4.

Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or

worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

During my school life I’ve had good grades, but despite my academic success, I felt a bit
unsure about what exactly I wanted to do in the future. I wanted to work in some form of media,
particularly the video game industry or filmmaking. I would take classes that would help me
practice one or the other each year, but I usually came out of them not feeling particularly
enthused about the work involved. This all changed during my junior year of high school.
In the weeks after receiving my PSAT scores, I received letters from all kinds of different
programs. One in particular caught my eye: The National Student Leadership Conference
(NSLC). The idea of staying in a higher learning institution for a week and learning about a
career I wanted to do in the future encouraged me to participate. I choose the Game Design
program, which was held at the American University in Washington D.C. This was to be an
exceptional learning experience because I had never traveled out of the state by myself before.

Upon arriving at the university, I didn’t know what to expect. I would be meeting people
from all over the country and beyond, and would finally be getting a deeper look into something
I’ve been interested in for so long. I ended up doing exactly that. I got to learn about how the
game industry works, what goes into making a game, visited a local developer and I even got to
make a game of my own with a group of other like minded teens. We called it ​Shark Shot​ and
while it may not have been a great game by any stretch it still got nominated for an award. The
whole trip might as well be one of the best educational experiences I’ve had, and it’s set me
upon my current path to become a software and game developer. So was it worth it? Absolutely!

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
(This is based on one of Personal Insight Questions in the UC admissions)

Since I had the opportunity to join in the first grade until my senior year, I participated in
the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). All the way from my first days as a Tiger Cub Scout to
finishing off as an accomplished Eagle Scout. During a Scout’s time at BSA, we participate in
several community projects, but the biggest project any Scout partakes in is their Eagle Scout
Project. For my project, I decided to solve a problem at my school.
My school doesn’t have the best relationship with the rain season. Our campus is small,
but the pouring rain forms several large puddles, making several common paths giant mud
pools, so I decided to try and solve this problem. I eventually resolved to make a pathway over
one of the most commonly-used shortcuts at my school, which was at the time just a large patch
of dead grass and dirt.
This was my first time organizing a project of this scale, and it certainly took its time. I
was unable to work on the project for over a year after my initial plan. Campus maintenance
restricted me from working on it during the summer of 2017, and I wouldn’t be able to work on
the project during the school year. As the clock ticked ever closer to my 18th birthday, I finally
started work on the project over the summer of 2018. I coordinated all the aspects of the project,
raised funds for it and led my troop during the execution of the project. Eighteen people,
including scouts and adults came to help the day to build the pathway. We were able to
complete the pathway in one weekend!
My school has heavily benefited from the project, with the staff appreciating it greatly and
students using it every single day. It makes me glad to know I made something as impactful and
useful as that pathway for my school.

6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered
this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
A subject that I’ve always been interested in would have to be computers and
technology. I became interested in computers from a young age as I played a lot of video
games and used computers a lot. As I grew older, I developed more into learning about the
world of computers, with a focus on coding so I could someday get into the game industry.
Starting with a rather short but simple Scratch class I took in the summer of 2013, I’ve been
slowly (but surely) trying to increase my proficiency with programming. In 9th grade I took a
Programming/Robotics class where I learned Python and C, among other languages. For the
next few years I explored a few other subjects, but I always found myself returning to computers
and computer science, teaching myself about various aspects of the industry online, discussing
with others about the industry and doing my own research into subjects like game design and
the components of computers.
In 2018, I got an invitation from the National Student Leadership Conference, where I
decided to try out programming and game design again. It was at this point where I decided to
devote my focus to learning how to code to create programs and games. In this program, I was
able to learn more about the games industry from actual developers, learn how to use Unity,
and design and complete a game with other people. That experience is a big part of why I wish
to learn even more about the subject. As of the time I write this, I’m taking a programming class
in my school to further prepare myself for what I do in the future, I’m participating in an
internship in a local web development company, and I’m making up my own detailed game
ideas for the future. My biggest hope for attending UC is to gain the skills I need to fully realize
my ideas and develop software and games everyone can enjoy. I hope I’ll do that either by
attending computer science courses and getting further into the world of game design.

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.

When it comes to describing a leader, a few words pop up in my mind: reliable,

respectful, and resourceful. There’s several instances in my life where I’ve had to lead a team or
group of people in order to accomplish a goal. My school’s method of project-based learning
encourages us to act as leaders as much as we can, I started my own active club at my school,
and I participated in a few programs which really enhanced my leadership skills.
One particularly important experience to have tested my ability to lead a group was my
Boy Scout troop’s stay at Camp Cherry Valley on Catalina Island in the summer of 2015, where
I was the Senior Patrol Leader of my troop. It was the first time I had to hold responsibility over a
group of around 15 people (including scouts and adults), and it was certainly not easy. I got up
early every morning to wake up our troop, participated in meetings with other leaders, organized
events with my troop, made sure we got meals on time, and set up the cafeteria when we were
assigned that job.
This is where the three terms I mentioned earlier come into the picture. In order to be
reliable, I had to lead my group through various troop activities, and made sure we did them
well. To be respectful, I had to find ways to communicate with other and often younger scouts,
as well as communicating with leaders of other troops present within the camp. There were
many activities where we had to be resourceful, whether it be building something in a given
amount of time or completing a series of actions efficiently. Thanks to my skill as a leader, we
were able to succeed within the camp, and even now as I have obtained my Eagle Scout rank.
The experience I obtained back then has allowed me to lead several groups and projects, and
to be prepared for any more in the future.