testWord.txt

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

	My first game of tennis was so disastrous that it felt more like a dodgeball match. Running away from the ball more times then not, my five year old self fell in love with the challenge. Twelve years and a broken leg later, I stand as the co-captain of my high school’s varsity tennis team with the number one position secured. It was my dad’s passion for the sport that sparked mine, and I am now am working to influence others in the same way by volunteering to coach the varsity girls. 

	I showed up to their first day of tryouts and was met with a pool of beginning players with little to no experience. I spent the next month carefully teaching the team basics in form and strategy to prepare them for their first match. 

	Despite an early losing streak, I was not willing to give up on the team. I continued to tirelessly work alongside the team drilling, conditioning, and strategizing. At the midpoint of the season, things finally started to turn around. The team had gotten past the steep learning curve of the game and had learned to support each other through all of the ups and downs. The upswing in their attitudes and new found talent brought them to a winning streak. 

	The end of the season came in a flash, but the girls were just getting started. What once was a group of separated beginners was now a team, united and ready for their season next year. My leadership gave me the ability to help give the girls not only the skill but the confidence they needed to thrive as players and as a team.

2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.  

When I was a kid, I dreamt of one day becoming a rockstar and performing in front of thousands of people. While I think my car singing voice sounds like Led Zeppelin, bringing my passengers on a Stairway to Heaven, others may say I sound like a rock filled blender. I still longed to be a rockstar, so in the sixth grade, I sold my Xbox and headed for my local music store. This was the day I️ met and fell in love with Oasis, my beautiful, blue, 2008 Fender. 

I found Oasis to be my outlet and with her, and a few friends, we started the Broken Stools, a band so legendary my grandparents would drive twenty minutes just to secure my garages VIP seating.  

I gain a strong sense of satisfaction from spending time with Oasis. She challenges me, and requires critical thinking to learn new songs, and diagnose chords. Immersing myself into these challenges takes my attention off of my daily troubles and allows me to focus on nothing but my music.
While my childhood aspirations have changed, I have learned quite a lot from what Oasis has taught me.  As I started from a young age, learning to read music and how to play new chords lead me to use my critical thinking skills for the first time. The instrument has taught me the framework of how to problem solve; a skill that I will need to have in the workplace. For this reason, I have chosen to continue to develop and grow my musical skills, for they improve my work ethic and understanding of the field I am pursuing. While I no longer plan on becoming a rockstar, Oasis still has much to teach me. Together we will still write music alongside writing melodies to C++ and Javascript. 

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational 
opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
It was in the second grade that I remember my teacher calling my name from the doorway. Upon walking to the front of the class, I was instructed to the ‘RSP’ rooms. I proceeded joyfully as I had gotten out of class just before english. This is a great day, I thought. 
Upon arrival, I was told the true meaning of ‘RSP’: “Resource Service Program” and that from then on, I would be receiving individual time with a tutor during certain times in the week because I was falling behind my classmates. I was told I was “challenged”, and this was not taken lightly. The thought of being held back consumed me. I could not bear the thought of being left as my friends continued their lives just as if I had never been there. This overwhelmed me, but I️ remained optimistic. I looked for the good in this harrowing situation, just as I work to do with everything.
This disadvantage was now my pathway to success. I worked tirelessly for the next few years doing extra homework assignments, taking additional assessments, and fully devoting myself to my work and education. RSP gave me the opportunity to have extra time on tests, and the ability to bring in notes to use on exams, but I can proudly say that I never once accepted these benefits. I wanted to be held to the same standard as my peers and succeed upon my own growing knowledge. 
Ultimately, this led me to find success, and I grew to become one of the only kids to graduate out of RSP. After leaving the program, I chose to maintain my new found work ethic. This led me to eventually score far above my class average. In facing a challenge that most don't, I learned how to drive myself with a purpose in mind. This has brought me understand that I can overcome anything I set my mind to. This obstacle was a time of growth and apprehension, which allowed me to grow into the person I am today and commit to a lifetime of learning. 

6.  Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

On the first day of junior year, I was introduced to the subject that grew to shape my college major and career decisions. I was in my first Computer Science class, and my teacher, Mr. White, was conducting a lecture on binary computing. I could not get enough. I ran home later that night and enrolled myself in an online Javascript class, for what I had been taught that day did not satisfy my itch to learn. My interest in the subject only grew, and soon shifted from a random elective to the passion I plan to chase for the rest of my life.

After weeks of tirelessly typing syntax on my computer, I had realized that I had never been so excited to do work in any subject. No class ever thrilled or captivated me like this before. Without question, I knew I had found my passion. It was then that I decided computer science and more specifically software engineering would become my career so that I could recreate this excitement every single day.

Focused solely on learning more, my free time as become jammed with tutorials, online classes, and side projects that I plan to grow. I have enrolled in many online programming classes which have varied in difficulty and the language they are taught in. At the crossroads between tennis and computer science, I have found a way to merge two of my passions together. While computer science brings my joy from my bedroom or a coffee shop, tennis is where I find freedom outdoors. After noticing an error in the process that my tennis club used to book courts, I have curated  a mobile court booking app that I am working to integrate into my sports club’s network. I eagerly look forward to growing my talents and passion into a specialized skill set to advance my future goals and aspirations as a software engineer.