Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

I have always been fascinated by magic. However, I don’t admire the fake sorcery that allures an audience with illusions and tricks. No, not the type where a mysterious, masked magician stuffs his beautiful assistant into a cramped, rectangular box. He then proceeds by spinning the box around proving that there are no entrances or exits to the box. He then pulls out a flimsy saw that shines in the limelight and waves it around the crowd and he suddenly yells, “hocus-bogus!” and starts sawing the box in half. After the box is completely cut, the magician separates the two halves and the assistant starts wiggling her legs as she smiles to the crowd half the person she was just a second ago. This is non-interactive, instantaneous entertainment, the thrill does not last long. This is not magic to me, it is more like getting lucky hiding a deception from someone. No, I’m into magic, the power to create and renovate something that has not been thought of yet.

As a child I spent every weekend at my grandparents’ house. There was a computer mounted on top of my grandmother’s desk. The computer was a beauty, a ruby iMac G3 that ran OS X Tiger. I would play all types of games on an emulator that my father installed onto the computer. Knowing that at any moment, I could trot over to the computer, boot it up, and play games from where I left off previously left off was fascinating to me. The sights, sounds and experience of the games I played were so enticing to me. I would think about them even when I was not playing them. However, I was still old enough to realize that there is nobody out in the world that makes money by playing video games.

One day my grandpa came in and told me to come watch him do his usual work in the garage. This was the first time I was witnessing him actually working on something. He pulled out an organized, clean tool box onto his rustic work bench that was covered in maple wood shavings. I wanted to see what odd household item he was fixing this time. Was it a simple item that he wanted me to help him with, or was it an item that is so elaborate and hard to fix that I should not even bother? I came to realize that we weren’t going to fix anything, we were making a birdhouse. He proceeded by taking the cedar board and handing it to me, telling me to mark down my measurements. Precision was key and I was determined to make the best birdhouse I could. It took awhile but I got the hang of the basics of carpentry. With the help of a mentor like my grandpa, I felt like I could learn anything and there was no obstacle I couldn’t overcome. After a few hours, our bird house was fully assembled. It was magnificent and I was quite proud of myself. I was bolstering the birdhouse on a tree next to my grandpa’s garden, installing yet another home for essence to flow within the backyard. I realized how something so miniature can be so significant to another being.  It was at that exact moment that I realized what I would love to do with my life. I want to forge worlds that I envision in my mind and project them to  people as a platform for entertainment, as known as, game development. This is magic and I am the magician and consequently, my beautiful assistant is literally a rectangular box. However, I will not be sawing my computer in half, that’s not the way to treat my lovely assistant.

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

I’m Kyle Coony, a sixteen year old that attends El Segundo High School. Almost a year ago, I landed an internship at a company called Computer Smarts. I have always had a love for technology and what it has to offer. Technology will always change and upgrade, it is inevitable. I feel that I can relate to technology in that exact way, I am always learning and adapting. This job has shaped me in many ways and the mentors at this company have taught me so many important life lessons. However, the most significant lesson I have learned is how to problem solve. With problem solving, there is no task that I can’t complete as long as I have the confidence and motivation to get that task done. I do have this competitive drive and I feel that it originates from my grandparents. Being from Japan, second generation, they have had difficulties and hardship in their life. My grandfather was a great man that served the United States military for multiple years. He then got the job as a gardener and would take me to go work with him as a kid. I noticed that he does not stop until the job he is doing is completely finished. He made this clear to me as I raked up leaves, every single leaf. I got this exact trait from him, it is linked through my blood. Learning is something that everyone has to adapt to. I feel that I’ve done an excellent job at learning and interpreting my knowledge into creativity. Creativity lives vicariously through me, it’s bursting. I’ve always been the type of person that expresses themselves to the fullest, no boundaries allowed. Ironically, I live right near Los Angeles International Airport and I have never been on a plane. Usually when someone wants something they can’t have, they want it even more, to the point of obsession. I want to leave this small town of Westchester and expand my horizons. I have a lot to offer to this world and I know that with my problem solving, motivation, precision and curiosity, I will be a successful young man that will help shape the world and the people inhabiting it in some way, shape or form.