One of the times I delighted others with my tinkering skills was when I helped a friend bring an old laptop back to life. He thought it was useless, slow, and beyond repair. I took it as a challenge. I spent hours working on it, reinstalling the system, cleaning out corrupted files, and experimenting until it finally booted up the way it was supposed to. When he saw all his old pictures and documents restored, the look on his face made all the effort worth it. It was not just about fixing a computer. It was about giving him back something he thought was gone forever. That moment felt special because of where I come from. Growing up in a low-income immigrant family, I rarely had access to new things. If something broke, we could not replace it. I had to figure out how to fix it myself, even if it meant trial and error. That kind of tinkering started as survival. I did not see it as a skill at the time, just something I had to do. But over the years, I realized it was also teaching me persistence and patience. My childhood was not easy. I did not grow up with a lot of guidance or stability, and I often felt like I had to raise myself. That came with its own share of trauma. There were times where I felt completely misunderstood and alone. But when I had something to work on, whether it was repairing an old device or trying to make sense of something broken, I felt like I had control. Tinkering gave me small wins that reminded me I was capable. College tested that belief. At first, I failed classes and made mistakes that dropped my GPA lower than I ever expected. For a while I thought I had ruined my future. It was painful to feel judged as lazy or careless when in reality I was trying to balance survival, school, and work without a roadmap. But just like with every broken system I had ever worked on, I refused to give up. I learned how to rebuild. Over the past year I have been working full time while carrying eighteen credits back to back. It has been exhausting, but I have managed to turn my GPA around and prove to myself that I am stronger than my setbacks. Tinkering mirrors my life. Things fall apart, sometimes beyond what feels fixable. But with persistence, creativity, and resilience, it is possible to bring them back to life. Helping others through that process, whether it is a friend with a broken laptop or coworkers stuck on a project, brings me joy because I know what it feels like to lose hope. When I can give that hope back, it reminds me of how far I have come. Today I am proud of where I am. I am no longer defined by the struggles of my childhood or the mistakes I made starting out. Instead, I am defined by my ability to rebuild, to adapt, and to keep moving forward. Delighting others with my tinkering is about more than fixing things. It is about showing that even when life feels broken, it can be repaired. That is the lesson I carry with me every day.

One of the first times I realized that my tinkering skills could make a real impact was when I helped a friend recover access to his old computer. It was an older laptop that barely ran, and he thought it was completely useless. He had pictures, documents, and personal files stored on it that he thought were lost forever. For me, it became a challenge. I spent hours figuring out how to bypass corrupted settings, clean out unnecessary files, and breathe life back into a system everyone else had given up on. At first it was just curiosity. I wanted to see if I could fix it. But as I dug deeper, reinstalling operating systems, troubleshooting hardware issues, and even recovering lost passwords, I realized how much I enjoyed the process of taking something broken and making it useful again. The look on his face when the laptop finally booted up, with all his old files intact, reminded me why I loved technology. It was not just about the technical achievement. It was about helping someone else and making them feel like their memories and hard work mattered. Since then, I have had other moments like that. At my job in data processing, I often get handed projects that others are stuck on. Sometimes files arrive corrupted, code breaks mid-process, or data formats do not match. Instead of panicking, I get excited. I like picking apart the problem, testing solutions, and tinkering with different approaches until everything works. Coworkers will say things like “I have no idea how you fixed that,” and for me that is the best compliment. It shows me that the time I spend learning and experimenting pays off in ways that directly help the people around me. A specific project that stands out was when I created a step-by-step process for cleaning large mailing files. Before, the team would spend hours manually fixing issues, and errors still slipped through. I tinkered with the workflow until I found a way to automate parts of it and make the whole process faster. My manager and teammates were not only relieved, they were impressed that someone my age was able to create a system that made their jobs easier. That moment showed me that tinkering is not just fun, it is valuable. Working in technology inspires me because there is always something new to try. Hacking and tinkering are not about being destructive, they are about curiosity and problem solving. They remind me that there is no single right way to approach a challenge. Every broken laptop, corrupted file, or confusing system is just another puzzle waiting to be solved. And when I solve it, I get to share that joy with others. Delighting others with my tinkering skills has shown me that I want a career where I can keep doing that on a larger scale. In cybersecurity, that might mean protecting organizations from attacks or helping recover from breaches. In data work, it might mean finding new ways to streamline processes and keep information safe. Either way, it comes back to the same feeling I had when I restored that old laptop: the ability to make someone’s life easier and prove that what seemed impossible can actually be done. That is the part of technology that excites me most. It is not just about the machines, the codes, or the networks. It is about using those skills to surprise people, give them relief, and show them possibilities they did not think existed. That is what I want to keep doing for the rest of my career.

One project that I am especially proud of came from my work in data processing at a commercial printing and marketing company. At first the role seemed like routine tasks with spreadsheets and files, but once I was given full responsibility for client data, I realized how critical the work actually was. These were mailing lists with thousands of names and addresses tied to sensitive information, and the accuracy of every record mattered. A single mistake could cause a campaign to fail or put personal information at risk. That responsibility pushed me to step up and become someone my team could rely on. There were many nights where I stayed late learning new tools and troubleshooting problems on my own. Some files came in corrupted or inconsistent, and I had to figure out how to repair them quickly while still meeting tight deadlines. Instead of just following instructions, I took initiative to create step by step methods to clean data more efficiently. Over time I became the go-to person for fixing errors and ensuring that jobs moved smoothly into production. What made me passionate about this project was that I was not just doing school assignments anymore. I was applying what I had learned in technology classes to real situations where clients depended on me to get it right. That same drive carried over to my academic work at Old Dominion University. In my networking and cybersecurity courses I have worked on projects like designing network diagrams for schools and performing password cracking labs in Linux environments. These experiences challenged me to think about how systems are designed and where vulnerabilities can appear. They also connected directly to the work I was doing on the job, where security and precision had to come first. Balancing a full-time workload with 18 credit semesters back to back was exhausting, but I learned that I thrive when I am under pressure. Each project gave me another chance to prove to myself that I could push through. Working in technology inspires me because it is never static. There is always something new to learn, a new tool to master, or a new threat to defend against. In data processing I saw how quickly problems could escalate if someone did not take the time to check every detail. In my cybersecurity projects I saw how much trust is placed in professionals to keep systems secure. That combination of responsibility and constant growth motivates me. It shows me that I chose the right path because technology rewards resilience, persistence, and creativity. This project and the lessons that came with it shaped how I see my future. I am not just looking for a career that pays the bills. I want work that feels meaningful and challenges me to stay sharp. Cybersecurity gives me that. It lets me build a life that is stable for myself and my family, while also giving me the chance to protect others in an increasingly digital world. Looking back, I can say that project taught me more than technical skills. It taught me discipline, accountability, and confidence in my ability to adapt. Those values came directly from the struggles of balancing full-time work and heavy course loads. Today, they are the same values that drive my long-term goals. I want to keep learning, keep improving, and keep using technology as a way to create stability and impact in my life and in the lives of others.

Growing up in a low income immigrant family has shaped the way I see the world and the way I approach every challenge. My parents fled Laos after the war, and when they came to the U.S., they did not have much. We lived paycheck to paycheck, and most of what I knew about money came from watching my parents stretch every dollar just to make sure we had food on the table. I did not grow up with tutors, college counselors, or extra support. Instead, I learned early that if I wanted something, whether it was new clothes, a working laptop, or even a chance at college, I had to work for it myself. That mindset followed me into school, but college hit harder than I expected. At first, I struggled balancing academics with everything else in my life. I made mistakes and even failed a couple of classes. My GPA dropped in a way that felt like a permanent mark, and for a while I thought I had ruined my chances at building a better future. It was discouraging to be labeled as irresponsible or unmotivated when in reality, I was just trying to juggle school, work, and family responsibilities without any kind of blueprint. But I refused to let that be the end of my story. I had to make a comeback. Over the past year, I have been grinding harder than ever, working full time while also carrying 18 credits back to back semesters. It has not been easy. There are nights where I come home from work exhausted, only to stay up until 2 a.m. studying or finishing assignments. My weekends are not for relaxing, they are for catching up on projects and getting ahead before the next wave of deadlines. Still, I have managed to turn my academics around. My GPA has been climbing, and I am pushing toward graduating with honors. For someone who once thought they might not even make it through, that turnaround means everything. What keeps me going is the bigger picture. I am not just doing this degree for myself. I am doing it for my parents who sacrificed everything, for my siblings who showed me what responsibility looks like, and for the younger version of me who did not believe he was capable. I know what it feels like to have people doubt you, to have to prove yourself twice as hard, and to fight through setbacks. Those struggles taught me resilience, and resilience is now one of my strongest values. My background has also influenced my goals for the future. I am majoring in cybersecurity because I see it as a way to build stability while doing meaningful work. Technology touches everything, and protecting people’s data and privacy feels like an important way to contribute. Long term, I want to be able to give back, to help other first-generation students who feel lost the way I once did, and to show them that setbacks do not define you. Growing up low income gave me grit. Struggling in school taught me persistence. Working full time while taking heavy credit loads showed me discipline. All of those experiences together have made me who I am today: someone who refuses to quit, even when the odds are not in his favor.