If you travel south down Skyline Drive in Hopkinsville, KY, at the posted speed limit, you’ll miss the most important building there. If necessary, turn around in the Kroger parking lot and continue driving about a quarter mile. Look to your right, and there, between a deserted music store and a vacant storefront, you’ll find Hopkinsville Martial Arts. I first found it when I was nine years old and friendless. I spent my Monday and Thursday nights learning...

My greatest academic interest is Computer Science. I was first introduced to it during the fall semester of 2013 as a student in a Java programming course at Western Kentucky University. The subject consumed me. I have since had the privilege of attending a sponsored Hackathon and spending a summer conducting Computer Science research. It has become my healthiest obsession, providing pathways to a number of feasible, incredible futures, and I am so thankful for having found it. At USC, I...

I would've made sure not to put my eggs in one basket. Because I fit the profile for my dream school and attended a competitive high school,...

As a low income student, my number one criteria in evaluating a school was its financial aid offerings, so I found a list of top schools that met 100% of demonstrated need for financial aid. Next, I wanted a school that excelled in my degree program, so I found a list of top 100 Computer...

Once I had received all of my college decisions, I was essentially choosing between USC (in Los Angeles) and UNC Chapel Hill. It was sort of a battle of coasts. Both would've been far away from home, but Chapel Hill was slightly closer, a public institution, and offering me a full ride scholarship with a research...