John Gallagher

Born from the steamy sands of ol' Cape Cod, John survived puberty by slapping a puck and ball with sticks until he traded the bat for a net strapped to the end of a 6-foot-pole. From high school to college, there were clear goals of self-sufficiency and blissful independence through a natural talent and healthy job market for bookkeeping and accounting. These goals, though noble for putting financial stability over dreams and childhood memories, were unable to fuel the academic fire beyond freshman year.John felt like a failure. It was a difficult step to take, but John was able to push himself out of business and into computer science. The new track posed several polarizing aspects that exponentially increased its difficult introduction, and in just one semester, John knew he was not fit for programming. However, these last three years at the nation's second largest university have included several lessons on open-mindedness, self-discipline, and initiative; to embrace personal interests despite society's (whether real or paranoidal) criticisms; and work towards improving the lives of others in a manner that is uniquely personal to himself.Now a junior at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, John is following a creative writing track and hopes to explore all mediums in which writing presents a meaningful and influential purpose for the audience. Life goals include traveling across the entire North American continent, produce interesting and morally-enriching content for a living, and seeing his work and time bring smiles and laughter to the faces of others, preferably impoverished children in need.