update

wright-application/essays/extracurriculars.tex

@@ -1,41 +1,25 @@
-\begin{enumerate}
+\begin{itemize}
-	\item \textbf{First Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics, Co-Captain, Software Lead} (9th-11th Grade): Helped found and lead
+	\item \textbf{First Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics, Co-Captain, Software Lead} (9th–11th Grade): Co-captain for a community robotics team with fully custom robot design and software. Won multiple local awards for software and hardware innovation, becoming a regional and state finalist alliance team and ranked top-30 globally for the autonomous section. Mentored over 200 students across various platforms.
-	      community robotics team with fully custom robot design and software. Won multiple local awards for software and
-	      hardware innovation, becoming regional and state finalist alliance team, and global top-30 for the autonomous section.
-	\item \textbf{Member of School Science Fair Club} (9th-11th Grade): Completed independent research projects in engineering
-	      and computer science. 2x International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) finalist, and 3rd in Robotics and
-	      Intelligent Machines at ISEF (\$1200 award). Won 1st in category at school, district, and regional science fairs competitions.
-	      Awarded multiple special awards, including TI Best Computing Project and US Air Force Certificate of Recognition.
-	\item \textbf{Officer of School Science Fair Club} (10th, 11th Grade): President and Vice President of school's science fair
-	      club, organizing meetings, mentoring new members, and leading outreach events for STEM awareness in local community.
-	      Conducted
-	      biweekly lunch meetings to guide students through project ideation, research methods, and presentation skills.
-          %//TODO: ADD NUMBERS:::: 120 kidsm etc
-	\item \textbf{Speech and Debate} (9th-11th Grade): National (NSDA) and State quarterfinalist in Impromptu Speaking, and National
-	      octofinalist in Extemporaneous Commentary. Won local and regional tournaments in Duo Acting and Extemporaneous
-	      Speaking. Coded powerful timer utility and congress PO app for team use, with positive testimonials from state and national
-	      competitors.
-	\item \textbf{Keyboardist for Local Band} (9th, 11th Grade): Performed as a self-taught keyboardist for a local band with popular ticketed shows and
-	      over millions of views on YouTube. Revenue from performances donated to local charities, raising over 200K through various
-	      platforms to support people in need of support for medical expenses. Volunteered over 100 hours for events, and
-	      earned President's Volunteer Service Award Silver (9th Grade).
-	\item \textbf{Original Music Arrangement and Composition} (9th-11th Grade): Created original film music arrangements and compositions
-	      using fully self-taught music production skills, keyboard, and bass guitar. Collaborated with local artists and renowned Tamil film
-	      music composer to produce musical compositions and melodies.
-	\item \textbf{NHS Member} (10th-11th Grade): Volunteered through judging local Middle School Debate Tournaments, organizing
-	      school-wide service events, and tutoring underclassmen in STEM subjects. Produced valuable educational resources (through
-	      school's tutoring program) to help with Calculus and Chemistry understanding.
-	\item \textbf{NHS Technology Officer} (11th Grade): Technology Officer for largest NHS chapter worldwide, coding a React-based
-	      full-stack web portal to streamline member management, event coordination, and service hour tracking. Hours are tracked through
-	      accurate QR code scanning, saved into Firebase database for easy and secure access by officers and members.
-    \item \textbf{Math Club} (9th-11th Grade): Competed in local math competitions, including AMC 10/12 and AIME (1x qualifier).
-	\item \textbf{Founder of School's Cricket Club} (11th Grade): Founded and organized school's first competitive cricket club,
-	      playing local high school teams. Helped organize and run practice, matches, and manage team logistics. Spread the sport to over 30
-	      club members 15 new players.
-	\item \textbf{Owner of Class Discord Server} (9th-11th Grade): Founded and managed a Discord server for studying and resource sharing.
-	      Supported over 150 active members with strict moderation, with support from school teachers.
-	      Implemented structured channels for various subjects with a live voice channel for group study sessions.
 
-	      %Math, CS, 
+	\item \textbf{Simply Stir Research Project} (9th Grade): Completed independent research on harvesting thermal energy to power a self-stirring pot. Won 1st place in Engineering Technology at regional science fair, within the top 9 overall projects (\$300). Also won US Metric Association Best SI Units and US Air Force Certificate of Recognition. Advanced as a finalist to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
 
-\end{enumerate}
+	\item \textbf{Gait Guardian Research Project} (10th Grade): Completed independent research on using machine learning and signal processing for Parkinson’s Disease patients. Won 1st place in Systems Software at regional science fair and 2nd Grand Prize Overall (\$400). Won TI Best Computing Project, and advanced as an ISEF finalist. Won 3rd in Robotics and Intelligent Machines at ISEF (\$1200).
+
+	\item \textbf{School Science Fair Club, Officer} (10th–11th Grade): Served as Underclassmen President and later as Vice-President of the school’s science fair club, organizing meetings, mentoring new members, and leading STEM outreach events in the local community. Conducted biweekly lunch meetings to guide students through project ideation, research methods, and presentation skills.
+
+	\item \textbf{Speech and Debate} (9th–11th Grade): National (NSDA) and State Quarterfinalist in Impromptu Speaking; National Octofinalist in Extemporaneous Commentary. Won local and regional tournaments in Duo Acting and Extemporaneous Speaking. Developed a custom timer utility and Congress presiding officer app used by state and national competitors.
+
+	\item \textbf{Keyboardist for Local Band} (9th–11th Grade): Performed as a self-taught keyboardist in a local band with ticketed shows and millions of views on YouTube. Donated performance revenue to charity, raising over \$200,000 to support medical expenses. Volunteered more than 100 hours and earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award (Silver).
+
+	\item \textbf{Original Music Arrangement and Composition} (9th–11th Grade): Composed and arranged original film music using self-taught skills in music production, keyboard, and bass guitar. Collaborated with local artists and a renowned Tamil film music composer.
+
+	\item \textbf{National Honor Society (NHS) Member} (10th–11th Grade): Volunteered by judging middle school debate tournaments, organizing school-wide service events, and tutoring underclassmen in STEM subjects. Produced educational resources in Calculus and Chemistry through the school tutoring program.
+
+	\item \textbf{NHS Technology Officer} (11th Grade): Served as Technology Officer for the largest NHS chapter worldwide. Built a React-based full-stack web portal to streamline member management, event coordination, and service hour tracking using QR codes and a Firebase database.
+
+	\item \textbf{Math Club} (9th–11th Grade): Competed in local math competitions, including AMC 10/12 and AIME (1× qualifier).
+
+	\item \textbf{Founder of School’s Cricket Club} (11th Grade): Founded and organized the school’s first competitive cricket club, coordinating practices, matches, and logistics. Expanded participation to over 30 members and introduced 15 new players to the sport.
+
+	\item \textbf{Owner of Class Discord Server} (9th–11th Grade): Founded and managed a class Discord server for studying and resource sharing. Supported over 150 active members with structured subject channels, live study sessions, and teacher-supported moderation.
+\end{itemize}

wright-application/stem-essay/main.tex

@@ -50,10 +50,11 @@
 
 \begin{document}
 
+\begin{center}
+	\textbf{\large Wright Scholar Essay (Topics 1 and 3)}
+\end{center}
 
-\noindent\textbf{Topic 3:} Research involves trying new things. Please give an example of when you stepped out of your comfort zone to experience something new in regards to science or engineering.
 
-\noindent\textbf{Topic 4:} What do you hope to get out of the Wright Scholar experience (be creative)?
 
 \vspace{12pt}
 
@@ -70,25 +71,42 @@ In two minutes and thirty seconds, we became league champions.
 
 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 mere coincidence that my neighbor (and good friend) decided to start a robotics team, and given the minimal investment, I
+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.
 
 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 code I had recently learn to write
+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 where I decided to pursue a STEM career. I was
+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.
+no longer just a high school student; I was a STEM student, and I was ready to help change the world.
 
 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, model architectures. I had entered a brand new domain, and each concept seemed to confuse me in a different way.
+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.
 
+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.
+
+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}