the Sola Family scholarship funds, I will take some of the financial burden of paying for college off my mother. With all she has done for me throughout my life, I would love to give back to her by taking this financial burden off her shoulders. She inspired me to go after what I wanted and persevere through the hard time, which led me to go to the University of Colorado: Boulder and study for an engineering degree. I am excited to make her proud through my studies and pave the way for my younger sister.

From my first week of playing tennis, I knew I would fall in love with the sport. My school district did not offer tennis before high school, so my tennis journey started during my first year of high school. For the past four years, tennis has been the most meaningful activity in my life. I experienced the highest of highs while playing tennis and learned several priceless lessons. My tennis experience started rough. The day after my first match, my tennis season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I didn't even get a month into playing tennis before the pandemic took everything, and I could not play for months. Three months before my second tennis season, I had surgery on my spine to cure my scoliosis. While I still competed during that season, I was not performing at the same level as before. I will battle the effects of the spinal surgery for the rest of my life. When playing tennis, I can not twist my torso and hips as much to hit powerful groundstrokes. This lack of mobility was initially a significant disadvantage against my competitors because my hits were easier to receive. I was dissatisfied with my tennis abilities, so I got personalized help to refine my tennis strategies. My former tennis coach taught me to highlight my strengths as a competitor and minimize my weaknesses. I learned that I do not have to win the point as quickly as possible; I only have to keep the ball in play until my competitor makes a mistake. I began prioritizing hitting the ball in places that would make it difficult for my opponent to return the hit. To add power back into my groundstrokes, I learned to lift my back leg during my follow-through to compensate for my little mobility. This adjustment allows me to gain force from the twisting motion without only twisting my upper body. My tennis capabilities improved significantly after learning to highlight my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. This tennis season, I made second doubles on my school's varsity team. Previously, the highest level I had competed at was high JV. Aside from tennis, I have highlighted my strengths and minimized my weaknesses in the classroom. While studying for a subject, I will try to relate the concepts I comprehend to the information that confuses me to better my understanding of all of the facts. In the past, I would drill myself into unfamiliar topics until I forced a basic understanding. I have saved hours of studying using this new method, and my test scores have reflected the increase in my comprehension. This study technique should serve me well in college, where time management is vital to academic success. With the Will Johnson scholarship, I will be one step closer to my goal of graduating from college debt-free. I will attend the University of Colorado- Boulder, majoring in creative technology and design. With this unique engineering major, I aspire to implement augmented and virtual reality in education to give students a more immersive experience throughout their educational journey. The more money I win for school, the more money I can put into running my own business next summer. I have an internship opportunity through my current job where I can make a difference in my community by providing a low-time commitment job opportunity to high school and college graduates. I would be running a solo office of sales representatives and actively learning how to train others, recruit potential employees, communicate effectively in a workplace environment, and more. Thank you for this opportunity.

I was born into a family where I quickly became the oldest daughter, grandkid, and niece. My actions were constantly under surveillance by my younger relatives, so I knew I had to set a good example for them. If I did not like a particular food, others would stop wanting the food as a response. If I started a new sport, at least one other relative would join the sport the following year. I am someone they look up to. I took this opportunity to fall into the mentor role for my younger family members. This mentality carried on to other aspects of my life. In middle school, I joined my school's WEB program. This program recruited rising eighth-grade students to mentor and guide a group of sixth-graders. My web partner and I were responsible for 20 incoming sixth-graders. I joined a similar program during high school called Link. Eleventh and twelfth-graders who submitted qualified applications welcomed the incoming ninth-graders and helped them adjust to the new school they would attend. I was a member of the Link program in the eleventh and twelfth grades. I continued to be a role model in my school throughout the years by helping train newer tennis athletes, teaching choir members how to sight-read, and teaching newer drumline members how to play our music. While these activities took extra time out of my day, it was well worth it to help out my peers. After witnessing my impact within my school, I knew I wanted to make an impact in my community. During my junior year, I noticed that most students do not have the personal finance knowledge to make reasonable financial decisions when they get their first job. To combat this issue, I decided to teach a budgeting workshop at the two middle schools within my school district. I organized the workshops almost entirely solo with the support of business teachers at my school and the two middle schools. I researched different budgeting methods and their pros and cons and methods to effectively teach a group of pre-teens without them losing interest. This endeavor led to two years of success in teaching budgeting. I taught budgeting through hands-on demonstrations, games, and puzzles that kept the students engaged and ready to learn more. I still have past students who will tell me how much of a positive impact I made on their life and how they appreciated the essential life lessons I taught. It is rewarding to hear that your hours of hard work touched the lives of multiple people in your community. With the money from the Mohamed Magdi Taha Memorial scholarship, I will be one step closer to my goal of graduating from college debt free. I will attend the University of Colorado- Boulder, majoring in creative technology and design. With this unique engineering major, I will continue impacting my community by bringing a new medium to which people can learn challenging topics. I want to implement augmented and virtual reality in education to give students a more immersive experience throughout their educational journey. The more money I win for school, the more money I can put into running my own office in the summer of 2024. I have an internship opportunity through my current job where I can make a difference in my community by providing a low-time commitment job opportunity to high school and college graduates. I would be running a solo office of sales representatives and actively learning how to train others, recruit potential employees, communicate effectively in a workplace environment, and more. Thank you for this opportunity.

Put yourself in the shoes of Tia. Tia woke up at 2 am to a phone call from her dad. He cried hysterically, telling her he loved her and didn't want to die. Tia was confused until he further explained that he had been in a car accident and was in the hospital. She experienced a range of emotions upon hearing the news. Tia learned that morning that her relative was safe but remained ignorant of the timeline of the crash. Weeks later, Tia learned the complete story. Her friend had been drinking and driving when he hit a curb, and the car flew in the air and landed a few feet from the road. The relative was in the car with a friend; both ended up in the hospital. Luckily her dad sustained non-life-threatening injuries, but her dad's friend died. Impaired driving has been a global issue for decades. The number of DUI fatalities worldwide increases each decade. Drunk or drugged driving causes the possibility of crashes to double or quadruple. In the United States, some states average thousands of DUI-related wrecks yearly. No matter how many programs we have in school or public service announcements released, people will continue driving under the influence. People know the risks but choose to leave it up to chance. When someone drives their car to a location with alcohol, they often do not want to leave their vehicle overnight and get an Uber. The person always believes they "aren't that drunk" and get behind the wheel. When you are drunk and alone, the last thing you think about is spending money on an Uber and a tow truck. When friends go to an event with alcohol, they typically have a designated driver who stays sober throughout the night. What happens when the designated driver ends up getting drunk? Someone from the group takes it upon themselves to drive everyone home, running the risk of getting into a car wreck. While we can not make adults stop drinking, we can give them a safer option to get home. All newer model cars, trucks, and SUVs should have an intoxication feature allowing the car to self-drive to the designated "home" location. Upon setting up the vehicle, the owner would input their home address into the system and get the steps of using the intoxication mode. There would be a button to activate this mode that would strip the driver's ability to operate the vehicle. The car would select the most efficient route to the "home" destination and only drive there. The intoxicated passenger or passengers cannot harm anyone else on the road because the car would safely escort them home. This type of technology is not new. After September 2014, all Tesla vehicles had an autopilot feature. There are also self-driving delivery cars for fast food chains. The intoxication mode I am proposing differs from those examples in one essential aspect; limited destinations. The destination for this feature would be limited to one location to restrict intoxicated individuals' ability to cause a disturbance in other areas. People who aren't in a stable state of mind can be dangerous to others without getting behind the wheel, so they should be in their residential building. Reimagine the original scenario if Tia's dad had an intoxication mode in his car. Even though he and his friend are intoxicated, they passenger the vehicle and enable the intoxication mode. Tia would not have to be traumatized, her dad would not sustain any injuries, and his friend would still be alive.

I have always been good at math. Math has patterns and concepts that are forever true. As someone gifted and talented in pattern identification, learning math came quicker than my peers. When my elementary school teachers would give us packets of work for a math unit, I would finish it all in a week. Before they would even teach the lesson, I had figured it out on my own. My math abilities quickly earned me the reputation of the smart kid or the nerd throughout elementary. I was the kid others wanted to sit next to during a test if they did not study. This situation continued into middle school. I spent most of my time in math doing everything but math. Out of the entire 50 mins of my class, I spent maybe 10 minutes doing the work to perfection and the other 40 sleeping or doing homework for other classes. Often, I would say that math was my favorite subject because it was the easiest. The class that most students worldwide would consider the hardest was the one I breezed through and always got all A's in. In the first two months of my 7th-grade year, my teacher figured it was time to move me into a higher-level math class. I was already taking an 8th-grade level math class, so this meant I would be taking high school-level algebra. This algebra class was the first time being truly challenged in a math class but by no means the last. While I have always ended the year with an A in my math classes, I struggled a lot more to learn the more advanced topics. In retrospect, this makes sense, considering I was always one of the youngest people in the class. My brain probably was not developed enough to grasp the topics immediately. Regardless, I got good grades and continued on my path of taking rigorous, advanced math courses. Notably, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC were the most challenging math courses I have ever taken. The foundations of calculus never seemed to make more sense the longer I went through the curriculum. While my math classes were no longer easy for me, I still found myself favoring the subject. During the most challenging math courses, I was still excited to learn. It made no sense to me. I spent hours speculating why I love math while others do not. I realized that math satisfies the young kid in me. As a child, I was the type of person who always asked why. Why is the earth spinning, but I'm not spinning? Why is the car moving, but I can't feel the motion? Math consistently was the answer to my questions. Whether or not I understood the specifics of the equations, I could always find the answer to my queries through a mathematical equation. Algebra is at the core of all higher-level math, and math is at the core of everything in life. Knowing the importance of math motivated me to take rigorous classes and fueled my love for the underrated subject. With the money from the Learner.com Algebra scholarship, I will continue my mathematical education through my degree in engineering at the University of Colorado- Boulder. I chose to specifically major in Creative Technology and Design as opposed to the other engineering sectors because it is the perfect mix of math and design for me. I will have the privilege of immersing myself in math and how I can use it to create insane inventions that will change the world. Wish me luck!

I have always been good at math. Math has patterns and concepts that are forever true. As someone gifted and talented in pattern identification, learning math came quicker than my peers. When my elementary school teachers would give us packets of work for a math unit, I would finish it all in a week. Before they would even teach the lesson, I had figured it out on my own. My math abilities quickly earned me the reputation of a nerd throughout elementary. I was the kid others wanted to sit next to during a test if they did not study. This situation continued into middle school. I spent most of my time in math doing everything but math. Out of the entire 50 mins of my class, I spent maybe 10 minutes doing the work to perfection and the other 40 sleeping or doing homework for other classes. Often, I would say that math was my favorite subject because it was the easiest. The class that most students worldwide would consider the hardest was the one I breezed through and always got all A's in. In the first two months of my 7th-grade year, my teacher figured it was time to move me into a higher-level math class. I was already taking an 8th-grade level math class, so this meant I would be taking high school-level algebra. This algebra class was the first time I was truly challenged in a math class but by no means the last. While my math class was no longer easy for me, I still found myself favoring the subject. During the most challenging math courses, I was still excited to learn. I spent hours speculating why I love math while others do not. I realized that math satisfies the young kid in me. As a child, I was the type of person who always asked why. Why is the earth spinning, but I'm not spinning? Why is the car moving, but I can't feel the motion? Math consistently was the answer to my questions. Whether or not I understood the specifics of the equations, I could always find the answer to my queries through a mathematical equation. Math is at the core of everything in life. With the money from the Learner Math Lover scholarship, I will continue my mathematical education through my degree in engineering at the University of Colorado- Boulder.

I opened my eyes, ready to start my first summer after kindergarten. I eagerly get dressed and pack my brand-new pink Nintendo 3DS to go to my maternal grandparents' house. I had stayed at my grandparents' house with my cousin every time our parents had work, and we did not have school. Once I arrived at their house, I opened my Nintendo 3DS on my grandparents' couch and got greeted with life-changing visuals. The 3D option did not interest me much; it hurt my head to look at it for a while. I got addicted to the game "Face Raiders," which came preinstalled on the console. "Face Raiders" is an augmented reality shooter game where the player shoots the drone people flying around. I excitedly show my cousin the game, and we play it for hours. I did not know the name of the actual mechanics the game was using, mainly because I was only six years old. As I aged, augmented reality appeared in my life more. From augmented reality cards bringing different characters into video games to filters on Snapchat advertising new shoes, I was constantly witnessing the evolution of the technology. Augmented reality repeatedly displayed its ability to be used as a tool to improve convenience and awareness. With this technology, people no longer have to go to the stores and buy a new couch to see how it would look in their living rooms. Now, many furniture retailers are turning to augmented reality apps that allow their customers to digitally map out where a piece of furniture will go and how it will look inside their home. A few years ago, I began a passion project centered around augmented reality. I am a creative person by nature, and I wanted to have proof of my artistic abilities. I have a background in digital 2D art, so I focused predominantly on 2d rendered augmented reality. I chose Adobe Aero because the program is very beginner-friendly and does not require coding knowledge. There are few tutorials on software usage, so trial and error carried me through my project progression. There are a few restrictions on what can be created within the software, but I am overall happy with the pieces I have designed. My first piece focused on advocacy of wild plants urging the audience not to pick the petals of flowers. The interactive animation takes a light-hearted approach to the topic through the game "They love me, They love me not." My second piece helps people navigate their local stores without worker assistance. It serves as a prototype for a bigger idea that I want to explore in the future. The piece I am working on is an interactive way to teach young students how to spell fundamental words in English. It is designed for homeschooled elementary school students and gives them an immersive way to learn phonics. I plan to continue my education in augmented reality in college with a degree in Creative Technology and Design from CU Boulder. Through this degree program, I will learn concepts of coding, sound design, comic book making, and much more. I am excited to learn how to explore my ideas and effectively use augmented reality in a storytelling atmosphere. I'm interested in learning how to integrate augmented reality into escape room settings to enhance the experience and reduce the time it takes to reset the rooms. With the money from this scholarship, I can have the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to change the world. I am excited to shock the world with what I come up with!

I opened my eyes, ready to start my first summer after kindergarten. I eagerly get dressed and pack my brand-new pink Nintendo 3DS to go to my maternal grandparents' house. I had stayed at my grandparents' house with my cousin every time our parents had work, and we did not have school. Once I arrived at their house, I opened my Nintendo 3DS on my grandparents' couch and got greeted with life-changing visuals. The 3D option did not interest me much; it hurt my head to look at it for a while. I got addicted to the game "Face Raiders," which came preinstalled on the console. "Face Raiders" is an augmented reality shooter game where the player shoots the drone people flying around. I excitedly show my cousin the game, and we play it for hours. I did not know the name of the actual mechanics the game was using, mainly because I was only six years old. As I aged, augmented reality appeared in my life more. From augmented reality cards bringing different characters into video games to filters on Snapchat advertising new shoes, I was constantly witnessing the evolution of the technology. Augmented reality repeatedly displayed its ability to be used as a tool to improve convenience and awareness. With this technology, people no longer have to go to the stores and buy a new couch to see how it would look in their living rooms. Now, many furniture retailers are turning to augmented reality apps that allow their customers to digitally map out where a piece of furniture will go and how it will look inside their home. Two years ago, I began a passion project centered around augmented reality. I created a series of pieces that would tell unique stories using Adobe Aero. My first piece focused on advocacy of wild plants urging the audience not to pick the petals of flowers. My second piece helps people navigate their local stores without worker assistance. My most recent development teaches new users how to navigate their phones. I plan to continue my education in augmented reality in college with a degree in Creative Technology and Design from CU Boulder. I am excited to learn how to explore my ideas and effectively use augmented reality in a storytelling atmosphere. With the money from this scholarship, I can have the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to change the world.

From a young age, it was clear that I learned differently. It was easy learning math compared to my peers because I could pick up on patterns within the numbers. At my elementary school, there were not many resources for above-average students. The only way to get more intellectually challenging work was to get identified as gifted and talented in that subject. I longed for academic stimulation. In second grade, everyone at my school took a test to see if they were gifted and talented, CogAT. Despite being identified as gifted and talented in math, specifically quantitative abilities, my results got overlooked. I spent the rest of my elementary school years feeling held back. I often tried to prove to my teachers that I already knew the content we were learning in class by finishing my work early. I would show my teacher my finished workbook, and they would respond with frustration. However, I do not blame my teachers. They did not have the training and resources to help someone like me. Nearing the end of my 5th-grade year, the gifted and talented coordinator at the middle school. She apologized for the oversight and discussed the next steps for my academic future. That following school year, I took a class that taught me more about being gifted and how to manage my abilities and downfalls. Once my teachers heard I was gifted and talented, their views of me changed. I got held to a higher standard than my peers; I was given more work instead of more challenging work. My peers often called me a nerd or a tutor friend. It became apparent that people correlate giftedness with general intelligence; this is simply false. Giftedness is a spectrum that gives insight into the person's optimum method of learning a particular subject. Going into college, I plan to study virtual reality and augmented reality. I want to use these emerging technologies to expand educational resources for K-12 institutions. I intend to utilize augmented and virtual reality to provide students with a more experiential-based learning experience. As a gifted kid, I understand the importance of supplying many resources to accommodate people with different learning styles. I have ways to implement these resources into all four core subjects. For math, augmented reality can help students learn algebra. One can demonstrate many aspects of algebra using shapes and diagrams. For students who have trouble understanding algebra with traditional learning methods, this resource can allow students to get an understanding of the topics from a different perspective. I envision this resource being an app. While visually representing algebraic problems is not new and is present on various websites, having this in augmented reality is more immersive. Allowing students to learn challenging topics in a unique method can lead to students enjoying school more because they are learning and having fun. For history, virtual reality can allow students to learn about an era by being immersed in the environment. People always say that to understand another person's struggles, you must walk in their shoes. Virtual reality would allow the student to get as close to experiencing a period as possible. I envision the student wearing a VR headset and being able to complete short and timely tasks within a time in history of their choosing. The program would be set up as a game to bring fun to learning and show the struggles people endured. As someone who struggled with history throughout K-12 education, this resource would save me significant time and energy being confused. For science, augmented reality can make learning chemistry easier. Chemistry is arguably the most challenging science subject for high school students. Showing the interactions between elements on a molecular level is tough to do accurately using physical models. Using online resources allows teachers to represent these molecular-level aspects with higher accuracy. I envision this being a paper assignment with QR codes that bring students to an augmented reality animation explaining the concept. I would make it easier for some students to fully understand more complex chemistry concepts if they understand the origin of the topics. For literature and compositions, augmented reality can aid young students in learning to read and write in English. I envision elementary schoolers struggling with reading and writing using a tablet to show cartoon letters bouncing around their desks forming words. The program would go over phonics in a more interactive and enjoyable format than most curriculums. While most students can learn to read and write with traditional methods, this augmented reality creation would give struggling students another way to understand. Using this exciting technology with young students is especially beneficial because it helps them develop a love for learning that they can carry on throughout the rest of their lives.

I arrive at the hospital early in the morning, desiring answers. I had an appointment to get a biopsy of a tumor. In late 2018, I discovered a pea-sized lump in my left breast. I assumed it was nothing out of the ordinary until it quickly grew to the size of a quarter. I later found out my family had a history of cancer, so I immediately sought medical intervention. I lay on the cold hospital bed that morning in early 2019 while the doctor prepared me for the biopsy. I was confident that my doctor would quickly find that the tumor was not cancerous. That was not the case. The lump had both benign and cancerous tissue characteristics, so the doctor could not give me a definite diagnosis. One thing was sure; I needed the tumor removed. The time between the biopsy and the surgery is a blur. I was not nervous, but I was not excited either. I could not talk to anyone on the subject due to the taboo around discussing private parts. In early July 2019, I had the surgery. Funny enough, I was not worried that I had cancer; blind optimism, I guess. I had the normal jitters associated with being put under anesthesia for the first time. It felt like only a blink between sleeping and waking up from the surgery. I woke up feeling like nothing had happened, and all I wanted to do was enjoy the rest of my summer. The doctor informed me and my family that we would not know if the tumor was cancerous or benign until a few days later. My mom was significantly more worried than I was, but nothing felt better than hearing the doctor say that I did not have cancer. One aspect of my life stayed the same throughout this journey; people felt bad for me. Friends and other family members pitied how I could have cancer. No one wants cancer, but pity does nothing for the situation. Encouragement and unwavering support help the circumstance; pity worsens it. Over time, I could get over the pity people had towards me; they only wanted the best for me. Unfortunately, pity was only the beginning. People treated me differently up until I got my final diagnosis. While I was fortunate enough to have a great support system, I did not enjoy feeling alienated. Though never on purpose, my family made me feel like the elephant in the room. Fortunately, we can subdue pity and alienation by educating more people on how to handle the topic of cancer. Humans were made to communicate and connect; considering the topic of cancer as taboo limits how people communicate and connect. I never understood why particular topics are wrong to discuss, but I did not know how much not talking about a subject could make someone feel. I want to make more people comfortable discussing taboo topics. People are more likely to feel comfortable doing or saying something when they have all the information. With the money from the Szilak Family Honorary scholarship, I can learn the skills necessary to use augmented and virtual reality as a platform to educate others in a digestible format. I choose to work with augmented and virtual reality because they create an immersive experience that makes learning easier for most people. I do not have a cure for cancer, but I want to find a cure for an aspect of the emotional strain cancer brings. Every effort helps.

My grandfather called me and my cousin into the living room to watch a movie. My cousin and I spent most of our childhood with our grandparents while our parents were working. We often watched Disney movies in the living room to pass the time. We eagerly ran into the living room, waiting to see which movie we would watch today. We sat anxiously in our designated spots on the couch and watched our grandfather search the VHS tapes for the right one. There was no way I could have known that the movie I was going to watch would change the way I view the world. My grandfather popped in the "Mulan" VHS tape and hit play. I figured no other movie could top my favorite Disney movie at the time, "The Little Mermaid." From the opening scene, I knew I would like the film. It starts with an engaging action scene that immediately sets the plot. Most importantly, it had all minority characters. Up to this point, I had only seen Disney films with animated characters that were either white or non-human. As the "Mulan" progressed, I fell more in love with the storyline. Mulan, the protagonist, demonstrated significant bravery and perseverance to disguise herself as a man and fight in the Chinese army. She brought honor to her family and saved China from invasion. It was nice to watch a strong princess character who did not get saved by a prince. I felt like I was transported into her world and went through the struggle with Mulan. By the end, I had a new self-confidence and the motivation to be as resilient as Mulan. I am by no means the only person who gets immersed in Disney experiences. From its founding in late 1923, the company has captivated the minds and hearts of millions of people worldwide. Disney is by far the biggest entertainment company in the world. Whether through movies, TV shows, amusement parks, video games, etc., Disney provides a unique experience for participants. The stories are entertaining and inspiring, making it easier for people to get immersed in the storyline. The rich colors, engaging storylines, lovable characters, and more create a portal into worlds that most people can only dream of. The ability to bring viewers to magical worlds is not easy. Many other entertainment companies try to create an immersive experience but fail to construct one as good as Disney. Disney has customer satisfaction down to a science. There's no secret why individuals with critical illness choose Disney parks as their location of choice in their final days. Disney makes everyone feel special. Disney's capability to create a unique, memorable experience for viewers of all ages and backgrounds shows the company's dedication to its customers and fans. The way a company views its customers is vital to me because it distinguishes caring companies from any other company just seeking a paycheck. Disney produces stories deemed meaningful regardless of how taboo the masses will perceive them. With the Disney Superfan Scholarship, I plan to major in Creative Technology and Design at the University of Colorado- Boulder. After college, I intend to use augmented and virtual reality to make storytelling and educational video games that leave a lasting influence on players. I will use the lessons that Disney has taught me to follow my dreams and make every one of my players feel immersed in the fictional universes I create for them. If I can make at least half the impact Disney does on their customers, I will be happy.

No one forgets the event that changed the course of their life. For me, that event was my spinal fusion surgery. In early December 2020, I walked into the hospital waiting room, preparing to have the most influential surgery of my life. I was diagnosed with scoliosis earlier that year and had two distinct curves. They had such high degrees that a back brace would not have helped. While I knew the recovery would not be easy, I was not nervous about what was ahead. I had experience with surgery, but nothing could have prepared me for the new journey I was beginning. Waking up from this surgical procedure was nothing like the last. I was in excruciating pain that felt never-ending. Once I fully woke up, I started profusely vomiting; as a person with emetophobia, I was traumatized. It seemed like I was in an endless cycle of vomiting and crying. The first day of recovery felt more like a week. I had to relearn how to sit, stand, roll over in bed, and even stand. After three consecutive days in the hospital, I continued the rest of my recovery at home. My school had students return to in-person learning that upcoming January, so I knew I had to get my body physically prepared. During the early days of recovery, I could do little by myself. I felt like a toddler. I had to be bathed and fed by other people in my house. I could not even use the bathroom without someone having to be right outside the door to help me get off the toilet. I felt like my privacy and dignity got stripped away when I woke up from the surgery. You enter a dark place when the only things you can do by yourself are talk and take medication. I often cried in pain as I fought to sit up without help in bed. It felt like thousands of knives stabbed into my torso when I moved more than I was ready. I fought tooth and nail to get my old life back. I walked long distances to build endurance and lifted light weights to regain strength. I started walking laps around my house and then laps around my neighborhood. I practiced going up and down stairs without using handrails; there are stairs in my school that I would soon have to climb. The process felt everlasting, but nothing felt better than reclaiming my life. Within a month of surgery, I could go through school with minimal pain and no help from others. Three months after the procedure, I challenged my body by competing on my school's tennis team. As a tennis player, one of the scariest parts of the recovery was wondering if going under the knife would take away one of the best things I had in life. By playing tennis soon after my surgery, I tested my ability to push my body safely past discomfort and find ways to navigate my new restrictions. While recovering from my surgery was the most strenuous event of my life, I learned many valuable lessons. I am taking better care of my mental health. I am listening to my body and its needs closer. The most important lesson I learned was how resilient I can be in the face of disaster. My ability to recover my body enough to go to school and play sports impressed everyone, from my peers to my coaches and my doctors. With the money from the Skip Veeder Memorial Scholarship, I will continue to keep my body active and healthy.

From a young age, it was clear that I learned differently. It was easy learning math compared to my peers because I could pick up on patterns within the numbers. At my elementary school, there were not many resources for above-average students. The only way to get more intellectually challenging work was to get identified as gifted and talented in that subject. I longed for academic stimulation. In second grade, everyone at my school took a test to see if they were gifted and talented, CogAT. Despite being identified as gifted and talented in math, specifically quantitative abilities, my results got overlooked. I spent the rest of my elementary school years feeling held back. I often tried to prove to my teachers that I already knew the content we were learning in class by finishing my work early. I would show my teacher my finished workbook, and they would respond with frustration. However, I do not blame my teachers. They did not have the training and resources to help someone like me. Nearing the end of my 5th-grade year, the gifted and talented coordinator at the middle school. She apologized for the oversight and discussed the next steps for my academic future. That following school year, I took a class that taught me more about being gifted and how to manage my abilities and downfalls. Once my teachers heard I was gifted and talented, their views of me changed. I got held to a higher standard than my peers; I was given more work instead of more challenging work. My peers often called me a nerd or a tutor friend. It became apparent that people correlate giftedness with general intelligence; this is simply false. Giftedness is a spectrum that gives insight into the person's optimum method of learning a particular subject. Going into college, I plan to study virtual reality and augmented reality. I want to use these emerging technologies to expand educational resources for K-12 institutions. I intend to utilize augmented and virtual reality to provide students with a more experiential-based learning experience. As a gifted kid, I understand the importance of supplying many resources to accommodate people with different learning styles. I have ways to implement these resources into all four core subjects. For math, augmented reality can help students learn algebra. One can demonstrate many aspects of algebra using shapes and diagrams. For students who have trouble understanding algebra with traditional learning methods, this resource can allow students to get an understanding of the topics from a different perspective. I envision this resource being an app. While visually representing algebraic problems is not new and is present on various websites, having this in augmented reality is more immersive. Allowing students to learn challenging topics in a unique method can lead to students enjoying school more because they are learning and having fun. For history, virtual reality can allow students to learn about an era by being immersed in the environment. People always say that to understand another person's struggles, you must walk in their shoes. Virtual reality would allow the student to get as close to experiencing a period as possible. I envision the student wearing a VR headset and being able to complete short and timely tasks within a time in history of their choosing. The program would be set up as a game to bring fun to learning and show the struggles people endured. As someone who struggled with history throughout K-12 education, this resource would save me significant time and energy being confused. For science, augmented reality can make learning chemistry easier. Chemistry is arguably the most challenging science subject for high school students. Showing the interactions between elements on a molecular level is tough to do accurately using physical models. Using online resources allows teachers to represent these molecular-level aspects with higher accuracy. I envision this being a paper assignment with QR codes that bring students to an augmented reality animation explaining the concept. I would make it easier for some students to fully understand more complex chemistry concepts if they understand the origin of the topics. For literature and compositions, augmented reality can aid young students in learning to read and write in English. I envision elementary schoolers struggling with reading and writing using a tablet to show cartoon letters bouncing around their desks forming words. The program would go over phonics in a more interactive and enjoyable format than most curriculums. While most students can learn to read and write with traditional methods, this augmented reality creation would give struggling students another way to understand. Using this exciting technology with young students is especially beneficial because it helps them develop a love for learning that they can carry on throughout the rest of their lives.

In early December 2020, I walked into the hospital waiting room, preparing to have the most influential surgery of my life. I was diagnosed with scoliosis earlier that year and had two distinct curves. They had such high degrees that a back brace would not have helped. While I knew the recovery would not be easy, I was not nervous about what was ahead. I had experience with surgery, but nothing could have prepared me for the new journey I was beginning. Waking up from this surgical procedure was nothing like the last. I was in excruciating pain that felt never-ending. Once fully awake, I started profusely vomiting; as a person with emetophobia, I was traumatized. It seemed like I was in an endless cycle of vomiting and crying. The first day of recovery felt more like a week. I had to relearn how to sit, stand, roll over in bed, and even stand. After three consecutive days in the hospital, I continued the rest of my recovery at home. My school had students return to in-person learning that upcoming January, so I had to get my body physically prepared. Through the help of my support system and hard work, I got my body to the place it needed to be to return to school. During my early recovery, I could do little by myself. I felt like a toddler. I had to be bathed and fed by other people in my house. I could not even use the bathroom without someone having to be right outside the door to help me get off the toilet. I felt like my privacy and dignity got stripped away when I woke up from the surgery. I often cried in pain as I fought to sit up without help in bed. There was little I could do but reflect on life. From my ongoing recovery, I learned two guiding principles that carry me through life; don't take life for granted, and listen to your mind and body. I never imagined waking up unable to walk, roll over in bed, or sit in a chair without assistance. I live by the philosophy of not taking life for granted through my community service. Everyone is put in this world to leave a positive impact in one way or another. I spend my free time helping my community to fulfill my life's purpose of positively impacting the world. From mentoring youth with sports to developing a budgeting workshop for middle school students, I have tried to use my new phase of life to help others. Following that philosophy, I am listening to my mind and body more. Before the surgery, I pushed my body to the limit and often neglected my mental health. I had a terrible work-life balance, and I was frequently stressed out. Since my surgery, I have been journaling and working out during sports off-season more often. Journaling has allowed me to clear my mind and get better sleep to help my body continue to heal. Working out during the off-season for tennis encourages me to strengthen my recovering body. With the Theresa Lord Future Leader scholarship money, I plan to study creative technology and design at the University of Colorado Boulder. While my major is considering engineering, I strive to maintain at least a 3.5 GPA throughout college. I intend to continue some of my current extracurriculars in college, like DECA, tennis, and marching band. Despite having a challenging college major and many extracurricular interests, I am sure my drive and motivation will bring me success in my next stage in life.

In early December 2020, I walked into the hospital waiting room, preparing to have the most influential surgery of my life. I was diagnosed with scoliosis earlier that year and had two distinct curves. They had such high degrees that a back brace would not have helped. While I knew the recovery would not be easy, I was not nervous about what was ahead. I had experience with surgery, but nothing could have prepared me for the new journey I was beginning. Waking up from this surgical procedure was nothing like the last. I was in excruciating pain that felt never-ending. Once I fully woke up, I started profusely vomiting; as a person with emetophobia, I was traumatized. It seemed like I was in an endless cycle of vomiting and crying. The first day of recovery felt more like a week. I had to relearn how to sit, stand, roll over in bed, and even stand. After three consecutive days in the hospital, I continued the rest of my recovery at home. My school had students return to in-person learning that upcoming January, so I knew I had to get my body physically prepared. During the early days of recovery, I could do little by myself. I felt like a toddler. I had to be bathed and fed by other people in my house. I could not even use the bathroom without someone having to be right outside the door to help me get off the toilet. I felt like my privacy and dignity got stripped away when I woke up from the surgery. You enter a dark place when the only things you can do by yourself are talk and take medication. I often cried in pain as I fought to sit up without help in bed. It felt like thousands of knives stabbed into my torso when I moved more than I was ready. I fought tooth and nail to get my old life back. I walked long distances to build endurance and lifted light weights to regain strength. I started walking laps around my house and then laps around my neighborhood. I practiced going up and down stairs without using handrails; there are stairs in my school that I would soon have to climb. I did weighted squats to strengthen my lower body and planks to rebuild my core strength. The process felt everlasting, but nothing felt better than reclaiming my life. Within a month of surgery, I could go through school with minimal pain and no help from others. Three months after the procedure, I challenged my body by competing on my school's tennis team. As a tennis player, one of the scariest parts of the recovery was wondering if going under the knife would take away one of the best things I had in life. By playing tennis soon after my surgery, I tested my ability to push my body safely past discomfort and find ways to navigate my new restrictions. While recovering from my surgery was the most strenuous event of my life, I learned many valuable lessons. I am taking better care of my mental health. I never want to feel as low as I did during early recovery. I am listening to my body and its needs closer. I had to find a balance between pushing myself without hurting myself. The most important lesson I learned was how resilient I can be in the face of disaster. My ability to recover my body enough to go to school and play sports impressed everyone, from my peers to my coaches and my doctors.

The dream version of myself advocates for underrepresented groups and educates the public through augmented reality and interactive design.

In early December 2020, I walked into the hospital waiting room, preparing to have the most influential surgery of my life. I was diagnosed with scoliosis earlier that year and had two distinct curves. They had such high degrees that a back brace would not have helped. While I knew the recovery would not be easy, I was not nervous about what was ahead. I had experience with surgery, but nothing could have prepared me for the new journey I was beginning. Waking up from this surgical procedure was nothing like the last. I was in excruciating pain that felt never-ending. Once fully awake, I started profusely vomiting; as a person with emetophobia, I was traumatized. It seemed like I was in an endless cycle of vomiting and crying. The first day of recovery felt more like a week. I had to relearn how to sit, stand, roll over in bed, and even stand. After three consecutive days in the hospital, I continued the rest of my recovery at home. My school had students return to in-person learning that upcoming January, so I knew I had to get my body physically prepared. Through the help of my support system and hard work on my part, I was able to get my body to the place it needed to be to return to school. During my early recovery, there was little to do other than reflect on life. I would often stare up at the ceiling pondering life. My ongoing recovery taught me two guiding principles that carry me through life; don't take life for granted, and use your experiences to inspire others. I never imagined waking up unable to walk, roll over in bed, or sit in a chair without assistance. I live by the philosophy of not taking life for granted through my community service. Everyone is put in this world to leave a positive impact in one way or another. I spend my free time helping my community to fulfill my life's purpose of positively impacting the world. In the fall of 2021, I created a budgeting workshop for middle schoolers in my community. The goal was to expose youth to personal finance knowledge early so they can make responsible decisions with money when they get their first job. I carried out this project for two years with little to no assistance, but I found great success. Witnessing students' faces light up as they learned valuable information in an interactive format was heart-warming. Following that philosophy, I am using my recovery story to inspire others. Enduring surgery is traumatic for everyone, especially when you need to relearn basic functions. I know the importance of feeling like you are not alone in those sorts of situations, so I reach out to kids I know who are about to go through surgery and give them words of encouragement. I try my best to answer any questions about their potential recovery process physically and mentally. Recently, I have extended my help to account for adults as well. Adults, like children, need words of encouragement when facing a life-altering procedure. With the Walking In Authority International Ministry scholarship money, I plan to study engineering and continue my involvement with the community. I intend to join the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and play collegiate tennis. I'm excited to use my life principles to get through the new phase in my life.

In early December 2020, I walked into the hospital waiting room, preparing to have the most influential surgery of my life. I was diagnosed with scoliosis earlier that year and had two distinct curves. They had such high degrees that a back brace would not have helped. While I knew the recovery would not be easy, I was not nervous about what was ahead. I had experience with surgery, but nothing could have prepared me for the new journey I was beginning. Waking up from this surgical procedure was nothing like the last. I was in excruciating pain that felt never-ending. Once I fully woke up, I started profusely vomiting; as a person with emetophobia, I was traumatized. It seemed like I was in an endless cycle of vomiting and crying. The first day of recovery felt more like a week. I had to relearn how to sit, stand, roll over in bed, and even stand. After three consecutive days in the hospital, I continued the rest of my recovery at home. My school had students return to in-person learning that upcoming January, so I knew I had to get my body physically prepared. During the early days of recovery, I could do little by myself. I felt like a toddler. I had to be bathed and fed by other people in my house. I could not even use the bathroom without someone having to be right outside the door to help me get off the toilet. I felt like my privacy and dignity got stripped away when I woke up from the surgery. You enter a dark place when the only things you can do by yourself are talk and roll over. I often cried in pain as I fought to sit up on my own in bed. I wanted to do whatever I could to feel like a normal person again. Every time I tried to move more than my body was ready, it felt like thousands of knives stabbed into my torso. I frequently cried out, "I hate it here! I wish I never had the surgery!" My family did their best to keep my spirits up, but ultimately my mental health did not improve unless my physical health was noticeably improving. Through the help of my support system and hard work on my part, I was able to get my body to the place it needed to be to return to school. Without my family supporting me every step of the way, I would not have been able to recover my body to go to school. I could go to school, compete in the sport I love, and better my mental health. As a tennis player, one of the scariest parts of the recovery was wondering if I could ever compete as I did before. Wondering if going under the knife would take away one of the best things I had in life. I am proud to say I could overcome the setbacks and have multiple successful tennis seasons. With the money from this scholarship, I plan to raise awareness for people whose mental health declined after having a surgical procedure. I plan to convey this message through my love for engineering and unique storytelling.

From my first week of playing tennis, I knew I would fall in love with the sport. My school district did not offer tennis before high school, so my tennis journey started during my first year of high school. For the past four years, tennis has been the most meaningful activity in my life. I experienced the highest of highs while playing tennis and learned several priceless lessons. My tennis experience started rough. The day after my first match, my tennis season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I did not even get a month into playing tennis before the pandemic took everything, and I could not play for months. I had prepared immensely to play competitively during the season but was restricted by having surgery. Three months before my second tennis season, I had surgery on my spine to cure my scoliosis. While I still competed during that season, I was not performing at the same level as before. I will battle the effects of the spinal surgery for the rest of my life. When playing tennis, I can not twist my torso and hips as much to hit powerful groundstrokes. This lack of mobility was initially a significant disadvantage against my competitors because my hits were easier to receive. I was dissatisfied with my tennis abilities, so I got personalized help to refine my tennis strategies. My former tennis coach taught me to highlight my strengths as a competitor and minimize my weaknesses. I have high stamina from playing sports throughout my entire life. I learned that I do not have to win the point as quickly as possible; I only have to keep the ball in play until my competitor makes a mistake. I do not have to hit the ball hard and fast to keep playing the point. Accuracy and precision became my main focuses in practice. I prioritized hitting the ball in places that would make it difficult for my opponent to return the hit. This strategy was the most effective while playing singles matches because there is less court that one person can cover compared to two. To add power back into my groundstrokes, I learned to lift my back leg during my follow-through to compensate for my little mobility. This adjustment allows me to gain force from the twisting motion without only twisting my upper body. My tennis capabilities improved significantly after learning to highlight my strengths and minimize my weaknesses. This tennis season, I made second doubles on my school's varsity team. Previously, the highest level I had competed at was high JV. Aside from tennis, I have highlighted my strengths and minimized my weaknesses in the classroom. While studying for a subject, I will try to relate the concepts I comprehend to the information that confuses me to better my understanding of all of the facts. In the past, I would drill myself on unfamiliar topics until I forced a basic understanding. I have saved hours of studying using this new method, and my test scores have reflected the increase in my comprehension. This study technique should serve me well in college, where time management is vital to academic success. Looking back at my journey, I am proud that I persevered through my hardships. With the funds from this scholarship, I can use the lesson I learned in tennis to help me be successful in college. I intend to play tennis along with majoring in engineering. I am excited to see what new lessons I can learn from playing my favorite sport.

I opened my eyes, ready to start my first summer after kindergarten. I eagerly get dressed and pack my brand-new pink Nintendo 3DS to go to my maternal grandparents' house. I had stayed at my grandparents' house with my cousin every time our parents had work, and we did not have school. Once I arrived at their house, I opened my Nintendo 3DS on my grandparents' couch and got greeted with life-changing visuals. The 3D option did not interest me much; it hurt my head to look at it for a while. I got addicted to the game "Face Raiders," which came preinstalled on the console. "Face Raiders" is an augmented reality shooter game where the player shoots the drone people flying around. I excitedly show my cousin the game, and we play it for hours. I did not know the name of the actual mechanics the game was using, mainly because I was only six years old. As I aged, augmented reality appeared in my life more. From augmented reality cards bringing different characters into video games to filters on Snapchat advertising new shoes, I was constantly witnessing the evolution of the technology. Two years ago, I began a passion project centered around augmented reality. I created a series of pieces that would tell unique stories using Adobe Aero. My interest in the technology naturally increased as my exposure to it grew. While I continued growing passionate about augmented reality, I was also falling in love with escape rooms. My favorite escape room was one in Manitou Springs, Colorado, inspired by the story of Emma Crawford. Emma was a woman who came to Manitou Springs in 1889, searching for a cure for her tuberculosis in the mineral springs. She loved the mountainous town and made her dying wish to be buried on top of the Red Mountain. I went into the escape room without knowledge of this Manitou Springs legend. While the escape room only loosely followed the story of Emma Crawford, I admired the room's ability to tell the story of a historical figure that significantly impacted the town. There is currently an annual festival dedicated to Emma in Manitou. This escape room, in particular, inspired me to want to transform escape rooms into a medium for storytelling for individuals with generally unheard-of lives. I enjoy the hands-on, problem-solving nature that escape rooms possess. I admire the creators' abilities to create worlds within a small space for participants to get invested in during their hour in the room. After participating in many escape rooms of different themes and storylines, I realized there is still considerable potential for escape rooms to grow. I knew that in college, I wanted to mix my love for augmented reality and escape rooms to create a more immersive storytelling experience. I plan to continue my education in augmented reality in college with a degree in Creative Technology and Design from CU Boulder. I am excited to learn how to fully explore my ideas and effectively use augmented reality in a storytelling atmosphere. I hope to join programs that value diversity to get a range of stories that I could flesh out into escape rooms for my peers to enjoy. In addition to augmented reality, I hope to learn how to create physical products that support my technology. With the money from this scholarship, I can have the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to make these dreams for my future a reality.

All my life, I have been an athlete. Since elementary school, I have played various sports on a competitive level, like basketball, soccer, and volleyball. When I started my first year of high school, I knew I wanted to join a new sport. I had fallen out of love with basketball and volleyball, which I had played throughout middle school, but I wanted to participate in a competitive sport. Tennis immediately caught my eye. From my first week of playing tennis, I knew I would fall in love with the sport. After tryouts, I played on the JV team, the second-highest team. The day after my first game, my tennis season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was more motivated than ever to become the best at the newfound sport that I could be. I wanted to play on varsity during high school. While I could not spend time on the courts to get better for the next season, I spent time at home understanding the sport and learning game-changing strategies. I felt prepared mentally to begin my sophomore year season of tennis. I was confident that I could, at the very least, play at the junior varsity level. I had one major setback: surgery on my spine. Three months before the season started, I had a spinal fusion to correct my scoliosis. Reasonably, my coaches did not want to risk my recovery by having me play at a high level but did not want to discourage me from playing, so they allowed me to play on the lowest-level team. While I could still play tennis, it felt like a substantial setback as I could not get much better from playing against opponents with noticeably less skill. My junior year season went similarly, as I played on JV, the lowest team at the time. It felt like my hard work thus far meant nothing. Throughout my sophomore and junior year seasons, I devoted time outside of practice to prove to my coaches that I was mentally and physically capable of playing at a highly competitive level. I even played in some varsity matches as a stand-in when a varsity player could not compete that day. Halfway through my junior year season, I realized something that changed the way I played tennis from then on; I needed to stop playing for the validation of my coaches. I would often stress myself out trying to prove myself to the coaches that I would make silly mistakes. Once I started playing for me, everyone took notice. With the help of the new coaching staff, my senior year season has been like no other so far. My hard work has finally paid off, and I was able to make varsity. I have now gotten specialized help to overcome my spinal surgery and have the mobility required to participate in more competitive matches. Now that I am not playing for the validation of others, I have been able to implement more complex elements of tennis into my gameplay that was once too intimidating to execute. Looking back at my journey, I am proud that I persevered through my hardships to eventually reach my goal of making varsity during high school. I am excited to see what opportunities this season has for me. My next goal is to play competitive tennis at the University of Colorado: Boulder division one team before I graduate. Wish me luck!

In early December 2020, I walked into the hospital waiting room, preparing to have the most influential surgery of my life. I was diagnosed with scoliosis earlier that year and had two distinct curves. They had such high degrees that a back brace would not have helped. While I knew that recovery would not be easy, I was not nervous about what was ahead. The year prior, I had a benign tumor removal surgery which I quickly recovered. While I had experience with surgery, nothing could have prepared me for the new journey I was beginning. Waking up from this surgical procedure was nothing like the last. I was in excruciating pain that felt never-ending. The first day of recovery felt more like a week. I had to relearn how to sit, walk, roll over in bed, and even stand. After three consecutive days in the hospital, I continued the rest of my recovery at home. My school had students return to in-person learning that upcoming January, so I knew I had to get my body physically prepared. Through the help of my support system and hard work on my part, I was able to get my body to the place it needed to be to return to school. By the first day of in-person school, I was ready to go through a day filled with lots of walking and taking the stairs. One would think I would take it easy during my first year of recovery, but that could not be further from the truth. After being cleared to do physical activities like sports in March, I started playing tennis that same month. With tennis requiring much twisting, I had to find ways to adjust the technique to my needs. A few months later, I joined the marching band for the first time. I did not march with a light instrument like a flute or a clarinet; I marched with my school's second-heaviest bass drum. Over two years later from my spinal surgery, one of my family members required surgery. My dad was playing basketball when he tore his Achilles tendon. He had taken one step, heard a snapping noise, and knew something was wrong. My dad went to his doctor and learned that he would need surgery on his ankle within that same week. It was daunting for him to hear what his procedure would entail. My dad had to face that he likely wouldn't walk correctly for months, let alone play basketball again. The first month after my dad's surgery was the most challenging. He was bed-written, yet he had to assist with caring for a seven-month child. Like my recovery, my dad had to relearn walking and standing. My dad, who had been there for me through my recovery, was now needing my help with basic tasks. Not being able to stand or walk makes you feel hopeless the more time passes. He often would tell me that my experience was helping him get through his recovery. He surpassed his doctor's expectations by standing and walking without crutches within the first two months of surgery. While my dad is still working on walking with the correct posture, he has been able to walk long distances and run. Through receiving this scholarship, I will inspire others by telling my story to children having surgery. It is helpful to have someone to look up to when you are about to enter a challenging time in life. I enjoy knowing that my experience has the potential to help someone else with their journey to a happier, healthier body.

I was born the first daughter, niece, and granddaughter in my family. I paved the way for the others. My parents relied on me to become a role model for my younger family members. My elders relied on me to show them the good that could result from my generation. I was the main person tasked with babysitting the younger children because I ensured everyone would remain safe and healthy. I was born to be trusted. Reliability as a character is the ability for others to trust you. Reliability is crucial because it allows you to connect with other people effectively. Trust is the foundation to change. The positive bonds you make with people are what make the world a more benevolent place. If you can not be trusted with minor aspects, you can not be trusted to lead a group or assist with changing the world. In my academic life, I exhibit reliability by assisting my peers and maintaining a high GPA. Like all students, I have subjects that I am better at than others. The course that I am best at is math. I have been two years advanced in math coursework since the sixth grade. Considering most students have trouble understanding math, I figured I should use my gift to tutor other students on math of all levels. My peers rely on me to teach the content correctly and trust me to teach the content in a way that could be better understood. I have expanded to helping middle school students comprehend the concept of fractions. Aside from tutoring others, I am relied on to maintain above a 4.0 weighted GPA. My parents and teachers never have to worry about my academic motivation. I am very self-motivated and often complete my work before the deadline approaches to ensure I submit my work on time. In my extracurriculars, I exhibit reliability in sports and choir. In sports, I have created leadership positions for myself. Last season, I became captain of my school's junior varsity team. This leadership position previously did not exist, but the team needed a leader, so I stepped into that role. My coaches and team members relied on me to lead warm-ups, call out players' names in a line-up, and answer questions. In choir, I have taken on leadership positions like being the alto 2 section leader in my school's most competitive mixed ensemble. My fellow singers rely on me to lead stretches, assist with sight-reading, and answer any questions regarding music theory. Aside from the music aspect of a choir, I am relied on to have a positive attitude and motivate others to have the same. Reliability will help me in the future with networking and getting my first job. Whether for business or leisure, networking is built on a rudimentary level of trust. As I mentioned previously, people must trust you to connect with you. Connecting with people is essential for living life to the fullest; no one wants to be lonely. If I can prove my worth and ability throughout my years in university, employers will feel more comfortable with relying on me to join their initiative. I want to prove to my professors and fellow students that I can add value to people's lives. My ultimate goal is to make a lasting impact on the world that outlives me and my grandchildren. If I am reliable, I can take any path in life and positively impact the space. With this scholarship, I will be able to prove my reliability through research opportunities within engineering to change the world.

Several people spend the majority of their lives searching for their true passions. I have had the privilege of knowing my passions from a young age. I am passionate about educating myself and creating art. I have always felt different from my peers in one predominant aspect: I enjoy school. I love learning new truths about the world regardless of its use in my life in the future. I have spent years learning about random topics, from quantum physics to the stock market to different art forms. While the chance of me needing quantum physics again is low, the information helps me better understand the world and the type of knowledge people have on the existence of the world. At the same time, art has always been a significant part of my life. I have been creating some form of art since my toddler years. Art has always been there for me through all my phases, from singing to painting landscapes to designing posters. Recently, I have found myself intrigued with digital media, particularly involving augmented reality. I have created a passion project surrounding augmented reality and using it to bring awareness to subtle issues in the world or make people's lives easier. I know I have what it takes to overcome obstacles due to my experience with my spinal fusion. In December 2020, I had spinal fusion surgery to fix my scoliosis. I woke up from surgery unable to sit, stand, walk, and even roll over. I felt useless and often helpless. I was determined to rejoin in-person school the following January, so I packed months of recovery in a few weeks. I got off my pain medications as soon as possible, so my body could get used to the pain and learn to cope. I accomplished all of the necessary milestones that would allow me to go back to school, but my journey was not over yet. I was also determined to try out for my school's tennis team in April, but I did not get medically cleared to work out. I could not go to the preseason for tennis because it focused on weightlifting. To combat this issue, I did simple, authorized stretches that worked the muscles frequently used in tennis. I completed the entire sports season without much pain or injury. A few months later, I joined my school's marching band for the first time, playing the second-heaviest bass drum on the drumline. Going to school, playing tennis, and marching bass drum were all completed within a year of having my spinal fusion, which greatly shocked my surgeon. I have been giving back to the less fortunate for years. I currently serve the less fortunate by mentoring ninth-graders during their first year of high school and teaching personal finance to middle school students in my community. I mentor incoming ninth-graders through my school's LINK program. A group of upperclassmen is selected each year to give tours to the incoming high school students and answer any appropriate questions they may have. To add entertainment, the LINK leaders play games with their ninth-graders relating to their future in high school. I maintain contact with ninth-graders to answer any questions throughout the year and help them make the best decisions possible for their future. I teach personal finance through my workshop "Beginners in Budgeting." My workshop goes over the basics of creating a budget and the importance of maintaining a budget. I chose middle school students because they do not tend to have personal finance knowledge despite most having some form of income.

I can still hear the whistling from the referees, the squeaking of shoes, and the dribbling of basketballs from spending hours watching my dad play basketball. My earliest memories involve sitting on the sidelines while my dad fulfills his guard position for that week's basketball game at our local gym. The players on the team would often remind me of the importance of staying active. After every game, they would help me dribble the ball with my tiny hands and try to shoot, despite my miniature size. At my preschool age, I did not fully grasp basketball concepts, but my experience with the sport started my journey with sports throughout my life. Throughout elementary school, I played two sports: basketball and soccer. I only played soccer for one year: second grade. I went through a program that met on the weekends and taught us basic skills, but we never played any real soccer matches. I was not a fan of getting accidentally kicked in the shins week after week, so I ended up quitting. Even during soccer practices, basketball was on my mind. Joining a basketball team once I was eligible was a shock to no one. I played basketball from second grade to fifth grade. Basketball became a big talking point in my classes because I was the only kid in my grade who could fully control a basketball when dribbling. I felt invisible. At a time when boys bragged about being better at everything than girls, I took pride in being the best during the basketball units in your elementary gym class. I, naturally, continued playing basketball into middle school by trying out for the school team. I played all three years and made the highest team possible for my grade each year. From self-esteem issues to eating out with the team after wins, I experienced several highs and lows during the three basketball seasons. Basketball allowed me to meet new people I previously would not have talked to during school. This interaction helped me with academics because I was more comfortable in the classroom when I knew more people. During my seventh-grade year, I decided to try out for volleyball. It was a nice change of pace from basketball because I did not have the same pressures and expectations put on me. Although I was playing at a less competitive level, I enjoyed the less strict nature of the coaches. Like in basketball, I met many new people playing volleyball that are still my friends today. Despite enjoying volleyball, I knew I couldn't compete at a high school level, so I stopped playing volleyball after my eighth-grade season. Due to poor coaching, I stopped playing basketball in high school and picked up a new sport: tennis. I have completely fallen in love with tennis over the past four years. It is the only sport that I truly enjoy watching, playing, and practicing. Tennis helped me get through the darkest time in my life: scoliosis surgery. My passion for tennis and athleticism as a whole motivated me to recover as soon as possible. With tennis being a complex sport, I could apply the concepts I was learning in my physics and calculus classes to what I was learning on the court. It made learning complicated topics like velocity, displacement, and acceleration on a three-dimensional scale easier to comprehend. While this season has not started yet, I am sure I will enjoy whatever challenges and opportunities the sport throws me. I plan to continue to play tennis in college and go to the gym to keep my body healthy.

At the start of my eighth-grade year, I joined my middle school's WEB program. The WEB program paired incoming eighth-graders with incoming sixth-graders to help the new sixth-graders adjust to middle school and have guidance in their first year of middle school. Two eighth-graders paired with a group of ten to fifteen sixth-graders; they would meet at least once a week. Naturally, I became close to one of the girls in my group; she rode my bus, was in my WEB group, and I saw her a lot in the halls. As I spent more time with her, she felt more comfortable telling me about her family life and financial situation. Her family was in poverty and often struggled to get three meals daily. This news shocked me because she frequently would eat snacks on the bus. During the next WEB group gathering, I saw her looking through another student's bag and taking snacks from their bag. It then hit me; she turned to stealing and scavenging snacks. Upon questioning, I learned that she stole snacks to share with the rest of her family and make it through the rest of the day. I knew there had to be a change in her lifestyle before she took a life-threatening path late on. Through my experience as a WEB leader, I learned what I define community service as; an unpaid act that changes lives. My main goal that year was to change at least that one girl's life. I gave the best advice I knew and provided ways for her to get snacks without stealing. I knew my knowledge and resources were limited, so I focused on being someone she could talk to and depend on when times got difficult. While I have not been able to contact the girl after eighth grade, she taught me a lot about my commitment to my community. As an individual with considerable privilege, I am obligated to make education and other resources as accessible as possible in my career. I plan on using augmented reality to teach people of all ages and make resources more attainable in one way or another. I have made progress toward my plan through my augmented reality passion project. I started by researching the different forms of augmented reality and affordable ways to create projects using the feature; I settled upon using Adobe Aero. I have created three pieces so far; the first and third focus on educating the audience, and the second focuses on the accessibility of resources. My first piece centered around ecology. I designed a Snapchat filter-like interactive piece urging people not to pick flowers found growing in nature. The second piece focused on convenience. It was the concept art for an app that allows users to get directions for items in a store without tracking down an employee. My most recent passion project piece centers around cell phones. I am working on the concept for an app that teaches baby boomers how to navigate their phones. With the Thomas Swanberg Memorial scholarship, I plan to expand my augmented reality knowledge to create more immersive projects that can positively impact more people. I intend to learn coding and programming and grow my artistic abilities to make the best projects possible. I am excited to use what I retain to help my community develop its understanding of finance, technology, nature, and more topics.

I opened my eyes, ready to start my first day of summer after kindergarten. I eagerly get dressed and pack my brand-new pink Nintendo 3DS to go to my maternal grandparents' house. I had stayed at my grandparents' house with my cousin every time our parents had work, and we did not have school. Once I arrived at their house, I opened my Nintendo 3DS on my grandparents' couch and got greeted with life-changing visuals. The 3D option did not interest me much; it actually hurt my head to look at it for a while. I was entranced with the game "Face Raiders" that came preinstalled on the console. "Face Raiders" is an augmented reality shooter game where the player shoots the drone people flying around. I excitedly show my cousin the game, and we play it for hours. I did not know the name of the actual mechanics the game was using, mainly because I was only six years old. As I grew older, augmented reality appeared in my life more. From augmented reality cards bringing different characters into video games to filters on Snapchat advertising new shoes, I was constantly witnessing the evolution of the technology. My interest in augmented reality naturally increased as my exposure to it grew. As technology usage and advances increased, so were people's opinions on technology. The older generation's opinion on technology made the most sense to me. Baby boomers barely had technology growing up, so, understandably, they would be hesitant to accept technology into their lives now. Their arguments typically are that technology takes people away from the real world and causes youth to forget how to interact. Generation X had more technology than their parents, but still not enough to have the same connection that Millenials and Generation Z have. I was most confused when someone from Generation Z did not like technology. Their arguments usually resembled those of baby boomers, as if Generation Z did not spend the majority of their childhood using some form of technology or the internet. My sole goal was to prove them wrong. My attraction and other people's opinions led me to create my passion project surrounding augmented reality. I wanted to create short, interactive pieces that show how augmented reality brings the virtual and physical worlds together. I started by researching the different forms of augmented reality and affordable ways to create projects using the feature. I settled upon using Adobe Aero; my first piece centered around advocacy. I designed a Snapchat filter-like interactive piece urging people not to pick flowers found growing in nature. The second piece focused on convenience. It was the concept art for an app that allows users to get directions for items in a store without tracking down an employee. My most recent passion project piece centers around education. I am working on the concept for an app that teaches baby boomers how to navigate their phones. Within all of my creations, I wanted augmented reality to be accessible without a headset. I plan to continue my education in augmented reality in college with a degree in Creative Technology and Design from CU Boulder. I am excited to learn how to fully flesh out my ideas and make products that destigmatize technology usage. I hope my creations can appeal to every generation and allow them to enjoy immersive reality. I am excited to see my concept art transform into a full app or filter that can change people's lives. My younger self would be proud.

I hear two loud thuds behind me. I turn around in my chair to find a seemingly lifeless body behind me, the body of one of my close friends. The class breaks into a frenzy as her once motionless body convulses on the ground. While this event was scary for my peers, it was common for me. My friend suffers from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which causes her to have seizures caused by her mental state. Despite seeing how poor mental health affected my friend, I never considered my mental health to be important to me. There was no way something like that could happen to me; it is not like I have POTS or any mental illnesses. Fast forward a few months, and it is late April 2022. I had AP exams to study for, college and scholarship essays to write, choir music to learn, and final projects to start. I started experiencing increased tiredness, headaches, eye twitching, and throat tension. To no one's surprise, I became extremely overwhelmed. One day while reading text for my AP Language and Composition class, I felt extremely hot. Distractingly hot. My teacher could see I was unwell, so he let me collect myself in the hallway. After walking up and down the hall a few times, I felt no difference, so I returned to class. I sat down and began feeling dizzy, nauseous, and disoriented. I could see mouths moving, but I heard only faint background noise. I assumed all the symptoms stemmed from dehydration, so I left the classroom again to get a drink from the water fountain. I couldn't come to terms with the fact that I was experiencing a panic attack. I thought panic attacks only happened to people diagnosed with mental disorders like anxiety or PTSD. One thing was for sure; I didn't want to undergo anything like that again. I knew I had to make a change in my life. As someone with emetophobia, the nauseous alone was traumatizing. I started journaling aspects from my day to clear my mind. I try to journal at the beginning of my day, after school, and before I go to bed. I also began to do yoga more often. Previously, I had done yoga once a month to improve my flexibility; now, I do yoga to some extent at least once a week to relax my body and mind. While changes occurred from my panic attack, many aspects stayed the same. I am still a workaholic. I find myself consistently doing something that can better my present or future life. I get uncomfortable when doing a mindless activity for a long time. While my senior year has had more stressors than my junior year, my mental health has improved. I'm finding myself having more energy and getting headaches less often. I am working twice as much, yet having twice as much energy as I did before. I can fulfill my workaholic tendencies while having a stable mindset. Journaling allows me to sleep better by tracking my sleeping habits and clearing my mind. Yoga allows me to better my mind and body by stretching my body in ways that relieve tension. I am proud of all the progress that I have made over the past year. I have learned so much about how to stay healthy in every aspect. I realized that my mental health is just as important, if not more, than my physical health. I am excited to continue maintaining my mental health, and I hope next year, I can feel at peace with not working as often.

The world is not perfect. Many aspects of the world can change to make the world a better place. Whether it is social matters like racism or environmental topics like global warming, there are problems for society to work towards solving. While each issue in the world is distinctive and requires unique solutions, some general answers work for every situation. One song that encapsulates the solution to every issue is "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson. The song focuses on the idea that change starts with you taking action. This viewpoint is not exclusive to world issues; the concept also applies to self-improvement. The song, in part, successfully relays its message due to the artist who sang it. Michael Jackson had an established career at the time of the debut of this song; many people listened to the song. He was changing the world by bringing awareness to a universal solution to every issue. Michael was doing what he was singing."Man in the Mirror" changed people's perception of the world. Several people believe that one man can not change the world, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. If one person tries to make a change in the world, it brings awareness to the problem and inspires others to make a change. The transformation project would go from one person to hundreds to thousands working towards a common goal. Michael's message is the key to forming a world that everyone can love.

At the start of my eighth-grade year, I joined my middle school's WEB program. The WEB program paired incoming eighth-graders with incoming sixth-graders to help the new sixth-graders adjust to middle school and have guidance in their first year of middle school. Two eighth-graders paired with a group of ten to fifteen sixth-graders; they would meet at least once a week. Naturally, I became close to one of the girls in my group; she rode my bus, was in my WEB group, and I saw her a lot in the halls. As I spent more time with her, she felt more comfortable telling me about her family life and financial situation. Her family was in poverty and often struggled to get three meals daily. This news shocked me because she frequently would eat snacks on the bus. During the next WEB group gathering, I saw her looking through another student's bag and taking snacks from their bag. It then hit me; she turned to stealing and scavenging snacks. Upon questioning, I learned that she stole snacks to share with the rest of her family and make it through the rest of the day. I knew there had to be a change in her lifestyle before she took a life-threatening path late on. While I know that there are millions of people in poverty, I never had a close relationship with someone of that demographic. I have been fortunate to live a middle-class lifestyle and never worried about paying the family's bills or getting dinner. Throughout the rest of the year, I educated myself on the economy and the effects of poverty. I learned that roughly 34.8% of students in my district were eligible for free or reduced lunch. I didn't realize how people's financial situation increased their likelihood of developing mental illness, committing crimes, and having a chronic disease. I then realized that most crimes in the world formed from a financial need. Crimes that I once thought to be committed by ill-willed individuals were being committed by people trying to make ends meet. Fixing the financial standing of families would have several subsequent benefits worldwide. I knew I wanted to contribute to change, but I didn't know how. In my junior year of high school, I assisted with improving the financial situations of families in my community. Throughout ninth and tenth grade, I found that poor financial decisions started during people's teenage years. Personal finance was taught in my district senior year, which is late considering several students had some form of income starting their first year of high school. In addition, the personal finance class is not a requirement for seniors to take. As a result, I have held budgeting workshops at Fountain Middle School and Carson Middle School to help students make reasonable financial decisions. The workshop is called "Beginners in Budgeting" and teaches middle school students the basics and importance of budgeting. I chose to target seventh and eighth-grade students because they have a good grasp of arithmetic and can understand the importance of the information I teach. My first year was a success as I got a lot of good reviews from students and teachers about the workshop. Teachers commented that they wished they had an opportunity like Beginners in Budgeting when they were in school. Students commented that they enjoyed the mix of education and entertainment within the experience. This year, I focused on relating the content to ordinary aspects of the students' lives to increase their retention rates. My main goal was to create a generation of people who have better financial knowledge than their predecessors. It pained me to see someone I was close with in my eighth-grade year suffering financially; if I can help one person get out of a situation like that, I will be happy. With the cost of living increasing, I want to support people in keeping up with the economic changes. I want to change lives and inspire the youth to think about their financial future.

I am a principal's honor roll senior student attending Fountain-Fort Carson High School. I participate in tennis and marching band and am a member of sources of strength and DECA. I aspire to go to CU Boulder and major in creative technology and design. By the end of this school year, I would have taken eight AP classes and obtained three semesters' worth of dual-enrollment credits. Five out of the eight AP classes would be in math and science. Ever since elementary school, I have enjoyed math. In third grade, I tested positive for quantitative reasoning giftedness and found myself ahead of my class in arithmetics. Once I was in junior year, I began expanding my engineering knowledge. I took AP Calculus AB and AP Physics C: Mechanics and self-taught myself programming. My physics instructor frequently related the concepts in class to the skills I learned on the tennis court. The marrying of my favorite sport and physics helped develop my curiosity about the different principles of physics and their real-world applications. Currently, I am taking AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, and AP Biology. Through my learning, I found that STEM is a part of every industry to some extent. I find comfort in knowing that there will always be a demand for STEM within society. Even art industries, which most people do not associate with STEM, use STEM to measure proportions, create digital art, and ensure the work follows basic concepts in the real world. As a creative and mathematical person, I love mixing art with STEM. Naturally, the gaming industry is appealing to me. It is a fast-growing industry with plenty of demand, whether for a company or independently. It mixes STEM and art and can be used to develop any enterprise. While video games have been controversial in the media, they generally positively impact the world. Video games serve as interactive media that teaches and tests people about a skill or concept. I want to dedicate my life to showing the public that video games do more good than harm. While I am unsure if I want to create games strictly for entertainment or to benefit a different industry, I know I want to produce games that leave a lasting impact on the world. I would like to include aspects of augmented and virtual reality as well. Once I am established in my career path, I want to bring awareness to the different types of jobs within STEM. I want to participate in career fairs nationwide to inspire the youth to consider STEM careers. I would tell prospective students about my journey in engineering and my career. As an African American woman, I can inspire a new generation of black women in STEM that will change the world in the future. Hearing someone's journey with a similar background can inspire you to pursue your goals. I aspire to create greater inclusion in an environment near and dear to my heart. I hope I can receive the Cliff T. Wofford scholarship to allow me to continue my STEM journey and change people's views of gaming.

While my parents are divorced, I have always been fortunate enough to live a middle-class lifestyle. If I earn the $1000, my family is in a financial position that allows me to use the money in any way I see fit without jeopardizing our lifestyle. Like most other students, I want to use the $1000 to lower my college tuition fees. While I have confidence that my parents can find a way to let me pursue higher education, I want to do everything in my power to ensure that they do not have to spend too much. One's initial thought would be to put the money away for college, but I want to use the $1000 to make more money. If I receive $1000 right now, I will invest the money into stocks and put the return on investment into my college fund. Through my finance research, I have determined that investing my money in the S&P 500 would be the best for me. This index fund has a higher return on investment per year than high-yield savings accounts, swaying my decision. I will not have to take out the money for at least five years; I can take advantage of the relatively high return on investment. I have added trust in the S&P 500 because my family members have seen positive results over time. With this plan, I would be able to use the $1000 to its fullest potential to help pay for college.

Art and music have been a part of my life since I was young. I sang or played an instrument in front of hundreds of people. The smiles on their faces motivate me to continue to make music. The same principle applies to my art. I love the satisfaction of finishing a long project, showing it to a crowd, and seeing their reactions. I try to follow the same criteria when creating a new art piece: try to make people smile or try to bring awareness to a cause. When I think of an art piece created that made people smile, I think of my bee movie magazine. I remember making the magazine cover in my graphic design class. My fellow students frequently visited my desk to see my project and enjoy my art-making process. Some students even nominated that piece for my school's art show. When I think of an art piece created that brought awareness, I think about my political cartoons. The four cartoons were responses to the overturning of the Roe vs. Wade trial. They make a statement about the subject and bring awareness to the consequences. After high school, I aspire to aid companies with their brand images. With this plan, I can combine making art that puts a smile on people's faces and making art that brings awareness to a cause. During my years in college, I plan to learn web design and augmented reality to advance the marketing and, specifically, the advertising industries. Websites shorten the gap between sellers of a product or service and buyers. With the right design, you can better the lives of others and make more sales. As long as there is the internet and businesses, there will be a need for new, cutting-edge websites that will attract the target market. Unlike web design which companies have used for decades, augmented reality is an emerging tool. Augmented reality was very beneficial during recent years for individuals unwilling to leave their houses often due to Covid-19. Numerous diverse companies, including IKEA and MTV, have implemented augmented reality and had increased success. There is much more untapped potential within augmented reality that I would like to explore. Whether my life goes as planned or I choose a different path, there is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to create art that betters the lives of everyone who sees it.

1) I deserve this scholarship because I am the president of the milky way, and I would spend the money to create a new planet in the solar system. The planet would allow people to summon items as they please and teleport anywhere else on the plain with ease. 2) My career goals are to relocate 75% of the world to my new planet. This relocation will happen through opening a portal into the multiverse. 3) I am a perfect person who has never came across an obstacle in my life. When you are the president of a galaxy, you never have to worry about anything.

Expressing my creativity is something I have done for as long as I can remember. My mom's side of the family is very creative, and they often provided a multitude of opportunities for me to show my creative side. I distinctly recall one project that I worked on that impressed people by the amount of creativity and thought applied. In fourth grade, I created sandals using foam blocks and rubber bands. The rubber bands were already in my possession; the foam blocks came from a package that my parents had recently received. I traced my foot onto the foam blocks and cut out the base. Then, the rubber bands were weaved to create a part that would secure my foot in place. I remember wearing my new creation in front of my parents and seeing their shocked faces at what hours in my room had produced. Recently, I have been applying creativity in my life in the form of graphic arts and animation. Through watching YouTube tutorials, I have been teaching myself how to use Adobe Creative Cloud software like Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects. The current project that I am working on is creating a new Trojan Domination tee shirt for my school. Trojan Domination is the final event at Fountain-Fort Carson High School's biggest spirit week, where students of all grades compete against each other in fun challenges. The school wants the shirt to be revamped and encourages students to submit original designs for the upcoming school year. As a student in my chapter's DECA program, I have seen several variations of our school's logo; I know what students will like and want to buy. I have already had one of my apparel designs used at the school, so I am confident this design can join my portfolio.

People learn several topics throughout life. From tying shoes to language arts to math to respecting others, individuals understand many subjects used for the rest of their lives. The most quintessential lesson one can comprehend is personal finance. The amount of financial knowledge learned is the difference between being homeless and living a dream-like life. With most schools not teaching personal finance, several individuals have to learn this lesson outside of the classroom. The most vital personal finance lesson that I have received came from a YouTube video by Shane Hummus. In his video titled, "Top 5 Personal Finance Tips For College Students," his first tip was to "learn to play defense before you learn to play offense." In this analogy, Shane compares sports to financial stability, where the offense is making and investing money, and the defense is saving money and learning how to budget. If someone made millions of dollars, they would not be financially stable unless they knew how to save and budget their income. The person would continuously run out of money and worry about paying other expenses. The phrase contextualized a concept that I was familiar with in an easy-to-remember format. The basis of the quote was part of what inspired me to host a financial literary workshop in my community in November 2021. I taught a budget workshop called Beginners in Budgeting to seventh and eighth-grade students at Fountain Middle School and Carson Middle School. The concepts that I addressed were what a budget is, the fundamental elements, definitions, and what a successful budget defines. My audience enjoyed learning during the workshop, and four out of five people rated the workshop an eight out of ten or higher. I plan on hosting more Beginners in Budgeting workshops for local middle schoolers in the future.

My name is Makayla Gale, and I am a part of the junior class of 2023. I attend Fountain-Fort Carson High school and currently have a 4.43 weight-cumulative GPA. The type of courses I take includes AP, dual-enrollment, and Colorado Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. My favorite subjects are math and DECA. DECA is a CTE course focused on marketing, business administration, finance, and hospitality/tourism. I am fortunate to go to a school that offers me numerous opportunities. I participate in three after-school activities; marching band, choir, and tennis. During marching band season, I played bass drum three. I am an alto section leader in my choir, and we compete in choral competitions. I compete on my school's JV tennis team during the spring competition season. In my personal life, I adore music. I find myself making, listening, and learning about music. I am passionate about learning and art; I try to learn something new or create art every day. I have divorced parents that have 50/50 custody of me and my sister, age 11. On my dad's side, I have another younger sister that is three months old. I live a middle-class lifestyle, and I am very grateful for all my family has done for me. My life story contributes to why I want to pursue a college education. I want to major in advertising or a similar university degree. Pursuing a college education allows me to obtain formal training in my major and network with individuals in and out of my career path. Proper training is not necessary for all professions, but it allows one to get more knowledge in their field. Institutionalized education can teach you the correct techniques and terminology that you might not have learned if you were self-taught. Having more knowledge in a career makes one more qualified to get certifications. Several technology-based jobs, for example, require workers to get certificates relating to their career path. Formal training enables one to have an advantage when obtaining certifications compared to informal training. Networking is an essential part of any career. As the saying goes, "It's not what you know. It's who you know." While knowledge in your profession is essential, knowing people in higher positions can help you accumulate better positions at your job. If you know the right people, you can climb the corporate ladder and earn considerably large amounts of money with little effort. When I pursue higher education, I plan on majoring in a STEAM program. There are numerous mixes between STEM and art, but my favorite is the creative technology degree. The degree is interdisciplinary, meaning it relates to several professions such as animation, user interface, and experience design, digital content development, and augmented reality, to name a few. Not many universities have this emerging major at this time. First-year students take a wide range of courses then narrow down their focus as their college education continues. Those who complete a creative technology degree can finish projects like Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf is an immersive art experience with three locations; one in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Denver, Colorado. In their most recent installation, the Convergence Station in Denver, former creative technology students helped work on some rooms. The Convergence Station is a four-story immersive art exhibition with a plotline for guests to follow as they explore several rooms.

When you search for the highest paying careers, you find that the majority of them are STEM-related professions. It is no secret that they are crucial for everyday life. The beauty of this world today is that these high-paying STEM careers are available for everyone. Diversity in these careers is paramount for social and economic advancements. Diverse representation in STEM careers inspires future generations to join STEM. Young kids look up to people that live a life they aspire to have. The children specifically look for individuals with mutual attributes like skin color, gender, and sexual orientation. It is the same concept as Disney or Marvel making diverse characters. Various characters in popular movies give youth a figure to aspire to be, and the characters give youth hope for their future. This concept makes Black Panther, Mulan, Moana, and Tiana essential to pop culture. It is human nature to seek out a sense of community amongst your peers and relate to someone. When more individuals share your characteristics in your profession, you tend to enjoy your job more and have a better workplace environment. Even knowing that some people around you share the same struggles can be comforting. Misery loves company. For example, a black person could look at another black person, regardless of socioeconomic standing, gender, etc., and know that the person shares some of the same struggles based on race. Having people from many different walks of life in STEM professions allows for diverse idea generation. When one is constantly around a group of people who think and act like them, the person never experiences new perspectives. It is this closed-minded thinking that does not allow an industry to thrive. Imagine how many inventions would cease to exist if there were no diverse STEM professions. To name a few, the traffic signal, the car heater, and crop rotation would not exist. An African American created the traffic signal, a woman invented the car heater, and a bisexual man developed crop rotation. Diverse representation helps society advance, but it also drives more profit for the business or organization. Several people in today's society love to buy from companies with diverse representatives. When the CEO is not the stereotypical rich white man, the organization draws in more different customers. The more varied the buyers, the more profit the business can generate. The benefits of having a diverse workplace in STEM careers outweigh the cons. There is no valid reason, especially in 2022, why any profession would not strive to have as much diversity as possible. There are both social and economic reasons for STEM professions to have various representations. The real question is: why would it not be important to have diverse representation in STEM careers.

When I admire someone, their success in life drives my admiration. For this reason, I admire Sarah Breedlove, also known as Madam C.J Walker. Sarah Breedlove was an African American woman born on a cotton plantation in Lousiana on December 23, 1867, to Minerva and Owen Breedlove. Sarah was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. She later changed her name to Madam C.J Walker after her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Sarah is the first female self-made millionaire in America. During the 1890s, Sarah suffered from a scalp condition that caused her to experience hair loss. This scalp condition led to Madam Walker founding her own business and selling Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. Walker explained that the recipe for her product came to her in her sleep: "God answered my prayer, for one night I had a dream, and in that dream, a big Black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up for my hair." She went on to say that part of the remedy was grown in Africa, but she sent for it, mixed it, tried it on herself and her friends, and it had helped with hair loss. Seeing that an African American woman in her time could become a millionaire is very inspiring. She cured her scalp condition and the hair issues that many Black women in America faced. By selling her hair product, Madam C.J Walker advanced the black community, and she proved to others that African Americans were capable of becoming self-made millionaires. Her success in life motivates me to work hard for my goals and attain success in my life. I aspire to identify and solve a problem within the African American community, like Madam Walker.

As someone who takes many rigorous courses at once, I need study methods to work smarter and not harder. There are two categories of classes: content-heavy classes and concept-heavy classes. History, foreign language, and science demand memorization of terms and facts, making them content-heavy. Math, business, and writing require you to learn a concept and apply it to different scenarios, making them concept-heavy. I have to utilize a few studying tactics to accommodate the different learning styles. For my content-heavy classes, I use color-coded notes and listen to music. I assign a category to each color I am using for my notes. When I review them, I know what notations correspond, allowing me to analyze the content quickly. While controversial, I like to listen to music during study sessions. I get off task with content-heavy courses, and music allows me to stay on task. I enjoy listening to Lofi music, so I can have background noise without being distracted by lyrics. For my concept-heavy classes, I use the Feynman technique and practice. The Feynman technique consists of understanding a lesson and teaching it to someone. If you can not teach someone else the topic, you go back and fill in the gaps. My family and friends in other classes are all people I have taught in the past. To practice a concept, I look for practice tests or assignments with different applications of the idea. This exercise assesses my ability to apply my knowledge to various examples. Like all humans, I require sleep to function and grow. These study strategies enable me to understand the lessons in a course efficiently. I do not have to study for five or more hours a night like other students that I know. I can manage the rigor of my classes without sacrificing sleep.

Having financial freedom refers to having enough savings, financial investments, and cash on hand to afford the kind of life that one desires. I am a massive advocate for being financially literate because there are people in my life who have struggled financially or are not living the life that they want to live. I am lucky to be where I am at today. I live a middle-class lifestyle and never had to worry about missing meals. The most helpful financial advice that I have received came from a YouTube video by Shane Hummus. In his video titled, "Top 5 Personal Finance Tips For College Students," his first tip was to "learn to play defense before you learn to play offense." In this analogy, Shane compares sports to financial stability, where the offense is making and investing money, and the defense is saving money and learning how to budget. When I sat and pondered the idea, it made a lot of sense. If someone made millions of dollars, they would not be financially stable unless they knew how to save and budget their income. The person would continuously run out of money and worry about paying other expenses. The phrase contextualized a concept that I was familiar with in an easy-to-remember format. The basis of the quote was part of what inspired me to host a financial literary workshop in my community earlier this year. I taught a budget workshop called Beginners in Budgeting to seventh and eighth-grade students at Fountain Middle School and Carson Middle School. The concepts that I addressed were what a budget is, the fundamental elements, definitions, and what a successful budget defines. My audience enjoyed learning during the workshop, and four out of five people rated the workshop an eight out of ten or higher.

I find it easier to attain my goals in life when I write them as SMART goals and refer back to them daily. SMART is an acronym meaning specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals. There are three types of goals, short-term, mid-term, and long-term. Short-term goals are ones that a person wants to complete within a year or less, mid-term goals are ones that a person wants to achieve within one to four years, and long-term goals are ones that a person wants to complete in five or more years. One short-term personal goal is to invest in both a savings account and stocks by August 2022. I have taken steps to achieve this goal. I have a savings account through USAA with an interest rate of 0.01%. While the interest rate is not grand, it will suffice, considering I do not have a consistent source of income. The interest rate would be higher if I had more money in the account. When I start working in the summer, I plan on investing 20% of my income into the S&P 500. The S&P 500, also known as the Standard and Poor's 500, is a way to invest in the top 500 companies in proportion to the size of the company. One long-term career goal is to work in the advertising industry after college. I plan on majoring in advertising or a similar degree like creative technology or graphic design as a mid-term academic goal. It would be nice to work for advertising professionals such as David Droga and Remi Babinet. David Droga is an Australian advertising executive who has worked with people and companies, including Under Armor, Jay-Z, and Prudential Insurance. Remi Babinet is a French creative director who has worked with Air France, Evain, Lacoste, and Canal Plus.

There are three types of goals, short-term, mid-term, and long-term. Short-term goals are ones that a person wants to complete within a year or less, mid-term goals are ones that a person wants to achieve within one to four years, and long-term goals are ones that a person wants to complete in five or more years. I find it easier to attain my goals in life when I write them as SMART goals and refer back to them daily. SMART is an acronym meaning specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals. One short-term goal is to invest in both a savings account and stocks by August 2022. I have taken steps to achieve this goal. I have a savings account through USAA with an interest rate of 0.01%. While the interest rate is not grand, it will suffice, considering I do not have a consistent source of income. The interest rate would be slightly higher if I had more money to add to the account. When I start working in the summer, I plan on investing 20% of my income into the S&P 500. The S&P 500, also known as the Standard and Poor's 500, is a way to invest in the top 500 companies in proportion to the size of the company. One long-term goal is to work in the advertising industry after college. I plan on majoring in advertising or a similar degree like creative technology or graphic design as a mid-term goal. It would be nice to work for advertising professionals such as David Droga and Remi Babinet. David Droga is an Australian advertising executive who has worked with people and companies, including Under Armor, Jay-Z, and Prudential Insurance. Remi Babinet is a French creative director who has worked with Air France, Evain, Lacoste, and Canal Plus.

Investing is a form of passive income where you allocate money with the expectation of generating a profit. Many investment options are available for people around the world. Examples of investments include savings accounts, bonds, market stocks, commodities, annuities, and real estate. When talking about investing, individuals usually refer to real estate and market stocks exclusively. Investing in real estate involves purchasing, managing, selling, or renting out real estate for profit. Investing in stocks consists of buying and selling shares of different companies. There are numerous videos online discussing different tips on investing your money. The one piece of advice that I have taken to heart is to be patient. The most frequent concern people have when investing money is losing money. However, the only way to lose money through investing is to sell whatever you bought for less than what you bought it. People tend to make this mistake when they get impatient and want to see a quick return on investment. In general, you shouldn't expect to get a return on your investment for about ten years. I have already started investing my money. I have a savings account through USAA with an interest rate of 0.01%. While the interest rate is not grand, it will suffice, considering I do not have a consistent source of income. The interest rate would be slightly higher if I had more money to add to the account. When I start working in the summer, I plan on investing 20% of my income into an index fund like the S&P 500. The S&P 500, also known as the Standard and Poor's 500, is a way to invest in the top 500 companies in proportion to the size of the company. A few of the leading companies are Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla.

Like other people in generation Z, I spent a fair amount of my childhood using technology like tablets, laptops, phones, and computers. I was often irritated with how ads presented themselves on different websites I visited. These memories helped push me towards the marketing field. Throughout middle school, I researched various career fields. My years in high school have been focused on one career goal; becoming a creative director in advertising. I became obsessed with the advertising industry. I watched documentaries on several artists and took classes to better my artistic abilities. One of these documentaries was the Netflix original series "Abstract: The Art of Design." The particular episode that I was intrigued by focused on the graphic designer Paula Scher. She designed logos for famous companies and redefined the advertising world. Her story inspired me to push the boundaries of advertising and create designs that nobody has seen before in the future. I plan on focusing on augmented reality and virtual reality to open the possibilities of promotion opportunities. Years of research have proven that there is a lot of potential for augmented reality and virtual reality in the advertising industry. I also aspire to work with my idols in my future career. Unfortunately, Paula Scher may not be alive by the time I enter the workforce, but I want to work with someone who has worked with her before. It would be nice to work for advertising professionals such as David Droga and Remi Babinet. David Droga is an Australian advertising executive who has worked with people and companies, including Under Armor, Jay-Z, and Prudential Insurance. Remi Babinet is a French creative director who has worked with Air France, Evain, Lacoste, and Canal Plus. I aspire to become even half as influential as any of the people mentioned.

Educational inequity is a huge issue in today's society. To fully understand this issue, one must understand the difference between equity and equality. Equality indicates that everyone gets treated the same way without regard to differences from their peers. Equity implies that everyone receives what they need to be successful concerning their personal needs. By mistake, people strive for educational equality and then wonder why students aren't thriving academically. There are a few different types of educational inequity. One example of educational inequity is a lack of resources. It is common for students to get a textbook to learn a subject in school, although, for some students, a single resource isn't enough to understand the concepts. Another form of educational inequity is a lack of school funding. Many institutions that cost money have a flat fee that students need to pay to attend the school regardless of financial situation. High tuition fees discourage people from attending an institution because they can not afford tuition. All individuals should stand up against educational inequity because it has lasting consequences on the world. One effect is lowered economic value. With fewer people experiencing a valuable education, fewer people will be able to enter the world's demanding workforce, hurting the economy. Another effect is a loss of potential changemakers. Educational inequity can lead to students underperforming and giving up on their aspirations, causing societies to lose thousands of potentially revolutionary doctors, inventors, and scientists over a preventable issue. Why not help those in need?

A mindset is a way of describing how a person perceives challenges and setbacks. Someone with a growth mindset believes that their talents and skills develop through diligent work. These people view challenges and setbacks as a way to evolve a skill. The counter mindset is a fixed mindset. Someone with a fixed mindset believes that their skills and talents are innate traits. These people do not think their talents can evolve, so they won't challenge themselves to be better. Those with a growth mindset tend to achieve more than those with a fixed mindset. Instead of thinking, "I can't do this," people with a growth mindset think, "I can't do this yet." This way of thinking motivates them to be better and strive for greatness. I use a few methods to ensure that I maintain a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. One of those methods is reflecting upon my weaknesses. Acknowledging the skills and talents that I can grow leads me to progress as a person. I strive to crave better for myself; I do not want to get complacent with my shortcomings. Another method I use is creating goals for myself. I am a goal-oriented person, and I am most happy when I find myself working towards something I consider significant. Forming short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals for myself enables me to stay motivated in improving the skills and talents that I lack. The final method that I use to maintain a growth mindset is asking for feedback and constructive criticism. I tend to overestimate and underestimate my abilities causing me to believe I am not progressing or progressing faster than I am when refining skills. Receiving outside opinions from trusted peers helps me get an accurate idea of what level my strengths and talents are.

My favorite artist is Paula Scher, one of the most influential graphic designers in the world. She has created logos and print advertising for several companies including, Public Theater, CitiBank, New York City Ballet, High Line, and Shake Shack. Paula received over 300 awards and has written eight books so far. Her designs inspire me to push boundaries in life and always look for an out-of-the-box solution to every problem.

Self-care is crucial for every individual to partake in often. There are four categories of self-care, social, mental, physical, and spiritual. I primarily participate in two types of self-care; physical and mental. As far as self-care goes for my physical health, I like to exercise and drink plenty of water. Whether I am participating in a sport, working out at a gym, or doing yoga at home, I try to make a habit of exercising daily. Due to my life-altering surgery not even a year ago, I must maintain my physical health to ensure I will not need another surgery soon. When it comes to drinking water, I try to drink at least 32 ounces of water daily. I accomplish this goal by having a 32-ounce water bottle and making sure the bottle is empty by the time I go to bed, at the latest. As far as self-care goes for my mental health, I like to listen to music and podcasts. I listen to music for at least five hours every day; my preferred genres of music are R&b and Hip-hop. Listening to these genres of music helps me to complete tasks throughout the day in a calm mindset. I listen to an episode of a podcast twice a week. The podcasts that I listen to are typically in the genres of comedy or business information. My self-care tactics have a substantial impact on my life. With me taking several rigorous courses, I have stress to handle. The methods I use to maintain my mental health allow me to control my emotions effectively and healthily. I am a physically active person; my physical self-care methods enable me to uphold my lifestyle without getting injured or ill. Above all, my self-care tactics help me sustain a positive outlook on life.

Patience, by definition, is the ability to accept or tolerate delay without getting upset. This virtue gets taught to individuals from a young age. It even gets taught to pets, such as dogs. The question that plenty of people have remains this: why is patience essential in everyday life? Patience is required to accomplish almost every task in life. Regardless of if the venture is profession-related, personal, or academic-related, patience is needed to be successful. An example of a profession-related pursuit that requires patience is investing. Seeing a significant return on investment after investing your money takes years. If you are impatient, you will not receive the same return on your investment as if you waited. An example of a personal pursuit that requires patience is raising kids. Children do not have the same knowledge as an adult, causing children to make decisions that are considered immature to the parents. As a parent, you need to be patient with your child and understand that your child most likely didn't understand the repercussions of the decision they made. An example of an academic-related venture requiring patience is learning a new concept. Everyone can think of a time where they were learning a new notion that took a while to understand. Patience is needed to grasp the elements of what you are learning. In addition, patience allows one to slow down their mind and life. People are accustomed to saving time and receiving quick reactions to their actions. We are constantly looking towards the future. This rapid progression of life can lead to people becoming anxious and missing out on the activities happening in the present. Participating in tasks that require patience allows a person to enjoy the present instead of the future and not worry about what has yet to come.

Most black women would agree that their mothers are the most influential person in their lives. Our mothers carry us for an average of nine months and tend to raise us for 18 years or more. They instill morals and values in us as we grow and develop. They help get us through hard times by giving advice. They stay by your side through thick and thin because they love you with everything in their hearts. My mother is easily one of the most influential people in my life. My mother was born in 1981 into an active military family that got deployed every few years. Through deployment, she has been to places such as Germany and South Korea. My mother is the oldest of three daughters, and her parents are still together and married. She helped watch over her sisters when her parents were busy or at work. My mother graduated high school and attended Colorado State University-Fort Collins. She graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in computer science. My mother gave birth to me when she was 24 years old and gave birth to my sister when she was 29 years old. My mom married my dad a few years after giving birth to me. However, in 2011, my parents got a divorce. After going to court, my parents had 50% custody of my sister and me. Despite my dad still being in my life, my mother was a single parent. On the days my sister and I were with her, my mother raised us with little to no help from other people. She was always the one who helped when someone was sick, when someone was injured, and when someone just needed help with homework. She got me through times of fear, such as when I had the opportunity to perform a solo in front of thousands of people at the Broadmoor, and I was scared. Even when she was ill, she always made efforts to take care of us and ensured we were okay. My mother constantly pushed for me to strive for excellence in everything that I have done. This encouragement led to me getting all A's and B's throughout my educational career. It also contributed to me making the highest basketball team in all four years of middle school. I've carried the mentality on into high school, where I have taken many AP, Pre-Ap, advanced, and dual-enrollment courses. I also managed to make junior varsity for tennis my first year of playing the sport. The advice encouraged me to start developing better study and time management skills. The biggest thing that my mother wants to see is me be successful in life. I can not let my mother down after all she has done for me throughout my life. She deserves to have living proof that her hard work as a parent has paid off. Going to college would be one step in proving to my mom that her parenting has paid off. Going to college would prove that the hours spent at the table working through an assignment with me and telling me not to give up was not for nothing. Going to college would prove that the money she spent allowed me to have the best academic resources I could have paid off. Not only do I want to go to college to demonstrate my appreciation for my mother, but I also want to pay off most of my college expenses on my own to take the burden off of her plate because I would not be anything without my mother.

Philosophy has been an area of study that I have been interested in for years. Several thoughts have circulated through my brain regarding the topics of good and evil. Questions such as "Who dictated what was considered good" and "Who dictated what was considered evil" often came to mind. I became very fascinated with the concept of good and evil, frequently attempting to find why something was considered good and why something was considered evil. Through watching a YouTube video regarding philosophy, I came across a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche's book, Beyond Good and Evil. The quote states, "What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil." I was first baffled that someone would believe that acts made out of love were neither good nor evil. No excerpt has ever made me stop and think as much as this statement did. Little did I know, this quote would become the most influential quote in my life. I spent numerous days pondering the excerpt and its significance. With a bit of analysis, I was able to form my interpretation of Nietzsche's statement. I interpreted the quote as "acts made from a place of love go beyond the range of ethics and morality." I found that love is so powerful that it can not be good nor evil. No category of morality encapsulates what love is and what love can be. While plenty of people see Nietzsche's quote as a claim with holes, I believe the claim presented is a solid one. The "holes" that people bring up are the lack of an agreed-upon definition of good and the absence of an agreed-upon definition of evil. Although these thoughts are valid, I believe Nietzsche associated good and evil as what society would consider good and evil. By using that definition of good and evil, more people could grasp Nietzsche's concept. This quote is special to me because it reminds me of the power of love. Like most individuals, I tend to forget the power that love has and refer to love as something that does not exist. Nowadays, people are turning on each other, making it hard to know if anything people do is out of a place of love. Friedrich's excerpt encourages me to change my ideology revolving around love and alter my mindset as a whole. It changed the way I react to conflict with friends and family. Before, I would get frustrated with the person I was arguing with because I didn't understand their intentions. I figured if they were talking out of a place of love, they wouldn't be arguing with me. Now, I know that someone can do something out of love without it being good or evil. Whether or not I agree with the person does not correlate with whether or not a person loves me. There is a sticky note on my vanity mirror in my room with this quote to remind me of the power that acts of love hold.

Design, to me, is a way for people to display their artistic abilities in a way that serves a purpose. It is having an objective in mind and working towards it through creative problem-solving. The goal would have to be something that is measured objectively and subjectively. Design is something with a clear meaning versus an idea you express with potentially more than one meaning. You would want your audience to understand the purpose of your work quickly after seeing it. To create a design, you must use analytical thinking in addition to creative thinking. You have to investigate the most compelling way to achieve the goal you want to achieve. The left side of your brain is considered the analytical side of the brain; the right side is the creative side. I believe that both parts of my brain developed evenly, meaning I am equally left-brained as I am right-brained. I tend to thrive in situations regarding linear and mathematical thinking and situations regarding intuition and imagination. A career in design would allow me to use both the creative and analytical portions of my brain to make a lasting impact on the world. The occupation would also enable me to prove to future generations of people of color that success is possible in a design-oriented industry. It is crucial for people of color to have a role model in the career field that they want to enter. Being someone that people aspire to be like is essential to me.

I used to feel like all life was insignificant. I would learn about how large the galaxy is and realize that my life means practically nothing. I am one of the billions of people on this planet in one of the billions of other galaxies. My realization would cause me to be unmotivated when it came to maintaining friendships in life. I wouldn't fight as hard to keep people in my life; I knew that one day we would die, and our bond wouldn't matter. I also didn't care if there were people left to remember me when I die because I knew that after a few generations, my life becomes irrelevant. My existence ideology changed when someone explained the philosophy of nihilism to me. The person said that life has no meaning; you can create one for yourself or live a life with no purpose. This line was the wisest phrase I ever heard. At that moment, I learned that other people have the same beliefs as me, but I also learned that I was going through life without giving it purpose. Shortly after I heard that phrase, I started researching nihilism and had a new outlook on life. I began to give aspects of my life a direction. I care more about the people in my life; even though friendships appears insignificant in the long run, it has significance in both lives at that moment. I also have a newfound motivation to do what I want to do without fear of being judged. Since nothing in life matters, I might as well do what makes me happy and furthers me positively in life. Although I still feel like life is insignificant, I'm using life's insignificance to motivate me to better my life and be more compassionate to others.

There have been many individuals throughout my existence that have greatly influenced how I live my life. Several people have come in and out of my life and positively impacted me. However, the most influential person in my life is my mom. Ever since elementary school, she has pushed me to always strive for greatness. This push motivated me to get good grades and enroll in rigorous courses. My mom has supported me with every activity I have chosen to do. I've played soccer, basketball, volleyball, and tennis throughout my life. Even with a full-time job, my mom has been to almost every one of my games. She also was one of the first few people to teach me about different art forms and provide me with various media to use. With my mom having many artistic hobbies, it was easy for me to become enticed with art and its many possibilities. She has allowed me to get immersed in art forms such as music, graphic design, illustration, and painting. After graduating from college, I plan on utilizing my artistic abilities to evolve the advertising industry. From what I have seen and researched throughout my lifetime, I've concluded that banner ads and pop-up ads are inefficient. Instead of the advertisements persuading their audience to take action, they annoy people and get ignored. The ads tend to reach people outside of the company's target market than people within the company's target market. Not only does this mean the graphic designer wasted their time, but, in addition, the company the advertisement was for wasted their money on a useless ad. While this has gotten better over the years, I see that there is still room for improvement. I want to design a way for companies to advertise their products or services to various individuals in an efficient and effective format so that the majority of the target market can be informed about the company. I plan on doing this by combining my creativity, computational thinking, and the knowledge I gain in college. Everyone knows the stigma about the "starving artist," however, my artistic skill is different than others due to my ability to apply the craft to practical situations. While several people will design art for the sole purpose of curing boredom or expressing themselves, I use my creativity to spark curiosity and inspire my audience. The digital art in my portfolio was created during a graphic design class and sparked interest among my peers. My robot project was the first project I completed in the class. While there is a lot I would do differently with this project, it did inspire some of my peers to use some of the robot elements that I included in my project. My logotype project was experimentation with designing a logo for imaginary businesses. This project inspired my peers to try using different fonts than the typical few fonts used in logotypes. My bottle label project caught people's eyes due to how realistic the label was. Not only did I add what the flavor of the drink would be, but I also included a nutrition facts chart and a barcode. My project encouraged my peers to add more detail to their bottle labels. My magazine cover is based around the 2007 movie "Bee Movie" and gets people thinking about what magazine covers for bees might resemble. This project also inspired my peers to create more playful magazine covers such as Shrek-themed ones. All four of my portfolio projects sparked curiosity and inspired my audience, something only a select few artists can say about their projects.

I regularly think about my future, more specifically, what I want to do after I graduate from high school. After discovering a few career fields that I am interested in participating in, I realized that it would be best to pursue higher education. I plan on joining either the advertising, animation, or motion graphics career field. While it is entirely possible to find success in these occupations with only a high school diploma, I do not want to put my future on the line. Going to a university would enable me to have an increased chance at success in either of the career fields that I like. A bachelor's degree would give me an edge against my competition when applying for jobs. Going to university would also allow me to network with people that I could likely work with in the future. Through research over the years, I learned that having connections to individuals in your desired industry can be one of the greatest assets you have. As the saying goes, "it is not what you know, but who you know." At this time, I partake in three extracurricular activities; tennis, marching band, and DECA officer. I joined the tennis team at my school during my freshman year of high school and made the junior varsity team. Unfortunately, my season was cut short because of Covid-19 but, I continued to train with the team during the summer and tried out again my sophomore year. I made the intramural team because I had surgery a few months before tryouts. I was incapable of pushing my healing body to compete at a junior varsity or varsity intensity. Now that my body has more strength, I plan on competing in tennis again in my junior year. Marching band is a new extracurricular activity that I have started this year. While I do not play any instruments, my school allowed vocalists to perform with the marching band this season. I have sung in choirs in my district for almost ten years now, so I figured this opportunity would be enjoyable. Becoming a DECA officer is also a new extracurricular activity that I have begun this year. I entered the DECA program at my school during my sophomore year and instantly fell in love with the program. I then decided to apply to become a DECA officer for my school and got the position of Competition Associate. This position implies that I will assist others in my school's DECA chapter prepare for the district, state, and international competitions. While I find interest in many pursuits, I only have two true passions; learning and art. Although I love learning new concepts, I have a preference for what I want to study. This preference makes a fair portion of the enjoyable studying I do take place outside of school. Currently, I am finding myself interested in how the human mind works and how to survive certain movie situations. My appetite for gaining knowledge has been present for as long as I can remember, unlike my desire to create art which developed over time. In elementary school, I found creating art to be stressful because my art did not look exactly like the references that I was using. I remember having a meltdown when I was five because I didn't draw lions the same as my peers and art teacher. Over time I realized that there is no cookie-cutter way to make art, allowing me to find the beauty in art. Now I prefer to show my creative abilities through art forms like graphic design, singing, and dancing.

You may already know this, but just in case you do not, surgery is dreadful, especially when you have a major surgery during a worldwide pandemic. In December of 2020, I had a spinal fusion to treat my scoliosis. After waking up from the surgery, I quickly realized that I could no longer sit up, stand, lay down, or walk by myself. The immense pain that I was in was unbearable and took a substantial toll on my mental health. I often found myself falling into a depressive and anxious state most days, wondering if the surgery or even life was worth it. Throughout the main three-month recovery period, I took time to research stretches to build back muscle and eventually relearned how to sit up, stand, lay down, and walk again. To boost my mental health, I distracted myself with creating art and learning more about random ideas that I found interesting. I learned about random concepts such as how our brains process speech, what all languages have in common, and the anatomy of sneakers. When I had the strength to, I would dance around the house and draw. Currently, I am much more content, and I can carry out daily functions with little to no pain. I did not realize it at the time, but I had implemented two things that I am passionate about to help me get through a rough time in my life; learning and art. Although I love learning new concepts, I have a preference for what I want to study. This preference makes a fair portion of the enjoyable studying I do take place outside of school. Currently, I am finding myself interested in how the human mind works and how to survive certain movie situations. I could beat many if not all of, the traps from the Jigsaw franchise by just being more vigilant than the characters in the movie. My appetite for gaining knowledge has been present for as long as I can remember, unlike my desire to create art which developed over time. In elementary school, I found creating art to be stressful because my art did not look exactly like the references that I was using. I remember having a meltdown when I was five because I didn't draw lions the same as my peers and art teacher. Over time I realized that there is no cookie-cutter way to make art, allowing me to find the beauty in art. Now I prefer to show my creative abilities through art forms like graphic design, singing, and dancing. I constantly think about my future and what I will do after high school. Aside from money, I want to be in a career field that incorporates my passions. The career fields that I have been looking into include advertising, animation, motion graphics. To achieve this, I plan on further developing my digital art skills. I will further develop my skills through experimentation with different digital software and watching YouTube tutorials. Once I graduate from high school, I will enroll in college to major in a major such as creative technology and design, advertising, or marketing. During college, I want to get an internship to have career experience before joining the workforce full-time. I also plan on getting in contact with individuals in the career fields I aspire to enter. I want to ask them about their experiences in their career. I also want to see if I can view their past creations and shadow them at work for a while. Hopefully, these steps will allow me to enter my desired career field.