There was a time in my life where I wasn't doing well, but I didn't know I wasn't doing well. At the academy, they push you to the breaking point and even past it. You don't get time to process things here, and if a loved one dies, unless they're immediate family, you aren't allowed to go see them right now. Having close and personal connections are very important, however I had recently been pushed out of my family and things weren't going well. However, I pushed through the way the academy taught me and I faked my smile when I needed to. I was hanging out in my room, and on call with an old friend. I wasn't complaining much about my situation, primarily because I figured out how to have no emotional connection to anything that's going on around me. I think he may have caught on to it and he slowed his voice to a soothing pitch and told me how proud of me he was. He said that I have had a "time" at the academy and wanted me to know that someone out there was genuinely proud of me. He said while I may have not won the battle, he knew I would win the war. He said he was so proud of me for all that I have accomplished and will in the future, and he was very excited to see where I was going to go next. Once he was done speaking I broke down in tears. All of the emotions that I had pushed aside and forgot existed came to the surface. All of my woes that I had ignored and told myself I didn't have time for, came to light. I experienced all of my grief, anger, sadness, and disappointment all at once as soon as he told that to me. While I was in tears on the other line, he stayed on the phone occasionally reminding me that he was proud of me. He knew that's all I needed to hear at that moment. It was as if he could feel how I was feeling at that moment and knew exactly what I needed to hear. After I had composed myself and we talked a bit more, we ended the call. This meant everything to me, because I don't know where I would be now if I hadn't been forced to face everything I had bottled up. Where would I have exploded? How would I have exploded? Would I have imploded instead? These are questions I never have to answer, because he showed me one of the biggest kindnesses I had ever received. It was from his act of kindness that I not only want to pay it back, but also want to pay it forward. I have been more attentive to other's needs and attempt to empathize more with how they are feeling in order to comfort them in the way they need to be in that moment, even if they don't know it themselves.

My greatest achievement to date is when a mentee received best cadet at an encampment. I was in Civil Air Patrol (CAP) while I was in high school. I finished CAP as a Captain. During my time in CAP I was the aviation officer, special event officer, and squadron commander for two terms. However, a wonderful experience that I was privileged with, was being selected as a flight commander. I was an LT at the time, and this encampment was held at the state level in Missouri. Encampment was used to initiate the incoming cadets to develop leaders of character in an increased stressful environment. Myself as well as my partner (flight sergeant) were made responsible for 18 cadets. Throughout the week we trained these cadets by use of motivation, inspiration, and discipline to develop them into leaders of character for themselves as well as their peers. There was a cadet in particular who I saw have amazing potential. He had a heart of gold and would help his wingmen even if he wasn't able to complete his own task that he was assigned. He worked hard to continue improving himself for his wingmen and himself. It was this fire that I saw in him, that made me fail him on every single inspection. He had one of the best beds made I had ever seen and I failed him because there was one piece of lint on his bunk. Post-inspections I would pull him aside and congratulate him on having the best bunk, however I would help him understand that if he could meet this standard then so should everyone else in this flight because they have someone like him to teach them. The inspections got better as the week went on and I knew my numbers weren't pertinent to the final numbers of our flight. Therefore, during the final inspection where I saw near perfect bunks. I walked down the rows of bunks and failed every single one. I didn't even look or take out my ruler to measure their bunk, I simply walked down and failed them all as loudly as I could. At the end I stopped and told them that the examiner, conducting their final inspection whose numbers mattered, was going to come in shortly. I told them that they had made it through the week and no matter what I or the examiner was going to say about their performance in the next 30 minutes, that it didn't matter as long as they could look at one another and be proud of the people they are standing next to one another. As long as they were proud of the people they had become, and as long as they were proud of the work they had completed together, they had successfully completed encampment regardless of what the numbers will tell them. After their final inspections, the cadet who I had failed multiple times for simply having a piece of lint on their bunk came up to me and shook my hand. He said he was proud of who he had developed to be and proud to be taught by me. I watched this cadet receive his award to as best encampment cadet, and I had never been prouder. I was awarded with best encampment officer, and received commemoration for my work as commander, however none of that compared to watching someone I had mentored receive an award that he deserved. I like to believe I helped him achieve his award. I learned that not every leadership tactic I did was successful, however as long as I remained respectful of the people I was leading and they shared a common goal, the mission was going to be completed. I learned that I had the possibility to be a great leader one day. I remained in contact with him for a bit after that, mentoring him through classes and life. He was my first successful leadership story and I am proud of the person he became. In the future I want to take my leadership skills, develop and refine them, to be the best leader in the US Coast Guard I can be. I want to work hard to be the best aviator and leader that future coast guardsmen can be proud to have been led by.

I am very passionate about STEM because I think it is the path into the future. All advancements have always happened because of the advancement in STEM. STEM is the reason why we have modern production of food, technologies, and discoveries. I believe that STEM will allow us to advance ourselves while protecting the planet we share. Through the advancement of STEM I believe that we can become more efficient and decrease our carbon footprint on the planet we call home. STEM studies have already prepared me for my future career as a Coast Guardsman. I have studied under the physics department with solar theory, studying solar wind in Earth's magneto sheath. Through this research we were able to discover more about our primary source of energy and the beauty it contains. STEM has always been a part of who I am and will continue to be through the rest of my life. In the future, I plan to hold a PhD in theoretical physics in order to provide clean renewable energy sources in understudied physics phenomena. STEM is the gateway into a better and cleaner life for us and all living organisms on earth.