Technology is quickly evolving all around us at an incomprehensible pace. From online banking, to crypto, or even social security accounts, most of our lives are managed by the digital workspace due to its clear convenience over older methods of communication. Crypto being introduced has even brought excitement to the government due to the ease of being able to track where money is going without much hassle. Though with the rise of technology, how can we be certain of our own protection online? It's an impossible question, technology evolves much faster than any human, and even faster than any regulations could be put in place by companies or government officials. If our whole lives are online, one data breach can send some people into severe situations with debt, privacy or even safety. So what can we do? While we are never completely safe, there are already plenty of ways to lessen the chance of data leaks on your own. This usually comes in the form of bi-yearly security checks on your devices and two-step verification, but what happens if your information is already out there being used? Many tend to never find out their information is leaked until their livelihood starts to be impacted, usually in the form of financial debt. This is where cybersecurity comes in. Cybersecurity focuses on creating preventative measures online, but can also be considered "digital forensics" in the case of dealing with and finding the source of crime online. With over 2,000 cyber attacks in 2023 alone affecting over 300,000,000 people, cyber security has become more prevalent than ever. What once used to be a fleeting 6 victims to cyber crime hourly in 2001 has turned to 97 today. How do you recover? I plan to help fight back against this intense rise in cybercrime, working in cybersecurity. Technology, while it is the main root of the problem, can also be the only solution we have. We have already started finding more methods of tracking criminals such as cell tower wipes or AI powered device security. Though, I've always been scared of the digital space due to the inevitability of cyber crime and security breaches. I don't want to be afraid, I want to tackle this monster head on and learn the intricacies of technology. My main job is going to be learning the methods these hackers and scammers use to hijack computers, steal passwords and steal from accounts by finding backdoors on websites or devices. The more we can find how these hackers break into our personal information and sites, the easier it is to take preventative measures worldwide. While cybersecurity workers are outnumbered, it only takes one discovery or incident to set in motion a whole new brand of security across the world. One discovery of a new type of hack that turns the cogs of a safer world. I hope to be a part of protecting people too.

Our world is unbelievably complex, being viewed from many different perspectives and backgrounds. Bias is unavoidable, it's within our very nature to rely on our personal views. Something that looks tame to others like a spider can look like a beast to many others. Every hour of our existence adds to our bias in some way, shaping our opinions and personalities. This bias, while natural, has been known to harm many groups in specific cases, such as racism or homophobia. While we're slowly tackling these issues overtime between different political groups, what happens when AI gets involved? AI has become increasingly more popular due to its productivity, but many of these AI's work off of a process called Machine Learning Algorithms. This allows AI to look at a large sum of data and create an output to a designated task dependent on whatever patterns it saw in the data. Though how do we free certain data sets of bias? Many AI's use a good majority of the internet to receive its large amount of data, especially bots like ChatGPT where limitless amounts of data, emotions and language is used towards creating one program's decision-making. The problem with bias in AI becomes increasingly evident when ethics gets involved. Some AI’s that use pictures of people towards some purpose have shown to be biased towards Caucasian people. This is especially observable within facial recognition programs, where some programs have been seen completely ignoring black people when testing. How do we keep bias out of AI’s that will potentially cater our food, hospitals or cars? Bias against race, sexuality or gender are simply due to the internet having a smaller concentration of information on those subjects compared to straight, white males. Many programs have started to tackle this issue by making software to gather more data for underrepresented groups. Though these software's base themselves off the idea that people will volunteer these pictures, which compared to the constant flow of information on the internet, doesn’t make a huge dent. On the other hand, software's could be made dedicated to weighing data based on its density, so if there are more pictures of dogs than cats, then a bigger multiplier of importance is placed on cat pictures to even them out. This applied to any aspect of humanity can help even out AI bias, allowing all types of information to be equal to the AI’s running our future. Allowing a program like this to be open source can also help lessen the normalization of AI bias within smaller programs, letting creators and programmers have easy access to bias solutions which can lessen people’s desire to settle for a potentially harmful group of data.

I've always had a fascination with magic. Ever since I was a child I loved movies like Harry Potter and Earth to Echo for how they could tweak the world into something extraordinary. During a meeting during my sophomore year, my counselor encouraged me to join the school's new computer science class that had been recently implemented. When I entered this class, it immediately felt like magic to me. My passion for programming grew exponentially that year. Creating different programs and games just from some words and symbols on a screen was the single best part of every day. Eventually, I worked my way to competing at Lockheed Martin’s CodeQuest competition as well as TSA Coding and Animatronics competitions, showing me even further what can be done with technology. Watching how I can turn the digital world into something tangible with animatronics especially solidified my passion for computer science. It's truly the closest thing we have to magic, I believe. A guest speaker we had one year ago ended up making a significant impact on my plans, showing my class his experiences with cybersecurity. The idea of being involved with the protection of several different projects, and learning more about the intricacies of technology and hardware is the life I want to live. I set out to find the best possible way to achieve a future in this field until I eventually realized the potential that could come from getting my degree at Colorado School of Mines, having one of the greatest returns on investment rates out of most colleges in technical jobs. I spent around two months on the essays for my application, running it past all of my family and friends for revision and when I turned it in, I was accepted. I've talked to many Mines admissions counselors and computer science professors and have started working through the logistics of how I'll use my time at college to its fullest. First, cybersecurity courses are integrated into Colorado School of Mines' computer science program, allowing me to get a bachelor's in general computer science and use electives to cater more towards specifically information security analysis. Mechanical engineering I've seen as a practical skill that many jobs will appreciate someone having, so I plan to minor in mechanical engineering. Using the Mines Cyber Defense Education Certificate Program, I'll be able to finalize my certification in cybersecurity for future jobs. The Department of Defense offers a scholarship to any potential interns who would be able to work full-time coming out of college. Already having aspirations of working with the Department of Homeland Security, this is an exciting deal I'm more than willing to take. However, people are unable to sign up for this program in freshman year, so funding for my first year will need to come from elsewhere. I'm using my free time senior year and over the summer to sign up for scholarships anywhere I can, hoping to pay off at least one year towards my dream career with as little debt as possible.

Computers have always been a mystery to me, ever since I was small I have been fascinated by the inner workings of technology. Growing up I only really had my mother, seeing my father on monitored visits or short weekends. My dad had been scared off by the commitment of a child and ran off, only to be dragged back by the threats of court 7 years later. One of the first things I remember bonding with him over, after finally meeting him, was him handing me a robotics kit to build together. We ended up building five different robot toys during our time together, and to this day is the only clear memory I have of my time with him in monitored visits. Once our visits didn't need to be monitored anymore, I don't remember ever truly bonding with him again. I typically hung out with whoever he was married to at the time or whatever family he was living with. As I grew, I finally got to learn about all of the court cases he had been involved with. As bizarre as it all was, I remember the gut-wrenching feeling of seeing my father's disdain for me and my mother spelled out in clear print. His actions had put us in an awkward spot financially that we're still recovering from to this day. Despite everything, I held the technology he showed me very dearly, wanting to master whatever magic controlled this modern world. Originally, I started out joining math clubs and competitions until finally in high school, I could dabble in real computer science. That year I truly came out of my shell, I never knew how excited and talkative I could be but there I was, ranting to teachers and newfound friends constantly about functions and parameters whenever I got the chance. Every day made me even more curious, I was so eager to hear each lesson. Most days, when I got done with the assignment due for that day, I'd spend my time researching new ways to code and improving my old projects. My computer science teacher was extremely supportive, insisting I try to get into the top engineering school in Colorado, Colorado School of Mines. I doubted I was going to get in, I had grown up never expecting much so I was more than ready to be rejected and move on. Miraculously, I was somehow accepted. I couldn't stop reading the acceptance letter, it felt surreal. I would be able to work in my dream career in one of the best schools for computer science and engineering in the US. I'm honored to have the chance to major in computer science and work in cybersecurity in the future, but there's one last obstacle. Alongside being one of the best computer science and engineering colleges, it's also one of the most expensive in Colorado. With my family's awkward financial situation, it's becoming difficult to imagine how we'll cover the tuition, and I hope to help keep myself and my family away from as much debt as possible. However, I'm determined to figure out how to keep this dream alive.