I've experienced many obstacles in my life that have hindered me from reaching my goals and it's related to medical reasons because I have diabetes, an injury, School, and my parents going through a divorce when I was young had an impact on me as well. The reason diabetes has hindered me from reaching my goals more specifically on one of my favorite sports to play in which is track and academics. In track, fluctuating blood sugar levels have forced me to pause on workouts depending on how bad the situation is resulting in me adjusting my training my reducing the amount of time I put into it, making it difficult to keep up with the older age groups when it comes to track meets because they're around eighteen years old or older. Another reason I've been set back from track is because of a fractured elbow. This was a setback for me because I wasn't able to participate in my track practices and that had me working even harder to get back to where I was before to then improve myself even more. Academically there have been times where I struggled to concentrate because of noise in the background. I was taking the first part of my A+ certification by Comptia which is an organization that has certifications for people who want to get into the fields of Internet Technology and I failed it due to me not being able to focus well and having a headache this hindered me from reaching my goal getting a help desk job early through my high school's co-op program even though the certification isn’t mandatory because not all job list it as a requirement but would have felt like my first stepping stone into the field of Information Technology. My parents divorce has significantly hindered me from my goals whether it’s in and outside of school because I felt like when they were together they give me a guided path in things they wanted me to do or them investing their time and money into what I’m interested in but this ended because of their separation it was harder for my mom to deal with me and my sister for financial, and medical reasons. This put many of my passions on hold because the money was the main factor holding me back from what I enjoy doing most, which is building and fixing computers. I believe that this scholarship would help me overcome the financial challenges that have hindered my academic and athletic goals. Managing diabetes, recovering from injury, and my parents’ divorce have made it difficult to focus on track and school while also pursuing my passion for IT. Financial struggles have limited my ability to invest in certifications and training, like the moment I failed my A+ certification exam due to distractions and a headache, delaying my career progress. With scholarship, I can focus on my education, lowering the burden of tuition cost, allowing me to pursue my bachelor degree in Computer Networking and Cybersecurity, to gain the skills, to get into the Information Technology field.

At a young age my parents would get into arguments and I wouldn't understand what was happening in those moments I was just happy that they were still together until I turned six years old which is when they both finally settled on an agreement to go to court to officially become divorced and through that process I was now living with my mother and her parents. My Dad is now further away from me almost everyday it felt like because I was only able to be with on the weekends. The impact this separation of my parents had on me was confusing to me because it felt like I had to pick a side whether or not I should listen to my mother or my father because they would both give me advice or information about each other and it's like a never ending dilemma when it came to who to trust and what advice should be taken. An issue I faced was figuring out passions I wanted to pursue in my life because I felt like my dad was guiding me into a good path with sports like soccer because he was able to coach me and put me on a soccer team to play on, teaching me magic tricks, got me into card games, and more. My mother just wanted me to focus on academics because she has it harder since I also have a sibling who's younger than me meaning she has to take care of us both. One positive outcome of this though was that as I got older I was able to manage my time better when balancing sports and academics. Another way this divorce has impacted me is by making me self-reliant and this is a great skill I gained from this unfortunate event in my life because It forces me to figure out issues on my own making me take more responsibility for the situations I put myself though, making me less dependent on my mother’s validation. My social skills during the start of my parents divorce was not great because I would isolate myself in school from others and just focus on what I enjoy like building with legos or playing card games with at least one person but it was never someone new each time as time progressed I started to observe the environment I was in out in public and in school and realized that there are numerous about of people with divorced parents. This is when I decided to be more open but still wouldn’t be approached by others so I approached them instead and made them feel comfortable so they could be more open and those were typically the kids who would sit alone and then a couple of weeks later they’ve managed to get themselves into a group or develop their own friend group, that’s one of the ways I was able to improve my social skills after the divorce and I still continue to do this because I know how it feels to be separated from others or the difficult transition of adapting to a new environment. Even though I’ve been through all this and have got some positive traits and characteristics from my parents divorce. I still feel like having my father closer to me in my life now that I can’t see him anymore since he’s out of the country would definitely change me in a positive way and allow me to not feel lost because as I mentioned before when I was around my father I felt guided. I don’t need to be guided by everything I’m going to go through in my life, however having others' input and knowing that they’ll be close to you definitely helps when their assistance is necessary. My parents’ divorce shaped me into an independent and a more socially aware person. I still recognize the importance of the ability to receive guidance and support from both of my parents, and I believe that the lessons I’ve learned will continue to help me grow and shape my future in meaningful ways.

I'm pursuing a career in the field of Technology with a keen interest in cybersecurity because I'm passionate about protecting people and organizations from digital threats to keep a company's assets safe. I figured that I wanted to enter this field through a program called Cyberpatriot hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association. This is a competition where you showcase your skills like analytical thinking and understanding of how machines work to secure them better and get rid of any malicious activity. I was motivated to learn more about the field of cybersecurity so I took courses to enhance my skill set and reinforce my knowledge. Now becoming eager to choose a job title for myself to see the niche in the field of Cybersecurity that I could pursue I decided I would start as a Security Operation Center analyst to monitor a company activity ensuring that their confidently, integrity, and availability are all in check and after spending time in that area of cybersecurity I would ideally like to pivot into a governance risk consultant to help companies have the best security they could possible get. The difference I aim to make is more than reacting to cyber threats; I want to actively shape the way people, organizations, and society approach the world of Cybersecurity. This would include working with others to develop ways to prevent breaches, identity theft, and online fraud before they occur. This means I must have the skills to counteract evolving tactics by focusing on building security systems that are resilient and adaptive. I hope to reduce the damage and costs associated with cyberattacks. My ultimate goal is to foster an environment where people can feel safe sharing their data and using technology allowing for innovations to continue without constant security threats. I would also like to educate people on cybersecurity awareness because many people are unaware of ways they could secure their devices digitally to protect themselves online, education is essential as technology expands. By empowering people with knowledge, I hope to reduce the human errors that often contribute to vulnerabilities in the security field of information technology. I am committing to a path that aims to make the digital world safer and more trustworthy for everyone. By focusing both on proactive security solutions and education, I hope to leave a lasting impact in the field of cybersecurity and help create a resilient digital ecosystem that fosters innovation. I want to ensure that technology continues to serve as a positive force, free from threats and open to possibilities.

I'm passionate about the field of Computer Technology because when I was young I always liked putting things together and I already was into construction, like I've built a shed for my grandmother so she can store supplies in there. However overtime I've found myself to be good at troubleshooting issues and having an analytical mindset and solving them pretty quickly, after building these skills I've managed to help others throughout my sophomore and Junior year of high school which included data recovery, removing viruses, configuring policies to ensure user safety, testing and fixing computers for my school to see if they're functional or have a resolvable issue, helping others start the process of building their own computer. I plan to utilize these trade skills by working my way into the specific field of cybersecurity as a SOC analyst and in order to do that I will build my own projects and learn from them as a way to get hands-on experience early before being put into the field. This would allow me to be confident in this role of a SOC (Security Operation Center) analyst in an Internship and demonstrate my skills that I've built. Possibly allowing a Company to realize my potential and allow me to take certifications which will allow me to Increase my knowledge. In addition to this I would love to share my knowledge to communities that need it by participating in cybersecurity conferences, workshops, and forums to keep others updated on trends. Making a significant impact in this field is crucial, this is because it's a complicated field to get into and it's difficult to know when to start and where you stand compared to others so guiding people towards the paths they want to pursue is necessary. This field doesn't stop getting difficult. It's inevitable there will always be a new issue and that will always require analytical thinking, which will test your knowledge about how you'll approach the situation. Everyday in this field there is always something new you can learn. That's how I would use my soft skills towards others to help them become successful. This is how I've helped others and plan to utilize analytical thinking, hands-on experience, soft skills, and many other fundamental skills necessary. This will allow my trade skills that I've built over time to make me become successful in the field of cybersecurity that I'm passionate about pursuing.