Bryson States

• Completed about 75 repair jobs a week with one partner: full window repairs, seal replacements and cracked glass.
• Delivered hardware and kept apartment complexes stocked with the right parts, so their own maintenance staff could fix problems quickly without calling us.
• Diagnosed each problem methodically on site and explained the fix directly to the customer.

What it taught meRunning a high volume of jobs while managing parts logistics, which is the kind of operational problem I want to solve with data.

• Installed heat pumps and air conditioners, including running the copper refrigerant lines to each system.
• Did full system repairs on furnaces, coils and outdoor units.
• Removed old systems and tested each new system to make sure it ran properly in the home.

What it taught meHow whole systems fit together, and how one failing part affects everything else.

• Helped customers find the right products in a fast-paced retail store.
• Worked during high school while competing in sports year-round.

• Raised and sold 4 cattle, 4 pigs and 45 to 60 chickens, generating more than $13,000 in profit (about $2,000 to $3,000 per cow and $1,200 per pig).
• Led a community egg business with my younger brother. I handled the networking and marketing, called customers to take orders, and we cleaned and delivered the eggs, about $400 in sales in one year.
• Reserve Grand Champion for cattle twice; Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion with pens of chickens.

What it taught meResponsibility every single day, and how to run something like a small business from start to sale.

• Captain my senior year of a team of about 200 athletes that placed top 5 in the state.
• Ran warm-ups and mentored younger athletes so they knew what they were doing.
• Organized and led optional practices for about 30 athletes on my own, with no coaches present.
• Two-time State Champion, three-time First Team All-State and All-State Honorable Mention.

• Football: played 5th through 11th grade; varsity 9th through 11th grade.
• Basketball: played 2nd through 11th grade; varsity for a season. All-Conference Honorable Mention and All-Conference Second Team Defense as a freshman.
• Baseball: played kindergarten through 9th grade; All-Star team 4 years in a row.

What it taught meHow to work with a team, and how to organize my time around school, sports and a job.

• Designed and built 3 rockets. I created most of the designs and my grandfather helped refine the ideas and source materials.
• Ran 3 test flights per rocket, each with a different engine, to find whether the thrust was too much or not enough for the design.
• Adjusted the designs between tests to improve durability and altitude. Best flight reached about 900 feet.

What it taught meTest, measure, adjust and test again: the same loop engineers use.

• Placed in the top 50 of about 500 students in the state.
• Tested and analyzed foods to judge quality, took a written exam on identifying food characteristics, and completed a team analysis task.

• Played percussion for seven years alongside sports and work.