I love many things about Disney, from its scenery and escapism to its enchanting stories and immersive themes. This is my story of the first time I visited Disney in July 2023. Before going to Disney, we were stressed out because we never went. Would we know where to go? These theme parks are enormous, so we can easily get lost and waste precious time. Would we get on all the rides we wanted to go on? We went mainly to destress, and I was worried the trip was ruined from the start. However, I am glad to say I was 110% wrong. One thing I noticed right off the bat was watching the inner child coming out of my parents at Disney. Too often, we are stressed out from life's many troubles. Places like Disney World allow children, teenagers, and adults to reconnect to their inner child and enjoy themselves. It was a beautiful sight because, too many times, we have all been stressed. My memories there were unforgettable. It was all great memories, from flying on a Banshee exploring Pandora to getting teleported into the Twilight Zone. The ability of Disney to immerse you into a new world is one of the best qualities of Disney. The sights of Disney are so wonderful, and they do a great job of building the scenery. My favorite sight was EPCOT at night. The fireworks and lights are unforgettable. However, the most incredible feeling was when my family and I got on the Ratatouille ride. I remember watching the movie when I was very young, and when I got on the ride, I felt a wave of calm washing over me. I felt like the younger me again. Although the ride was fun, the nostalgia from more innocent times was the most significant source of my joy in that ride. There is nothing quite like getting flooded with nostalgia from years ago. The ride reminded me of a time when I was very young. All my family was huddled around the TV, watching the movie. My brother and I enjoyed the animation, and my parents loved the story. It was simpler times. So, to me, Disney is a place to get teleported into new worlds and reconnect to your inner child that has been trapped for so many years. We often need to reconnect with our inner child, but we neglect to do that, but Disney makes it so much easier. That was the reason I loved my visit to Disney. I hope my reasons resonate with you too!

127 Hours is a film about resilience and the human spirit. The protagonist, Aron Ralston, is trapped in a narrow canyon with his arm stuck between two rocks. He is alone, with no hope of rescue since he didn't let anyone know where he was going before he ventured off. As the hours tick by, he experiences fear, despair, regret, and hallucinations. However, he refuses to give up. He manages to stay alive by drinking his urine and improvising ways to try and free his arm. After five days, he finally has to resort to self-amputation since he doesn't have enough resources to hold out any longer. He musters the courage to cut off his arm with a pen knife. After successfully amputating his arm, he faces another challenge - crawling through the canyon, hoping to find rescue. Ralston makes it out of the canyon through sheer determination and is rescued, miraculously surviving a near-death experience. The film shows the determination and resilience of the human spirit and highlights the importance of not giving up, no matter how bleak the situation may seem. It has a universal message that speaks to the human experience and reminds us never to underestimate the power of the human will to survive. This film has a lasting impact on anyone who sees it and is a powerful reminder to never give up in the face of adversity. When I saw this film for the first time, I thought the story was highly exaggerated. I couldn't believe that a human could survive all that. However, Ralston survived and became a stronger man who learned from his mistakes. It's a film that can be applied to many people's lives. We often feel like giving up when there is too much adversity in our way. We try to solve the solution one way without considering alternatives because we are uncomfortable trying new things. We like things to remain the same. Whenever I struggled in my classes or a project and felt there was no way to get past this point, I remembered the movie and knew that no matter how bad the adversity, there was ALWAYS a way. Even if we must try a solution that we are uncomfortable with, when all other alternatives run out, we must get out of our comfort zone. We tend to underestimate ourselves, so we believe that if we try new things, we will fail and make a mockery of ourselves. However, we tend to surprise ourselves when we try new things, and when we get out of the mentality that we are not good enough, we achieve great things. I always thought I was not good enough. I thought I was not good enough when I started taking Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology classes via my dual enrollment as a high schooler. I didn't think I could pass, let alone get A's in these classes. But I remembered the film and realized there is ALWAYS a way in the face of great adversity. I, of course, had to adapt and change so much about how I studied. Time management, organization, and the time spent in each class all of it had to change. I spent more time in office hours than in classes but prevailed and got all A's. This film helped me remove the impossible from my vocabulary. The film caused me to learn that I need to know to adapt to each situation accordingly.

My wildest dream is to create a clinic focusing on cardiac surgery. I will use my education to make it a reality by first getting my bachelor's degree from Florida Gulf Coast University. I plan to major in Biochemistry because it will provide a solid foundation to understand medications better. After crises like the opioid crisis, many people started distrusting their doctors to prescribe medicines, especially after cases where doctors overprescribe painkillers. I hope by getting a background in biochemistry; I can make more informed decisions when prescribing medications to my patients. Getting this scholarship can make reducing the debt accumulated from my studies at Florida Gulf Coast University easier. The less obligation I have, the better of a financial position I am in before entering medical school. I want to pursue cardiac surgery since my father had a heart attack. Thankfully, he made it, but that scary experience caused me to want to pursue cardiology so no other child has to witness anyone they love dying of cardiac issues. Globally, obesity rates are rising, so more cardiac surgeons will be needed. I love helping people. Helping someone through a struggle, pain, regret, etc., is beautiful. However, some people are living life not to its fullest because of medical conditions, leading to stress, anxiety, depression, and other negatives. So, as a doctor, I can give those people another opportunity to live normally again. Rather than let conditions that require surgery linger on and on, people will trust their doctor to make them feel whole again. That is why I want to be a doctor so people can live their happiest lives. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their needs and, therefore, less likely for community members to develop severe conditions. By pursuing my education, I can make my wildest dream come true! And if you help me, I promise to utilize the scholarship money as effectively as possible!

I am Steven Eskander. From a young age, I was always interested in the inner workings of organisms. I was the most excited student when it came to biology labs. At first, I thought I might be disgusted, but I grew fascinated. I applied and got accepted to Florida Gulf Coast University for Fall 2023 for the Biochemistry major. This scholarship will help me because it will allow me to get out with less debt when I finish my Bachelor's degree. I hope to attend medical school, but reducing debt from Florida Gulf Coast University will allow me to be in a better financial position before entering medical school. The reason I am pursuing a degree in science is so I can better recommend medications. Sadly, after the opioid crisis, where some individuals got addicted due to their doctors overprescribing, this caused a distrust of doctors where people do not trust their doctors when they prescribe medicines, especially painkillers. My P.E. teacher told me that when he was young, he broke his thumb and was prescribed 50 painkillers. Fortunately, he took only one and disposed of the others appropriately. This story shocked me, and I made it my goal to become knowledgeable about the impact of medicines on human biology and how to prescribe medications better. As a cardiac surgeon, I must prescribe medications to my patients before and after surgery. Having a Biochemistry degree will make it easier for patients to trust me to prescribe medicines to them. My goal post-graduation is to go to medical school. If I win this scholarship, it will make it easier to attend medical school because the less debt I have from my Bachelor's degree, the better my financial position when entering medical school. I cannot work for four years in medical school since the workload is demanding, and some medical schools outright don't allow you to work because of how busy it is. Over those four years, that debt can grow significantly. So, the less debt I have, the easier to settle them before entering medical school. I hope to work in a hospital and give back to my community. I also hope to explain to my patients the importance of a healthy diet and exercise to reduce the chances of needing to go to a cardiac surgeon. It's not only the obligation of doctors to treat others but to recommend to patients how to take steps to improve their health. This can make a significant impact when people spread awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and encourage others to improve their lives.

What I have learned from countless books, especially the Bible, is the importance of love. Love is one of the most critical topics when reading books about World War II or the Vietnam War. I recall reading a book about a girl and her family who helped a Jew hide from Nazis. Although everyone they knew was a Nazi and the family would have more money if they worked for the Nazi Party, they never did it because they loved their fellow man. The Book Thief was one of the best books I read, and I was fascinated by their resilience against the Nazis. It would have significantly benefited them to conform, but they didn't because of love. In the Bible, one of the fascinating quotes is this, "If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing." It's a great quote that one can apply to their life. I want to work as a heart surgeon in the future, not only because it is an exciting and growing field but because I love biology and chemistry. Biology labs have made me love surgery, so I want to pursue the field. Books taught me that love is my #1 priority in anything. If I help people but do it without love, it is neither a benefit to the people I help nor me. If I work in a job and make a good living but have no passion for what I am doing, I can grow depressed and burn out. So, I am happy to have read the books I have because it has made me focus on love in everything I do. If I help people, as I do as a tutor, I need to incorporate love into that. If I do not like the subject I am tutoring or do not enjoy tutoring students, I will not be benefitting myself or others. So, in short, how books shaped my goals is they made me prioritize love in everything I do.

Mental health is essential to not only your well-being and physical health. I remember in one semester, I was taking Calculus I, General Chemistry I, Composition II, Intro to Public Speaking, and Honors Statistical Methods I. Unfortunately, in the first test in both Calculus I and General Chemistry I, I got undesired scores. That made me doubt myself heavily. I started to get heavy anxiety and would have difficulty breathing. One time, I remember my Chemistry professor taking about a future test, and I felt like I was about to pass out. It felt like that class took forever to finish. I needed to get out in fresh air and take a breath, and it still felt like an anvil was placed on my lungs. I felt that this feeling was not only normal, but it was good so I can work harder and do better in my courses, but it didn't. All it did was ruin my mental health, ruin my physical health, and made me depressed. I was in a dark place, and I didn't know what to do. Praying, going to the gym, and talking to family members was crucial to getting me out of that dark place. I previously thought that mental health didn't concern me, and I did not have to work to maintain it. I cannot believe how ignorant I was back then. I should have taken it more seriously, but I didn't. Now, I know the significance of mental health and how important it is to maintain it, because a good mental health not only impacts you mentally, but impacts you physically as well. There are two strategies that were essential to helping me overcome my problems. First, distraction. I would go on walks or go to the gym to help ease my mind of off the stress. However, it was a temporary relief. Once I started on my schoolwork again, it returned. So, I knew I needed an alternate path. The second strategy was facing the problem. My father spent a long time explaining how not only was my anxiety overblown, but all of the health problems that would arise from the stress, including but not limited to heart attack, stroke, weaker immune system, more likely to develop cancer, and so much more. All of these were essential to help me overcome my anxiety. After I realized how destructive my thinking was, I stopped believing my feelings of anxiety were good, but started seeing them for what they truly are, destructive. This experience helped me not only understand why mental health is important, but how to maintain it.

Mental health is essential to not only your well-being, but your physical health as well. I took Calculus I, General Chemistry I, Composition II, Intro to Public Speaking, and Honors Statistical Methods I in one semester. Unfortunately, I got undesired scores on the first Calculus I and General Chemistry I tests. That made me doubt myself heavily. I started to get severe anxiety and would have difficulty breathing. I remember my Chemistry professor talking about a future test, and I felt like I was about to pass out. It felt like that class took forever to finish. I needed to get out in fresh air and breathe, and it still felt like an anvil was placed on my lungs. I thought this feeling was customary and reasonable, so I could work harder and do better in my courses, but it didn't. All it did was ruin my mental health, ruin my physical health, and make me depressed. I was in a dark place and didn't know what to do. Praying, going to the gym, and talking to family members were crucial to getting me out of that dark place. I previously thought that mental health didn't concern me and I did not have to work to maintain it. I cannot believe how ignorant I was back then. I should have taken it more seriously, but I didn't. Now, I know the significance of mental health and how important it is to maintain it because good mental health impacts you mentally and physically. Two strategies were essential to helping me overcome my problems—first, distraction. I would go on walks or to the gym to help ease my mind off the stress. However, it was a temporary relief. Once I started on my schoolwork again, it returned. So, I knew I needed an alternate path. The second strategy was facing the problem. My father spent a long time explaining how not only was my anxiety overblown, but all of the health problems that would arise from the stress, including but not limited to heart attack, stroke, weaker immune system, more likely to develop cancer, and so much more. All of these were essential to help me overcome my anxiety. After realizing how destructive my thinking was, I stopped believing my feelings of anxiety were good and started seeing them for what they were, destructive. This experience helped me understand why mental health is essential to maintain it.

I am interested in being a doctor; as a doctor, patients need to feel welcome and safe in my office. A hospital can be a scary place for many people. Either they have a phobia or have bad memories in hospitals. Often, the signs of domestic abuse may be subtle—a bruise or a scratch. I would try to ask about the injury. I would tell them that a hospital is safe and that what they say to their doctor is confidential. I would do everything possible to ensure they feel safe and welcome in the hospital. Unfortunately, some victims believe they are alone in their circumstances or that they are helping their significant other through their demons, and they have to endure the abuse for their sake. By allowing my office to become a safe space for my patients, they can describe what is happening at home. If it is a case of domestic violence, I can work with the police to make sure the victim is safe while the abuser is arrested and cannot harm the victim. These actions would allow the victims to move on with their lives. They can finally understand that they were in an abusive relationship and can spread awareness to others. They can spread awareness of how a hospital is a safe place to talk to their doctors about problems at home and that their doctors will work with them to help them. Many people see doctors as people who charge you an arm and a leg for a regular checkup, and that can dehumanize hospitals as a place of money-making instead of a place of healing. That notion can change by working to help victims, and more victims can feel safe in a hospital. Making hospitals a place where people feel safe will make people more comfortable talking to their doctors and getting help. Most domestic abuse victims do not realize they are in a domestic abuse situation. So, they need help from people they can trust to leave their relationship. I am taking Psychology because although I want to be a surgeon, I still want to understand my patients, what they are going through, and how to help them through their struggles. All doctors are responsible for listening to their patients, and I hope by continuing with Psychology, I can assist victims of domestic violence to understand the signs of domestic abuse and helping them move on with their lives.

What leadership means to me is listening and deciding when to step back and when to take an active role. I used to believe that leadership was about barking orders, but that could not be further from the truth. Let me tell you a story. In middle school, I led a group in a recording class. Our professor assigned us the final project. We needed to go all out with this project. My team proposed multiple ideas, and I decided to go with one that recommended we make a Youtube Rewind 2018 Parody for our middle school. I had to listen to my teammate's recommendations and determine what ideas could be implemented and which would not be worth the time. However, a critical moment came when the due date was closing in. Many teammates wanted to quit the project because it took too long. However, some of my teammates wanted to continue. A leader's job is to listen to others and decide which direction the team will take. I decided to overrule the majority and continue the project. It was a long project that took multiple hours of editing at home and school, but in the end, it made many people laugh, and we got fantastic grades. Being a leader is a mixture of stepping back and leading. There are situations, like early in the project, where my team knew what it was doing, and I just had to take a step back and let them record and film. Of course, I would help with recording and editing, but I didn't overstep my boundaries. Other times, like when we were deciding to scrap the project, I had to take an active role and determine what direction the team had to endure. I could balance stepping back and intervening when the situation called for it. As a result, we had one of the most successful projects in that class. Another example of leadership is in my Honors Statistics Methods I class. It was an honor class since we used programming to do statistics. So, not only did we learn statistics but how to program in the programming language R, used for statistical computing and graphics; some of the homework files did not work due to the misplacement of functions. I decided to take an active role and fix the files. I also decided to help the professor by making homework guides for myself and the students, which the professor loved so much she requested them for future courses. I used those same guides to tutor the students in personal sessions. I also taught the class for a day for the students when the professor had to take a sick day. I took an active role in my classroom when the situation called for it, and by doing so, I positively impacted my classmates and myself. Leadership is important because it allows group work to go more smoothly. Suppose there is no clear sense of leadership. In that case, nothing will get done since people will have differing opinions on how to continue, and the group can splinter into sub-groups, obliterating efficiency. Leadership also allows the group to communicate ideas more efficiently. When there is a clear sense of leadership, it becomes easier to share ideas back and forth and understand what direction the group is going forward with. If the leader does not listen to anyone, this can cause internal strife. However, if a leader listens, people are more inclined to work together.

What makes me unique is my ability to find ways to benefit myself while finding ways to help others. My Honors Statistical Methods I course used R, a programming language for statistical computing and graphics. There were so many functions to remember, so I decided to make a homework guide so I could distinguish between the functions. I decided to share them with the students, and they were so practical and helpful that the professor asked for all my homework guides for future courses. In my General Chemistry I & II courses, I increased my knowledge of the topic by tutoring students and did better than ever in the course material. How I plan to give back to my community by helping students. I have volunteered for 184 hours and 20 minutes. In addition, I volunteered in my Honors Statistical Methods I and General Chemistry I & II courses. Furthermore, I worked and got a job as an Academic Support Peer Tutor, tutoring subjects like Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Intro to Chemistry, and General Chemistry I & II. I plan to tutor at Florida Gulf Coast University, where I have been accepted. I hope to work with FGCU to create a universal tutoring system that allows tutors to help students by asking questions anonymously and making it easier for students to state what they need help with. Not only would it elevate the pressure off of professors, but it can make students more comfortable having an alternative to office hours since some students feel intimidated by professors during office hours. Free high-quality tutoring is essential to a community, especially students because it encourages students to continue their education. If students do not get the help they need, they feel they are not suited to continue their education and, therefore, are less likely to continue their education. However, if a tutor explains concepts clearly and concisely, the student’s confidence is boosted, and they are encouraged to continue their education. Whenever I was confused, and a teacher clarified a concept, I felt more confident and trusted in my ability to continue my education. On the other hand, students who do not find the help they need are discouraged from continuing their education, which is harmful because education is the best way to improve a person’s standard of living. So, free high-quality tutoring is essential to encourage students to continue their education and improve their standard of living and their communities. That is why I love volunteering as a tutor because it allows me to encourage future generations to continue their education. One tutor session can be the difference between an individual pursuing STEM or working at a job they do not enjoy.

I once created homework guides for myself and realized how I could help others with them. So, background knowledge: I was enrolled in an Honors Statistical Methods I course. It was an honors course because it required using the programming language R, which is used for statistical computing and graphics. However, the files were broken. How were they broken? Okay, imagine computers reading files from top to bottom. Suppose in Line 10, you call for information from a file called "Data.txt," but only in Line 11 did you call on the program to request that data file. The program gives an error message even though the computer has to read one extra line. The problem is that RStudio, the program we used to write the code, was terrible at clarifying that. It was hard to interpret the error message, so I spent hours looking for a solution. Finally, I was able to find the answer and implement it. I decided to share my discovery with my professor. It was a great moment because I helped the professor with a significant issue. Although I fixed the file for myself, I found a way to help others. The professor contacted the original creator of the homework files and got the fixed versions, but I still wanted to help in the course. A big problem for me and the students was remembering which functions to use. With so many functions from many chapters, a student would inevitably get confused about what to use. So, I decided to make homework guides for myself, detailing each function, its use, and examples of using the function. Like previously, I did this to help myself, but I told myself that this could benefit the students, so I shared it with the professor. She later contacted me asking for all my homework guides because of their usefulness. I used those same homework guides when tutoring the students. So, along the way, by trying to help myself, I was able to help others. This experience led me to desire to tutor students, and I recently got hired as an Academic Support Peer Tutor at the local community college where I am dual-enrolled. I realized through tutoring students that many students require help but are too nervous to ask. They feel like they are admitting defeat by asking for help, which could not be further from the truth. The tutoring center I work at uses a system for students to apply for tutoring, and although it works, I would love to create a better universal system. For example, allow it where a student can post a question, and tutors can reply via text. Students usually do not require a 1-hour session and just need help with a single query. In addition, the students should be able to post anonymously. This is to encourage students who may not want to share their identities. A great tutoring system can be the difference between students who are doing well and students who are doing poorly. Therefore, let us strive to improve the tutoring system of schools to help students worldwide. We all know the feeling when we ask the professor a question, and they clarify it. We feel happy, and are encouraged to continue with our education. But, as we get to college, professors get busier, so tutoring is a great way to elevate the pressure on professors and allow students to ask questions in an environment where they cannot feel intimidated since some students feel intimidated during office hours.

The experience of coming from a low-income household shaped how I view opportunities. I learned how I have to utilize opportunities as effectively as possible. My family left their home country to give my brother and me a chance at a better life because of the better education opportunities in America. My family originally came to California; then, we moved to Florida. The first opportunity came when I had the chance to apply for a public charter high school, Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus, which is a blue ribbon school. I thought I was not good enough for charter high school, but my parents encouraged me to apply. They told me to utilize opportunities as much as possible. I was so happy when I was selected to attend the school. Then, another opportunity came with dual enrollment. We had to do a test called the PERT. There were three sections, Reading, Writing, and Math. The Reading and Writing scores would determine your eligibility for dual enrollment. In contrast, the Math score would decide if you would take Algebra II, Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, or Pre-Calculus in 10th grade. However, we never knew the importance of dual enrollment because it was not emphasized enough. Unfortunately, I did not make the Writing score on the PERT on the first try. However, determined to pass, I took the Accuplacer retake and got 292/300, which the test proctor said was one of the best scores she ever saw. I had to depend on free online, unofficial resources to study because there were very few free resources regarding Accuplcer. However, that did not stop me from studying for the test. When I started dual enrollment, I took as many classes as possible, starting from 10th grade, to complete as many prerequisites as possible for my future biochemistry major. I did not understand how important it was that I was taking steps to finish the prerequisites for a degree. Only recently did I realize how much money and time I saved myself. Despite the hardships of the dual enrollment program, I have a 4.000 unweighted high school and college GPA and a 4.678 weighted GPA, with a rank of 1/67 in my school. I realized how important it was to utilize the opportunities given to you, not only because they will only be there for a limited about of time, but I had to use them for the sake of my parents, who sacrificed everything to provide better education to their children. I finished 67 college credits and got an Associate in Arts degree, High Honors, from Florida SouthWestern State College, all as a high schooler! My goal for the future is to major in biochemistry at Florida Gulf Coast University, where I have been accepted. The reason for that is to be able to attend medical school. I plan on studying for the MCAT during the summer because I will be too busy during the Fall and Spring to learn. I plan to volunteer in a hospital for the experience and to get medical school's attention. That is why I am applying for scholarships, so I can minimize debt before entering medical school because medical school is expensive, with many young doctors living paycheck to paycheck.

I am Steven Eskander, an Early Admission student at Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon School). I have a 4.000 unweighted high school and college GPA and a 4.678 weighted GPA. I am ranked 1/67 in my school. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. This program would benefit me because it would allow me to focus on my community and academic work. However, biochemistry is a challenging major, and it will be hard for me to focus on my studies if I also have to find a job to pay for my education. This scholarship would help me focus on my academic courses and volunteer in my community. However, if I have to get a job to support my education, I will not be able to volunteer and help in my community. I love tutoring and have experience tutoring students from Ghana, Nigeria, and Jordan. I tutored a session of 12 students for four weeks in schoolhouse.world (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I would love to pursue more community opportunities at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). Still, I cannot balance community service, academic work, and a job, so if I do not get this scholarship, I cannot be a meaningful part of my community. I remember a story from my PE teacher that shocked me. My coach was playing football and broke his thumb, and his doctor gave him 50 painkillers to deal with the pain. Fortunately, my coach, who at the time had great restraint, only took one and disposed of the other pills appropriately. I was determined to major in biochemistry to understand medicine to treat my patients as effectively as possible without the risk of addiction. No one needs to suffer through pain because they are worried about addiction. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community, so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

Before I started my health journey, I was very unhealthy. I was out of breath from running a small distance, had no energy, and was not proud of my body. However, my dad helped me start my health journey by making us go on a walk. At first, I wouldn't say I liked it because I wanted to stay home. But, over time, I started to enjoy it. It was excellent walking and getting a breath of air. Then, we began increasing the challenge by jogging. However, I decided this was not enough. Although long walks are healthy, I needed to do more for my body. So, I decided to go to the gym. I would jog and lift. Initially, I was terrible. I couldn't jog to save my life and was weak when lifting. However, over time, my body got better. I was faster and more robust, and I was in better shape. Now, I want to go to the gym every day. The health benefits I saw were excellent. I finally started being happy in my body and felt myself again. Another important step I needed to take in my health journey was eating less. One of the best recommendations I received was to eat and then wait five minutes. Although small, this change was phenomenal because I felt less hungry. Once the food gets in your stomach, you don't feel as hungry. If you eat and immediately assess your hunger, you will overeat because you are not giving enough time for the food to reach your stomach. This allowed me to eat less, and it was a great feeling. Whenever you overeat, you feel bloated, out of breath, and do not want to move. I hated that feeling, though. It felt like I was sick, and wanted to get rid of it. Although going to the gym is necessary, a good diet is essential. If I go to the gym but do not practice a good diet, I will not lose weight, and my body will not improve. So, over time, I learned how important it is to practice a good diet and go to the gym since that will allow me to eat fewer calories and start losing weight. The best thing about my health journey was the progress I made. Before, I could not run at all and was very weak, but now, I can run and lift way more than before.

A film that had the greatest on me is El Ar, an Arabic film released in 1982. It was about a father who runs a spice store but sells drugs in the shadows. He is spending lavishly, so his children have the best life. He has three sons; the oldest will be in charge of his store and drug business in the future, and the other two are a doctor and a judge, respectively. One day, the father gets killed in a vehicle accident. His sons were expecting his fortune, but the father spent too lavishly and depended on his drug business for money, so once he died, there was no more money. The oldest son told the other sons the truth about their father, and the family had two choices, either sell off their big house and be of less social status or try to continue their father's drug business. Ultimately, the plan fails, and the brothers are in debt and lose all the drugs they need to sell. This film impacted my life by showing how an individual's bad habits don't just affect them but can affect the whole family. For example, in Breaking Bad, when Walter White sold drugs to benefit his family, in the end, he brought great shame to them and ruined their lives. That is the same idea the movie was trying to showcase. It shows how any habit, whether drugs, alcohol, or gambling, can impact others around you and make their lives more miserable. I loved how it showed the father's intentions were good, but in the end, it brought his family more sadness and ruin than happiness. It's a great lesson that should be repeated repeatedly because many individuals harm themselves and don't realize it impacts others around them. Humans are social creatures, and we are affected by our surroundings. So if people we care about are hurt and sad, we also tend to get hurt and sad because we care about them. I loved this film and hope I have shared the lessons I learned from that film. So many times, Arabic movies do not get the attention they deserve, and I hope I was able to share my love of Arabic movies and how many of them have great lessons and morals that many of us need to hear. Thank you so much for allowing me to talk about Arabic films since it is one of my favorite topics!

I am Steven Eskander, a 12th-grade high school student at Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus. As a high school student, I learned how utilizing opportunities is essential to finances. In my high school, we have dual enrollment, and at first, I didn't think it was necessary to use dual enrollment, but later on, it became apparent how vital dual enrollment was. In 9th grade, I decided to see a video on tuition costs, and the information I learned shocked me. I learned how expensive university is, how the costs keep increasing, and how many people struggle to pay off student loans. Then, in the end, the video talked about how students with dual-enrollment opportunities should take advantage of them to finish their AA degree and finish as many requirements for their major as possible. So, I decided to take advantage of dual enrollment, and three years later, I now have 67 total college credits and earned my AA degree while maintaining a 4.000 unweighted high school and college GPA and a 4.678 weighted GPA. I plan on using what I learned from this experience to utilize opportunities to my fullest potential. So many people often allow opportunities to pass them by, not realizing they won't be there forever. If I did not take dual enrollment seriously, I would have had to pay thousands of dollars more to take classes required for my major and to get my AA degree. So, I learned how I need to use every opportunity. For example, I get invited to tutor students for the SAT. Although I doubted my ability to train students in the SAT for the Reading and Writing section, I still decided to utilize the opportunity because I knew it wouldn't be there much longer. Now, it is a fantastic talking point for scholarships. So, I learned how important it is to utilize opportunities because if you don't, you can never better yourself. For example, if I decided not to tutor in the schoolhouse.world (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510), I would have never gained confidence in myself to tutor students. I love tutoring students, and it shocks me how I was about to let an opportunity to do the thing I love the most go. So, in the future, I plan to utilize as many opportunities as possible, like scholarships, grants, jobs, etc., to get out of college debt free since medical school is expensive. It would be advantageous if I could attend medical school with no debt beforehand since it would make it easier to pay back medical school costs without worrying about university costs.

I learned how important it is to be financially literate. How I plan on educating myself and others to be financially literate is restraint. These days, we are surrounded by ads telling us to buy items, but we do not have to be mindless consumers. Instead of buying something immediately, we can wait until there is a sale and do more research to see if there is a cheaper, better alternative. For example, I wanted to buy a game for $19.99 but wanted a better deal. So, I researched and found a retailer that sold the game for cheaper; however, I waited until a sale came, and I got the game for $4.99. So, I was able to save $15 by doing research and being patient. Another way to become financially literate is to set goals. For example, if you are tight on money, set a goal of x dollars for groceries or luxury items. That way, you can keep track of your finances. If you do not set a goal, you will lose track of how much money you spend, leading to more debt. A fantastic tool to become more financially literate is to use tools like Personal Capital. Personal Capital allows you to keep track of your investments, net worth, and spending, which is great because having a visual representation of all of these important things is essential to becoming financially literate. In addition, it can allow you to make more innovative investments or find a way to stretch your budget. Another important thing is to stop following investment trends. There are always videos on how XYZ will become the next big thing, and although they are sometimes correct, you often lose your investment. So, before investing, make sure to conduct research on the investment and see if it will generate income or will lose money. You can also use investment companies that will take your money and invest it for you. Saving is a huge step to becoming financially literate. 44% of Americans do not have enough money to cover a $400 emergency. A great way to save money is to budget. See what you are spending money on and then divide that into essentials and luxury items. See if you can reduce the amount of money you spend on either, especially luxury items, since they are not needed, unlike food and water. Becoming financially literate is essential not only for the present but the future. By being more financially literate, you can afford to buy more things and save enough money in the future for retirement and generational wealth. Although it is hard to focus on the future in the present, focusing on the end will help your future self, where you will live more comfortably. I plan to use all this knowledge in college to save money. I hope to be a doctor in the future, and I know medical school costs are pretty high. So, by saving money as early as possible, I do not have to use as many loans to pay for medical school, which will be important down the line since many new doctors live paycheck to paycheck because they have to pay all of their loans with interest accumulated. So, by saving now, I have to pay much less interest back in the future when I become a doctor, which will allow me to pay off all of my debt and become financially secure much earlier than if I decided not to save. By taking the difficult steps now, I can make life easier for myself in the future. Although it will be annoying that I cannot go out to as many movies or buy as many items as I want to, by saving that money, I can pay off medical school at a much more efficient rate. I hope to build my own clinic in the future, so saving now is essential, so I can get out of debt sooner, which will give me a higher chance that a bank is willing to provide me with a loan for a clinic, which I hope to build near my community since many of my community members delay appointments to see a doctor since doctors are so far away. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community, so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their needs and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

We must work to understand the nature of our universe better because it allows us to transform our lives. Back then, bacteria would kill more people in wars than bullets. If a soldier got an infection, the only solution was amputation to save the rest of the body. It was so bad that some people who got pricked by touching a red rose would die from infection weeks later. However, by learning how microorganisms defend themselves from bacteria using antibiotics, we can allow humans to live longer and happier lives. We have to continue researching, even if we are unsure of the benefit of the item we are investigating. For example, when Boolean Algebra was created, its creator did not believe it had a use, and now boolean algebra is fundamental in computers. So, by researching currently, we can aid future generations who find a benefit from our discoveries. I am interested in biochemistry because I love the medical field. I hope to work with others to create medicines that save lives. I am especially interested in gene editing since it is an exciting field because it allows us to prevent defects in children from growing worse. For example, suppose a child is born with a DNA that prints out the wrong mRNA for an essential protein, like recognization proteins, which can cause the immune system to kill its cells. By gene editing, we can fix genetic mistakes in DNA and cure genetic disorders like deafness, color blindness, and so much more. The impact of gene editing can have limitless possibilities. And why stop there? We can make humans more robust, faster, and intelligent and change our plants to yield more food while using less water and sunlight. We can create trees that absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide to combat climate change. Gene editing is an exciting new field that can transform our lives. Listening to others is the concept I hope to employ to understand our universe better. A single person never makes discoveries; instead, they are found by many people from different backgrounds. If a project does not allow diverse opinions, it can cause a project to be unsuccessful or yield no useful information because other ideas are not heard. I remember in middle school how vital it was in projects to listen to others. My team and I had to create many projects, and I learned how a leader's role is to listen to all ideas and implement the best ones. Without a leader, the project is without direction and focus. And without allowing different opinions, the project may not adapt or change in a way that would yield better results. So, I hope to utilize leadership when learning more about the world.

My World History teacher influenced me to be the person I am today. I was a 9th grader, and my school was a Charter blue ribbon school, so I knew the classes would be challenging. However, World History is the most demanding course I have ever encountered. The tests and assignments were brutal. However, the teacher cared about his students. Coming from middle school, my middle school did a terrible job preparing me for high school, so I struggled initially in his class. However, although I did not realize it then, he was preparing me for college-level courses. The amount of writing I had to do in the class improved my writing skills drastically. It's ironic really, I thought I would improve my writing in English class, but history class benefitted me the most. I also learned how to create citations in his class. Another one of the ways he prepared us was with presentations. I never did presentations before, and I was anxious. However, he helped encourage me, and I could present very well in his classes. It allowed me to interact with people and convey my ideas more effectively. The best thing about my World History teacher is his encouragement. Although he was very tough with the other students and me, it was because he wanted us to improve. He knew how college would consist of a lot of writing, and he wanted to do his best to prepare us for college. One of the best things about my World History teacher is he was engaged with the material. I was not a fan of history, but his enthusiasm for the subject made me love history. I loved learning about the world, and he always connected historical events with modern-day events that were occurring at the time, so it made students like me see the benefit of learning history. His encouraging words were the best part of the class. Whenever you did outstanding in an assignment, he would let you know it, which fostered a positive course environment. Students were engaged and excited to come to his class every day. One of the best things I received from him is a Valedictorian award in his class. Although it does not seem like much, he was one of the most demanding teachers I have ever had, so it meant a lot coming from him. He helped me build the skills and self-confidence needed for my college education. I will never be able to thank him for all he did because, without him, I would have never developed the skills necessary to do well in my college courses.

I am Steven Eskander, a dual-enrolled high school senior who wants to become a doctor. I have a 4.0 unweighted college GPA and a 4.678 weighted GPA. I love learning about medicine, and I am a strong student. Unfortunately, I never took my mental health seriously, and this has caused stress to creep up into my life and devastate me mentally and physically. I have learned how doubting yourself, and worrying accomplishes nothing but only brings pain and misery. I recall how I failed a test in my Calculus I class, and this test was essential to the overall grade. So, I worried that I might fail the class. This was when stress appeared. I consistently doubted my ability to make it past dual enrollment and questioned whether I was good enough for this. I also realized how your mental health could affect your physical health. It was hard to breathe, and I could not tell if I was hungry since I always felt like throwing up. Whenever I distracted myself, like walking or going to the gym, I felt normal, but when I started to think about school, my heartbeat would race, and it would be hard to breathe again. It began to impact my relationship with my family, where they could not converse with me since I would always push them away. My confidence plummeted, and I did not trust in my ability to do well academically. However, one day, my dad went on a long walk with me and talked about how the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He spoke about how fear can cause many health complications and how you hurt yourself by worrying so much. Then, he told me something I will never forget. He said, "Life does not stop when you start worrying. You can either spend your entire life worrying or spend your entire life enjoying it." This one talk snapped me out of it. I realized that if I doubted myself, I would never be able to accomplish my dreams because I would not believe in myself. I can never become a doctor unless I trust myself when treating a patient. That talk helped me realize that we only have a limited time on Earth. How we spend it is up to us. We can either live in fear, never accomplish our true potential, or realize that the world requires hard work. You can never achieve anything without failing and trying again. I still have my fears and anxiety, but I can manage them, and they do not impact me as much as they did. I also started to build self-confidence, allowing me to pass all my classes with high A's and maintain my 4.0 unweighted college GPA.

What inspired me to get involved in my community are teachers. Whenever I was lost, I could rely on teachers to bring me back up. Many students in my community need tutoring assistance but can’t afford the fees, so I do my best to offer high-quality free tutoring in my community. For example: I give back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. For example, during COVID-19, I found a way to give back to my community by becoming a teacher’s assistant (TA) to students in an Honors Statistics course that used the programming language R for statistical computing and graphics. In my Honors Statistics course, we used files that were difficult to work with because they did not specify why a specific line of code did not work. Unfortunately, many of these files were broken. I spent multiple hours scouring through forums and discovered how the files misplaced formulas that disrupted the program’s function. Volunteering to fix and reformat these files by making it easier to insert answers in them helped my classmates significantly! I also created chapter guides for the homework. Hence, students knew the functions needed for questions. I tutored students in one-on-one sessions by working through different yet similar questions using the homework guides to encourage students to find solutions by themselves. This process has created long-lasting changes for me and developed my ability to manage my time for my own responsibilities while also making time to consider the needs of others. I discovered a motivation to work hard for my own success while inventing ways to support the success of others. Another example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. Free high-quality tutoring is essential to a community, especially students because it encourages students to continue their education. If students do not get the help they need, they feel they are not suited to continue their education and, therefore, are less likely to continue their education. However, if a tutor explains concepts clearly and concisely, the student’s confidence is boosted, and they are encouraged to continue their education. Whenever I was confused, and a teacher clarified a concept, I felt more confident and trusted in my ability to continue my education. Students who do not find the help they need are discouraged from continuing their education, which is harmful because education is the best way to improve a person’s standard of living. So, free high-quality is essential to encourage students to continue their education and improve their standard of living and their communities.

Our PE teacher decided to have a competition where four students would have to pull a tire to their side of the court to win. So, there were three guys and one girl. When the competition began, everyone pulled as hard as possible to win. However, my arms started to get tired. I did not want to lose the match, but I needed some way to rest myself. So, because of my big size, I decided to sit down while grabbing the wheel. It became 10x harder for the competitors because they had to pull the tire and my weight alongside it. Finally, I could rest for five minutes before getting back up and pulling again. Sadly, I still lost; however, it was one of the funniest moments I remember. My PE teacher congratulated me for quick thinking on utilizing my size to my advantage. Another funny situation was when playing football. We were up against a fast team, and we had no chance. However, I decided to use my size to my advantage. When they would about to throw the ball, I would run full speed at them, and seeing me run like a train at them scared them so much that they would throw the football in any direction so they could run away. This allowed my teammates to catch the football and score points. I used my size again to score easy points when we were playing lacrosse. On offense, I would run full speed to score a goal, and people would jump out of my way. I would not be able to stop even if I tried with the rate I was going. However, my size would benefit defense the most. When defending the goal, I never needed to use my hands, but I would use my body to block the shot. Our goal was tiny, so it was hard to score. It would be easier to deflect the ball with your body than your hands. So, being one of the biggest guys on the field, I would block all the shots with my body while my team could score goal after goal. As a result, we were able to win multiple games. It was the most fun I ever had, and my team would always compliment my defense strategy. It was the most I ever had in 9th grade PE class because of the great memories made in PE class. I hope you enjoyed my stories about how my size benefitted me in PE class.

I have learned how doubting yourself, and worrying accomplishes nothing but only brings pain and misery. I recall how I failed a test in my Calculus I class, and this test was essential to the overall grade. So, I worried that I might fail the class. This was when stress appeared. I consistently doubted my ability to make it past dual enrollment and questioned whether I was good enough for this. I also realized how your mental health could affect your physical health. It was hard to breathe, and I could not tell if I was hungry since I always felt like throwing up. Whenever I distracted myself, like walking or going to the gym, I felt normal, but when I started to think about school, my heartbeat would race, and it would be hard to breathe again. It began to impact my relationship with my family, where they could not converse with me since I would always push them away. My confidence plummeted, and I did not trust in my ability to do well academically. However, one day, my dad went on a long walk with me and talked about how the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He spoke about how fear can cause many health complications and how you hurt yourself by worrying so much. Then, he told me something I will never forget. He said, "Life does not stop when you start worrying. You can either spend your entire life worrying or spend your entire life enjoying it." This one talk snapped me out of it. I realized that if I doubted myself, I would never be able to accomplish my dreams because I would not believe in myself. I can never become a doctor unless I trust myself when treating a patient. That talk helped me realize that we only have a limited time on Earth. How we spend it is up to us. We can either live in fear, never accomplish our true potential, or realize that the world requires hard work. You can never achieve anything without failing and trying again. I still have my fears and anxiety, but I can manage them, and they do not impact me as much as they did. I also started to build self-confidence, allowing me to pass all my classes with high A's and maintain my 4.0 unweighted college GPA.

What inspired me to get involved in my community are teachers. Whenever I was lost, I could rely on teachers to bring me back up. Many students in my community need tutoring assistance but can’t afford the fees, so I do my best to offer high-quality free tutoring in my community. For example: I give back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. For example, during COVID-19, I found a way to give back to my community by becoming a teacher’s assistant (TA) to students in an Honors Statistics course that used the programming language R for statistical computing and graphics. In my Honors Statistics course, we used files that were difficult to work with because they did not specify why a specific line of code did not work. Unfortunately, many of these files were broken. I spent multiple hours scouring through forums and discovered how the files misplaced formulas that disrupted the program’s function. Volunteering to fix and reformat these files by making it easier to insert answers in them helped my classmates significantly! I also created chapter guides for the homework. Hence, students knew the functions needed for questions. I tutored students in one-on-one sessions by working through different yet similar questions using the homework guides to encourage students to find solutions by themselves. This process has created long-lasting changes for me and developed my ability to manage my time for my own responsibilities while also making time to consider the needs of others. I discovered a motivation to work hard for my own success while inventing ways to support the success of others. Another example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. Free high-quality tutoring is essential to a community, especially students because it encourages students to continue their education. If students do not get the help they need, they feel they are not suited to continue their education and, therefore, are less likely to continue their education. However, if a tutor explains concepts clearly and concisely, the student’s confidence is boosted, and they are encouraged to continue their education. Whenever I was confused, and a teacher clarified a concept, I felt more confident and trusted in my ability to continue my education. Students who do not find the help they need are discouraged from continuing their education, which is harmful because education is the best way to improve a person’s standard of living. So, free high-quality is essential to encourage students to continue their education and improve their standard of living and their communities. By helping tutor students, I support a generation of students continue their education to become doctors, engineers, and scientists.

A book that has transformed my life is the Bible. The lessons you can learn from it are extraordinary, and I want to share one of these lessons with you. When Jesus was born, he picked fishermen as his apostles. This does not make much sense when you think about it; why would Jesus choose uneducated people to spread his message? Would it not be more beneficial to pick philosophers, teachers, scholars, etc.? Unfortunately, they were not good at being apostles initially. Many of them doubted, and despite seeing Jesus walk on water, Peter, when he went to walk on water too, started doubting and fell into the water. However, despite these drawbacks, Jesus was patient and helped them improve by teaching them and nurturing them to spiritual maturity. As a result, they could do miracles on their own in Christ's name. After Jesus was crucified and got resurrected, the apostles were able to raise the dead, heal diseases, and so much more. When I was small, I did not understand the point of God picking spiritually weak, uneducated people, but it all makes sense now. The Bible shows how anyone can improve themselves through Christ. The Bible shows how a person can go from an uneducated fisherman to a speaker who can debate against philosophers and come out on top. Anyone from any background can improve themselves, provided they can foster the willpower to improve themselves. You can apply this to everyday life. Sometimes, I believe that my circumstances limit me and that I cannot improve myself, but I realized that anyone could improve themselves as long as they put in the work needed. Only you can stop yourself from accomplishing your dreams. The Bible taught me a great lesson, and I use the task every day to help me improve my circumstances and myself. Currently, my dream is to become a doctor, and although I doubted my abilities numerous times, I came out on top with my 4.000 unweighted college GPA, 4.678 weighted GPA, and ranked 1/68 in a blue-ribbon school. For example, I took advantage of dual enrollment to finish as many credits as possible for my major. As a result of my hard work, I have my AA degree and have completed more than half of the credits required for my major, which will allow me to get my degree faster. If you put in enough hard work, you can improve and make your dream a reality.

I have gone above and beyond myself in my life by maintaining a 4.0 unweighted college GPA while giving back to my community. During my Junior year at my high school, I wanted to help out my community, but COVID-19 put a halt to community activities, and I never had the chance to volunteer at my community before. However, an opportunity came up in my Honors statistics class in dual enrollment. During COVID-19, I found a way to give back to my community by becoming a teacher’s assistant (TA) to students in an Honors Statistics course that used the programming language R for statistical computing and graphics. In my Honors Statistics course, we used files that were difficult to work with because they did not specify why a specific line of code did not work. Unfortunately, many of these files were broken. I spent multiple hours scouring through forums and discovered how the files misplaced formulas that disrupted the program’s function. Volunteering to fix and reformat these files by making it easier to insert answers in them helped my classmates significantly! I also created chapter guides for the homework. Hence, students knew the functions needed for questions. I tutored students in one-on-one sessions by working through different yet similar questions using the homework guides to encourage students to find solutions by themselves. Despite the fact I was taking Calculus I, General Chemistry I with Lab, Composition I, and Intro to Public Speaking alongside Honors Statistics class, I was able to maintain a 4.0 unweighted college GPA. I was able to give 108 hours to my community by helping tutor students. Free high-quality tutoring is essential to a community, especially students because it encourages students to continue their education. If students do not get the help they need, they feel they are not suited to continue their education and, therefore, are less likely to continue their education. However, if a tutor explains concepts clearly and concisely, the student’s confidence is boosted, and they are encouraged to continue their education. Whenever I was confused, and a teacher clarified a concept, I felt more confident and trusted in my ability to continue my education. Students who do not find the help they need are discouraged from continuing their education, which is harmful because education is the best way to improve a person’s standard of living. So, free high-quality is essential to encourage students to continue their education and improve their standard of living and their communities. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

After graduating from Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus, I will volunteer in a hospital during the Summer of 2023 to gain experience in the medical field. My career plan is to attend Florida Gulf Coast University (Accepted) and major in biochemistry. I want to go to medical school, and biochemistry is an excellent major for that! The major covers all the classes required for medical school and the material in the MCAT (a test medical schools use to determine acceptance). So, the major will prepare me for the required classes for medical schools and give me the knowledge necessary to get a great score on the MCAT. Another reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Especially as a surgeon, I will need to recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a headstart and allow me to become a better doctor. The work I have done to work towards my goal is making the most of my dual-enrollment opportunities. For example, despite being advised otherwise, I took the maximum amount of credits through dual enrollment to finish as many credits for my major as possible during high school. Because of my efforts, I have finished more than half of the required credits for my major in biochemistry. Despite being a high schooler, I finished my AA degree! This will allow me to save money on my tuition, which I will be able to spend on the cost of medical school. The hardships I experienced were regarding stress, and I learned how worrying accomplishes nothing but only brings pain and misery. I recall how I failed a test in my Calculus I class, and this test was essential to the overall grade. So, I worried that I might fail the class. This was when stress appeared. I consistently doubted my ability to make it past dual enrollment and questioned whether I was good enough for this. I also realized how your mental health could affect your physical health. It was hard to breathe, and I could not tell if I was hungry since I always felt like throwing up. Whenever I distracted myself, like walking or going to the gym, I felt normal, but when I started to think about school, my heartbeat would race, and it would be hard to breathe again. However, one day, my dad went on a long walk with me and talked about how the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He talked about how fear can cause many health complications and how you hurt yourself by worrying so much. Then, he told me something I will never forget. He said, "Life does not stop when you start worrying. You can either spend your entire life worrying or spend your entire life enjoying it." This one talk snapped me out of it. I realized that if I doubted myself, I would never be able to accomplish my dreams because I would not believe in myself. I can never become a doctor unless I trust myself when treating a patient. I matured a lot from that talk, and although I still worry from time to time, I can control my fears and stop myself from worrying all the time. As a result of this self-confidence, I passed all my classes, including Calculus I, with high A's.

I have learned how doubting yourself, and worrying accomplishes nothing but only brings pain and misery. I recall how I failed a test in my Calculus I class, and this test was essential to the overall grade. So, I worried that I might fail the class. This was when stress appeared. I consistently doubted my ability to make it past dual enrollment and questioned whether I was good enough for this. I also realized how your mental health could affect your physical health. It was hard to breathe, and I could not tell if I was hungry since I always felt like throwing up. Whenever I distracted myself, like walking or going to the gym, I felt normal, but when I started to think about school, my heartbeat would race, and it would be hard to breathe again. However, one day, my dad went on a long walk with me and talked about how the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. He talked about how fear can cause many health complications and how you hurt yourself by worrying so much. Then, he told me something I will never forget. He said, "Life does not stop when you start worrying. You can either spend your entire life worrying or spend your entire life enjoying it." This one talk snapped me out of it. I realized that if I doubted myself, I would never be able to accomplish my dreams because I would not believe in myself. I can never become a doctor unless I trust myself when treating a patient. I matured a lot from that talk, and although I still worry from time to time, I can control my fears and stop myself from worrying all the time. As a result of this self-confidence, I passed all my classes, including Calculus I, with high A's. This experience helped tremendously when I had the opportunity to tutor in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. I was afraid my students would not benefit from my teaching and would go into the SAT unprepared and worried. I doubted myself. I did not want to disappoint my students. However, I realized that I needed to trust myself. I have already tutored students before, and they all appreciated my teaching methods, so instead of turning away the opportunity to tutor in the schoolhouse.world, I decided to embrace it and agreed to tutor the session. Although I was nervous during the first session, I soon spoke confidently to my students and explained concepts to them to prepare them for the SAT. Many of my students loved my teaching method and have followed my profile in anticipation of future sessions. I got 21 Super Helpful ratings and 9 Helpful ratings. If I had continued to doubt myself, I would have never pursued this opportunity and missed out on gaining additional tutoring experience. I learned that you would never know what you are capable of unless you put yourself in uncomfortable situations and try to make the most out of them. Schoolhouse.world was that awkward situation, and I was able to come out as a better tutor while helping prepare my students to score fantastic on the SAT.

I am Steven Eskander, an Early Admission student at Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon School). I have a 4.0 unweighted college GPA and a 4.635 weighted GPA. I am ranked 1/68 in my school. I love giving back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. An example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. I remember a story from my PE teacher that shocked me. My coach was playing football and broke his thumb, and his doctor gave him 50 painkillers to deal with the pain. Fortunately, my coach, who at the time had great restraint, only took one and disposed of the other pills appropriately. I was determined to major in biochemistry to understand medicine to treat my patients as effectively as possible without the risk of addiction. No one needs to suffer through pain because they are worried about addiction. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

Daily choices impact the environment in many ways. Everyday decisions we make, like online shopping and driving, can affect the environment. The best way to combat climate change is to live more sustainably. To do that, we must change our lifestyle to use fewer resources. I strive to live sustainably by reducing waste. For example, eating leftovers instead of throwing them reduces the organic waste that goes to landfills. Another way I try to live sustainably is by buying clothes for long-term use. Sadly, fast fashion is causing people to buy clothes rapidly and throw them out just as fast, contributing to carbon dioxide emissions. By buying clothes for long-term use and buying used clothes, I reduce waste. Therefore, less material ends up in landfills. Another critical step is to reuse plastic. Whenever I buy plastic bottles, I refill them with filtered tap water so I can keep reusing them on later occasions. I remember a phrase regarding plastic which is a great way to guide yourself when buying plastic. Reuse, Recycle, and Refuse. Although the first two are known, I especially love the Refuse part of the phrase. If we do not need to buy something that contains plastic and is harmful to the environment, it is better not to buy it. If possible, buy a biodegradable version of said product that is less harmful to the environment and reduces your carbon dioxide emissions. I also love to buy biodegradable products. For example, clean wipes are handy in various situations, but the ones I purchased did not biodegrade; however, I found a competitor that sells biodegradable wipes. Therefore, I am not only reducing my carbon dioxide emissions and encouraging the market to focus on more biodegradable products since I am voting with my money. If more people buy biodegradable products, the market will shift to more biodegradable products, which can cause the newer generation to exclusively buy biodegradable products since the market is focused on biodegradable products since the previous generation voted with their money. I love to buy local products because it not only supports our local farmers but also reduces carbon dioxide emissions since the trucks transporting the products must travel fewer miles than, for example, a ship from across the world. However, the most crucial step in living sustainably is to be the change you want to see. The reason is that others will follow in your footsteps. If your friends started living more sustainably, you would like to imitate them. So, by becoming the change you want to be, you can encourage others to become more aware of their carbon emissions and reduce their carbon footprint.

Having integrity means sticking to your values. For example, if someone talks about how littering is terrible, but they litter themselves, they are a hypocrite. Having integrity is the same as honor because it is honorable to keep your integrity. I remember in middle school, there was an event where we would walk around our vast campus multiple times for a marathon. However, I didn't particularly appreciate how much people littered. We were given plastic bottles to drink water, but people would throw them in the ground. I decided to do something about it and started picking up the bottles. There were hundreds of students, so I had to pick up hundreds of bottles. My friends started joining me, and soon, the teachers and the principal noticed. We were not doing it for the attention; we did it because we disliked the trash on our beautiful campus. Instead of complaining about a problem and doing nothing to improve it, my friends and I decided to do something about it. Another reason I did it was because I appreciated all of the hard work the janitors put in. They would work to keep our campus clean, and I wanted to show appreciation by helping them out. They could leave home early that day because of the progress my friends and I made in cleaning up the mess. Another example is when my friends would talk about personal matters with me. They trusted me that I would never share that knowledge with anyone else, and I never did. Even when others asked me, I refrained because trust is precious. Breaking it can cause the person never to trust another individual again. On the other hand, many people need a friend to talk to, and I am always open for people to share their feelings. One of my favorite quotes regarding integrity is, "Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity." - W. Clement Stone.

I had a friend in middle school called Matthew. He was my best friend. We would talk for hours and still have more to say. However, one day, I saw something change in my friend. He started talking less and became sadder. At first, I thought it was something at home, so I did not give it too much attention, but he would not talk to anyone, not even his friend group. I knew something was wrong, so I tried talking to him, but it was almost as if he had to spend tremendous energy to get a few words out of his mouth. Whenever he did speak, he was sad, depressed, and felt alone. I did not know what he was going through, but I wanted my friend back. The warning signs came when he was talking about killing himself. He was talking about ingesting batteries or pills and was asking which one was more effective. I had never felt more afraid in my life. I did not want to read one day in the news about how my friend killed himself. However, I did not know who to talk to. I tried to help him by talking to him, but I realized it was not working. I did not have the experience of a mental health counselor. I asked around my school and learned there was a mental health counselor, so I decided to speak to her the next day because I learned about this information after her office was closed for the day. When I had to go to sleep, I saw my friend's texts, and they were very alarming. I was worried I might lose my friend very soon. When school began, I rushed to the mental health counselor, but she was not there. I panicked. I did not know if my friend could make it another day, so I looked for an authority figure and spotted the vice principal. I told him everything, and he told me to go to his office. He made me write what I observed about my friend and sign it, saying everything I said was true. The paper listed all the consequences if I lied, and I was worried that I might get my family in trouble, but I put that aside for my friend. I was a middle schooler then, so I did not fully understand legal paperwork. Despite the fact I was telling the truth, I was worried that by signing it, I would get in trouble. Later that day, my friend spoke to the mental health counselor and felt much better. They started to put him on medication, but he improved drastically. He was happier, more cheerful again. I got my friend back. It was a scary experience because I was afraid to lose my friend, but we were never encouraged to report this. I did not even know the school had a mental health counselor until I asked around, which shows the lack of effort to let students know that these resources exist. If my friend knew these resources existed, he would have gotten the help he needed much faster, but no one told us. This experience forever changed me because I now know the warning signs of depression. I learned how it is essential to act and report it. It may be too late for the victim if you ignore it or wait too long. Now, I encourage anyone struggling with mental issues to speak to a mental health counselor. Some people think they can help their depressed friends by talking to them, but recommending them to a professional is the better option since they are trained to deal with situations like this. Despite being in different states, we still talk to this day, and he is much happier now!

Collaboration and diversity are essential in advancing the healthcare and medical field because it allows people from different backgrounds and perspectives to try to solve similar problems. For example, an American doctor may solve a medical issue differently than a European doctor. A better and more efficient way can be created by looking at both methods. If you look at a problem with only one pair of eyes, you may struggle or not find a solution. Still, by having multiple doctors from different backgrounds look at the same problem, they can come up with a solution using the medical knowledge they learned. For example, some surgeries would require a neurosurgeon and a plastic surgeon to work in unison to treat a patient in a car accident. I will apply these values to my future work in this field by working with medical professionals from different backgrounds and learning from them while also providing them with the knowledge I know; that way, all of us benefit and come out more knowledgeable. I plan on becoming a surgeon in the future. I hope to implement collaboration and diversity in the medical field by working with doctors from different areas on the same patient should the circumstance call for it. An experience where I had to work in a collaborative setting that helped me succeed was in a middle school recording class. We had to create a parody of Youtube Rewind 2018 as our project. This was a massive undertaking since it required weeks of nonstop editing and recording to get the final product. I was the leader of the group. However, I knew I would need help from my classmates on this, so I called on a meeting where we would discuss ideas. By having more than one pair of eyes on a problem, my classmates and I planned precisely what would be included in the parody video. This experience taught me that diversity is essential and helps if you have people with different ideas and backgrounds come together for a project to be successful. Having multiple people on a project gives you ideas you would have never thought of. It is a team effort that rewards the group by sharing their ideas and thoughts. Ultimately, we created a video that everyone loved and got a fantastic grade on it. The video would not have been possible if collaboration and diversity were not utilized for this video project.

I am Steven Eskander, an Early Admission student at Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon School). I have a 4.0 unweighted college GPA and a 4.635 weighted GPA. I am ranked 1/68 in my school. I love giving back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. An example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. My family and I are fortunate to have immigrated to America for a better life. However, my family does not have the funds necessary to fund my college education, let alone my medical school career path. My younger brother has an absence seizure, and the medication for this condition is costly. So, my family cannot afford my education, so I am seeking scholarships so I do not have to worry about getting a job that will distract me from my academic work and community. I don't want to burden my family with debts, so this scholarship would remove that financial burden on my family and myself. Biochemistry is a challenging major, and it will be hard to focus on my studies if I also have to find a job to pay for my education. This scholarship would help me focus on my academic courses and volunteer in my community. If I have to get a job to support my education, I will not be able to volunteer and help in my community. I love tutoring and have experience tutoring students from Ghana, Nigeria, and Jordan. I tutored a session of 12 students for four weeks on schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy, for the SAT (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). If I can get this scholarship to help with the college costs, that is time I can spend on my academic work and my community instead of trying to pay off my tuition.

I am Steven Eskander, an Early Admission student at Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon School). I have a 4.0 unweighted college GPA and a 4.635 weighted GPA. I am ranked 1/68 in my school. I love giving back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. An example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. I remember a story from my PE teacher that shocked me. My coach was playing football and broke his thumb, and his doctor gave him 50 painkillers to deal with the pain. Fortunately, my coach, who at the time had great restraint, only took one and disposed of the other pills appropriately. I was determined to major in biochemistry to understand medicine to treat my patients as effectively as possible without the risk of addiction. No one needs to suffer through pain because they are worried about addiction. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

1) I am passionate about medicine. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. 2) I have what it takes to overcome obstacles because I have a great work ethic. I am ranked 1/68 in Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon school), and I have a 4.00 college GPA and a 4.648 weighted GPA. Although it would be challenging, I took the maximum amount of college classes I could through dual enrollment to use the opportunities I have to the best of my ability. Because of that, I have already completed more than half of the credits required for my major in biochemistry in high school. 3) I help those less fortunate than me via tutoring. For example, I tutored a session of 12 students for four weeks via schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy) Free high-quality tutoring is essential to a community, especially students because it encourages students to continue their education. If students do not get the help they need, they feel they are not suited to continue their education and, therefore, are less likely to continue their education. However, if a tutor explains concepts clearly and concisely, the student’s confidence is boosted, and they are encouraged to continue their education. Whenever I was confused, and a teacher clarified a concept, I felt more confident and trusted in my ability to continue my education. Students who do not find the help they need are discouraged from continuing their education, which is harmful because education is the best way to improve a person’s standard of living. So, free high-quality is essential to encourage students to continue their education and improve their standard of living and their communities. I want to help those less fortunate than me in the future by becoming a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments. The problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. I remember a story from my PE teacher that shocked me. My coach was playing football and broke his thumb, and his doctor gave him 50 painkillers to deal with the pain. Fortunately, my coach, who at the time had great restraint, only took one and disposed of the other pills appropriately. I was determined to major in biochemistry to understand medicine to treat my patients as effectively as possible without the risk of addiction. No one needs to suffer through pain because they are worried about addiction. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions. I also love helping people. Helping a person through a struggle, pain, regret, etc., is beautiful. However, some people are living life not to its fullest because of medical conditions, leading to stress, anxiety, depression, and other negatives. So, by being a doctor, I can give those people another opportunity to live life normally again. Rather than let conditions that require surgery linger on and on, people will trust their doctor to make them feel whole again. That is why I want to be a doctor so people can live their happiest lives.

Education is the change I want to see in my community, the country, and the world. Sadly, I see many students, the same age as me, get discouraged and decide not to continue their education because they see it as too hard because they do not have access to a tutor to help them understand. If more people focus on education, we can have more doctors, engineers, and scientists. I love giving back to my community in my spare time by offering free, high-quality tutoring. For example, during COVID-19, I found a way to give back to my community by becoming a teacher’s assistant (TA) to students in an Honors Statistics course that used the programming language R for statistical computing and graphics. In my Honors Statistics course, we used files that were difficult to work with because they did not specify why a specific line of code did not work. Unfortunately, many of these files were broken. I spent multiple hours scouring through forums and discovered how the files misplaced formulas that disrupted the program’s function. Volunteering to fix and reformat these files by making it easier to insert answers in them helped my classmates significantly! I also created chapter guides for the homework. Hence, students knew the functions needed for questions. I tutored students in one-on-one sessions by working through different yet similar questions using the homework guides to encourage students to find solutions by themselves. This process has created long-lasting changes for me and developed my ability to manage my time for my own responsibilities while also making time to consider the needs of others. I discovered a motivation to work hard for my own success while inventing ways to support the success of others. Volunteering impacted my long-term goals because it showed me how to lead in any situation. In addition, this helped me be more confident in my ability to help others and seek more leadership opportunities in the future. Another example of giving back to my community is in my chemistry classes. When I would go to office hours, I would see that the professor was busy with many students, and the students would ask questions I would know how to explain, so to lighten the load on my professor, I offered to volunteer during office hours and would help students in one-on-one sessions so they can understand the material. The professor made us put our data from labs into excel so we could interpret the data. However, some of my classmates would not be able to attend these labs for varying circumstances, so I volunteered to create excel spreadsheets for absent students so they could interpret the data and understand the main critical ideas from the lab so they would be caught up. The final example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. I was afraid my students would not benefit from my teaching and would go into the SAT unprepared and worried. So, I focused on making each lesson the best possible. I would spend multiple hours preparing for each session and reviewing potential questions I may get, so I know how to answer appropriately. Another challenge was cultural differences. I had students from various countries, including Jordan, Ghana, and Nigeria, so it was hard to explain some English concepts to them. For example, there are sayings in America that have no other explanation except they are the way a phrase is said. So, I would try to review many of these examples, so my students are not tripped up on the SAT because of these sayings. Another problem was the time regions. I had a student who, if the session were taking place at 2:00 P.M., would take place for him at 6:00 P.M., so I also had to focus on getting students engaged with the material. I was able to overcome all of these obstacles with positivity. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my session had great reviews, and many of the students personally thanked me for my efforts. I learned how to engage students more effectively in tutoring and the benefits of positive feedback loops. This experience made me love giving back to the community even more, and I plan to tutor at Florida Gulf Coast University, where I have been accepted. In total, I have volunteered 184 hours. Free high-quality tutoring is essential to a community because it encourages students to continue their education. If students do not get the help they need, they feel they are not suited to continue their education and, therefore, are less likely to continue their education. However, if a tutor explains concepts clearly and concisely, the student’s confidence is boosted, and they are encouraged to continue their education. Whenever I was confused, and a teacher clarified a concept, I felt more confident and trusted in my ability to continue my education. Students who do not find the help they need are discouraged from continuing their education, which is harmful because education is the best way to improve a person’s standard of living. So, free high-quality is essential to encourage students to continue their education and improve their standard of living and their communities. So, tutoring is essential to encourage people to continue their education.

Dirty Heads - Vacation. This song has an important message about hard work. The music is about a principal loving his job and waking up every day to work. Because he loves his job, every day is a vacation for him. So he does what he loves to do. This message is essential, but not many people give it attention. Many people hate their jobs and live only for the weekend, yet despite this, they feel there is no way out of this cycle. So, this song talks about how you can change your circumstances and find a job that suits you. If you find a job you genuinely love, every day will feel like a vacation. What is amazing about this song is that there are comments from people about how the song encouraged them to find a different job. So, this song had a positive impact on the lives of people. But is it an easy road? The song admits that it will not be easy but shows how the reward is worth it. The principal talks about how he went through sweat and blood to get to where he is now, but life is simple and easy, and he is having the times of their life. So, the song's message is about how you can change your occupation if you do not like it. Will it be a tough road ahead? Yes, but the reward of waking up every day to a job you love is worth it.

Generational wealth means having enough money to pass down to your children's future for their education and where they can live comfortably. I plan to create generational wealth in the future with my job and investments. First, I plan to get a degree in Biochemistry to allow me to enter medical school. Then, after finishing medical school, I plan to become a surgeon and open a clinic in my community. Since many of my neighbors have to travel miles for a doctor, setting my clinic in my community will allow me to have a regular number of customers. Then, I will, later on, try to make the clinic turn into a big hospital where people in my community can get treatment for all types of diseases. I will also try to invest in real estate since it is a stable and reliable source of income since housing is always in demand. Moreover, I will try to invest as early as possible because investing in new properties will be worthwhile since they will grow in value. Although being a surgeon is a high-paying job, taking the time to have other sources of income will pay in the long term because I will have more money to leave behind my children to ensure they have enough money for their education and to live a comfortable life without having to rely on loans for their investments or to get a house. However, the most significant investment is in my children's future. Since my family is immigrants, we never had the chance to utilize Florida Pre-Paid (it allows parents to save money for their children's education), so I hope to use that for my children's future. By using Florida Pre-Paid, my children do not have to worry about the cost of their education and can spend more time planning their future. I will also have to teach them how to be responsible with money. I wish I had enough money for my education, but I will have to utilize scholarships and loans to make it through. So, by investing in my hospital, real estate, and my children's future, I will have more than enough money to give my children a great lot and live comfortably. Another critical step to leaving behind generational wealth is having a will. A will can be the difference between a smooth transfer of assets or multiple lawsuits. So, I will create a will that will split my financial assets among my children evenly so there are no disagreements.

I am Steven Eskander, an Early Admission student at Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon School). I have a 4.0 unweighted college GPA and a 4.635 weighted GPA. I am ranked 1/68 in my school. I love giving back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. An example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. I remember a story from my PE teacher that shocked me. My coach was playing football and broke his thumb, and his doctor gave him 50 painkillers to deal with the pain. Fortunately, my coach, who at the time had great restraint, only took one and disposed of the other pills appropriately. I was determined to major in biochemistry to understand medicine to treat my patients as effectively as possible without the risk of addiction. No one needs to suffer through pain because they are worried about addiction. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

I am Steven Eskander, an Early Admission student at Florida SouthWestern Collegiate High School - Charlotte Campus (Blue-Ribbon School). I have a 4.0 unweighted college GPA and a 4.635 weighted GPA. I am ranked 1/68 in my school. I love giving back to my community by offering free, high-quality tutoring. An example of giving back to the community is tutoring students in schoolhouse.world, a free tutoring service created by the CEO of Khan Academy (Profile: https://schoolhouse.world/u/137510). I was invited to tutor based on my SAT score of 1400, 700 in Reading & Writing, and 700 in Math. I had to tutor a session of 12 students for four weeks for the Reading & Writing section of the SAT. When my students get something wrong, I tell them they are on the right track and help them get to the correct answer. I make sure to pick on students equally. Hence, no one feels left behind, and I ask them if they are comfortable with volunteering since I understand that not everyone wants to volunteer. Still, I try to create an environment where my students are comfortable sharing their answers. As a result, my students were confident in their ability to do well on the SAT. My field of study is biochemistry. I want to go into medicine and become a surgeon, and biochemistry is a fantastic major. It covers all of the required classes for medical school and prepares the user for the material covered in the MCAT. In addition, I love chemistry and want to learn how to use it to treat my patients more effectively and reduce their recovery times. The main reason I chose biochemistry is that I want to help people. As a doctor, people will trust me to recommend the best treatment options, and a background in biochemistry will allow me to do that. Also, as a surgeon, I must recommend the best treatment so my patients can feel normal again after a procedure. Therefore, before entering medical school, a solid background in chemistry would give me a head start and allow me to become a better doctor. I remember a story from my PE teacher that shocked me. My coach was playing football and broke his thumb, and his doctor gave him 50 painkillers to deal with the pain. Fortunately, my coach, who at the time had great restraint, only took one and disposed of the other pills appropriately. I was determined to major in biochemistry to understand medicine to treat my patients as effectively as possible without the risk of addiction. No one needs to suffer through pain because they are worried about addiction. I want to become a surgeon for my community because doctors are so far away from us that it takes hours for us to get to our appointments, and the problem is that it discourages people from going to the hospital. There are people with problematic medical conditions, but because it takes so long to get to a doctor, people are more hesitant to go to a doctor and delay their appointments, so their underlying conditions worsen. When the person finally decides to go to the hospital, the situation has grown severe, and it will be more expensive and difficult to cure the disease. I want to be a doctor in my community so people feel comfortable visiting a doctor they trust for their conditions. Rather than delaying their appointment, because my clinic will be in our community, community members will get treated for their conditions and, therefore, less likely for any community members to develop any severe conditions.

What quality/characteristic do you value most in yourself and why? How do you feel having this quality/characteristic will help you in your life journey? A characteristic I value is my self-development. For example: I wanted to learn robotics and programming, so I started learning Java and React (A web-Based Language). After that, I bought an Arduino kit, which includes a microcontroller that allows me to control motors, LEDs, screens, and much more! I am currently taking a course on Linkedin Learning and learning concepts like Pulse-Width modulation, which allows me to control the amount of power a component receives. This allows me to make components go as slow or as fast as I want them to operate. This self-development not only focuses on my knowledge but on my people skills too. In my Statistical Methods Honors I course, I tutored students because I wanted to learn how to be able to communicate ideas to others. This will be an invaluable skill to learn in the future because careers require more communication and teamwork than ever before. Learning the content itself isn’t enough; I need to learn how to communicate with others. An example of how vital team communication is was during my Recording class in middle school. I had good communication skills, so I could lead the group and learned many things in that class. I learned how important it is to listen to others and how a leader's responsibility is to consider all the presented ideas and decide which ones are good and how to accomplish them. One of our most significant projects was to do a YouTube Rewind parody, and it was a big challenge. I had to consider my teammates' ideas and find out how to accomplish said ideas. I also had to make tough decisions along the way. Time was very short for this project, so I decided to arrive at school early to work on the project and edit the project when I was at home. When there were a few weeks left, we still had a lot of work to do for the project, so we had to either abandon it or stick with it. I decided to continue the project, and I am glad that I did. It turned out great. The main point of the project was to make people laugh and smile before we all headed to high school, and it was very effective! My self-development will allow me to learn more knowledge that is vital for STEM-related fields like medicine, engineering, or chemistry. It will also allow me to develop my people skills and communicate with others effectively to make ideas come to life.

I plan on making a positive impact on the world through engineering by focusing on creating exoskeletons for a variety of uses. For example: I plan on making light, cheap exoskeletons that allow individuals to control every part of their body, down to their toes, using brain-reading technology. This will enable paralyzed individuals to regain control of their bodies again. Sadly, many paralyzed individuals feel like burdens to their family and friends, leading to increased rates of depression; however, paralysis will not be as devasting as before with these exoskeletons. Although nothing will beat the feeling of naturally controlling your body, exoskeletons can provide a way for paralyzed individuals to control their bodies until a cure for paralysis is found. Another use of exoskeletons is used in natural disaster situations. Unfortunately, global warming is increasing the number of natural disasters that occur around the world. That means that rescue operations are getting more and more difficult. For example, global warming is increasing the number of hurricanes, and large debris often gets in the way of rescue operations from saving people. Although we have developed technology to make it easier for reuse operations to help victims, like drones, the main problem is that debris remains in the way of saving people. It takes a lot of time and energy to get the proper equipment to remove the debris. However, with exoskeletons that lift heavy materials, rescue operations can use these suits to remove debris quickly and save people from natural disasters. The exoskeletons can also be used by everyday people for many purposes. For example, exoskeletons can be used to help people lift heavy objects, like stoves and wood, without requiring assistance from others. Although precautions would be needed to ensure that no one can use the exoskeletons in a way that can harm themselves or others, selling these suits to the publiccan help raise money to improve the exoskeletons to make them lighter, cheaper, more responsive, and more comfortable to use. Every day, someone is injured because they lift a large, heavy object alone without assistance. However, with exoskeletons, fewer and fewer people globally will have to get injured or even die because of lifting heavy objects. Another use for exoskeletons is making the human body use energy more effectively. The exoskeleton would allow humans to run, swim, and lift more with less energy, which has many uses. This can be used by police and the military to make them more effective and responsive against enemy threats. Taiwan, for example, has unveiled a new exoskeleton suit that makes soldiers lift and run while exerting less energy. This technology can potentially allow countries to protect themselves against invaders more effectively. In short, there are many uses for exoskeletons, from public use to rescue operations to even the public defense of a country. Exoskeletons have the potential to make life much safer for many people and even allow paralyzed people a chance for everyday life again. However, I cannot achieve these dreams if I do not have enough money to get an education in engineering. If I am fortunate enough to receive this scholarship, it can help me secure the funds I need to get a Bachelor's degree in engineering and make a difference. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my application, and I hope you consider you consider me for this scholarship.