I have always been a person who has been fascinated with technology, especially prototyping. In fact, I was known to attend numerous technology camps throughout my childhood which were the highlight of my summers. One camp in particular, Camp Invention, awarded me the opportunity to attend the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which included the opportunity to take apart machines with the inventor of Bluetooth technology, Jaap Haartsen, an amazing experience for a 9 year old girl who loved technology. My “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen ignited my love of human computer interaction. More recently, I have wanted to utilize my passion for technology and my ability to empathize with those who are disabled to be a leader in improving the accessibility and inclusivity of everyday technology. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and who was issued a 504 plan at school at a very young age, participating in computer-based learning continues to be overwhelming for me because it limits hands-on learning, my strongest learning style. As a result, I have always imagined myself as a future innovator inventing software that would accommodate differently-abled learners. This past summer, in fact, I was recognized in a web prototyping competition at Indiana University where I presented an educational algorithm that matches students with a compatible partner for school projects. While this idea is currently just words, I hope to make this idea come to life in schools. I also see future implications in the private sector. Throughout high school, I have shown leadership in other ways than just technology. I have been the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance for the past three years and I have also been the marching band flute section leader for the last two years. These leadership opportunities have led me to better understand and analyze how different people function best and how to accommodate individuals with different needs. Whether I am prototyping, in a GSA meeting, or marching with the band, I am always thinking of inventive ways to make people’s lives easier and more productive. For this reason, I feel that I would be a lucrative investment for this scholarship. I promise to invent the next big thing for students such as myself who have not received the proper accommodation in school. I appreciate those of you taking your time to read this and maybe help my future goals for the students who need it.

I have always been a person who has been fascinated with technology, especially prototyping. In fact, I was known to attend numerous technology camps throughout my childhood which were the highlight of my summers. One camp in particular, Camp Invention, awarded me the opportunity to attend the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which included the opportunity to take apart machines with the inventor of Bluetooth technology, Jaap Haartsen, an amazing experience for a 9 year old girl who loved technology. My “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen ignited my love of human computer interaction. More recently, I have wanted to utilize my passion for technology and my ability to empathize with those who are disabled to be a leader in improving the accessibility and inclusivity of everyday technology. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and who was issued a 504 plan at school at a very young age, participating in computer-based learning continues to be overwhelming for me because it limits hands-on learning, my strongest learning style. As a result, I have always imagined myself as a future innovator inventing software that would accommodate differently-abled learners. This past summer, in fact, I was recognized in a web prototyping competition at Indiana University where I presented an educational algorithm that matches students with a compatible partner for school projects. While this idea is currently just words, I hope to make this idea come to life in schools. I also see future implications in the private sector. Throughout high school, I have shown leadership in other ways than just technology. I have been the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance for the past three years and I have also been the marching band flute section leader for the last two years. These leadership opportunities have led me to better understand and analyze how different people function best and how to accommodate individuals with different needs. Whether I am prototyping, in a GSA meeting, or marching with the band, I am always thinking of inventive ways to make people’s lives easier and more productive. For this reason, I feel that I would be a lucrative investment for this scholarship. I promise to invent the next big thing for students such as myself who have not received the proper accommodation in school. I appreciate those of you taking your time to read this and maybe help my future goals for the students who need it.

I have always been a person who has been fascinated with technology, especially prototyping. In fact, I was known to attend numerous technology camps throughout my childhood which were the highlight of my summers. One camp in particular, Camp Invention, awarded me the opportunity to attend the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which included the opportunity to take apart machines with the inventor of Bluetooth technology, Jaap Haartsen, an amazing experience for a 9 year old girl who loved technology. My “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen ignited my love of human computer interaction. More recently, I have wanted to utilize my passion for technology and my ability to empathize with those who are disabled to be a leader in improving the accessibility and inclusivity of everyday technology. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and who was issued a 504 plan at school at a very young age, participating in computer-based learning continues to be overwhelming for me because it limits hands-on learning, my strongest learning style. As a result, I have always imagined myself as a future innovator inventing software that would accommodate differently-abled learners. This past summer, in fact, I was recognized in a web prototyping competition at Indiana University where I presented an educational algorithm that matches students with a compatible partner for school projects. While this idea is currently just words, I hope to make this idea come to life in schools. I also see future implications in the private sector. Throughout high school, I have shown leadership in other ways than just technology. I have been the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance for the past three years and I have also been the marching band flute section leader for the last two years. These leadership opportunities have led me to better understand and analyze how different people function best and how to accommodate individuals with different needs. Whether I am prototyping, in a GSA meeting, or marching with the band, I am always thinking of inventive ways to make people’s lives easier and more productive. For this reason, I feel that I would be a lucrative investment for this scholarship. I promise to invent the next big thing for students such as myself who have not received the proper accommodation in school. I appreciate those of you taking your time to read this and maybe help my future goals for the students who need it.

My whole life I have always studied people's faces. When I look at some people, I see only one face. . . as for others, I see two. When I say two I mean kind of like those theater masks where one is smiling and the other one is sad. I decided throughout childhood that I would make it my duty to keep the two-faced people from showing their upset faces. While this job of mine is quite impossible, I didn't realize how harmful this was. I have come to realize this was anxiety, and the people who I was keeping happy were the reason why it was so bad. I often would spend days trying to figure out why someone was speaking to me with a little less enthusiasm and what can I do to fix it without actually asking what was wrong. Sometimes when someone was irritable and frustrated I would crack a joke, this was an experiment of mine, if the person didn't acknowledge the joke. . . you don't keep talking. In some cases, you stop talking entirely and that's when you realize the two-faced people are not worth the energy. I was physically tired from thinking about everyone but myself. Within this past year, I have surrounded myself with people who communicate instead of keeping emotions in. I have also not let people take advantage of my special power to "get rid of upset faces".

I have always been a person who has been fascinated with technology, especially prototyping. In fact, I was known to attend numerous technology camps throughout my childhood which were the highlight of my summers. One camp in particular, Camp Invention, awarded me the opportunity to attend the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which included the opportunity to take apart machines with the inventor of Bluetooth technology, Jaap Haartsen, an amazing experience for a 9-year-old girl who loved technology. My “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen ignited my love of human-computer interaction. More recently, I have wanted to utilize my passion for technology and my ability to empathize with those who are disabled to be a leader in improving the accessibility and inclusivity of everyday technology. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and who was issued a 504 plan at school at a very young age, participating in computer based learning continues to be overwhelming for me because it limits hands-on learning, my strongest learning style. As a result, I have always imagined myself as a future innovator inventing software that would accommodate differently abled learners. This past summer, in fact, I was recognized in a web prototyping competition at Indiana University where I presented an educational algorithm that matches students with a compatible partner for school projects. While this idea is currently just words, I hope to make this idea come to life in schools. I also see future implications in the private sector. Throughout high school, I have shown leadership in other ways than just technology. I have been the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance for the past three years and I have also been the marching band flute section leader for the last two years. These leadership opportunities have led me to better understand and analyze how different people function best and how to accommodate individuals with different needs. Whether I am prototyping, in a GSA meeting, or marching with the band, I am always thinking of inventive ways to make people’s lives easier and more productive. For this reason, I feel that I would be a lucrative investment for this scholarship. I promise to invent the next big thing for students such as myself who have not received the proper accommodation in school. I appreciate those of you taking your time to read this and maybe help my future goals for the students who need it.

Being a female student with ADHD and a 504, I struggled heavily to get the accommodation's I needed during the technological transition of education during the pandemic. My school still uses computer-based learning which continues to be an interruption for my learning preferences. The ironic thing is, that I love computer science and technology. I plan to pursue majoring in Human-Computer interaction which is the study of improving technology so that it is more accomodating or welcoming to all different types of groups. With this, I can provide an open-minded perspective to the technology world and improve or create school websites to help students of all ages work with their peers better and stress-free. Everyone should be able to learn the same things even if it is at a different pace, I hope that I can achieve this scenario in the coming years.

I have always been a person who has been fascinated with technology, especially prototyping. In fact, I was known to attend numerous technology camps throughout my childhood which were the highlight of my summers. One camp in particular, Camp Invention, awarded me the opportunity to attend the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which included the opportunity to take apart machines with the inventor of Bluetooth technology, Jaap Haartsen, an amazing experience for a 9 year old girl who loved technology. My “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen ignited my love of human computer interaction. More recently, I have wanted to utilize my passion for technology and my ability to empathize with those who are disabled to be a leader in improving the accessibility and inclusivity of everyday technology. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and who was issued a 504 plan at school at a very young age, participating in computer-based learning continues to be overwhelming for me because it limits hands-on learning, my strongest learning style. As a result, I have always imagined myself as a future innovator inventing software that would accommodate differently-abled learners. This past summer, in fact, I was recognized in a web prototyping competition at Indiana University where I presented an educational algorithm that matches students with a compatible partner for school projects. While this idea is currently just words, I hope to make this idea come to life in schools. I also see future implications in the private sector. Throughout high school, I have shown leadership in other ways than just technology. I have been the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance for the past three years and I have also been the marching band flute section leader for the last two years. These leadership opportunities have led me to better understand and analyze how different people function best and how to accommodate individuals with different needs. Whether I am prototyping, in a GSA meeting, or marching with the band, I am always thinking of inventive ways to make people’s lives easier and more productive. For this reason, I feel that I would be a lucrative investment for this scholarship. I promise to invent the next big thing for students such as myself who have not received the proper accommodations in school. I appreciate those of you taking your time to read this and maybe help my future goals for the students who need it.

I have always been a person who has been fascinated with technology, especially prototyping. In fact, I was known to attend numerous technology camps throughout my childhood which were the highlight of my summers. One camp in particular, Camp Invention, awarded me the opportunity to attend the National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which included the opportunity to take apart machines with the inventor of Bluetooth technology, Jaap Haartsen, an amazing experience for a 9 year old girl who loved technology. My “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen ignited my love of human computer interaction. More recently, I have wanted to utilize my passion for technology and my ability to empathize with those who are disabled to be a leader in improving the accessibility and inclusivity of everyday technology. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD and who was issued a 504 plan at school at a very young age, participating in computer-based learning continues to be overwhelming for me because it limits hands-on learning, my strongest learning style. As a result, I have always imagined myself as a future innovator inventing software that would accommodate differently-abled learners. This past summer, in fact, I was recognized in a web prototyping competition at Indiana University where I presented an educational algorithm that matches students with a compatible partner for school projects. While this idea is currently just words, I hope to make this idea come to life in schools. I also see future implications in the private sector. Throughout high school, I have shown leadership in other ways than just technology. I have been the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance for the past three years and I have also been the marching band flute section leader for the last two years. These leadership opportunities have led me to better understand and analyze how different people function best and how to accommodate individuals with different needs. Whether I am prototyping, in a GSA meeting, or marching with the band, I am always thinking of inventive ways to make people’s lives easier and more productive. For this reason, I feel that I would be a lucrative investment for this scholarship. I promise to invent the next big thing for students such as myself who have not received the proper accommodation in school. I appreciate those of you taking your time to read this and maybe help my future goals for the students who need it.

There is no reason why anyone should not watch Breaking Bad. While most of the characters are criminals, the show can give us a sense of sympathy for them regardless. The crazy part of the whole show is that if you watch it 5 times as I have, you can tell that Walter White was never a simple, caring chemistry teacher. Jesse Pinkman, who is the co-star in Breaking Bad, is Walter White's partner in crime but even with his endless contributions to illegal drug manufacturing, there is still a big part of his struggles and personality that cause those watching the show to feel bad for him. Vince Gilligan's genius ideas can twist us into disliking the characters who are truly struggling, such as Walter White's spouse Skylar even though she covers his tracks. What I find beautiful about this show is its use of color theory, and it's all intentional. Each main character's outfit choice serves a reason. I don't know if this is the proper way to write an essay but I guess we will see. The Color Theory of Breaking Bad Blue- is the color of the product that is made by Walt and Jesse... blue refers to purity, due to Walter being an advanced chemist, his product is extremely pure. A character that wears blue the most is Skylar because she is a pure person (but she only wears it at the beginning of the show). Pink- is the color that mostly symbolizes infancy or children. Skylar and Walt have a baby girl and she wears pink in almost every episode. Also, Jesse PINKman having that in his name shows his innocent childish side even though he has a very serious job. Red- there isn't a certain character who wears red in the show but there is an extremely cool scene where Walt is arguing with Skylar and he is wearing a red sweater. Red primarily is connected with danger or blood, and the fact that Walter is wearing red shows he has turned fully evil. Vince Gilligan shows this by giving us a scene of Walter taking off his red sweater... just to reveal another red shirt underneath. Purple- Skylar's sister Marie is the only character in the show who wears the same color in almost every episode. Marie has a stealing addiction also known as a kleptomaniac. The color purple is closely related to the idea of royalty. Marie has multiple scenes of her carelessly stealing precious designer items. While I would love to do every single color I don't have enough word space, unfortunately. I would recommend Breaking Bad it is such an amazing show. My favorite character is Mike by the way :).

I have never been quick to socialize, so of course something had to force me to. While I don't have my first marching band season's show memorized anymore, I can tell you where I met my closest friend. It was set ten, right at the spot where we started playing a familiar tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow ". At each "reset!" call, my soon-to-be friend and I exchanged jokes. I could not tell if he was just being nice because I was a first-year marcher as a sophomore and he was a senior section leader. His name is Tyler, but I call him "Sharkey". He and I weren't similar but for some reason, I knew we would end up being close. Sharkey was a saxophone section leader while I was a flute, he was my entertainment during practice but also a great mentor. By the last performance of my first season, I was devastated that my new friend was graduating. I have struggled with sensory issues my whole life, especially hugs. I'd never asked for a hug from a friend until after that last performance when I saw Sharkey. I had known that I had grown so much when I realized how much more comfortable and safe I felt in this activity. Sharkey and that group of senior leaders inspired me to become a leader myself. While I was inexperienced starting a year late, I decided to give it a shot. Throughout the weeks of practice, I gained more confidence as I attempted to replicate the mentorship I had had the year before. With leadership, I had also decided to audition for the three solos in the show that year which I gratefully received. I had built a new confidence within myself. Just recently ending my last marching band season, I have never felt more at a loss when it was over. I have connected with my senior class of woodwinds and have become more confident with being social. I truly hope that I was able to impact my close marching band friends and underclassmen as much as Sharkey did for me. I have a marching band to thank for who I have become and grown into. Being able to participate in marching band leadership inspired me to lead in other things. I became the High school GSA president since I wanted students to have a support system that I was blessed to receive from my family. I never knew how amazing marching band would end up being...I will miss it so much.

When I was nine years old I had a “playdate” with Jaap Haartsen, the inventor of Bluetooth technology. It was a pretty radical way to spend a school day for a nerd from Indiana who loved invention camp. I found myself in Washington D.C. in 2015 as the winner of the “Mighty Minds” contest through Camp Invention, a program sponsored by the US Patent and Trademark Office. My prize was an all expenses paid trip to be a guest at the prestigious National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Right before the induction ceremony, the Camp Invention corporate employees realized that they had an incredible opportunity to showcase a quirky, creative little girl by simulating the camp experience with one of the 2015 inductees at the Smithsonian Art Museum, where the festivities took place. Fortunately, Jaap Haartsen volunteered for the job. So, I was innocently ushered into a large auditorium to hang with one of the greatest inventors of all time, the guy who made my pink radio work. Behind the last row of auditorium chairs, there was a skinny wooden table displaying a half exposed VCR and a few screwdrivers next to it. The Camp Invention education crew scoured the museum trying to find old machines to take apart, a regular part of the Camp Invention experience. There were cameras filming us and I was surrounded by educators and scientists who all had their eyes on me. I had complete freedom to use real tools to take apart this VCR with no limitations; I was absolutely thrilled. If I looked up at all, I would have noticed that my mom and one of the other corporate educators were crying. The second I sat down at the table, I had entered what my mom still calls “Landri Land”, the place in my head where I have the freedom to take risks and explore. Mr. Haartsen came along too and he allowed and encouraged me to pull out each screw of the machine until I gradually exposed every circuit board and motor. I could see clusters of capacitors and wires sprawled out across the surface. The staff encouraged me to spend time hypothesizing about how my machine functioned. Mr. Haartsen was able to tell me whether my educated guesses were hot or cold and he provided me with new knowledge about machine parts. He also shared how much he liked taking apart machines when he was my age. When I applied for the Mighty Minds contest, I expressed to the judges on a video that Camp Invention felt like the only place that I fit in. Regardless of the fact that Jaap Haartsen was a celebrity scientist who was about to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, he was my friend for the day. He affirmed who I am and he treated me with the respect that he would any other computer scientist. He even waved to me from backstage which is still super cool! Most computer scientists would have done anything to have the opportunity that I had at such a young age. That is why I feel like I have a responsibility to learn everything I can about computer science. I keep all that Jaap Haartsen said to me in my mind and I keep his invention in my ears (as we speak). I aspire to solve real world problems. Who knows? Maybe one day that kid from “Landri Land '', Indiana will develop the next big thing.