Early on in my life, a key principle my parents instilled in raising me was to value any resources I was blessed with; be it food, toys, clothing, or shelter, to take any of these commodities for granted would be disrespectful to the ones who had no access to them. I took these lessons very seriously and have always actively minimized what I used and treasured said resources while they lasted. Unfortunately, as I progressed through school I realized the world did not work that way. Food waste was a visible sight to cringe at in the trash cans, mountains of papers were tossed out every day, students would throw their electronics at walls without a second glance when angry. The ratio of what resources we utilized to what was wasted seemed incredibly unproportionate. To me, this was greatly concerning and unpleasant; resource waste was a problem that was often mentioned, but was never properly dealt with. As a student whose academic career depends solely on solving the various problems teachers throw at me, it was greatly concerning to me that real world problems were dealt with without the same sense of urgency that a student has with a hard deadline. Realizing this, I found that if I could translate my skill for academic problem solving to real-world situations, I could benefit my environment a great deal. However, as a well-rounded student, I did not know what area of problem solving my set of skills specifically should be put to use in because I did not know which particular subject I strived in most. With this in mind, as I continued throughout my education, I soon found that problem solving in a majority of classes had a mathematics foundation. Physics, science, finance, etc, all have numerical cores. It occurred to me that if academic problem solving involved logical reasoning via mathematical applications, then so must real-world problem solving. Resources are numbers, their organizational use is their statistics. This realization sparked my passion for mathematics and statistics that I am currently developing today. In order to make a difference in my surroundings by minimizing resource use, it became evident that a pursuit in a mathematics degree was the way to go. My goal is to utilize my numerical skills to minimize resource waste and their management in a world that is lessening in available space and resources and expanding in manufacturing.

Early on in my life, a key principle my parents instilled in raising me was to value any resources I was blessed with; be it food, toys, clothing, or shelter, to take any of these commodities for granted would be disrespectful to the ones who had no access to them. I took these lessons very seriously and have always actively minimized what I used and treasured said resources while they lasted. Unfortunately, as I progressed through school I realized the world did not work that way. Food waste was a visible sight to cringe at in the trash cans, mountains of papers were tossed out every day, students would throw their electronics at walls without a second glance when angry. The ratio of what resources we utilized to what was wasted seemed incredibly unproportionate. To me, this was greatly concerning and unpleasant; resource waste was a problem that was often mentioned, but was never properly dealt with. As a student whose academic career depends solely on solving the various problems teachers throw at me, it was greatly concerning to me that real world problems were dealt with without the same sense of urgency that a student has with a hard deadline. Realizing this, I found that if I could translate my skill for academic problem solving to real-world situations, I could benefit my environment a great deal. However, as a well-rounded student, I did not know what area of problem solving my set of skills specifically should be put to use in because I did not know which particular subject I strived in most. With this in mind, as I continued throughout my education, I soon found that problem solving in a majority of classes had a mathematics foundation. Physics, science, finance, etc, all have numerical cores. It occurred to me that if academic problem solving involved logical reasoning via mathematical applications, then so must real-world problem solving. Resources are numbers, their organizational use is their statistics. This realization sparked my passion for mathematics and statistics that I am currently developing today. In order to make a difference in my surroundings by minimizing resource use, it became evident that a pursuit in a mathematics degree was the way to go. My goal is to utilize my numerical skills to minimize resource waste and their management in a world that is lessening in available space and resources and expanding in manufacturing.

Early on in my life, a key principle my parents instilled in raising me was to value any resources I was blessed with; be it food, toys, clothing, or shelter, to take any of these commodities for granted would be disrespectful to the ones who had no access to them. I took these lessons very seriously and have always actively minimized what I used and treasured said resources while they lasted. Unfortunately, as I progressed through school I realized the world did not work that way. Food waste was a visible sight to cringe at in the trash cans, mountains of papers were tossed out every day, students would throw their electronics at walls without a second glance when angry. The ratio of what resources we utilized to what was wasted seemed incredibly unproportionate. To me, this was greatly concerning and unpleasant; resource waste was a problem that was often mentioned, but was never properly dealt with. As a student whose academic career depends solely on solving the various problems teachers throw at me, it was greatly concerning to me that real world problems were dealt with without the same sense of urgency that a student has with a hard deadline. Realizing this, I found that if I could translate my skill for academic problem solving to real-world situations, I could benefit my environment a great deal. However, as a well-rounded student, I did not know what area of problem solving my set of skills specifically should be put to use in because I did not know which particular subject I strived in most. With this in mind, as I continued throughout my education, I soon found that problem solving in a majority of classes had a mathematics foundation. Physics, science, finance, etc, all have numerical cores. It occurred to me that if academic problem solving involved logical reasoning via mathematical applications, then so must real-world problem solving. Resources are numbers, their organizational use is their statistics. This realization sparked my passion for mathematics and statistics that I am currently developing today. In order to make a difference in my surroundings by minimizing resource use, it became evident that a pursuit in a mathematics degree was the way to go. My goal is to utilize my numerical skills to minimize resource waste and their management in a world that is lessening in available space and resources and expanding in manufacturing.

Prior to enrolling in high school, middle school students in my farm-oriented county in rural Kentucky were required to choose a career pathway that would essentially outline their entire high school class schedule to center around said choice, with the exception being the required electives (science, history, English, mathematics, foreign language). During this process, I decided that my career pathway would be agriculture because I assumed it would simply make my high school education a breeze. I was correct; however, by the time my senior year had rolled around and we were pressured to start choosing careers and/or majors fitted to our talents, I realized that I had no actual interest in the pathway I had chosen. Additionally, I had no absolutely no idea what career I could be fitted for as I had spent 4 years living the easy life (only in the agriculture classes). At the time, I had not yet considered mathematics as a possible major as I had not yet understood how the equation-solving I exhibited in class could translate into a career because all I was used to doing was completing assignments. Flashforward sometime later, one of our last units in my senior year Agriscience class was centered on problem-solving by calculating appropriate fertilizer chemical concentrations for a given crop. This was the first time I had ever encountered a difficult task in that classroom, and working to solve it subsequently also brought the most satisfaction from that class as well. Despite high school not giving me a clear view of what I wanted to accomplish in life, it did make way for me to develop numerical skills and a love for problem-solving. Therefore, as I finally sat down and clicked through my college application, I entered the only logical choice that fits my curious self: Mathematics.

Prior to enrolling in high school, middle school students in my farm-oriented county in rural Kentucky were required to choose a career pathway that would essentially outline their entire high school class schedule to center around said choice, with the exception being the required electives (science, history, English, mathematics, foreign language). During this process, I decided that my career pathway would be agriculture because I assumed it would simply make my high school education a breeze. I was correct; however, by the time my senior year had rolled around and we were pressured to start choosing careers and/or majors fitted to our talents, I realized that I had no actual interest in the pathway I had chosen. Additionally, I had no absolutely no idea what career I could be fitted for as I had spent 4 years living the easy life (only in the agriculture classes). At the time, I had not yet considered mathematics as a possible major as I had not yet understood how the equation-solving I exhibited in class could translate into a career because all I was used to doing was completing assignments. Flashforward sometime later, one of our last units in my senior year Agriscience class was centered on problem-solving by calculating appropriate fertilizer chemical concentrations for a given crop. This was the first time I had ever encountered a difficult task in that classroom, and working to solve it subsequently also brought the most satisfaction from that class as well. Despite high school not giving me a clear view of what I wanted to accomplish in life, it did make way for me to develop numerical skills and a love for problem-solving. Therefore, as I finally sat down and clicked through my college application, I entered the only logical choice that fits my curious self: Mathematics.