My community is composed of those in and around my life, more specifically my family and friends. My deceased grandmother who led her disability focused company, ICS, and helped make a change in the world from the seat of her wheelchair was and still is a driving influence behind my motivations. And since she was a part of my community I plan to give back to her community, the disabled community. But she isn’t the only influence in my community. So is my uncle in Africa who still managed to become a proud engineer with a PHD despite his disability and reliance on a prosthetic. And he too is a part of my community. They and countless others in my family and around me have greatly influenced my decisions, career path, and how I plan to give back to my community. Like my grandmother I plan to help the disabled community. And watching how my uncle has managed to get his PHD despite having a disability, has shown me that being disabled doesn’t mean you’re unable. So rather than simply offering help, I want to offer a way for someone to stand on their own and fight for whatever they want on fair terms with any other able-bodied person. I want to give back to my community by helping others help themselves. And similar to my uncle I wanna do it as an engineer, more specifically I want to innovate, develop, and create prosthetic limbs by first getting my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, then getting my masters in bioengineering. Even now, as an undergraduate college student, I still try to actively contribute to the disabled community. For example, I was a participant in a club project to apply engineering principles to modify a wheelchair to be more transportable and compact, and I was also a part of an engineering project to build and design a baby incubator. Even right now, my club Engineering World Health, is working on engineering a solution to aid hospitals in Haiti, with protective measures for medical equipment such as oxygen tanks. Although I do and plan to help the disabled community, I also plan to help the black community. Having African parents, black friends, and being African American myself I definitely feel I should give back to the black community. Which is one of the reasons I joined the Alpha Achievers association in High School. The Alpha Achievers are an association of young black men dedicated to promoting black excellence and providing good role models for the younger black generation which includes my younger brother. While being an Alpha Achiever I’ve been able to not only promote black excellence through maintaining excellent grades but also through community service allowing me to reach out into other communities. While being an Alpha Achiever I was able to combine giving back to the black community with giving back to the disabled community when I volunteered to help with an Alzheimer’s Association marathon walk.

My passion for STEM is deeply rooted in the influential individuals who have shaped my life, particularly my deceased grandmother and uncle. My grandmother's leadership in a disability-focused company, where she championed innovations to enhance the lives of disabled individuals, continues to inspire me. Similarly, my uncle's journey of overcoming disability to earn a Ph.D. in engineering serves as a testament to perseverance and resilience. Witnessing their accomplishments has fueled my determination to make a difference and demonstrate that black excellence is achievable. Growing up, I've been fascinated by understanding how things work and solving problems. Seeing my uncle detach his prosthetic leg and witnessing my grandmother's reliance on a wheelchair deeply impacted me. Lacking the skills and finances to help them directly, I was driven to pursue a career in STEM to build them a better world experience. In the STEM field, I’ve noticed a lack of diversity in both people and ideas. I view diversity not as a challenge, but as an opportunity to contribute unique perspectives to solving complex issues. As a person of color, I am passionate about fostering diversity and representation in STEM. Inspired by my upbringing and the need for greater inclusivity, I'm committed to becoming a role model for younger generations of black children. I want to empower them to pursue STEM careers by showcasing that it's both achievable and empowering. In the long term, I aspire to achieve freedom in all senses of the word—financial, spiritual, and personal. I plan to accomplish this through a career in STEM. I envision a future where my bills are on autopay, and my biggest concern is deciding how I want to spend my day. I want to take care of my family and start building generational wealth in a black family, creating a legacy of empowerment and opportunity for future generations. In the short term, I plan to demonstrate black excellence by making my family and everyone who has supported me proud by earning my bachelor's degree. I want to be a role model for my younger brother, showing him what's possible. I aim to build a stable career, assuring my parents that they no longer have to worry about me. As a person of color, one of the biggest obstacles to my goals is the lack of diversity in STEM, but that will not stop me. I aim to reach a point where color isn’t a barrier but a cultural benefit in the scope of ideas we bring to projects. Currently, the largest obstacle is financial. Splitting my time between work and school has been challenging and has limited my ability to fully focus on my studies and seize opportunities for internships and co-ops. This scholarship will significantly alleviate the financial burden associated with pursuing my STEM education, allowing me to focus on my studies and pursue opportunities for growth, rather than working through the summer. It will provide the resources necessary to set me up for a successful career post-graduation. If I can solve my financial challenges, I won't let the lack of diversity in STEM stop me; instead, I'll use it as motivation. An investment in my education is not just financial support; it is a commitment to fostering diversity, innovation, and positive change in the STEM field and beyond.

My interest and passion for STEM are deeply rooted in the influential individuals who have shaped my life. From my deceased grandmother, who led a disability-focused company, to my uncle in Africa who overcame his disability to earn a Ph.D. in engineering, these figures have greatly influenced my decisions and career path. My grandmother's legacy of leadership in her disability-focused company, ICS, where she championed innovations to improve the lives of disabled individuals, continues to inspire me. Similarly, my uncle's remarkable journey, from facing the challenges of disability to achieving academic excellence and earning a Ph.D. in engineering, serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and resilience through diversity. Witnessing their accomplishments has fueled my determination to make a difference in the world and to show that black excellence is achievable. Growing up, I've always been fascinated by understanding how things work and solving problems. As a child, I would see my uncle detach his prosthetic leg and clean it. “That was awesome!”, I would think, the image replaying in my head dozens of times. So when I would see my grandmother in her wheelchair, the thought of prosthetics for her seemed just right. That's when I ran into a problem. I didn't have the skills or finances required to accomplish that. Being there and witnessing my uncle's experience with prosthetics and my grandmother's reliance on a wheelchair set me on the path to a career in STEM, where I see diversity not as a daunting challenge, but as an exciting puzzle waiting to be solved. I believe that by mastering the fundamentals of math, science, and engineering, I can create innovative solutions that have a positive impact on people's lives. As a person of color, I am deeply passionate about fostering diversity and representation in the STEM field. My upbringing has instilled in me a love for connecting with people and learning about different cultures, yet I've noticed the lack of diversity in STEM. Inspired by my upbringing and the need for greater diversity, I am committed to becoming a role model for younger generations of black children, like my younger brother. I want to show them that pursuing a career in STEM is not only achievable but also empowering. By breaking down barriers and paving the way for others in my community, I hope to inspire future generations of diverse STEM professionals. Moreover, my personal connection to the disabled community further drives my passion for engineering. Witnessing my uncle's experience with prosthetics and my grandmother's reliance on a wheelchair ignited my desire to make a meaningful impact through engineering. While I may not have had the skills or resources to help them directly, I am determined to use my education to develop innovative solutions that improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.

My interest and passion for STEM are derived from the influential cocktail of people in my past. First, there's my deceased grandmother who led her disability-focused company, ICS, while helping to make a change in the disabled world from the seat of her wheelchair. She was and still is a driving influence behind my motivations. Then there's my uncle in Africa who still managed to become a proud engineer with a Ph.D. despite his disability and reliance on a prosthetic. I also consider my younger brother who looks up to me for guidance and any other young black men who look up to me as a role model as part of the influential community of people in my past. They and countless others in my family and around me have greatly influenced my decisions, career path, and how I plan to give back to my community. I’ve always had an interest in understanding things and people. Between the two I chose the option that would allow me to reach both my career goals and financial goals, understanding things. Math sucks, but that's only when you don't understand it. Once you understand the fundamentals most problems become puzzles that are fun to solve. Being able to produce something that can change a person's life just seems so amazing to me, thus I combined all these individual passions to create one goal: using math to solve problems by creating new things to help the most people. Because the majority of the community of influential people in my past have relations to the disabled community it only seemed fitting to give back to that community. As a child, I would see my uncle detach his prosthetic leg and clean it. “That was awesome!”. Repeated in my head dozens of times. So when I would see my grandmother in her wheelchair the thought of prosthetics for her seemed just right. That's when I ran into a problem. I didn't have the skills or finance required to accomplish that. So my only solution was to go to college and get them. Although it may be too late to help my grandmother, through engineering I hope to leave lasting impacts in the lives of all those whose innovations in the field of prosthetic limbs would go on to help. By becoming a mechanical engineer, then going on to obtain my masters in bioengineering, I would not only be able to give back to all the communities that have helped shape me growing up, but I would also be able to leave lasting impacts on those around me and even some of those I may never meet.

My interest and passion for STEM are derived from the influential cocktail of people in my past. First, there's my deceased grandmother who led her disability-focused company, ICS, while helping to make a change in the disabled world from the seat of her wheelchair. She was and still is a driving influence behind my motivations. Then there's my uncle in Africa who still managed to become a proud engineer with a Ph.D. despite his disability and reliance on a prosthetic. I also consider my younger brother who looks up to me for guidance and any other young black men who look up to me as a role model as part of the influential community of people in my past. They and countless others in my family and around me have greatly influenced my decisions, career path, and how I plan to give back to my community. I’ve always had an interest in understanding things and people. Between the two I chose the option that would allow me to reach both my career goals and financial goals, understanding things. Math sucks, but that's only when you don't understand it. Once you gain a basic knowledge of the fundamentals most problems become puzzles that are fun to solve. Being able to produce something that can change a person's life just seems so amazing to me, thus I combined all these individual passions to create one goal: using math to solve problems by creating new things to help the most people. Because the majority of the community of influential people in my past have relations to the disabled community it only seemed fitting to give back to that community. As a child, I would see my uncle detach his prosthetic leg and clean it. “That was awesome!”. Repeated in my head dozens of times. So when I would see my grandmother in her wheelchair the thought of prosthetics for her seemed just right. That's when I ran into a problem. I didn't have the skills or finance required to accomplish that. So my only solution was to go to college and get them. Although it may be too late to help my grandmother, through engineering I hope to leave lasting impacts in the lives of all those whose innovations in the field of prosthetic limbs would go on to help. By becoming a mechanical engineer, then going on to obtain my masters in bioengineering, I would not only be able to give back to all the communities that have helped shape me growing up, but I would also be able to leave lasting impacts on those around me and even some of those I may never meet.

My community is composed of many minority groups. It’s made up of my family and friends. My deceased grandmother who led her disability focused company, ICS, and helped make a change in the world from the seat of her wheelchair was and still is a driving influence behind my motivations. And since she was a part of my community I plan to give back to her community, the disabled community. But she isn’t the only influence in my community. So is my uncle in Africa who still managed to become a proud engineer with a PHD despite his disability and reliance on a prosthetic. And he too is a part of my community. I also consider my younger brother who looks up to me for guidance and any other young black men who look up to me as a role model as part of my community. They and countless others in my family and around me have greatly influenced my decisions, career path, and how I plan to give back to my community. Like my grandmother I plan to help the disabled community. Watching how my uncle has managed to get his PHD despite disability, has shown me that being disabled doesn’t mean you’re unable. So rather than simply offering help, I want to offer a method of evening the field for the disabled. I want to give back to my community by helping others help themselves. And similar to my uncle I wanna do it as an engineer, more specifically I want to innovate, develop, and create prosthetic limbs by first getting my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, then getting my masters in bioengineering. Although I plan to help the disabled community, I also plan to help the black community. Having African parents, black friends, and being African American myself I definitely feel I should give back to the black community. Which is one of the reasons I joined the Alpha Achievers association. The Alpha Achievers are an association of young black men dedicated to promoting black excellence and providing good role models for the younger black generation which includes my younger brother. While being an Alpha Achiever I’ve been able to not only promote black excellence through maintaining excellent grades but also through community service allowing me to reach out into other communities. While being an Alpha Achiever I was able to combine giving back to the black community with giving back to the disabled community when I volunteered to help with an Alzheimer’s association marathon walk. By becoming an engineer I would be promoting and becoming a young black role model of what’s possible like how my uncle was for me. This would not only help give back to the black community but also leave lasting impacts in the lives of others around me. For my younger brother I’d be his proud example of both the limitless possibilities for him and of a good older brother. And for my friends I would become their successful friend. Not to mention I’d be a proud son for my parents. But most noticeably I would leave lasting impacts in the lives of all those my innovations in the field of prosthetic limbs would go on to help. By becoming a mechanical engineer, then going on to obtain my masters in bioengineering, I would not only be able to give back to all the communities that have helped shape me growing up, but I would also be able to leave lasting impacts on those around me and even some of those I may never meet.

Being an American kinda sucks, but it has its perks. We’re known for being voluntarily different; what we call soccer the world calls football. But, because of that we have something the rest of the world doesn’t: American football. We’re known for being extremely prideful, almost to a point of being called toxic, but it's that same pride that lets us overcome national incidents such as 9-11 or COVID-19. To me, being an American means having the ability to adapt and overcome. Early in our history and even today, we struggle through racism, sexuality struggles, and identity issues. The year 2020 has been a particularly difficult time in our history. That year claimed the lives of thousands, including Kobe Bryant, and introduced a virus that has held us all captive in our homes and left us shielding ourselves six feet behind our face mask. But most notable to me, were the riots. Being a person of color, of course I would take notice of America's shift in behavior after the George Floyd riots brought to light the aggressive behaviors of police officers towards people of color and the lack of repercussions of their behaviors. While the violent behaviors during the riots combined with the shoplifting, theft, and deaths of participants would lead those outside the US to believe it was over, to believe that the US was decaying into madness. What I saw was different. What I saw was the US doing what we always do when something goes wrong in our borders: get mad about it, adapt to it, and overcome it. Before the riots a police officer could get away with shooting a person of color by claiming they “resisted arrest” or “fit the description”. But now post-riots, every death is under scrutiny by the internet, and every police officer thinks twice before pulling a trigger. They’re now forced to think about how the world will see that death and how their career and family will be affected. Once again, America has adapted and overcome. Being an American has meant that I’ve had to apply this same philosophy towards my life and future. When I face challenges or adversity I simply have to remember that I’m an American, and although I may be different, I’ll eventually find a way to make it through, to reform myself to the situation, and to leave victorious in my struggles. Simply because that's what us Americans do: adapt and overcome.