As a girl, even though I am only 16, I realize the small number of women in STEM and I am going to help change that. I was shocked when I saw the tiny percentage of only 29.2% of women in the STEM workforce this year of 2023! Before I realized these crazy statistics, I thought by this late year we would surely have grown more than that, but alas! I was surprised. Personally, I am extremely excited to begin a lifelong career in Computer Science and hopefully lean towards networking and cybersecurity. I had the fortunate opportunity at the age of 14, while still in High School, to take an IT course which helped to bring me into this field. During that year, I gained valuable insights into the industry as well as learned hands-on experiences while in the lab. After earning my GED just a couple of months ago I am now excited to start college Spring of 2024. I have always been highly intrigued by science and always wanted to learn how something works. This drives me to exceed to a higher degree and push myself further into learning. I love to learn and grow. I want to make a big impact in the world of STEM with my ambition to always make something better, and run more efficiently. As a woman, I can empower other women, and by working together we can impact the world of STEM as a team, each bringing their talent and skills to the table. Young girls need powerful women in STEM to influence and inspire them, and honestly believe that they can do anything! That they are strong, intelligent, and most importantly NOT ALONE! I think this plays a major part in the small percentages that we see today. Another thing that must be changed is the unfair salaries we see with women. If a woman is doing the same job just as well as a man she should have the same pay... but is that how it is? No! It's not! Just this problem gives me a stronger drive to make a change in this corrupt pay gap. It must be stopped and we need capable, knowledgeable women to do it. I want to become one of those women. It means the world to me to become a woman in STEM and have an amazing career helping create change and bring more good into the world. Thank you to everyone who supports me and helps me throughout my journey. If I am honored with this scholarship I will try my best to empower women and help all I can. Thank you!

I know this sounds simple... but I believe the invention of the mobile phone is one of the most incredible pieces of technology that has completely changed our world and how it runs. Before there were phones I can hardly imagine how desperate I would be if there were an emergency and no way to contact help. It is truly a blessing that has saved many lives. If you were to ask someone hundreds of years ago if they thought something like this was possible they probably would think not. We can take that same concept and drive ourselves forward into the future designing things we never thought were possible. The unlimited amount of change and development possible inspires me to help build this future we want to see. I can see some of the disadvantages of the mobile phone too. Being only 16, I have never experienced life without these amazing resources. Too much of anything can be a bad thing and I see others abuse the privilege of this invention and use it for bad and not good things. Anything can be used for good or bad. I think we can try to help others and use mobile phones in the process. Mobile phones have without a doubt made the world a better place. The first phones seem so far back to me but people remember how it was to live without them. It's surprising to see how, much we have improved and learned just over the last 50 years! Looking at this point of view inspires me to help create something even more awesome and crazy that will help humanity. Thank you to everyone who helps and supports me in my journey to learn and understand everything to help others and help make this world a better place. If I am so greatly honored to receive this scholarship I will put it toward furthering my academic goals in technological sciences. Thank you!

As a girl, even though I am only 16, I realize the small number of women in STEM and I am going to help change that. I was shocked when I saw the tiny percentage of only 29.2% of women in the STEM workforce this year of 2023! Before I realized these crazy statistics, I thought by this late year we would surely have grown more than that, but alas! I was surprised. Personally, I am extremely excited to begin a lifelong career in Computer Science and hopefully lean towards networking and cybersecurity. I had the fortunate opportunity at the age of 14, while still in High School, to take an IT course which helped to bring me into this field. During that year, I gained valuable insights into the industry as well as learned hands-on experiences while in the lab. After earning my GED just a couple of months ago I am now excited to start college Spring of 2024. I have always been highly intrigued by science and always wanted to learn how something works. This drives me to exceed to a higher degree and push myself further into learning. I love to learn and grow. I want to make a big impact in the world of STEM with my ambition to always make something better, and run more efficiently. As a woman, I can empower other women, and by working together we can impact the world of STEM as a team, each bringing their talent and skills to the table. Young girls need powerful women in STEM to influence and inspire them, and honestly believe that they can do anything! That they are strong, intelligent, and most importantly NOT ALONE! I think this plays a major part in the small percentages that we see today. Another thing that must be changed is the unfair salaries we see with women. If a woman is doing the same job just as well as a man she should have the same pay... but is that how it is? No! It's not! Just this problem gives me a stronger drive to make a change in this corrupt pay gap. It must be stopped and we need capable, knowledgeable women to do it. I want to become one of those women. I hope to make a positive difference as a woman in STEM and help make the changes we want to see into reality. I would be tremendously grateful if I could be honored to receive this scholarship to help in my academic journey. I always try to do my best and I want to contribute to the STEM field and encourage others, especially women, to do the same. Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me in my journey. Thank you!

As a young girl 16 years old, I can't think of a large number of leadership experiences. However, I believe becoming a great leader requires becoming a great follower. Both of these attributes are learned skills that vary with each challenge and experience you are involved in. Being a great leader calls for personal integrity, for example, taking responsibility for your actions whether they be good or bad. Being a good listener, respecting others, and always encouraging and building up one another. You must also learn how to keep your mind open, and open to new ideas by communicating clearly and effectively. In the future, I want to empower other women who desire to become leaders. We need good, knowledgeable women who can inspire and influence others. We need more amazing women who bring new ideas to the table, see different perspectives, have great courage, and create and maintain goals. I have tried to demonstrate self-leadership in my academic goals as I push myself to become the powerful woman I want to be. I am resilient and determined, and I can become a leader that others will look up to. I can inspire others to become the person they want to be and support them in it and their decisions. Just being kind automatically starts to place you in the leadership role. You cannot let your feelings and emotions determine and dictate your decisions. Act with a sense of purpose and desire to be confident in your decisions and create trust. Don't just focus on someone's bad, but try to help them and help everyone you can. Create the change you want to see as a reality. Personally, I want to become the person people respect and I want to make a positive impact on their life. With other women, we can grow together and become the workplace model we want others' behavior to be. You actively demonstrate excellence by example instead of pushing others to be. I believe I have a good work ethic and am very hardworking, but I know there is always room for improvement and I want to become even better. Then as a leader, I can guide others into becoming like that and we can excel together. I want to work together and lead with confidence and understanding as we work together to make this world a better place. If I am honored with this scholarship, I will try even harder to make a positive impact as a leader in the world as a woman. Thank you to everyone who has helped, supported, and inspired me. Thank you!

As a girl, even though I am only 16, I realize the small number of women in STEM and I am going to help change that. I was shocked when I saw the tiny percentage of only 29.2% of women in the STEM workforce this year of 2023! Before I realized these crazy statistics, I thought by this late year we would surely have grown more than that, but alas! I was surprised. Personally, I am extremely excited to begin a lifelong career in Computer Science and hopefully lean towards networking and cybersecurity. I had the fortunate opportunity at the age of 14, while still in High School, to take an IT course which helped to bring me into this field. During that year, I gained valuable insights into the industry as well as learned hands-on experiences while in the lab. After earning my GED just a couple of months ago I am now excited to start college Spring of 2024. I have always been highly intrigued by science and always wanted to learn how something works. This drives me to exceed to a higher degree and push myself further into learning. I love to learn and grow. I want to make a big impact in the world of STEM with my ambition to always make something better, and run more efficiently. As a woman, I can empower other women, and by working together we can impact the world of STEM as a team, each bringing their talent and skills to the table. Young girls need powerful women in STEM to influence and inspire them, and honestly believe that they can do anything! That they are strong, intelligent, and most importantly NOT ALONE! I think this plays a major part in the small percentages that we see today. Another thing that must be changed is the unfair salaries we see with women. If a woman is doing the same job just as well as a man she should have the same pay... but is that how it is? No! It's not! Just this problem gives me a stronger drive to make a change in this corrupt pay gap. It must be stopped and we need capable, knowledgeable women to do it. I want to become one of those women. I hope to make a positive difference as a woman in STEM and help make the changes we want to see into reality. I would be tremendously grateful if I could be honored to receive this scholarship to help in my academic journey. I always try to do my best and I want to contribute to the STEM field and encourage others, especially women, to do the same. Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me in my journey. Thank you!

Computer Science is an ever-changing industry and I love how recent and new it is! it can impact everyone. Going into Computer Science is broad and expands over many topics. Did you know that 90% of the world's data was created in just the last two years?! That is crazy!! With that, we need people who can understand and analyze this data. A lot of this is due to the fact of social media and cloud computing. I have always had a thing for networking and cybersecurity and I am anticipating learning more about these amazing things in college. When I was 14, I was fortunate enough to take an Information Technology program while still in high school. One year later I completed the course and it gave me a great insight into the industry. Then, at age 15 I got an offer for an internship at a local ISP (Internet Service Provider). Due to some family disruptions and events, my family and I moved. Sadly I had to forget about the amazing opportunity but I turned my attention to earning my GED. I got it at 16. Now I am super excited to start college in Spring 2024 and continue my pursuit in this awesome career. I want to earn a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. I honestly believe nothing is impossible, because you can break anything up into small achievable steps and take everything that comes your way with patience and understanding. Looking at my non-computer science goals I would love to take my musical experience and learning to the next level. I have been playing piano for over 9 years. I love it. I literally could not live without it. It's an amazing hobby and I am trying to grow in it more and maybe even join an orchestra. I have done countless performances private and public which I thoroughly enjoy. Playing solo and in groups is so fun. Another goal I would love to reach with my piano is to find a way it could bring in some extra dollars as like a part-time job or something. If I am honored with this amazing scholarship I will put it towards my academic goals and work extremely hard to achieve them. I am super lucky to have an amazing family that love and support me. They have always had my back and I appreciate them so much. Thank you everyone who has helped and supported me in my journey. Thank you!

I think we have all felt sad and disappointed when the internet is slow. I personally have horrible internet connections. Can you imagine how cool it would be if there were no more interrupted internet connections? It would be super cool if we could find some way to solve this frustrating problem. The world is changing extremely fast. With that, technology is too. However, faster internet speeds are still lagging behind, especially in rural areas. One thing I would love to see undergo a revolution is Internet speeds. I am sure there are some places where the speed is amazing, but there are also places where it is unbearable. What we need is to make faster internet speeds available to everyone everywhere. I think this the one thing that needs to undergo a revolution. I once had the opportunity to be an intern at a local ISP (Internet Service Provider). I was only 15 and was extremely excited. However, due to some unfortunate family events, my family and I moved. I was super disappointed because I was really looking forward to it. We all move on, and eventually, I got over it, but I still feel like if I had gotten that experience under my belt, I could understand more about this topic and explain my personal opinion about it. I am greatly anticipating continuing my education, and maybe in the future, I could help do something about making internet connections faster, as that is one inconvenience I deal with on a daily basis. Even from a security standpoint, faster internet speeds help create safer networks by updating your software and devices. Also, regular backups can be done more efficiently with faster network speeds. With collaboration projects, everything can be done and created a lot more proficiently as well with a faster network. This improves people's moods and satisfaction overall. Positive emotions make people more resilliant and increase productivity. The key to helping fix this problem in the future lies on the education we can gain. If I was fortunate enough to receive this scholarship, It would greatly help in achieving my academic goals and furthering my education and career. I'm sure with the right skills learned, I could potentially help fix many problems in the IT industry today, including helping the slow network problems. I just want to take a minute and say thank you to everyone who has helped me in my journey and continues to do so. Thank you all for your support.