Overcoming adversity by Caleb

Overcoming adversity by Caleb - December 2024 Scholarship Essay

In my final year of High School, I faced a particularly challenging academic experience during a complex research project for my thesis. The topic I had chosen—analyzing the intersection of artificial intelligence and ethics—was broad and deeply nuanced. As I delved deeper into the research, I realized that the existing literature was either too theoretical or too specific, leaving me with a gap in terms of understanding how these ethical concerns could be practically addressed in real-world applications.

Initially, I felt overwhelmed and stuck, unsure how to bridge this gap. But I decided to break down the problem into smaller, manageable parts. First, I reached out to my professor, who helped me refine my focus and suggested I look into case studies where AI had been implemented in ethically challenging scenarios. This gave me concrete examples to work with. Then, I expanded my research methodology by incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives from philosophy, law, and computer science, which allowed me to see the issue from multiple angles.

Additionally, I joined online forums and attended virtual lessons where experts discussed AI ethics, which helped me stay updated and gave me valuable feedback. Slowly, I built a comprehensive analysis that tied together theory, case studies, and potential solutions. By the end of the process, the project turned out to be one of my proudest academic achievements, not only for the depth of research but also for the resilience and adaptability I developed throughout the process.