Imagine. You are at one of the biggest competitions of your life. Your warm up was just right. One issue arises. It was my turn to step up and compete on floor in the level 10 session at a gymnastics meet in Florida. Not only was I slightly shaky and partially dizzy I was also nervous due to the hefty competition on the floor. I blamed my side effects on the nerves. The judges hand went up, I saluted and made my way to the floor. The music comes on, the crowd starts watching, the performance begins, the blood sugar drops while I'm competing. This scholarship will help me to pursue my dream as an Acrobatic and Tumbler at the University of Oregon. This would help me show kids living with diabetes that you can manage your diabetes and achieve your dreams. I lived with Type 1 Diabetes for 11 years. I competed gymnastics since the age of 8 and I cheered for two years. I practiced up to 20 hours of practice a week and maintained a 4.0 GPA. I major in Physics with a minor in Math. My dream job is to become an Aerospace Engineer.

My passion for STEM has truly been inspired by my outlook on the upcoming future from the use of the structures of aviation. Whether it be the ability to travel to the moon, or the opportunity to fly across the world in the matter of hours, aviation has been a major driving force in my educational pursuits. To further specify, the technological advancements and productions of aircrafts that are suitable for human travel make up a type of technology that I believe will change the world for the better. The incorporation of high efficiency and alternative fuels will further allow us to preserve the earth and allow for new perspectives to grow. Therefore, I have decided to pursue the major Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Oregon, which I will then attain a Master’s degree in Aerospace engineering. While we as humans think of aircrafts solely for the need to go on vacations, or to see family in another state, there are a plethora of opportunities that these aerospace designed products have to offer. This type of technology helps with supporting medical emergencies, providing unique resources from one-of-a-kind locations, and enabling quick responses when tragedy or disasters strike. Additionally, without this technological advancement, many of us would be closed off from the opportunities to not only indulge in new experiences, but to also understand others’ perspectives. With the ability to see parts of the world we only get to imagine or see on social media, we are able to open our eyes and realize the circumstances that others live in, both the good and the bad. Putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes enables us to see the world in a whole new light and decipher ways to make parts of it better one step at a time. Every time I look up in the sky and see either a Boeing 737, or even a Cessna 172, I am inspired to do whatever it takes to help each and every person get a chance to see the world in a different light. As a type 1 diabetic who was told they couldn’t become a commercial pilot, I have made it my mission to still make a career out of the field of aviation. I plan to contribute to making the world a better place by attaining my third-class pilot’s license and a Master’s degree in aerospace engineering. I will then use my expertise towards producing fuel-efficient and cost effective aircrafts to fulfill the objective of promoting perspectives. In turn, I hope to prove how aviation can encourage those to see the world and feel compelled to make the world an even better place.

One technological advancement that has truly inspired my outlook on the upcoming future is focused on the structures of aviation. Whether it be the ability to travel to the moon, or the opportunity to fly across the world in the matter of hours, aviation has been a major driving force in my educational pursuits. To further specify, the technological advancements and productions of aircrafts that are suitable for human travel make up a type of technology that I believe will change the world for the better. While we as humans think of aircrafts solely for the need to go on vacations, or to see family in another state, there are a plethora of opportunities that these aerospace designed products have to offer. This type of technology helps with supporting medical emergencies, providing unique resources from one-of-a-kind locations, and enabling quick responses when tragedy or disasters strike. Additionally, without this technological advancement, many of us would be closed off from the opportunities to not only indulge in new experiences, but to also understand others’ perspectives. With the ability to see parts of the world we only get to imagine or see on social media, we are able to open our eyes and realize the circumstances that others live in, both the good and the bad. Putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes enables us to see the world in a whole new light and decipher ways to make parts of it better one step at a time. Every time I look up in the sky and see either a Boeing 737, or even a Cessna 172, I am inspired to do whatever it takes to help each and every person get a chance to see the world in a different light. As a type 1 diabetic who was told they couldn’t become a commercial pilot, I have made it my mission to still make a career out of the field of aviation. I plan to contribute to making the world a better place by attaining my third-class pilot’s license and a Master’s degree in aerospace engineering. I will then use my expertise towards producing fuel-efficient and cost effective aircrafts to fulfill the objective of promoting perspectives. In turn, I hope to prove how aviation can encourage those to see the world and feel compelled to make the world an even better place.

One technological advancement that has truly inspired my outlook on the upcoming future is focused on the structures of aviation. Whether it be the ability to travel to the moon, or the opportunity to fly across the world in the matter of hours, aviation has been a major driving force in my educational pursuits. To further specify, the technological advancements and productions of aircrafts that are suitable for human travel make up a type of technology that I believe will change the world for the better. While we as humans think of aircrafts solely for the need to go on vacations, or to see family in another state, there are a plethora of opportunities that these aerospace designed products have to offer. This type of technology helps with supporting medical emergencies, providing unique resources from one-of-a-kind locations, and enabling quick responses when tragedy or disasters strike. Additionally, without this technological advancement, many of us would be closed off from the opportunities to not only indulge in new experiences, but to also understand others’ perspectives. With the ability to see parts of the world we only get to imagine or see on social media, we are able to open our eyes and realize the circumstances that others live in, both the good and the bad. Putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes enables us to see the world in a whole new light and decipher ways to make parts of it better one step at a time. Every time I look up in the sky and see either a Boeing 737, or even a Cessna 172, I am inspired to do whatever it takes to help each and every person get a chance to see the world in a different light. As a type 1 diabetic who was told they couldn’t become a commercial pilot, I have made it my mission to still make a career out of the field of aviation. I plan to contribute to making the world a better place by attaining my third-class pilot’s license and a Master’s degree in aerospace engineering. I will then use my expertise towards producing fuel-efficient and cost effective aircrafts to fulfill the objective of promoting perspectives. In turn, I hope to prove how aviation can encourage those to see the world and feel compelled to make the world an even better place.

Imagine. You are at one of the biggest competitions of your life. This competition plays a major part in your future, so you make sure you're in your zone. Your warm up was just right. One issue arises. It was my turn to step up and compete on floor in the level 10 session at a gymnastics meet in Florida. Not only was I slightly shaky and partially dizzy I was also nervous due to the hefty competition on the floor. I blamed my side effects on the nerves. The judges hand went up, I saluted and made my way to the floor. The music comes on, the crowd starts watching, the performance begins, the blood sugar drops. Yes, my blood sugar, due to my Type 1 Diabetes, has what I call a "perfect timing moment" where it wants to sky rocket or drop while I'm competing. I always need to be aware of how I am feeling and what my number is at. I should have realized that the "nerves" that were making me dizzy and shaky was related to my glucose. I started my routine and my first and second pass went well. The last thirty seconds of my routine, didn't go as planned. I did my choreography before I transitioned to the next corner, then everyone begin to see the aftermath of a low blood sugar. I began losing focus and doing a completely different dance than the choreography I practiced. Once I got to the corner, I just stood there. What may have looked like 5 seconds felt like forever. I was contemplating whether to continue or just stop. I followed my coach's directions and saluted to prevent anything dangerous to happen. I ended up finishing strong on beam and will remember this moment forever.

New Year, New Me! I'm Nicole Jackson and I'm claiming 2022 as my year! I have put in a lot of hard work in school, work and in my sport. I'm enjoying see the fruits of my labor come together. I've spent the last 18 years watching my dreams develop and now come true. This is the year that I graduate and start a new path as an Oregon Duck! I'm beyond excited to see the amazing things that are in store for me! While I'm a little nervous, I'm embracing each opportunity as they come! Here's to 2022!

One characteristic that has not only defined me but has also shaped the courses of my life would be greatly related to my outside appearance. When it comes to first impressions, this attribute prompts judgement, low expectations, and plenty more. Furthermore, this characteristic stems from ones' skin complexion, or better knownas race. As a member of the African American or Black community, I have endured many of the stereotypical bondages that come with this distinction. To put the racial disparity further into perspective, I have had to prove my intelligence or knowledge a substantial amount of times within both my childhood and high school years. Additionally, in moments when my accomplishments and activities would be expressed, many would rather focus on the fact that it's "way too much to handle" rather than just giving a simple congratulations. While my race has led to some displeasing interactions, it has also allowed for many opportunities and memorable experiences. Additionally, being a part of this community has guided me to be more involved with learning historical and cultural aspects. A prime example was being able to provide for those that were underprivileged through HOSE Feed the Hungry, an African-American ran organization. This act of helping those in need taught me the importance of helping others that don't get the same privileges' that I do. Therefore, it has broaden my scope of why we should help others, and it has made me more aware of how to live life selflessly and generously.

I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at the age of 9. I wasn’t sure what that was going to mean as far as my gymnastics career was concerned. However, I was surrounded with a great support system and I was able to regain my muscle mass and strength to press forward. It didn’t come without challenges. There were a lot of up and downs in the process. Today, I’m a level 10 gymnast. That’s the highest level available. There were a lot of technology advances that have helped me manage my diabetes. I have a continuous glucose monitor that lets me know when my levels are high or low. This helps me not to miss so much time during practice or at the meets. As a result, I have had more consistent practices and I was the GA state floor champion for my division. Going forward, I have accepted a position on the University of Oregon’s Acrobatics and Tumbling team. This was one of my ultimate goals to compete on a division 1 athletic team. At one point, I didn’t know if that was going to be an option. But with the will to persevere and work hard anything is possible even with a diagnosis that doesn’t look favorable.

I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at the age of 9. I wasn’t sure what that was going to mean as far as my gymnastics career was concerned. However, I was surrounded with a great support system and I was able to regain my muscle mass and strength to press forward. It didn’t come without challenges. There were a lot of up and downs in the process. Today, I’m a level 10 gymnast. That’s the highest level available. There were a lot of technology advances that have helped me manage my diabetes. I have a continuous glucose monitor that lets me know when my levels are high or low. This helps me not to miss so much time during practice or at the meets. As a result, I have had more consistent practices and I was the GA state floor champion for my division. Going forward, I have accepted a position on the University of Oregon’s Acrobatics and Tumbling team. This was one of my ultimate goals to compete on a division 1 athletic team. At one point, I didn’t know if that was going to be an option. But with the will to persevere and work hard anything is possible even with a diagnosis that doesn’t look favorable.

My name is Nicole Jackson and I am an avid student of facts and figures! I have always been intrigued with learning new things. I often learn details like PI to the fiftieth digit! As a child, I would ask for any type of toy that would require me to build something. I loved Legos, robots and anything with electricity or chemistry. I joined the Lego Robotics team at my school to continue my passion of building. Now, I’m taking a Teachers As A Profession course in school and I am truly enjoying having the opportunity to help younger kids learn new ways of understanding facts and figures. I have enjoyed creating games for my first and third grade classes that help them to understand Science and Social Studies. It’s so much fun to see their faces when they realized they know the answer to questions they previous told me they didn’t have a clue about. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference. As I grew older, I started researching more ways to be sustainable. I’ve researched green companies and invested in them as well. I want to make a difference for our future. I decided that I wanted to study aerospace engineering in college. In preparation of my transition to college, I enrolled in a Flight Operations class. In this class, I’m learning about meteorology the science of flying an aircraft and maintaining the planes. This is my favorite class. It’s my first class of the day, and I don’t mind getting up for it! My goal is to design a green plane. I love to travels and I hope by designing a more eco friendly plane, I will be able to make a difference in future generations. I’m also hoping that I can continue to work with the youth and introduce them to more sustainable processes that will protect our planet.

My name is Nicole Jackson and I am an avid student of facts and figures! I have always been intrigued with learning new things. I often learn details like PI to the fiftieth digit! As a child, I would ask for any type of toy that would require me to build something. I loved Legos, robots and anything with electricity or chemistry. I joined the Lego Robotics team at my school to continue my passion of building. Now, I’m taking a Teachers As A Profession course in school and I am truly enjoying having the opportunity to help younger kids learn new ways of understanding facts and figures. I have enjoyed creating games for my first and third grade classes that help them to understand Science and Social Studies. It’s so much fun to see their faces when they realized they know the answer to questions they previous told me they didn’t have a clue about. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference. As I grew older, I started researching more ways to be sustainable. I’ve researched green companies and invested in them as well. I want to make a difference for our future. I decided that I wanted to study aerospace engineering in college. In preparation of my transition to college, I enrolled in a Flight Operations class. In this class, I’m learning about meteorology the science of flying an aircraft and maintaining the planes. This is my favorite class. It’s my first class of the day, and I don’t mind getting up for it! My goal is to design a green plane. I love to travels and I hope by designing a more eco friendly plane, I will be able to make a difference in future generations. I’m also hoping that I can continue to work with the youth and introduce them to more sustainable processes that will protect our planet.

My name is Nicole Jackson and I am an avid student of facts and figures! I have always been intrigued with learning new things. I often learn details like PI to the fiftieth digit! As a child, I would ask for any type of toy that would require me to build something. I loved Legos, robots and anything with electricity or chemistry. I joined the Lego Robotics team at my school to continue my passion of building. Now, I’m taking a Teachers As A Profession course in school and I am truly enjoying having the opportunity to help younger kids learn new ways of understanding facts and figures. I have enjoyed creating games for my first and third grade classes that help them to understand Science and Social Studies. It’s so much fun to see their faces when they realized they know the answer to questions they previous told me they didn’t have a clue about. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference. As I grew older, I started researching more ways to be sustainable. I’ve researched green companies and invested in them as well. I want to make a difference for our future. I decided that I wanted to study aerospace engineering in college. In preparation of my transition to college, I enrolled in a Flight Operations class. In this class, I’m learning about meteorology the science of flying an aircraft and maintaining the planes. This is my favorite class. It’s my first class of the day, and I don’t mind getting up for it! My goal is to design a green plane. I love to travels and I hope by designing a more eco friendly plane, I will be able to make a difference in future generations. I’m also hoping that I can continue to work with the youth and introduce them to more sustainable processes that will protect our planet. I would say the only obstacle that I have is that I’m type 1 diabetic so I’m unable to fly a plane for a commercial company. But, it does not stop me from building the plane and owning the company! I want to use that as my motivation and not look at it as a disappointment.

My name is Nicole Jackson and I am an avid student of facts and figures! I have always been intrigued with learning new things. I often learn details like PI to the fiftieth digit! As a child, I would ask for any type of toy that would require me to build something. I loved Legos, robots and anything with electricity or chemistry. I joined the Lego Robotics team at my school to continue my passion of building. Now, I’m taking a Teachers As A Profession course in school and I am truly enjoying having the opportunity to help younger kids learn new ways of understanding facts and figures. I have enjoyed creating games for my first and third grade classes that help them to understand Science and Social Studies. It’s so much fun to see their faces when they realized they know the answer to questions they previous told me they didn’t have a clue about. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference. As I grew older, I started researching more ways to be sustainable. I’ve researched green companies and invested in them as well. I want to make a difference for our future. I decided that I wanted to study aerospace engineering in college. In preparation of my transition to college, I enrolled in a Flight Operations class. In this class, I’m learning about meteorology the science of flying an aircraft and maintaining the planes. This is my favorite class. It’s my first class of the day, and I don’t mind getting up for it! My goal is to design a green plane. I love to travels and I hope by designing a more eco friendly plane, I will be able to make a difference in future generations. I’m also hoping that I can continue to work with the youth and introduce them to more sustainable processes that will protect our planet.

My name is Nicole Jackson and I am an avid student of facts and figures! I have always been intrigued with learning new things. I often learn details like PI to the fiftieth digit! As a child, I would ask for any type of toy that would require me to build something. I loved Legos, robots and anything with electricity or chemistry. I joined the Lego Robotics team at my school to continue my passion of building. Now, I’m taking a Teachers As A Profession course in school and I am truly enjoying having the opportunity to help younger kids learn new ways of understanding facts and figures. I have enjoyed creating games for my first and third grade classes that help them to understand Science and Social Studies. It’s so much fun to see their faces when they realized they know the answer to questions they previous told me they didn’t have a clue about. It makes me feel like I’m making a difference. As I grew older, I started researching more ways to be sustainable. I’ve researched green companies and invested in them as well. I want to make a difference for our future. I decided that I wanted to study aerospace engineering in college. In preparation of my transition to college, I enrolled in a Flight Operations class. In this class, I’m learning about meteorology the science of flying an aircraft and maintaining the planes. This is my favorite class. It’s my first class of the day, and I don’t mind getting up for it! My goal is to design a green plane. I love to travels and I hope by designing a more eco friendly plane, I will be able to make a difference in future generations. I’m also hoping that I can continue to work with the youth and introduce them to more sustainable processes that will protect our planet.

Many see math as just another subject they have to suffer through, however, I perceive it as the main structure of my life. Overdramatic may seem to be an understatement, but in truth, math guides me inside and outside the classroom. I, Nicole Jackson, aspire to be an aerospace engineer, so math is a significant piece for my future. In addition, my need for sustainability stems from the fact that I am a type 1 diabetic. My aspirations for the future and this inevitable life lesson (from my diabetes) have developed both basic and advanced math skills that have shaped my understanding of the world. With the objective of pursuing aviation, a key source of my knowledge accrues from mathematics. I credit my further comprehension of how things work to the courses I will or have been involved in. I have previously gone from the basics of arithmetic functions to now completing AP calculus BC. Not only have I learned how to integrate functions and other principles within calculus, I’ve also determined that this is applicable to other forms of life. To put into perspective, when I think of calculus, it can be directly related to physics, which of course also uses math. Accordingly, physics and calculus intertwine in engineering, and it helps us determine why and how things do what they do. A persistent example is sports, and specifically gymnastics; as a gymnast, I’ve viewed the sport in a much different perspective once taking advanced math. A resulting factor of this is that I’ve been able to apply calculus with AP physics and decipher what will give me the most power in my vault. From an outsider's viewpoint, my progress may seem to come from greater strength. To concur, I am able to use the mathematical ideas behind velocity and direction to thrive on that event. Although this was sports related, this knowledge is also utilized in many aspects of the world and everyday life, such as in aviation or simply when driving a car. While math in physics aids in comprehending how a variety of things work within our lives, it also aids in the realization of how significant the basics are. I was diagnosed with diabetes on the date, 12/12/12. As ironic as that may seem, it was also the day that math was in control of my life. When I say math, I am not referencing the complicated tactics within calculus; I am more focused on the significance of numbers and basic functions. Furthermore, my diabetes has taught me the importance of arithmetic principles that you would learn in elementary school. For example, when I must take insulin for meals, I need to use ratios for my blood sugar and division for specific carb counts. Additionally, all parts of diabetes are related to numbers: A1C, blood sugar, insulin, and carbs. While this may not relate to others as much, there are other points where numbers and simple math are necessary, such as a healthy heart rate. This idea identifies that basic math may seem insignificant, but in actuality it serves a sufficient personal purpose within everyone’s life. Math can be deemed both difficult and simple. However, the adversity and ease that comes with it has developed my understanding of concepts that allow the world to work like it does. By connecting mathematics to physics and diabetes, I’ve developed a different scope on the world. Furthermore, this subject has aided my understanding of physics related cause and effect situations in real time, and it has built my perception of a thriving life through simple functions and numbers.