At the core of any functional society is a strong educational foundation. It is the gasoline that powers the drive for innovation in a young man or young woman. It is the starting point of a person's values which can determine their every move and action. The best thing about education is that a person never grows too old to grow their mind. That is what I love about education; it has the innate ability better someone mentally if they choose to pursue it. Although I have no desire to be a traditional teacher, I am passionate about passing knowledge to the next generation. I've been blessed with amazing teachers and instructors throughout my lifetime. From parents to grade school and high school, there has been a teacher that went above and beyond to not only teach the material but invest useful knowledge into their students. Instead of just reading a book/watching a movie for completion, my high school English teacher would prompt us to dive below the surface and analyze every aspect of the text/film. This habit translated into a life principle that helped me see further than just the look on someone's face or the words out of their mouth; it helped me listen intently and get to the root of an issue. I had many teachers that showed me how effectively their passion for a subject became contagious to the students and helped them learn better. This approach helps me tremendously when I tutor my students and try to keep them engaged. Teaching is more than just explaining math problems or teaching young children how to read. It is a gateway to a person's hidden potential, values, and future. I don't want to only improve a student's grade or help them get high test scores. It's my responsibility to help them differentiate between good and bad, right and wrong. At the end of the day, it profits a student nothing if they can remember a calculus formula but can't see a good association from a bad one. Knowing that my energy is contagious, I can help create a generation of students that understands the importance of learning itself and not just the content. This action will prompt them to be more ambitious, innovative, and proactive about the problems in the world around them. Ultimately, this is how I plan to leave an impact on teaching the next generation.

I’ve never been one to believe in fate, but technology seems to have picked me from birth. My mom always jokes about how she was taking HTML classes while she was pregnant with me, but I think it planted a seed that’s still growing. As a kid, I was always infatuated with computers and all the parts that made them work. As I got older, I gravitated more toward the soul of the devices, otherwise known as the software or operating system. I took my first computer class in 8th grade and from that point on, I know I wanted to be responsible for the operations behind the screen, therefore I pursued a degree in Computer Science (B.S.) at the University of Houston. Along with my passion for technology is a passion to pass knowledge to others. I was always an extraordinary student and made straight A’s in school. Consequently, I started a tutoring business (Start Right Tutoring) at 14, where I helped my peers and other students in the metroplex with subjects they were struggling with. My strongest subject was math, however, I offered services in all subjects from K through my current grade. I saw great success in my business, but COVID forced me to think outside the box and revolutionize my business model. This just so happened to be around the time I was graduating high school. The temporary setback of my business gave birth to an idea that would combine my love for tutoring/education with technology. I plan to use the knowledge I gain in college to create a digital platform that supports my tutoring basis and eventually a massive clientele base. This platform will combine the functionalities of services like Discord, Canva, Google Classroom, Zoom, etc to provide students across the country with a tutoring service that will add to the education they already receive from their public or private institutions. It will help supply tutors at any time to students across the country and provide students with specific help because it will be partnered with whatever school they attend. At least that is the goal, I hope that my knowledge of computer science will help engineer a platform great enough to make a difference in the education world. I feel I’m the best candidate for this scholarship because I have a plan that touches so many lives on not just an educational level, but a personal level as well. One of my favorite quotes is, “You can learn from mentors or mistakes, choose mentors” (Rabbi Ralph Messer). This ideology can start a domino effect of brighter students leading our country to a brighter future. It’s more than just a dollar amount because money is simply a tool. It is how you use the tool to fix the problem at hand. Every problem has a solution, you just have to know where to look; this scholarship is my tool.

Hello, my name is Pierre Ingram. I am a Computer Science major at the University of Houston. I graduated in the top 1% of my high school class with a 3.94 GPA. Although I've had many academic achievements throughout my life, my inspiration started towards the beginning of it. Since I was a toddler, I was always fascinated with the world of technology. From V-Tech to DELL, I couldn't get enough of what the computing world had to offer. As I got older and dove deeper into the world of technology, I first didn't know what my place was in it. There were so many options to choose from, I couldn't quite figure out where my niche was. Fortunately, at the age of 14, I was able to start and operate my own tutoring business to help my peers in their classes. Little did I know, this would develop into an ongoing project that would couple my love for tutoring and technology. In high school, I was able to learn the true impact of STEM and how greatly affects the world no matter where you are. I'm interested in STEM because of how easy it is to institute change and foster innovation in almost any field. STEM is embedded into almost every career path and the advancement of research in this branch can push not just groups of people forward, but the human race as a whole. Whether that be improving medical research, advancements in cybersecurity, or even just collective convenience in everyday life. For me, a STEM degree will not only allow me to gain the knowledge to expand the technological world through innovative software engineering, but it also will profit me the ability to enhance my tutoring business further than just an educational reservoir. I plan to incorporate the knowledge I gain from coding and software development to create a system of my own, specifically for Start Right Tutoring (my business). I do currently have a website and app I created through a WIX server, however, I want to construct an interface of my own. This will allow me to not allow help many students through my private company, but one day build the skills to incorporate my service into public schooling institutions around the country, K-12, and hopefully even college as well. The pandemic truly inspired me to fully invest in raising the value of education in the United States, but you have to plant a seed before the tree can bear its fruit.