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Willy Tapsoba

2,205

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Finalist

Bio

My life goals stem from my childhood health challenges, which inspired me to study computer engineering to develop innovative medical devices that improve healthcare in Africa. I aim to create affordable technology and establish protocols for patient safety and accurate diagnostics, ensuring no child endures pain from inadequate equipment. After earning my degree, I plan to gain experience in a medical technology company, pursue graduate studies, and eventually start my own company. My areas of focus will be healthcare, agriculture, and education, helping farmers boost productivity and students gain practical skills through a center called "ASTEMI." I am passionate about using technology to impact lives positively. Despite facing taunts for my injury and giving up soccer, I found strength in my artistic abilities and academic success. These experiences taught me resilience and empathy, fueling my commitment to make others feel valued despite differences. These qualities, combined with my dedication to improving healthcare and education in Africa, make me a strong candidate. Financial support will allow me to focus on my studies at Milwaukee School of Engineering, helping me achieve my goals and contribute to a better future for my community and beyond.

Education

Milwaukee School of Engineering

Bachelor's degree program
2023 - 2025
  • Majors:
    • Computer Science
    • Engineering, Other

Madison Area Technical College

Associate's degree program
2021 - 2023
  • Majors:
    • Computer and Information Sciences, General
    • Education, General

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Education

    • Dream career goals:

      Make some improvement in the domain of Heathcare, Agriculture and Education with the latest technology..

    • STEM Ambassador

      Madison Area Technical College
      2021 – 20232 years
    • Instructor

      Milwaukee School of Engineering
      2023 – Present1 year

    Sports

    Cycling

    Club
    2012 – Present12 years

    Research

    • Computer Science

      Milwaukee School of Engineering - AI Club — Member
      2023 – 2024
    • Science, Technology and Society

      Madison Area Technical College — Researcher
      2022 – 2023

    Arts

    • Community Choir

      Music
      2012 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Literacy Network — Tutor
      2024 – Present
    • Volunteering

      Catholic Multicultural Center — Tutor
      2022 – 2023

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Politics

    Volunteering

    Entrepreneurship

    Rivera-Gulley First-Gen Scholarship Award
    Growing up in an environment with limited access to proper healthcare shaped my life and career aspirations. I recall a day when I woke up with severe stomach pain and nausea. My father rushed me to the local public hospital, where I was diagnosed with malaria. After receiving an injection, I began experiencing severe pain in my leg. Despite trying to carry on with daily activities, including playing soccer, the pain persisted, ultimately forcing me to give up the sport I loved. My classmates turned my injury into a point of ridicule, making me feel different and isolated. However, my mother remained my pillar of strength. She reminded me that challenges happen for a reason and encouraged me to focus on developing other skills. Her support was instrumental in shaping my view on life. Although my parents did not finish high school, they always emphasized the importance of education and supported me in pursuing it. With their encouragement, I excelled academically and won a scholarship to study in the USA in 2019, where I learned English and received leadership training. My experiences—both the personal health challenges and feeling ‘different’—instilled in me a deep sense of empathy and kindness. I came to understand the importance of making others feel comfortable, no matter their differences, and I now strive to inspire people to embrace diversity in the community. My childhood health struggles and the inadequate healthcare system I experienced inspired me to study computer engineering. I am passionate about leveraging technology to improve healthcare outcomes, particularly in regions where medical infrastructure is lacking. My goal is to develop innovative devices that help doctors diagnose patients more accurately and technologies that enable individuals to monitor their health more effectively. I do not want other children to experience the same pain and limitations I endured due to a lack of access to modern healthcare equipment, such as MRIs or AI-powered diagnostic tools. Beyond healthcare, I am also committed to creating affordable technology solutions that can benefit other sectors such as agriculture and education. By improving these systems, I believe we can alleviate poverty and give children in underserved communities the opportunity to pursue higher education. After earning my associate degree with high honors in 2023, I had the privilege of serving as the commencement speaker, an achievement made possible through scholarships. Now, as I continue my education at a four-year institution, financial support is crucial to help me realize my dreams. I am determined to contribute to the advancement of healthcare systems in Africa and globally. Each time I reflect on my childhood health experiences, I gain the courage, patience, and strength to persevere. These memories fuel my purpose to use my professional skills to lessen human suffering. By working harder to achieve my goals, I aim to make a meaningful difference in the world, helping others live healthier, more fulfilling life.
    John Young 'Pursue Your Passion' Scholarship
    Growing up in an environment with limited access to proper healthcare shaped my life and career aspirations. I recall the day when I woke up with severe stomach pain and nausea. My father rushed me to the local public hospital, where I was diagnosed with malaria. After receiving an injection, I began experiencing severe pain in my leg. Despite trying to carry on with daily activities, including playing soccer, the pain persisted, ultimately forcing me to give up the sport I loved. My classmates turned my injury into a point of ridicule, making me feel different and isolated. However, my mother remained my pillar of strength. She reminded me that challenges happen for a reason and encouraged me to focus on developing other skills. Her support was instrumental in shaping my view on life. Although my parents did not finish high school, they always emphasized the importance of education and supported me in pursuing it. With their encouragement, I excelled academically and won a scholarship to study in the USA in 2019, where I learned English and received leadership training. My experiences—both the personal health challenges and feeling ‘different’—instilled in me a deep sense of empathy and kindness. I came to understand the importance of making others feel comfortable, no matter their differences, and I now strive to inspire people to embrace diversity in the community. My childhood health struggles and the inadequate healthcare system I experienced inspired me to study computer engineering. I am passionate about leveraging technology to improve healthcare outcomes, particularly in regions where medical infrastructure is lacking. My goal is to develop innovative devices that help doctors diagnose patients more accurately and technologies that enable individuals to monitor their health more effectively. I do not want other children to experience the same pain and limitations I endured due to a lack of access to modern healthcare equipment, such as MRIs or AI-powered diagnostic tools. Beyond healthcare, I am also committed to creating affordable technology solutions that can benefit other sectors such as agriculture and education. By improving these systems, I believe we can alleviate poverty and give children in underserved communities the opportunity to pursue higher education. After earning my associate degree with high honors in 2023, I had the privilege of serving as the commencement speaker, an achievement made possible through scholarships. Now, as I continue my education at a four-year institution, financial support is crucial to help me realize my dreams. I am determined to contribute to the advancement of healthcare systems in Africa and globally. Each time I reflect on my childhood health experiences, I gain the courage, patience, and strength to persevere. These memories fuel my purpose to use my professional skills to lessen human suffering. By working harder to achieve my goals, I aim to make a meaningful difference in the world, helping others live healthier, more fulfilling life.
    Dreamers Scholarship
    I grew up in an environment where access to proper healthcare was often a challenge. One morning, I woke up with severe stomach pain and nausea, which led my father to take me to the public hospital. After being diagnosed with malaria and receiving an injection, I developed severe pain in my leg. Despite my efforts to continue with my daily activities, the pain persisted, and I eventually had to give up playing soccer, an activity I loved. I started to feel different from my classmates since they made my injury a weapon. My mom supported me during those moments. She told me that things happen for a reason, and that I should not let not being able to walk properly keep me down, for I could develop other skills. Although my parents did not finish high school, they were supportive of my education. I was able to excel academically in high school and win a scholarship to come to the USA in 2019 after graduation to learn English for a year and receive leadership training. My experience being ‘different’ has made me kinder. It is important to me to make others feel comfortable despite any differences between us and inspire others to embrace differences in the community. My experiences as a child, battling health emergencies and healing experience inspired me to study computer engineering to gain the knowledge and skills to create devices that will help doctors to accurately diagnose patients, and other devices that help patients monitor their health. I do not want other children to experience the same pain I did as the result of inadequate equipment like MRIs, new technology such augmented reality or a poor healthcare system. I also want to make affordable technology and establish protocols that keep patients safe. My mother does most of the work at home and some small activities that create revenues for her to take care of us. I used to help her during the holidays and tutor high school students to get money to buy my books and the tools needed for my studies. Studying in a public school, paying my tuition was affordable with the money I get from tutoring. Thus, my family didn’t contribute that much to pay my tuition, and if they have to, they will not be able to pay more than $1000 a year. Therefore, having an educational scholarship that could reduce or cover most of my academic expenses and help me pursue my dream would make a difference. I was able to complete my associate degree in 2023 with high honor and selected as the commencement speaker thanks to scholarships I received. With the higher cost at 4-year institution, receiving this scholarship will help me afford my studies at Milwaukee School of Engineering, advance the healthcare system in Africa, make some improvement in the domain of agriculture and education. This will contribute to taking Africa to the next level. I will commit to working harder to reach my goals, alleviate poverty in Africa, give a chance to other children in Africa to pursue higher education and make people’s lives better. Each time I recall my health experiences as a child, I gain courage, patience and strength to cope with life’s struggles. This keeps a smile on my face because I know I can overcome anything, and I will use my professional skills to solve a problem that will lessen human suffering.