The Road Ahead - Essay contest submission @ North American University

I have a lot planned for my future, but considering that I have 6 more years of school left, I still have a good amount of time in hand to put myself in the right position to fulfill my plans and goals. I see myself working at a large and ambitious company as a lead programmer by 2030. The technology industry will most likely continue to remain in demand by 2030. Even though I understand the amount of hard work and time required, I am still very optimistic about this career for me.

 I have always been intrigued by the way computers work. We find computers in all walks of our modern-day life – from video games to a smart light bulb. I am planning to build a computer myself this upcoming summer of 2019 to better understand the foundations of computer science. I had been on the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) 2017-18 robotics team in the past year which helped me learn the basics of computer programming by writing programs for LEGO EV3 Mindstorms robot. This gave me an opportunity to learn about software and hardware aspects of computer science, working in a team and giving back to society. My team won in the regional tournament of FLL and participated in the Northern California Silicon Valley Championship. We conducted several STEM education sessions in local library for elementary school kids to learn about science in general and have fun doing that.

At the moment I am focusing on continuing to average high scores in all subjects in my school. I have also enrolled into couple talented and gifted programs like Duke Tips and I am taking the PSAT 8/9 test through them in February 2019. Until last year I was enrolled in Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth (CTY) program for which I had taken the national level School and College Ability Test (SCAT) as a 2^nd grader in the year 2014 and scored 94 percentiles in both English and Math tests. I am currently enrolled in accelerated math class at Pearson Ranch Middle School and am attempting to make it into a talented and gifted class in math, language arts, and science early next year. I am doing this to hone my knowledge in all of the key areas that will help me achieve my future goal of following in both of my parents’ footsteps and working as a computer programmer.

During my time in high school, I plan to take electives that specialize in programming and technology in addition to joining the robotics team. I realize that to achieve my goal I will need to be very dedicated and put in a lot of hard work. I also am pursuing band and Spanish to keep a certain amount of variety to keep my mind fresh and ready to learn.

To prepare myself for the advanced classes I plan to take in college, I will have to also put in a lot of hard work in high school and be focused towards my goal. In pursuit of getting accepted at a good college, I will try my best to participate in programs that will help my chances of getting into a good college and earning a merit scholarship.

I plan to pursue graduation and post-graduation in computer science before starting on a job but that will come after 2030. At this point, I will have carried out all of my plans and I will hopefully be settled down in a house with my family and be in a job with a good pay and a good work-life balance. Overall, I hope my interests in computer programming help me do good in school, be successful and eventually lead me to live a happy life with my family.

Ecosystem Predator Acrostic Poem

a·cros·tic

/əˈkrôstik/

noun

noun: acrostic plural noun: acrostics

1. a poem, word puzzle, or other composition in which certain letters in each line form a word or words.

The mighty Jaguar, so big and strong roams the savannah so wide and absolutely long.

If you don’t take its food however, the great Jaguar will ignore you, no attention whatsoever.

It is scared of only the unnerving anaconda, the dangerous snake.

It can make even the amazing Jaguar quake.

He can chase the most rapid of prey, regardless of whether it’s night or day.

Make Learning More Accessible

Do you have a cell phone? If so, do you bring it to school with you?Do you use it appropriately or do you make knavish uses of it? Currently there is a debate going on about whether cell phones should be allowed in school or not. In some schools the use of cell phones is encouraged, however in others it is not. I very firmly agree that cell phone usage should be permitted in all schools.

To begin with, a reason that having cellphones in class can be beneficial is that they can be used as research tools during class time. The cellphones can allow for instant access to a wide range of information to aid during research.Furthermore, this information such as music, videos, or articles can be used in a wide varieties of classes and/or electives. For example listening to historical speeches such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” can be a supplement during speech and debate. Or listening to some of Beethoven's masterpieces can be of inspiration to young musicians during band class. It can even be of aid during geography to search the meaning of a term such as an archipelago, a group of islands in close proximity to each other. Your welcome teachers!

In addition, another reason that adds to this rationale behind my opinion is the recurrent belief between many communities, of social learning consisting of numerous gains in school. Some shy students blossom into confident and focused group learners through social learning applications and websites such as Edmodo, Google Hangouts, and Google Classroom. With these social education tools, work can easily be alloted to students and will ensure a monotonous learning environment will not easily be created.In my opinion, this learning environment will be significantly more engaging.

Finally,another way that cellphones can be of profit in school is that it can also increase safety. For example a cell phone can be used to ensure the peace of mind that parents have when they know their child can contact them during an emergency or vice versa.In my opinion I would think that this alone would be valid grounds for bringing a cellphone to school as parents or teachers may want to be able to contact their students via cell phones, a device you can bring almost anywhere. Most cell phones these day even have GPS technology which will allow for the child’s guardian or teacher to track their location during an emergency.

I do realize that cell phones may be used for cheating during exams or quizzes, but with the right enforcement of discipline the amount of unsuitable cell phone usage will be abysmal. As I noted social learning will allow for connection with not only a student’s fellow peers but also with their teacher in case of a question about an assignment. In short, cellphones can be very utilitarian in school.Make learning more accessible!

Save the world: An Essay on Effects of Using Plastic Straws on the Environment

Have you ever thought about the effect of your straws when you throw them away. Currently there is a debate going on about whether straws should be banned or not.These straws accumulate and create huge amounts of waste that will never biodegrade, or “Go Away”. I firmly agree that straws should be banned.

One reason I feel that plastic straws should be banned is that they make unnecessary waste and create a cesspool of garbage and plastic filth inside landfills which leads to pollution. This true because every year Americans throw away more than 12 million pounds in plastic straws. To me creating this much waste and pollution is valid grounds for banning straws. Backing this up, the amount of waste created by plastic straws every day can be used to wrap around the whole world four times. Whoa! That’s a lot of waste!

In addition, plastic straws create waste that can amount to the death of many sea animals! Over one million sea animals die each year due to plastic waste! For example, a plastic straw was wedged in a sea turtle’s nose. The straw was thought to be a parasitic worm blocking the turtles airway, however when scientists realized it was actually a plastic straw they were shocked! Also, a diver went diving in a reef and found over 200 plastic straws in only 20 minutes! Ughh! Disgusting!

I realized that many people need straws to drink water or other liquids in the case that they are handicapped or disabled, but they do not need to use plastic straws. They can use straws made of paper, bamboo, or glass which are reusable. This form of waste creates clutter around the world.The right way to go in my eyes is definitely to ban plastic straws! Save the world!