Meet Nishant Mysore

Years Awarded:
2018-2019
"I don't go a single day without thinking the phrase, I may have had Cancer, but Cancer never had me."
While I was in treatment, a teacher was assigned to teach me at home for a few months.
One of the subjects that I had was biology. At first, I was not that excited, but when my teacher showed up at my door holding a white binocular microscope, I was in awe. I made sure to explore the microscope as much as I could, looking at the letter ‘e’ in a newspaper to the cells of a fly’s wing in the blink of an eye. I used stains to create slides in order to look at the green, moving chloroplasts of plants and the nuclei of insects. I even looked at my own cancer cells! I flew through my textbook, reading about Mendel’s pea experiments, Darwin’s theory of evolution, and Watson and Crick’s discovery of DNA structure. I had found an absorbing way to occupy myself during my solitude. I have continued to sustain this interest throughout my high school years especially through the NJ science league, where I competed in different areas such as biology and chemistry.
During my forced stay at home, another passion formed. My uncle gave me a Lego robotics kit for Christmas, which involved building together and programming robots. At first, my inventions consisted of a humanoid robot that could check out obstacles around it, and a crocodile that could spit plastic balls at my grandparents while they were trying to watch TV. But my creativity was not limited by childish motives. I created a robotic stirrer to mix various capsules (to study the dissolution rate) for my science fair project. I created a robotic fish feeder to feed my fish when I was away from home. Eventually, I realized that programming my robots using the drag and drop Lego block coding wouldn’t meet the functionality that I required. In order to program more efficiently, I had to learn a programming language.
I continued to pursue these interests when I went back to school. At first, my explorations were limited to YouTube introductory videos on programming . However, as I progressed, I began to learn from other sources as well. I took an online course at a university and earned a certificate of completion for an introductory course in Java. With this achievement, I was able to participate in the American Computer Science League competition. In both my freshman and sophomore years, I was in the top five in my division, and able to compete in the international competition.
Another passion that I’ve fostered over the years is piano. Though I initially disliked practicing and playing, I’ve come to love playing all types of music, especially classical. Playing piano has helped me get through the difficult times that I have faced. I’ve performed at bi-annual recitals at the Monmouth Conservatory of Music for seven years, in addition to recitals at public venues and even at Rider University. Playing Piano is a skill that I am looking forward to pursuing while at college.
Through the microscope of a college education, I am looking to magnify and study my interests even as I create new ones. I am a good candidate for this scholarship because I am fully committed to succeeding not only for myself, but for my family, who motivated and inspired me to succeed, especially during rough times. I know that I will be able to push myself and be driven and motivated to achieve the very best. I am positive that the Beyond the Cure Ambassador Scholarship, through its financial support, will enable me to chase after my goals, and I believe that my hard work, drive to learn, and creative thinking will lead me towards a successful and accomplished education and career.