diff --git a/wright-application/essays/leadership.tex b/wright-application/essays/leadership.tex index d137e1f..014cadb 100644 --- a/wright-application/essays/leadership.tex +++ b/wright-application/essays/leadership.tex @@ -28,4 +28,14 @@ my experience to help students make the right decisions. Finally, as a student who has been intimidated by the science fair process, I plan and cater my presentations to help lower the barrier to entry for new students and underclassmen, recruiting members by making science fair more approachable. + \item From halfway in my 9th grade to now, I have started, owned, and am fully maintaining a Discord study server for our school's + student class of 2027. As the owner, I am fully responsible for a managing a team of 8 voted moderators, and I have + to ensure that everybody's voices are heard. As the server is run through Discord, arguments and disagreements can + easily escalate, so I have to step in as a neutral party to mediate and resolve conflicts. It was through these Discord + "blow-ups" that I started learning how to be a better leader and work with others. I have poured over 300 hours into + this server, managing over 100 active members. Housing over 50\% of the class (at its peak) was a daunting task, and I + had to deal with revolts and mass exodus of members multiple times. From arguments about the "wetness of water" to + kicking me out of my own server, I have seen and managed all of these conflicts. Now, our server is a stable and + thriving community, with valuable study resources, popular group study calls, and constant member engagement through + general (and of-topic) text channels. \end{enumerate} \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/wright-application/essays/work.tex b/wright-application/essays/work.tex index 83924f1..3a745cf 100644 --- a/wright-application/essays/work.tex +++ b/wright-application/essays/work.tex @@ -37,16 +37,7 @@ Calculus, Chemistry, and even history. Each session requires significant preparation, as I have to explain the concepts in an intuitive manner that struggling students can understand. So far, I have received positive feedback from my students, and I always prioritize their learning and understanding above all else. - \item From halfway in my 9th grade to now, I have started, owned, and am fully maintaining a Discord study server for our school's - student class of 2027. As the owner, I am fully responsible for a managing a team of 8 voted moderators, and I have - to ensure that everybody's voices are heard. As the server is run through Discord, arguments and disagreements can - easily escalate, so I have to step in as a neutral party to mediate and resolve conflicts. It was through these Discord - "blow-ups" that I started learning how to be a better leader and work with others. I have poured over 300 hours into - this server, managing over 100 active members. Housing over 50\% of the class (at its peak) was a daunting task, and I - had to deal with revolts and mass exodus of members multiple times. From arguments about the "wetness of water" to - kicking me out of my own server, I have seen and managed all of these conflicts. Now, our server is a stable and - thriving community, with valuable study resources, popular group study calls, and constant member engagement through - general (and of-topic) text channels. + \item % NHS officer work!!.. AYNY VOLUNTEER OR PAID WORK \item % Robotics team work? \item % Science fair club officer work? diff --git a/wright-application/main.pdf b/wright-application/main.pdf index d817079..0a816ab 100644 Binary files a/wright-application/main.pdf and b/wright-application/main.pdf differ diff --git a/wright-application/stem-essay/main.pdf b/wright-application/stem-essay/main.pdf index f36308b..60595e3 100644 Binary files a/wright-application/stem-essay/main.pdf and b/wright-application/stem-essay/main.pdf differ diff --git a/wright-application/stem-essay/main.tex b/wright-application/stem-essay/main.tex index 5743149..1779abe 100644 --- a/wright-application/stem-essay/main.tex +++ b/wright-application/stem-essay/main.tex @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ % Settings: \pagestyle{empty} % no header or footer \setlength{\parindent}{0.5in} % standard paragraph indentation -\setlength{\parskip}{0pt} % no space between paragraphs +\setlength{\parskip}{6pt} % no space between paragraphs \singlespacing % single spacing \frenchspacing % Better spacing after periods @@ -58,55 +58,69 @@ \vspace{12pt} -% Essay content begins here -294 squiggly red underlines. Nearly every line of my code had errors. Null pointers, -incompatible types, undefined variables, Gradle sync errors---I had seen it all, and each error felt like a -dissonant chord demanding resolution. It was February 2024, my freshman year, and we had ten minutes to -take the field for our First Tech Challenge (FTC) final match. My heart raced as I thumped the keyboard in a -frenzy. My code was broken, and for the final match, it had to work. Time raced faster than it ever used to, and -I finally compiled the code. -There was no time to test, hardly any to breathe, and before I knew it, we were on the field with my index -finger hovering over the large play button. Time paused. I heard the buzzer and pressed play. Success. -In two minutes and thirty seconds, we became league champions. +294 Squiggly red underlines. Nearly every line of my code had errors. +Null pointers, incompatible types, undefined variables, Gradle sync errors---I +had encountered them all. It was February 2024, my freshman year, and we had +ten minutes to take the field for our First Tech Challenge (FTC) League Finals. +My heart pounded as keys clattered beneath my flying fingers. My code was broken, +and for the finals, it had to work. The merciless clock ticked away, and with +seconds to go, I finally compiled the code. There was no time to test, hardly +any to breathe. We took the field, and my finger hovered over the play button. +Time paused. The buzzer sounded, and I pressed play. Success. In two minutes +and thirty seconds, we won. -It was almost hard to believe that seven months back, I didn't know what a variable was. -I was fully into music, and programming was not even an afterthought. -It was a mere coincidence that my neighbor (and good friend) decided to start a robotics team, and given the minimal investment, I -joined. Like nearly all of my endeavors, my FTC journey began with a Google search. I was learning at a snail's pace, and it -had taken me two months to simply make a motor move. Soon, I was hooked. Like a sponge, I was absorbing everything I had to learn, -and I had eventually taught myself enough Java to become a functional FTC programmer. +Seven months earlier, I didn't know what a variable was. I was fully into music, +and programming wasn't even on my radar. When my friend started a robotics team, +I joined on a whim. My journey began with a Google search. Progress was +painstakingly slow; it took me two full months to make a motor turn. But +gradually, I became hooked. Like a sponge, I absorbed everything: tutorials, +documentation, and even Stack Overflow threads. Eventually, I taught myself +enough Java to become a functional FTC programmer. -As the season progressed, my sponge was -soaked, and we were a top competitive team by February. On competition day, the lightbulb within me finally clicked. -The joy I experienced wasn't just from our robot picking up and scoring pixels, but from the fact that the code I had recently learn to write -was resulting in a tangible output that I could witness. It was that moment when I decided to pursue a STEM career. I was -no longer just a high school student; I was a STEM student, and I was ready to help change the world. +As the season progressed, we became a competitive team, and my knowledge was +expanding in parallel. On that competition day, something just clicked. The +joy I experienced wasn't just from our robot picking up and scoring pixels, +but from seeing my code produce tangible results. In that moment, I'd found +my calling. I was no longer just a high school student; I was a STEM student, +and I was ready to see where my code could take me. -But that readiness was tested in September 2024. In a spur of ambitious insanity, -I had committed to building a machine learning model to predict gait patterns in Parkinson's Disease for my sophomore-year -Science Fair project. The problem: I had no clue how to. And so I learned. Python syntax, NumPy arrays, signal filtering, -feature extraction, and model architectures. I had entered a brand new domain, and each concept seemed to confuse me in a different way. -After two months of painfully laborious learning, coding, and debugging, I was finally able to transform raw sensor data into a -functional and accurate classification model. Somewhere between the first error message and the final 96\% accuracy, I -had managed to absorb a new discipline by pushing myself into unfamiliar waters. +But that readiness was tested in September 2024. Somewhat naively, I committed +to building a machine learning model to predict gait patterns in Parkinson's +Disease for my sophomore-year Science Fair project. The problem? I had no clue +how. So I dove in: Python syntax, NumPy arrays, signal filtering, feature +extraction, and model architectures. I had entered unfamiliar territory, and +each concept brought new confusion. After two months of relentless reading, +coding, and debugging, I managed to transform raw sensor data into a working +classification model. Somewhere between the first error message and the final +96\% accuracy, I had begun to absorb a new discipline. -If it weren't for my ambition, I would have stopped there. Unfortunately, I realized that a working model on my laptop -wasn't going to help any Parkinson's patients, and I needed to embed my model into a complete hardware device. This -task was beyond daunting, as I had to venture into the foreign land of hardware and electrical engineering. With my -engineering teacher guiding me, I slowly learned everything I needed. After dozens of 2 AM KiCAD tutorial binge sessions, -I finally had a working -design for a fully custom printed circuit board (PCB). Two weeks later, my PCB arrived, and after soldering all my -components, it didn't work. My heart sank. I touched up all the joints with my soldering iron and tried again. Success. -I wrote some quick software in C++, and I finally had a working end-to-end implementation for my final solution. After -my project made it to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the judges were impressed by the full -end-to-end implementation, and my efforts were finally rewarded when I won 3rd in Robotics and Intelligent Machines at ISEF. +I could have stopped there, but I realized that a working model on my laptop +wasn't going to help any Parkinson's patients, and I needed to embed my model +into a complete hardware device. This task was beyond daunting, as I had to +venture into the foreign territory of hardware and electrical engineering. +With my engineering teacher guiding me, I eventually learned the basics. After +countless 2 AM KiCAD tutorial sessions, I finally had a working design for a +custom printed circuit board (PCB) housing a sensor and microcontroller. Two +weeks later, my PCB arrived, and after soldering all my components, it didn't +work. My heart sank. In desperation, I resoldered each joint carefully and +tried again. Somehow, it worked. After writing some C++ software for the +device, I had something that actually worked. The project eventually made it +to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), placing 3rd in +Robotics and Intelligent Machines. What struck me most wasn't the placement, +but the fact that six months earlier, I wouldn't have understood any of it. + +Throughout high school, I've taught myself disciplines, from Java programming +to machine learning to circuit design. The Wright Scholar program offers an +opportunity to apply my knowledge to critical research. I'm drawn to AFRL's +Sensors Directorate, where I hope to deepen my understanding of signal +processing while contributing to sensor exploitation technologies. I'm equally +fascinated by the Human Performance Wing's work with multimodal sensing to +monitor and enhance human performance. What excites me most isn't just the +cutting-edge technology, but the chance to work alongside domain experts who +can accelerate my growth as an engineer and developer. Whether working with +sensor fusion or biomedical sensing, as a sponge eager to learn, AFRL is +exactly where I need to be. -Throughout my high-school life, I have strived to constantly learn new things, which is why I am so excited about the -Wright Scholar opportunity. From tinkering in my bed, I can start working on relevant research problems this Summer, -which would exponentially increase my learning and comprehension of these subjects. From cutting-edge -biomedical computing to sensor processing to cybersecurity, AFRL offers exciting venues for me to apply my knowledge. -For a sponge who lives to learn, AFRL can serve as a reservoir of knowledge, and I can't wait to absorb new information with -domain experts. \end{document} \ No newline at end of file