Achievements

I’ve always been interested in pursuing opportunities both in and out of my normal education. I have a strange list of hobbies and achievements, but each one is something I enjoy and can say I’m proud of.

I love Robotics and programming, and I was super excited to see my team win the BEST National Championships in my Sophomore year. I was extremely invested in that team, being the only one of the 40+ members to have a hand in every section of the competition. I was the head programmer, creating the programs from which the robot would run, and designing new ways the robot could be more efficient. I was a driver for the robot, competing on the field and actually one of the few drivers competing during the final round of the National Championship, sinking enough points to give the team an early lead. I was a member of the marketing team, showcasing our robot design and special features to potential “buyers”, as part of the event. I helped build the showcase booth, and designed a mini-robot for that exact purpose. I was even a part of the cheer squad while I wasn’t competing on the field. Yea, it was a lot, but it was one of the best feelings ever to know you’ve won it, and it is definitely one of the highlights for me in the last couple of years.

I enjoy other things that aren’t robots however! As you can see, I also love to use my knowledge in different subjects, as well as my leadership skills, to help others. I’m the President of both the chess club and the Strings club at my high school, bringing in my experience and using it to work with and teach others, so they can grow as well. I also love competing in tournaments and championships that test knowledge, the biggest one being the National Beta Convention.

I had not expected much from the Convention, going to the state championships signed up to do social studies and science. I took the tests the best I could (I even forgot to bring a pencil), and sat back and enjoyed the trip away from school. Then it was announced I came 2nd in Science and actually WON the Social studies section. I was competing against kids from Springfield, kids from Chicago, and I had won.

I travelled to the National Championships in Georgia that following summer. I entered the giant convention hall, went to my sections, and ran into a problem: both social studies and science were holding their tests at the exact same time! No one had ever qualified and went in both sections before, so they didn’t have any plan for it. I ended up taking both tests at the same time using the time limit of a single test. Doing this in a giant ball room with a hundred other winners was intimidating, to say the least. Did the best I could, went back to the hotel, and waited. Come awards ceremony, I figured out I had secured 6th in the Nation for BOTH categories, which blew my mind. Not only did I get a cool vacation, I actually WON something too? That was definitely one of my favorite experiences outside the classroom.

If I had to tie this up into a moral, try new things! One is never limited to only the classroom, there will always be opportunities to find more to do! Luckily for me, it turned out to be helpful and also lots of fun at the same time! Almost everything I’ve tried extracurricularly has been great, except for the rock-paper-scissors tournament. We DO NOT talk about that....

Leadership & Activities

Present

• MSMS Chess Club President 2021-Present
• MSMS Strings Club President 2021-Present
• BEST Robotics National Champions 2019 – Lead Programmer
• BEST Robotics 3rd Place National 2018 – Lead Programmer
• HighSchool Robotics Team Leadership (2018 and 2019)
• Illinois Junior State Orchestra Violin II First Chair, 2017
• Southern Illinois University Symphony Orchestra Violin I Player (2015 to 2018)
• Mississippi State Symphony Orchestra Violin I Player (2019 to Present)
• Southern Illinois Civic & Symphony Orchestra Soloist Performer (2016 to 2018)
• Played in dozens of different churches, charities, and wedding events
(2013-Present)
• Co-Founder of the Southern Illinois Chess Club (2017)
• Saint Louis Chess Club Championship 2-time Participant (2017 and 2018)
• High School Chess Club President (2019-2020)

Math & Science Recognition

• US National Finalist in Science – 6th place – Beta Convention Division II, 2018
• Illinois Runner-Up in Science, Beta Convention Division II, 2018
• Mathcounts Regional Competition Finalist, 6th Place, 2018
• Illinois Junior Academy of Science Semi-Finalist Gold Award, 2018
• Illinois Junior Academy of Science Minority Award, 2018
• Southern Illinois University Science Fair Overall Excellence Award, 2018
• Heartland Christian Conference Regional Competition, two-time Math Champion
7th and 8th grades, 2017 and 2018

Music Performance

2010 — Present

• Southern Illinois Music Festival 2015 and 2016 Young Artist Showcase Winner
• Illinois State Music Teachers Association Merit Award For Achievement in Music and
Theory, 3 times (2016, 2017, and 2018)
• The National Federation of Music Clubs Superior Rating Violin Solo for 6
Consecutive Years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
• The National Federation of Music Clubs Superior Rating Piano Solo for 5
Consecutive Years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
• The National Federation of Music Clubs Superior Rating Violin Duet for 5
Consecutive Years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
• The National Federation of Music Clubs Superior Rating Violin Quartet 5
Consecutive Years (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
• Multiple other NFMC Awards

Chess

2016 — Present

• MSMS Scholastic Chess Tournament Champion, 2020
• MSMS Scholastic Chess Tournament K-9 Champion, 2019
• Southern Illinois University Little Egypt Chess Tournament Champion (2018)
• Midwest Chess Championship, Class E, Runner-Up, 2018

• Heartland Christian Conference Regional Competition 2-Time Chess Champion
K-12 (2017, 2018)
• Saint Louis Chess Club Bill Wright Championship, under 1400 Champion (2018)

Programming & Robotics

2018 — Present

• BEST Robotics National Champions, as Lead Programmer, Chief CAD Designer, and
Driver: Best Overall Award and Best Robot Award, 2019
• Mississippi BEST Robotics State Champions, as Lead Programmer, Chief CAD
Designer, and Driver, 2019
• South’s BEST Robotics Regional Competition Runner-Up (in 5 States), as Lead
Programmer, and Chief CAD Designer: Second Overall Award, 2018
• Mississippi BEST Robotics State Runner-Up, as Lead Programmer, Chief CAD
Designer, 2018

Senior Year

• President of the MSMS Chess Club: Aug. 2021 – Present
• President of the MSMS Strings Club: Aug. 2021 – Present
• Mississippi State University Symphony Member: Aug. 2020 – Present
• Professional Violinist, for Weddings, Events, etc: 2017 – Present

Junior Year

• Vice President of the MSMS Chess Club: Aug. 2020 – May. 2021
• MSMS Scholastic Chess Champion 2020
• Qubit by Qubit MIT Quantum Physics Program Participant: 2021
• iQuHACK Quantum Physics Hackathon Participant: 2021

Sophomore Year

• BEST Robotics National Champions 2019
• BEST Robotics State Champions 2019
• Robotics Team Head Programmer: Aug. 2018 – May. 2020
• Robotics Team Chief CAD Designer: Aug. 2019 – May. 2020
• Robotics Team Leadership, Supervisor: Aug. 2019 – May. 2020

• High School Chess Club President: Aug. 2019 – May. 2020
Numerous National Federation Of Music Awards: 2015-2019

Freshman Year

• US National Finalist in Science, 6th Place, Beta Convention Division II: 2018
• US National Finalist in Social Studies, 6th Place, Beta Convention Division II: 2018
• Illinois State Champion in Social Studies, Beta Convention Division II: 2018
• Illinois State Runner-up in Science, Beta Convention Division IIl 2018
• BEST Robotics National 3rd Place 2018
• BEST Robotics State Runners-Up 2018
• Robotics Team Head Programmer: Aug. 2018 – May. 2020
• Co-Founder of the Southern Illinois Chess Club: 2017
• Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra Member: 2015-2018
• SPICE Chess Camp Participant: 2017-2018