My name is Osamede Uzzi, and I attend Blackman High. From personal experience, being at Blackman has further expanded my knowledge and passion for finance. Specifically, through DECA: a competitive, economic-related and industrial-based organization. Through this club, I’ve placed 2nd in regionals and 5th in states, regarding the personal financial literacy event. As I advanced to the international level, I was given an opportunity to network with peers around the world. I gained knowledge of formally unknowing terms and concepts, mentorship from those in my desired field, and insight into the hyper-competitive world we live in. Despite Blackman’s stellar extracurriculars, their classroom curriculum needed reformation. Like how other thorough, year-long courses promote retention, personal finance should be no different. The provided classwork is rarely applicable, and students aren’t properly exposed to the true intricacies of credit cards, investing, and other forms of loans like mortgages. Searching for a solution, I was set to change this dynamic. So, for my senior capstone project, I wrote an informative paper about demystifying credit cards and debt. With findings composed of scholarly articles, local and distant experts, and contemporary analysis, I presented my findings to a panel, as well as a personal finance class. Though one individual can’t alter a county’s curriculum, I provided ways of improvement my authoritative panel could start implementing. One of which contained the importance of credit scores (5 C’s, score factors, revolvers/transactors, etc.). But this wasn’t the best part... In complement to my paper, I decided to incorporate a creative twist to my proactive approach. With a background in video editing, I embarked on a journey to start a channel dedicated to interviewing startups, but specifically, those in the fintech field. And after long hours of scouring the internet for a credible company, who was willing to speak about their early-stage approaches, I finally found one who built a credit-building debit card. They found that building a credit score was an important yet unrewarding process, so they made a product helping the young and irresponsible. Once I finished my video, involving engaging visuals and fx, it was later displayed during my capstone symposium. Through a grueling process of color grading, animations, and audio enhancement, my efforts were later rewarded, in the form of increased passion and education. Now, I’m in the process of creating more content within the business realm, and in the hopes of gaining traction by promoting education in a fun, engaging way. As a creative, I believe lecturing is a way of the past, and utilizing more than one sense (i.e hearing and vision) is the innovative solution to modern retention. So, in these four forthcoming years, I plan on pursuing a B.S in Finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. My goal is to join the venture capital space. With great and early interest in emerging industries and innovative ideas, I’m constantly exploring sources that build my passionate, educational capacity. I’m knowledge-driven, and with this scholarship, I aspire to continue.

As a child, Jack and the Beanstalk was my favorite book. It envisioned a guy who had magical seeds, and when planted, it sprouted beyond what the human eye could ever imagine. Though a classic fairytale, this story teaches a valuable lesson: that planting a seed in your community can bring wonders unlike any other. Within my community (Rutherford), I strive to be like Jack. For starters, I’m quite active within and outside my church walls. As I serve as a vital, media team member who displays scriptures, creates visuals, and regulates the sounds systems, I’m providing a skillset for the betterment of service, as well as delegation to assist my pastor. But beyond these walls, we as a church supply core goods and the gospel though our outreach ministries. And we do it locally, around the spring valley region. In a recent outreach, I came across a woman needing a mattress. Her previous one had broken, and we wanted to go above and beyond, eventually gifting her a bed larger than her request. It meant the ‘absolute world’ to her. Because of experiences like these, I’ve grown to appreciate the little things more. As I've developed a more nuanced understanding of the Rutherford community, time after time, I'm left with enriched feelings beyond words. Since this pivotal moment, I've started to serve other communities within school-related organizations. For two years through JROTC, I have presented the colors at the American Legion World Series to a multitude of veterans and patriots. From this opportunity, I, and a couple of my buddies, were recognized by a WWII veteran for our act. On our trip, we polished fighter jets, and before this trip, cleaned headstones at the Stones River National Cemetery. What I thought to simply be another act of kindness was much more to others. The smiling faces, appreciativeness, and completed work has all kindled a fire in me to never stop giving. Moreover, to give abundantly. In my senior year, as I’ve enrolled in Youth Leadership Rutherford (YLR), EPIC (a freshman mentoring club), and National Honor Society, the doors to serve Rutherford have been plentiful. As I’m off to college, even though I’d be hours away, I still hope to benefit every community I cross paths with, just like the one of Jack. In these four forthcoming years, I plan on pursuing a B.S in Finance. With a thought-out plan of joining four revolutionary clubs, that serves as a catalyst toward my career development, I'll pursue leadership positions that pour into the UTK, financial community. I hope to inspire this generation’s next emerging leaders through my diligent efforts of mentorship and sacrifice.

I have an obsessive compulsion for mathematics... Now, I'm clearly joking, but the sensation of finishing a particularly challenging task and overcoming the trials of processing and applying calculations verily makes me feel accomplished. I'm not your typical, standard student who studies the broad; I'm fascinated by the mind-bending, world-altering, and pecuniary-related branches that elongate passed the common knowledge. The artistry of taking different configurations, probability variables, and detailed diagrams, allows for one to construct, ponder, and conceptualize perpetual probabilities and methods, to fulfill distinctive analytical equations. In today's modern world, mathematics plays an integral role in areas of finance, environmental sciences, and economic market fluctuations. But, by contributing to the expansion in favored areas, leading to substantial modifications within our society and perhaps broadening access to the unknown characteristics of the globe, my motivation to pursue math comes from the possibility of making a difference in society through the conclusion of seemingly unsolvable resolutions, the discovery of answers to communal issues, and even the efficacy of routine procedures on a healthcare workspace basis. Mathematical examinations are monumental yet dynamic, continuing to alter and motivate individuals to produce remarkable inventions, ideas, and innovations. It is the underlying foundation to combat this world's complications, ubiquitous in society, and prominent in the future of expanding endeavors relating to a finer forthcoming, that contributes to my love for math.

The satisfaction endured when making an individual's job easier, life marginally effortless, or even their day slightly simpler, is a sensational feeling that cannot be described using words. Seeing the cheerful faces while reciprocating the kindness given, along with positively creating an impactful environment towards a community you call "yours", is something noteworthy when giving back. The innumerable amount of ways you can furnish your community allows you to encounter perspectives that may be very different from your own. You may develop a more nuanced understanding of those around you through community service, and you may become a more giving person as a complementary byproduct because of the indulging experiences. Taught at an early age, my parents showed great service, kindling me to mimic their giving viewpoints. The importance stressed — concerning the sacrifice needed to possess— has led me to pursue a way of thinking that is rooted in regarding the needs of others before myself. Living a life in reflection of the golden rule coupled with the opportunity to be in a position where giving can be done abundantly, has brought me closer to community service. From polishing headstones backed with the history of the battlegrounds where it lies to showcasing the colors in honor of the valiant heroes who served in the armed forces through JROTC, community service is not novel to me. But most importantly, engaging in outreach ministries while distributing food to residents in apartment complexes that need it most has been an eye-opener to my expressed sympathy. It has propelled my giving efforts by proposing opportunities to requite individuals in such meager conditions. Merely, the genuine contentment faced keeps me in the mindset of continuous offerings and the impact left is unwavering. With all of the experiences encountered, providential doors opened, and rigorous courses I've encompassed, I believe that my aspiration in life is to lead in the healthcare workspace, administrating over sectors and contributing to the efficiency of habitual processes. By having the desire to be surrounded by people who are actively involved in combatting this world's complications, assisting in the operation fluidity will dismantle any unnecessary hindrances regarding the effective improvement of the environment. Equipped to constantly strive for greatness and perpetually working on my ability to oversee a cohesive and collaborative ring, of a life-altering group, intrigues me for what is well ahead in terms of my life's ambitions going forth.

To better understand the nature of our universe, we must first determine the curiosity, incredulity, and tenacity toward discovery within ourselves. With ample resources ready, we can examine where we came from, how life was initiated, the physics involved, additional scientific contributions, analytical elements existing in the creation of the world we dwell in, and how an exceedingly small indifference could make life non-existent as we know it. Deriving conclusions about the nature that surrounds us will allow for substantial evaluation within our encounters, a considerable amount of understanding of what performs competently within our universe, and exploration that grants captivating moments whereby enables previously learned knowledge to be put into practice for extensive analysis. Astronomy, the evolution of humans, and other creatures are all captivating aspects of our nature. From cave dwellers to social media addicts, from birds who descended from an exceptionally long revolutionized tree, we can see change, and that change is what allows for advances in meaning. Conducting meticulous research along with the archived scrutinizing patterns we've studied in our environment has brought many of the well-known individuals that we appreciate today to be an example of what the world has to offer, let alone the many upon many fascinating experimental results we implement until now to further our expanding knowledge. Theoreticians such as Nikola Tesla, Galileo Galilei, Ernest Rutherford, and other respected analysts have all contributed to the foundation of our perplexing macrocosm. The evolution revolved around the widening of expertise in technology, geology, astrophysics, and other environmental science sub-divisions has emerged donations to the inquisitiveness and interest that human beings possess about the development of our world. When it comes to dealing with the anticipated that prompts expedition, adopting a mental process like these well-known ideologists coupled with the contemporary, forefront technical processes we have power over today, will be a force to be reckoned with. Why is it crucial to grasp an intricate understanding of the essence concerning our universe? I ask myself this question multiple times a day, and the answer to that query always seems to be the ambition towards discovery pertaining the unknown. Biological processes, global origin, and convoluted speculations about natural advancement are all commodities that can be seen as extensively explicated to degrees conceivably beyond human understanding. In separate, proficiency regarding matters like curing diseases or disorders will be immensely transformative to humanity in utter, if such apprehension exists. Life expectancy will alter markedly making the quantity of lost loved ones diminish, and the status of the environment will flourish. In essence, many of the problems we have today will be forsaken.

There are three things you can do with money. You can either spend money, by deducting the value of your financial possessions on things that bring temporary satisfaction, referred to as liabilities; you can save your money, typically in a bank, allowing the value of the dollar bill to depreciate due to inflation, by nearly seven percent annually, correlated to the amounts of money being printed each day; or you can invest your money, in places such as the stock market, real estate, or a 529, which is an educational investment plan for college, which collectively will multiply the dollar value, enabling you to allocate more money and worth, fundamentally increasing your spending on valuable resources and decreasing the chances of you going impoverished. This is single-handedly the most important piece of guidance that I recommend for those who are new or interested in becoming financial literate. This tip of knowledge enables me to consider where I should distribute my funds, and it improves my decision-making in favor of what is required over the long term as opposed to the short term.