Ray Whaley

• I am a regular volunteer with the C.F. Goodwin Public Library. For over a year, I helped label, mark, organize, and tidy the books and CDs. Through this experience, I learned to navigate the Dewey Decimal System, how to communicate with customers and visitors, and observed basic receptionist duties.

• I was the lead programmer of several different competitive robotics teams, including:
• Guardians of the Gears, (2019)
• Nerds United, (2019)
• Fiery Phoenixes, (2018)
• Starbots, (2017)

During this experience, I not only sharpened my programming skills, but I also began to learn how to work efficiently as a team player. I refined my social skills, learned how to communicate efficaciously with the other members, made plans for the competition, helped schedule competitions and meetings, and developed a knack for basic engineering and STEM-related projects. I was the designated writer for the team as well, due to my small handwriting and tidiness. I kept organized notes of all our competitions, and updated the engineering notebook frequently. Our engineering notebook was always highly graded because of this.

• I volunteered with my local church for a year, working in the nursery and toddler division as an assistant caregiver and assistant teacher. I learned to better handle loud, difficult situations, how to care for 0-3 year old children and infants, how to work at the front desk for this service, and how to properly clean and care for a workplace. I learned how to make every table sparkle, even after it had endured some crayon scribbles and goldfish paste.

• I was taught how to play piano and intermediate music theory. I am able to play a wide range of repertoire, am comfortable with complex music theory concepts, and have adequate control over dynamics. This experience highly contributed to my attention to detail and ability to focus, as well as my creative abilities and work ethic.

• When I was a student at Royse City Homeschool Academy, I took a multitude of classes. Because of this, I sharpened many of my pre-established skills, and found some unexplored passions that I otherwise wouldn't have discovered. I learned basic culinary and kitchen safety skills, I advanced my art skills, and learned various helpful exercises that I still use today in my designs, and I learned intermediate hand-sewing. I was in several advanced classes, such as:
• High school level history
• High school level language arts
• High school level computer science

I also began to rediscover my love of programming and computers through this experience, as I took a programming class and a robotics class. I began properly learning American Sign Language (ASL), and I am now a more advanced beginner in this language.

• I began my studies and developed a colossal interest in programming and computer science in this class. I learned basic Python coding, how to create a text-based video game, and how to code mild graphics. I was also able to edit pre-existing code in games like Minecraft and BlockStar Planet, creating ethical modifications to improve my own experience without interfering in the experiences of others. Or—rather, most others. I may have changed a username or two of a few online bullies.