My lifelong goal has been to find a career I can be proud of while doing everything I can to enjoy the journey. To achieve this goal, I hope to earn a degree in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University. I plan to participate in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps during that time and serve in the United States Air Force as an Engineering Officer. After my military service, I dream of returning to North Carolina and giving back to the community I grew up in, including working as a school STEM teacher. Coming from a low-income family of seven, this scholarship would help ease the financial burden of these goals. Currently, I am an active part of my community as a lifeguard at my local aquatic center and referee for youth sports at my town's recreation center. Through my high school programs, I expect to complete 60+ hours of community service during my senior year. Additionally, on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, I volunteer with Soul Good at my local church, managing stock and delivering food throughout the county to those in need. I find these roles rewarding, and I love the nostalgia of officiating and lifeguarding on the same fields and at the same pool where I played years ago. When I was little, I would often hit golf balls with my grandpa in his backyard, and although I loved it back then, I never truly got into the sport until I had ACL reconstruction surgery in the summer of 2023. After months of physical therapy and looking for any way to get outside, golf was the first sport I could physically participate in. It took just one round with my grandpa's old clubs before I started saving money by officiating Little League games to fill my first golf bag with my own clubs. I even began taking frequent hikes through the woods surrounding my local course to find balls so I could head to the range and get in as much practice as possible. Ever since that golf-obsessed summer, I have sought every chance to practice and play with friends and family. Now I'm looking forward to the start of my second varsity golf season, and I'm excited for what it will bring. Starting as my only option after surgery, golf has now become my first choice as a sport and hobby. This shift in perspective has led me to approach new opportunities more openly, especially when they aren't my first choice. The most important way golf has impacted me, though, has been through relationships. I find it easy to grow relationships with friends and family by playing a round of golf together. Most notably, golf helped me reconnect with my grandpa and enjoy quality time with him before he moved back to his home country of Northern Ireland in late 2024. I will be forever thankful for what golf has done for my relationships and the opportunities it has given me.

My name is Riley. I am the youngest of five boys and grew up in a family of seven. I'm from North Carolina, and ever since I was in the second grade, I've wanted to study engineering at NC State. Though my interest in robots was the reason I initially came up with this goal, now my focus is more on the aeronautical side of engineering. I've had this goal my entire life, and I've worked hard to reach it by receiveing As in advanced placement, honors, and accelerated math and science classes. I've also been committed to learning more about this objective outside of the classroom. The neighborhood where I was raised has been wonderful and hospitable. I like returning the favor to the community by volunteering at church events and working for our town recreation department. In the sixth grade, I started playing golf. My grandad sparked this passion and provided me with an opportunity to spend time with him. Over time, this fascination developed into something I did not only with my grandad but also with my brothers and, more recently, friends. Although I had knee surgery in the eighth grade, which kept me out of the sport for more than a year until I healed, I recently learned about Youth On Course, a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide youth with inexpensive golf opportunities, and as a result, I've been playing the game more frequently and enjoying it more thoroughly than ever before. I'm able to spend more time and get closer to my friends and family almost every day. Now I'm playing on my high school varsity golf team, pursuing my love for the game.

Why I Love Math My draw to math started very young, all the way back to when I was starting school in 1st and 2nd grade. I believe that math appealed to me at first because I was good at it. It made sense to me. Unlike subjects like English, where I would have spent hours of thinking, writing, and rewriting, I didn't have to do that with math; it just made sense, and after one simple lesson I could cruise through problems. As I got older, this love for math never seemed to die off. I just wanted to continue in my learning of the subject and continue into more and more difficult topics of math. I wanted to continue challenging myself and learning. Whenever I got home from school in elementary school, I would sit down at the dining room table with my mom and continue to progress into more difficult topics of math. Now I am a sophomore in high school, and I continue to love the subject, not just because I'm good at it but because it's rewarding and enjoyable.. I am currently a member of our school math club and have competed in multiple competitions. Right now I'm enrolled in AP Precalculus, and it's without a doubt my favorite part of the day that I look forward to each morning. I intend to study AP Calculus and AP Statistics next semester before transferring to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics for my junior and senior years of high school to further my knowledge of the topic. I have a strong desire to work in mathematics and hope to do so by applying my problem-solving abilities to the workplace eventually. Right now, the goal is to graduate from NC State with a degree in aerospace engineering.