My interest in pursuing a degree that blends technology and human behavior didn't start in a high school computer lab; it started at the bottom of an aircraft. A few years ago, I was a college dropout working exhausting shifts cleaning out septic tanks on airplanes. It was hard, isolating manual labor, and it’s easy to lose sight of your potential in a job like that. But it forced me to think deeply about how systems work and how everyday people interact with technology. I realized I wanted to build and secure digital spaces rather than just doing manual labor. I went back to school, put my head down, and graduated cum laude with an associate degree before transferring to Temple University to study Cybersecurity and Human Behavior. After receiving my degree, my dream job is to work as a security analyst or user safety engineer, bridging the gap between technical security and human nature. Most people in computer science focus strictly on firewalls, data points, and code. But the real world runs on human dynamics, and the biggest vulnerabilities—as well as the best solutions—are always human. I’ve already started applying this mindset to real-world software. Recently, I worked as a beta tester on a music software project called Strata, which helps creators track their project and sound stats. My main focus was helping with user safety and reliability during development, ensuring that the software was secure for the everyday people using it. My goal is to do this on a global scale, and I am preparing to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan, next semester to learn how different cultures handle digital privacy and technology. I am the best candidate for this scholarship because I bring a level of grit, resilience, and real-world perspective that you cannot teach in a traditional classroom. I didn't just walk a straight line into higher education; I had to completely outwork my past failures and rewrite my own narrative to get here. This scholarship will directly help me manage the financial hurdles of international tuition and travel for my semester abroad, allowing me to keep my focus entirely on my education instead of stressing over the bills. Winning this award will help me prove that non-traditional backgrounds create the most driven, empathetic, and effective problem-solvers in tech.