My name is Zach, and I grew up in a family that values discipline, service, hard work, and taking responsibility. My father served in the United States Army as an Army Ranger. From a young age, he taught me that success does not come from taking the easy way out. He showed me the importance of persistence and always trying to become the best version of yourself. Watching him approach his career and responsibilities had a big impact on how I think about my own future. My parents are divorced, which also taught me independence early in life. I learned that I needed to take responsibility for my own goals and could not always depend on someone else to make things happen for me. My father also co-founded a security company with my grandfather. Being around their business introduced me to entrepreneurship and showed me that building a business takes more than just having a good idea. It takes hard work, dealing with problems, taking risks, and continuing even when things don't go as planned. This strongly influenced my interest in business and eventually finance. Academically, my journey has not always been easy. As a neurodivergent and dyslexic student, I struggled with reading and comprehension. In eighth grade, I was reading at an elementary school level. I knew I was capable of more, but school did not always come naturally to me. I had to spend extra time on assignments and work harder to understand material that seemed easier for other students. I also faced judgment from peers who did not understand why I learned differently. Instead of letting those challenges define me, I worked with my teachers, asked for help, and put in extra effort to improve. One of the most important things I learned was how to advocate for myself. I also learned to focus on my strengths. I found that I was especially comfortable working with numbers, data, and problem solving, which helped lead me toward business and finance. Outside of school, I became involved in FBLA and DECA and served as president of FBLA my senior year. These experiences helped me develop my leadership and communication skills and gave me the opportunity to work with other students who shared my interest in business. I also started small businesses and began investing at a young age. I enjoyed researching companies, understanding how businesses create value, and learning from both my successes and mistakes. These experiences confirmed that finance was something I wanted to pursue as a career. I am now studying finance at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Being here means a lot to me because I know how far I have come. The student who was reading at an elementary level in eighth grade is now studying finance at Kelley. I still face challenges, but I have learned that struggling with something does not mean I cannot succeed. My long-term goal is to start my own financial firm and help people build financial security. I want to use my education to make financial information easier to understand and help people make better decisions with their money. I also want to continue the legacy of hard work, entrepreneurship, and service that my family has shown me. I know I have a lot left to learn, but I am excited to keep building my future and use what I learn to help others along the way.

Living with a learning disability has shaped the way I have approached my life. I was born nine weeks early and spent the first weeks of my life in the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. As I grew older, I was diagnosed with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, a language processing disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. From a young age, school felt overwhelming. Reading was difficult; my mind moved faster than the words on the page, and I often felt frustrated when I put in the effort, and the results would not reflect it. These challenges made me question myself early on, but they also forced me to develop a sense of resilience and determination. One of the most difficult parts of growing up with a learning disability was feeling different. In elementary school, I was pulled out of class for extra reading support. I dreaded the attention and the quiet looks from my classmates as I left the room. When they asked where I had been, I always made excuses because I did not want to be seen as different. Despite how uncomfortable it was, I continued attending those sessions. I knew improvement would only come if I pushed through the embarrassment. Over time, my persistence paid off. What once felt impossible slowly became manageable, and eventually, the work I put in soon was reflected. That experience taught me that progress is not always fast or easy, but it is always worth fighting for. While subjects that involved reading and comprehension were challenging, I discovered my strength in math and analytical thinking. Numbers made sense to me in a way that words couldn't. Math allowed me to think creatively, find patterns, and approach problems from many different angles. This ultimately sparked my interest in finance at a young age. I invested in my first stock at seven years old and later started a couple of small businesses, reinvesting my profits instead of spending them. These experiences motivated me to pursue higher education in finance, where I could apply my strengths while continuing to grow academically and personally. I am currently studying finance at the Kelley School of Business, with the goal of becoming a financial advisor or portfolio manager and eventually starting my own financial services company. As I grew up, my parents planned for me attending and in-state university, but as an out-of-state student, tuition is significantly more expensive. Due to this, I am responsible for paying a very large portion of my tuition and living expenses. Although I increased my hours at work, I can only do so much because of my academic responsibilities. I believe I am a strong candidate for this scholarship because I understand the value of perseverance and opportunity. This scholarship would relieve financial pressure and allow me to focus more fully on my studies. More importantly, it would support someone who has consistently turned obstacles into motivation. This scholarship would not only invest in my education—it would invest in the impact I hope to make.

My father was a in the United States army, more specifically he was an Army Ranger. People know the saying, "Rangers lead the way" and I believe this to be true especially for me. Since I was a little kid my father has inspired me. Growing up he instilled the importance of hard work, persistence, respect and striving for the best version of yourself. Throughout my educational journey there have been many ups and downs. As a person who is nuerodivergent I had to work extra hard to accomplish my academic success. In 8th grade I was at an elementary school reading level. Knowing I had to improve I worked with the teachers at my school, overcoming my peers looks and judgment. I knew I wanted to see change so I worked hard for that change. Without that inital push from an early age I strongly believe that I would not be as academically successful. On top of being a veteran and a captain at the local police department my father created a security company with my grandfather. In 2003 they created Elite Protection Specialist(EPS). Having my father as an entrepreneur inspired me aswell. During the devastating covid era I got bored. When I was cleaning my room I found $200 in Amazon gift cards. I used them to start a business, “Corona Candles”. I made candles in my basement and sold them. It would cost me $4.26 to make each candle, I would go on to sell them for $15 making a $10.74 profit. I then used that profit and investing it into the stock market, having a dad who is an entrepreneur helped me better my financial decisions. Once I started investing I realized that it would be something I would want a career in. Now I am directly admitted into Indiana Universities Kelley School of Business, which is a top 10 business school in the country. I am planning on majoring in finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. One of my career goals is to eventually start my own financial firm to help people manage their money. Athough, I am not taking the same career path as my father he was a major influence throughout my K-12 years. And I believe he will continue to help me with advice and lessons he has learned throughout his life as veteran and business owner, while I continue in college.

My father was a in the United States army, more specifically he was an Army Ranger. People know the saying, "Rangers lead the way" and I believe this to be true especially for me. Since I was a little kid my father has inspired me. Growing up he instilled the importance of hard work, persistence, respect and striving for the best version of yourself. Throughout my educational journey there have been many ups and downs. As a person who is nuerodivergent I had to work extra hard to accomplish my academic success. In 8th grade I was at an elementary school reading level. Knowing I had to improve I worked with the teachers at my school, overcoming my peers looks and judgment. I knew I wanted to see change so I worked hard for that change. Without that inital push from an early age I strongly believe that I would not be as academically successful. On top of being a veteran and a captain at the local police department my father created a security company with my grandfather. In 2003 they created Elite Protection Specialist(EPS). Having my father as an entrepreneur inspired me aswell. During the devastating covid era I got bored. When I was cleaning my room I found $200 in Amazon gift cards. I used them to start a business, “Corona Candles”. I made candles in my basement and sold them. It would cost me $4.26 to make each candle, I would go on to sell them for $15 making a $10.74 profit. I then used that profit and investing it into the stock market, having a dad who is an entrepreneur helped me better my financial decisions. Once I started investing I realized that it would be something I would want a career in. Now I am directly admitted into Indiana Universities Kelley School of Business, which is a top 10 business school in the country. I am planning on majoring in finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. One of my career goals is to eventually start my own financial firm to help people manage their money. Athough, I am not taking the same career path as my father he was a major influence throughout my K-12 years. And I believe he will continue to help me with advice and lessons he has learned throughout his life as veteran and business owner, while I continue in college.

I am a highlighter—created to stand out. From the day I was born, I was different, and growing up autistic shaped the way I understand both myself and others. Living with ADHD, dyslexia, language processing disorder, and anxiety meant that mental health was never something abstract to me. It was part of my everyday life. Because of this, I have learned to recognize struggle in others, even when it is not spoken. One of the ways I have helped others with their mental health is by simply being open about my own experiences. As a child, I was afraid of being seen as different. I hated being pulled out of class for reading support and felt embarrassed when others whispered or asked questions. Over time, I learned to push past judgment and keep showing up because I wanted to improve. That perseverance allowed me to grow, but it also taught me empathy. When others feel uncomfortable, anxious, or out of place, I understand that feeling on a personal level. That understanding allows me to support others without judgment. Another way I help others is by showing that being different is not a weakness. Autism gave me the ability to focus intensely, think differently, and work relentlessly toward goals. In math, I learned that there is more than one way to solve a problem, and I became confident in trusting my own approach even when it looked different from everyone else’s. Sharing this mindset with others helps them feel more confident in their own abilities and less afraid of standing out. In the future, I plan to use my studies and career to emotionally support others by continuing to lead with empathy and understanding. I know what it feels like to struggle quietly, to feel misunderstood, and to work harder just to keep up. Because of that, I will always approach others with patience, persistence, and respect. To me, supporting mental health starts with listening, validating differences, and helping people recognize their own strengths—just as I learned to recognize mine.

I am currently studying finance at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. I chose finance because it has always been something I have been interested in and something I enjoy. I started investing at a very young age and have been drawn to money and business for as long as I can remember. I invested in my first stock when I was seven years old, and since then, I have continued learning through experience. Over the years, I have started multiple small businesses. During COVID, I ran a candle business called "Corona Candles", where I made and sold homemade candles in my community. More recently, I started a thrifting and reselling business to help pay for college. Studying finance allows me to take what I have already learned on my own and build a stronger foundation around it. Finance also fits how my brain works. As someone who is autistic and dyslexic, reading and comprehension have always been challenging for me. At the same time, I have always been good with numbers and data. I enjoy analyzing information and solving problems, and finance feels more like a puzzle than work. I have planned an entrepreneurial career because I like being in control of my future. Growing up, I knew that a lot of my college expenses would fall on me, especially since I am attending an out-of-state university. That forced me to mature quickly and take responsibility for my own financial situation. Entrepreneurship gives me the chance to create opportunities instead of waiting for them to happen. In the future, I want to work in financial advising or portfolio management and eventually start my own financial services company, similar to what my grandfather did. I believe I will be successful in business because I do not give up easily. When I commit to something, I stay focused and see it through, no matter how hard it gets. Being neurodivergent has taught me how to push through challenges and adapt when things do not go as planned. To me, a successful life is not just about money. While financial stability is important, success also means being able to support myself, help my family, and give back to others. It means doing work I enjoy and constantly improving as a person. By studying finance and pursuing an entrepreneurial career, I am working toward a life that fits who I am.

Home Team By: Zach Baumann My sister hates me. She has her room while I have the rest of the house. According to my sister, ever since I was born I have been a sponge, soaking up all of my parents’ attention. I am hard to live with. I am the sun, and my parents are my planets. She is just Pluto, a thing in the distance. I was born nine weeks early, staying in the hospital for the first two weeks of my life. During that time, my sister stayed with my grandparents while my parents and I stayed in the hospital. This was the first time I took my sister's spotlight. Growing up with me was very hard. For a while there was this blackness, this unknown. I was crazy. I never ran out of energy; I was the Energizer Bunny. I could not communicate socially. I have never had a true friend. My lack of social skills affects me in school. On the rare occasions that I try to make friends, I say something and in a snap of a finger it’s just one more person I can not talk to. Even though we are growing up, we still fight. She is going off to college soon. That means I won’t see her. This is the longest I would ever go without seeing my sister. But all my sorrow gets shot down when she says she can’t wait to go to college. Because of me, she wants to get rid of me. She wants me to be a ghost. Whenever my sister had friends over, I could not talk to her. When they wanted to watch a movie, I would pop the popcorn, get the drinks, and candy, and set everything up. But not a single “Thanks” was said. No wonder why I think she hates me. If she says anything to me, she attacks me, saying something like, “Why can’t you get friends?” She talks like I have never tried. I have tried and tried, but I have never succeeded. Even when I walk into her room, I see her eyes roll just like a bowling ball speeding down the lane. Within the first few steps, her words strike me like a pin. “Get out,” she always says. I try to hang out with her, but apparently, I am the problem. As if life without me would be any better. I am the fly and she is the swatter. But only she can be the swatter. There was this one time when one of her friends yelled at me, telling me to leave them alone. This is when my jaw dropped. My sister had my back. She told her friend that only she can talk to me like that. I felt frozen in time. She cared about me. I finally had a glimpse of hope. A small sliver of hope. She loves me? This one moment cleared the fog out of my mind. I realized that I was wrong. My sister loves me. Thousands of memories that we shared together flooded my mind. The time we were hitting each other and accidentally gave each other a high five. We stopped fighting so fast and started laughing. Or the other time when we ran from our dad when we played in the freshly fallen white blanket of snow, teaming up to defeat that snow monster. We were a team. A team. My sister and I are a team. I am so lucky to have my best friend on my team. So far we are undefeated.

My father was a in the United States army, more specifically he was an Army Ranger. People know the saying, "Rangers lead the way" and I believe this to be true especially for me. Since I was a little kid my father has inspired me. Growing up he instilled the importance of hard work, persistence, respect and striving for the best version of yourself. Throughout my educational journey there have been many ups and downs. As a person who is nuerodivergent I had to work extra hard to accomplish my academic success. In 8th grade I was at an elementary school reading level. Knowing I had to improve I worked with the teachers at my school, overcoming my peers looks and judgment. I knew I wanted to see change so I worked hard for that change. Without that inital push from an early age I strongly believe that I would not be as academically successful. On top of being a veteran and a captain at the local police department my father created a security company with my grandfather. In 2003 they created Elite Protection Specialist(EPS). Having my father as an entrepreneur inspired me aswell. During the devastating covid era I got bored. When I was cleaning my room I found $200 in Amazon gift cards. I used them to start a business, “Corona Candles”. I made candles in my basement and sold them. It would cost me $4.26 to make each candle, I would go on to sell them for $15 making a $10.74 profit. I then used that profit and investing it into the stock market, having a dad who is an entrepreneur helped me better my financial decisions. Once I started investing I realized that it would be something I would want a career in. Now I am directly admitted into Indiana Universities Kelley School of Business, which is a top 10 business school in the country. I am planning on majoring in finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. One of my career goals is to eventually start my own financial firm to help people manage their money. Athough, I am not taking the same career path as my father he was a major influence throughout my K-12 years. And I believe he will continue to help me with advice and lessons he has learned throughout his life as veteran and business owner, while I continue in college.

My father was a in the United States army, more specifically he was an Army Ranger. People know the saying, "Rangers lead the way" and I believe this to be true especially for me. Since I was a little kid my father has inspired me. Growing up he instilled the importance of hard work, persistence, respect and striving for the best version of yourself. Throughout my educational journey there have been many ups and downs. As a person who is nuerodivergent I had to work extra hard to accomplish my academic success. In 8th grade I was at an elementary school reading level. Knowing I had to improve I worked with the teachers at my school, overcoming my peers looks and judgment. I knew I wanted to see change so I worked hard for that change. Without that inital push from an early age I strongly believe that I would not be as academically successful. On top of being a veteran and a captain at the local police department my father created a security company with my grandfather. In 2003 they created Elite Protection Specialist(EPS). Having my father as an entrepreneur inspired me aswell. During the devastating covid era I got bored. When I was cleaning my room I found $200 in Amazon gift cards. I used them to start a business, “Corona Candles”. I made candles in my basement and sold them. It would cost me $4.26 to make each candle, I would go on to sell them for $15 making a $10.74 profit. I then used that profit and investing it into the stock market, having a dad who is an entrepreneur helped me better my financial decisions. Once I started investing I realized that it would be something I would want a career in. Now I am directly admitted into Indiana Universities Kelley School of Business, which is a top 10 business school in the country. I am planning on majoring in finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. One of my career goals is to eventually start my own financial firm to help people manage their money. Athough, I am not taking the same career path as my father he was a major influence throughout my K-12 years. And I believe he will continue to help me with advice and lessons he has learned throughout his life as veteran and business owner, while I continue in college.

I am a highlighter. Created to stand out. From the day I was born, I was different. It could be because I was born nine weeks early or because of the superpowers I was given. Not the kind of powers that superheroes have, I am autistic. From the second I was born, I struggled. I was born with many medical conditions and spent the first couple weeks of my life in the hospital. I continued going back to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin for regular medical visits, for the first two years of my life. Additionally, I was diagnosed with ADHD, Language Processing Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so growing up with me was hard. I had a difficult time focusing and a difficult time learning to read. I never wanted to try new things, and I always needed to get my way. I was scared to try to make new friends because I felt different from any other kids my age. The first time I realized I had superpowers was in elementary school. The first day I received my IEP was life-changing, however, it needed some getting used to. I was taken out of class to work on reading comprehension and spelling which I hated; walking out of the class while kids looked at me wondering where I was going made me feel unordinary. I watched them as they whispered. When I returned to the classroom, kids would ask where I went. I always lied. I would make up excuses that I was helping the teacher get stuff from the printer or setting up the next activity. I disliked this so much that I thought about refusing to go because I did not want to be seen as different from all of the other kids. However, I overcame people's looks and judgment. I kept going to the groups because I knew I wanted to see change. One of the powers I obtained from autism is if I want something done I will work relentlessly until I accomplish the task. I started to show a lot of improvement ultimately getting out of these small group reading sessions. In 5th grade, I started sounding out vowel sounds, and now in high school, I am leading the class in analyzing pieces of creative writing. This is all thanks to my special power. The second time I realized I had special powers was in math class in 8th grade. I have always loved numbers. To me, it allows me to think outside the box. There is an infinite amount of things you can do with numbers. Once, I had to solve a math problem in front of the entire class. I cautiously picked up the marker and started to show my work. When I looked around, I saw so many confused faces. I solved the problem differently than anyone else in the class. This is another superpower that having autism has given me. I love having a different way of analyzing and solving problems. In Greek “aut” means “self”. And “ism” means “condition”. Many people think “autism” means being alone, and there is some truth to that. But to me, it means many different things: being persistent, having a different view of things, paying attention to detail, and retaining information easily. Even though having autism has been a challenge, I have been able to continue to grow and use these superpowers to excel in life, however, none of what I could have accomplished would have been possible if I had not received an IEP.

I am a highlighter. Created to stand out. From the day I was born, I was different. It could be because I was born nine weeks early or because of the superpowers I was given. Not the kind of powers that superheroes have, I am autistic. From the second I was born, I struggled. I was born with many medical conditions and spent the first couple weeks of my life in the hospital. I continued going back to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin for regular medical visits, for the first two years of my life. Additionally, I was diagnosed with ADHD, Language Processing Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so growing up with me was hard. I had a difficult time focusing and a difficult time learning to read. I never wanted to try new things, and I always needed to get my way. I was scared to try to make new friends because I felt different from any other kids my age. The first time I realized I had superpowers was in elementary school. I was taken out of class to work on reading comprehension and spelling which I hated; walking out of the class while kids looked at me wondering where I was going made me feel unordinary. I watched them as they whispered. When I returned to the classroom, kids would ask where I went. I always lied. I would make up excuses that I was helping the teacher get stuff from the printer or setting up the next activity. I disliked this so much that I thought about refusing to go because I did not want to be seen as different from all of the other kids. However, I overcame people's looks and judgment. I kept going to the groups because I knew I wanted to see change. One of the powers I obtained from autism is if I want something done I will work relentlessly until I accomplish the task. I started to show a lot of improvement ultimately getting out of these small group reading sessions. In 5th grade, I started sounding out vowel sounds, and now in high school, I am leading the class in analyzing pieces of creative writing. This is all thanks to my special power. The second time I realized I had special powers was in math class in 8th grade. I have always loved numbers. To me, it allows me to think outside the box. There is an infinite amount of things you can do with numbers. Once, I had to solve a math problem in front of the entire class. I cautiously picked up the marker and started to show my work. When I looked around, I saw so many confused faces. I solved the problem differently than anyone else in the class. This is another superpower that having autism has given me. I love having a different way of analyzing and solving problems. In Greek “aut” means “self”. And “ism” means “condition”. Many people think “autism” means being alone, and there is some truth to that. But to me, it means many different things: being persistent, having a different view of things, paying attention to detail, and retaining information easily. Even though having autism has been a challenge, I have been able to continue to grow and use these superpowers to excel in life.

If my life was a movie I would capture this part of me: I am a morning person. When I walk through the halls, I see everyone sip their energy drink and cup of coffee. And they proceed to slump over. I get confused because I never need any of that. I have my own cup of coffee. Coffee that I don’t need to drink. A special type that I can’t control. It only has one ingredient. Autism. I was born with a special brain. I see things differently. I find it hard to comprehend different situations. Because of that, I feel like I am on a deserted island. Nobody around to talk to, nobody around to understand me. Nobody understands me; consequently, I understand no one. I don’t like having autism it blocks me socially. I just say what is on my mind, and due to that I harm myself and others. One time we were going through security at the airport. It was an early morning flight, everyone had just started to take their first sips of coffee and my mom's boyfriend's bag got flagged while we were going through TSA. The moment they pulled up the image of what was flagged, I said “That looks like a knife.” No context behind what I said. I just said it. I did not know this would proceed to a 20-minute delay, everything in his bag got taken out. We almost missed our flight because of a toothbrush. Just a toothbrush. Not because of me. In my mind, at that moment I did nothing wrong. This is what life was like for me. I always say the first thing that comes to my mind. I have no filter. I don’t have a barrier that blocks all of the grounds from going in the pot. Although having this brain can harm me I do benefit from it. Because I am affected socially, my friends are minimal, and this results in me having more time to get stuff done. A question I always get asked is “Why don’t you ever have homework?” My response is the same every time. I have nobody to bother me, so I can get it done in school. Whenever I want something done I will do whatever it takes until it is accomplished. I always get compliments on my work ethic. I never know what to say. Because if I say thank you. I am thanking my enemy. But sometimes I wonder if I should say thank you. While I may be stuck in the blackness of the coffee sometimes I need to add some cream to lighten it up. I need to look at the benefits. Do they outweigh the negatives? Look at what I have accomplished. I am the only kid in the grade who manages their own stock portfolio. I have a job that I love. I am getting great grades. What else can I ask for? I heard coffee is an acquired taste.