I have always had a deep, burning passion for science and the world around me. At three years old, I was fascinated with volcanoes and how they work. In middle school, most boys were enthralled with sports; I was excited to receive a periodic table of elements book on my birthday.
My father’s work as a Pathologist moved us from Chattanooga to a rural town in Georgia my sixth grade year. When I saw the cotton fields speckled with tractors and machinery, I prepared for a change in my lifestyle. I joined as many sports and activities as I could to try to adapt in the small, private school. This quickly proved to be difficult.
While participating in a required weightlifting class my freshman year, I sustained a herniated disc and muscle…show more content… It hurt to sit, which made it considerably difficult to concentrate. My peers mocked and teased me for being too “weak” to handle weightlifting. My neurosurgeon restricted my participation in sports, which further increased the harsh words of my peers. I started receiving spinal injections at the Pain Management Center and began physical therapy. I was determined to keep pressing forward.
I channeled my focus into maintaining straight A’s in all my classes and continued to adapt. I wanted to make something worthwhile out of my life instead of letting the pain and frustration stop me. I sought out any opportunity that presented itself. My love of foreign cultures led me to discover that one of my teachers was fluent in Chinese, having lived there for years. He began to teach me the language during my lunch break.
Robotics has been of special interest to me. I immersed myself into the school’s robotics team, taking every opportunity to be helpful. We went on to be the best rookie team of the year at the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics competition in Orlando. Duke Tip camp during one summer was also enjoyable. The two weeks of studying physics with like-minded students was refreshing and
