Beginning with weight training to the point of competing in power-lifting events, I quickly loved the cyclic bulking and cutting method of improving my strength, endurance, and conditioning. Over time, my goals shifted towards building a foundation set for longevity. Prior to the pandemic closing gyms, I co-founded my school’s calisthenics club to provide body weight workout guides. Under quarantine, I shared these free programs with students, Special Olympics athletes, and my apartment community. Since graduation, I have begun exploring gymnastics, yoga, and various primal movements. Throughout this journey, I have helped others achieve their goals in any fitness-related domain.

From a young age, it has been clear to me that my passion lies in fitness. Aside from the physical transformation of my body, the lesser obvious and more significant influence that fitness has had on me is its transformation on my mind. Whether it be stress relief or endorphin release, my body and brain are exercised an equal amount with each workout. On a different note, working out is also my time for creative expression. Throughout my near-decade of exercise, I have rarely ever repeated the same workout twice. Not only does having variety result in improved muscle conditioning, but I also end up feeling an eager excitement for each workout every day. In the medical field, full of objective truths, where the scientific method is the path to unleash one’s creativity, I am thankful for my main hobby coincidentally being my creative outlet. The feeling that I have following each workout has been so self-satisfying that I have felt drawn to ensure that others can feel this same way. I created a personal training non-profit that, since its inception, has helped train hundreds of people across the world. In every client's eyes, I see a past version of myself. Watching these everyday people transform out of their unhealthy habits and become rejuvenated with more youthfulness has been awe-inspiring.

My time with Special Olympics began through weekly bonding with the athletes through various sports programs. As part of my fraternity's philanthropy, we were able to raise $35,700 to support Special Olympics in the New River Valley.

Outside of the weekly events with the athletes and their families, I spent time refurbishing the Special Olympics main office. This hands-on, manual labor work helped improve inefficiencies within the Special Olympics Headquarters while also refreshing my skills from past subcontracting work.

Being a Special Olympics volunteer has inspired me to mold my Class-to-Calendar project around the needs of students with disabilities and their families. With the rise of online learning, I wanted to create special tools for special education.

Amidst the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic quarantine and lockdowns, I created a virtual mutual aid network to help struggling families associated with my region's Special Olympics. At the time, many athletes and their families struggled to accomplish basic tasks. Because of this, I provided a platform for surrounding members to broadcast their needs in which healthy volunteers would aid in accomplishing. Initially intended for services like grocery pickup, the network grew to help community members with transportation, translation services, and employment opportunities. After receiving volunteer help from Virginia Tech students, the network eventually offered more support than there was a demand for. This experience sparked an interest in helping local and virtual communities through online services.

My structure of note-taking in cell molecular neuroscience lectures included downloading the class PowerPoints, marking down the important pieces of the lecture, and converting it all into downloadable Anki flashcards.

These notes and flashcards were shared after each class and led to a 15.2% increase in the percentage of enrolled students achieving an A overall compared to previous semesters.