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Tanjai Ploykao

4,855

Bold Points

1x

Finalist

Bio

My name is Tanjai Ploykao. I came from a beautiful country called Thailand. Thailand is famous for delicious foods such as Pad Thai and Mango Sticky Rice. During the 2008 financial crisis, my family and I moved to the United States of America. I watched my parents struggle to make up for living expenses to support the family. My parents work hard, so they can help me stay in the US. My parents see that the US offers an abundance of education opportunities. I was able to see the difference between education in Thailand and the US. I value education because knowledge gives me skill and power to help others in the community. I am a student at the University of Maryland Global Campus. My major of study is Computer Science. My favorite subjects to study are programming and cooking. Besides being a student, I am serving in the United States Air Force. I hope to learn and explore many opportunities to boost my skill in coding and share the world. Some of the code I learned, I am applying to my job. By joining Bold.org, Bold.org will help support my journey and goal.

Education

University of Maryland Global Campus

Associate's degree program
2021 - 2024
  • Majors:
    • Computer Science

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Computer Science
    • Computer Programming
    • Security Science and Technology
    • Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Computer Software

    • Dream career goals:

      Software Developer

    • Airman

      United States Air Force
      2020 – Present4 years

    Sports

    Esport

    Club
    2021 – Present3 years

    Robotic

    Intramural
    2015 – 20172 years

    Awards

    • SkunkWord Robotic 1983 Championship

    Research

    • Rocket

      American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Club — Rocket team member
      2014 – 2015

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      National Honor Society — member
      2015 – 2016
    • Volunteering

      Museum of Flight — ambassador
      2013 – 2015

    Future Interests

    Volunteering

    Entrepreneurship

    Ben Brock Memorial Scholarship
    My name is Tanjai Ploykao, and I am from the city of Phuket in Thailand. Phuket is approximately 8,630 miles away from the United States. Thailand is surrounded by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia, and is famous for many delicious foods such as Pad Thai and Tom Yum. Food has brought me closer to other cultures, and although I have been to several countries, I am always interested in exploring more of the world. My passion for computer science and the STEM fields has been building since I was a child, but it really bloomed during my high school years. I joined my high school’s robotics team and was assigned to the programming division of that team, and as my knowledge of coding expanded, my interest expanded proportionally as well. I used my grasp of programming and physics to help my team reach national championship level competitions. I learned to apply my programming and mathematics knowledge to my school’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics club during my freshman and sophomore years. My ambition was to achieve a degree in computer science once I graduated, but I was frustrated by citizenship complications as I was not yet an American citizen. My family has several connections with the military, including both my grandfather and my sister who served in the United States Army. I joined the United States Air Force in 2020 after my sister's contract ended during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When I joined the USAF, I was interested in many jobs in the cyber and aviation fields. Unfortunately, at the time of my enlistment, I still was not a citizen of the United States, and as such, I was severely limited in the jobs I could get. I finally got my citizenship in April 2022, but at this time I have been unable to secure a job in the cyber field. Even though I do not work in the cyber field, I do my best to work past that, taking on projects that allow me to bring forward solutions from a computer science perspective. I applied for an internship called StratoFi that asked an airman to come up with an innovative idea to help improve the USAF. I developed an idea to help create an effective process for USAF fitness testing in order to greatly reduce human error, and was selected for the internship. I developed an app that I am still working on, and although the internship has now ended, I continue my work in the hope that I can innovate a military process that has been stale for too long. The StratoFi Internship has opened the door for me to utilize the skills I developed in high school, an opportunity I am truly grateful for. Presently, I am working toward a degree in computer science. The military, being the established institution it is, certainly does not make pursuing my dream easy, but that will not stop me from achieving it. I look forward to solving problems and inventing solutions in the future, and I am grateful to qualify for the Ben Brock Memorial Scholarship. Thank you for your consideration.