Background: In the fall of 2009 I finalized my Gates Millennium application, after years of preparation, writing and enlisting support for the task at hand I submitted 8 essays. These eight papers, were responses to prompts I no longer remember. Still after nearly 15 years, I’ve found myself turning back to the Gates, my essays, the people who loved me then; I’ve found myself relearning who I want(ed) to be.

I’m a product of my environment. I’ve always been a product of my environment, I’m adaptive, and at my core I’m the offspring of many soils. My growing and molding has been episodic, and ruled by one rule. We blossom through hard work and faith. We cultivate bonds through our actions, and our relentless determination, we bend arcs and bridge cultures with that.