Matthew Yelverton 

    I have always been very prestigious when it comes to my studies. I have taken every honors, Pre - AP, and AP class available to me up to this point, and am currently enrolled in AP English, Honors Algebra 2, AP World History, AP Physics, and my second year of the Engineering Program at the James Forrest Tech Center. I earned my 2 language credits and computer science credits in middle school at Margaret Brent and then took Spanish 3, Concert Band, and PE in my Freshman year. I did all of this to earn credits and clear more future electives for classes I would like to take so I can continue pursuing my career in Engineering. On top of this, the lowest letter grade I have ever received in my lifetime on a report card was a B. In my Freshman and Sophomore years, I maintained straight As easily, and plan to do the exact same for every upcoming year, including college. At the moment, I have a weighted 4.0 GPA and all but 4 of my graduating credits as a Junior.

     In addition to my classes during the day, I participate in many extracurriculars and sports outside of school. During my childhood, I experimented with many different sports, including Ice Hockey, Soccer, Baseball, and both Flag and Tackle Football. However, at the start of my Freshman year, I decided to join the Chopticon Marching Band. Though taking up a lot of my schedule, Marching Band and my assortment of other activities provide a difficult challenge and continue to teach me many things, enhancing my ability to multitask, making my memory better, and teaching me how to be a better leader and follower when in a team of many people that needs to act as smooth as one being altogether. After two years, I decided to quit the band program so I had time to begin my part - time job as a cashier at Food Lion. I still participate in the Indoor Drumline in the Fall and Winter, which is similar to the Marching Band, but I play in the Drumline instead of my usual instrument, the Tenor Saxophone. All of these skills are helpful for the mindset of an Engineer, as Engineers need to be good at both leading and following, and need to be able to transition between ideas and mindsets quickly for maximum performance while working. I am planning on enrolling in SkillsUSA, NHS, and NTHS as soon as the opportunity is given to me, which will continue to aid me in enhancing the skills needed for the careers I am pursuing.

     In addition to my job, I do a lot of scattered work for neighbors, friends, and family to earn some money. Anything I earn, regardless of amount goes in a savings account to gain interest and earn money on its own, so that I barely have to worry about it. I earn minimum wage after school, which is 15 dollars an hour, in addition to my construction and demolition work where I earn 25 dollars an hour on scattered weekends.

     I volunteer regularly to help aid either the common neighbor or the city in need. I volunteer regularly at my church, helping do food drives or pantries. One of the biggest reoccurring projects I do with my local church is in July when I leave for about 10 days to help a small town in South Carolina, where I spend 10 hours a day doing hard work and labor to make their lives a little easier. We fixed a woman's broken plumbing, which was flooding her house with sewage, repaired the rotting floor of a food pantry and library, and completely replaced all of the floor and kitchen of a wheelchair-bound woman, whose house was caving in on her. I also went on a field trip with my Honors Biology class at the end of freshman year to help clear some invasive bamboo out of the woods of the Sotterly Plantation. I hope that reaching my Career Goal will make it easier for me to help these people, or better yet, keep them from being in need in the first place.

     After High School, I plan on going to CSM for my associate's degree in Engineering, as I will already have about a semester's worth of credits from the Tech Center for said degree, and I plan to dual enroll many of my college classes during my senior year. After that, I will apply for scholarships to as many 4 year Universities as I can with a reputable Engineering associate's degree, either for Mechanical or Biochemical Engineering, and then choose where I will go based on those results. I plan to do all I can to get a scholarship, but if I cannot, I will take a gap year after I receive my associate's degree to save some money and then take out a loan to apply for a four-year University.

     Once I reach my goal of becoming an Engineer, no matter which type I choose, I will do all I can in my power to make this world a better place overall. Whether that is by manipulating Stem Cells to regrow lost limbs as a Biochemical Engineer or by creating many useful inventions to make life easier and better as a mechanical engineer. Once I do get my degree, I will apply for jobs based on my career and work until I can retire with a good amount of savings, and then continue being an Engineer, not just for the money, but to help aid humanity as a whole. By the end, not just my city, my state, or even my continent, but the entire world will know that I dedicated my life to helping people, and succeded in some way shape or form.