My name is Jackson Wilde, and I have been attending Utah Valley University since I was 14. I was born in California and moved to my current home up the hill from UVU at 7 years old. Every day for the past seven years, my journey to UVU has been a quick two- or three-minute drive. I began doing concurrent enrollment at UVU back in 2014 and UVU has felt like home ever since.

My childhood was pleasant and full of many good memories. I feel so blessed to have the most amazing family in the world. They are all extraordinarily successful in their own way, and it has been inspiring to see them chase their dreams. My family has exemplified amazing support and determination, which has inspired me to pursue my own passions confidently.

From when I can remember, I always wanted to be an engineer even before I knew exactly what engineers did. My fascination with robots helped develop my desire to build and tinker with interesting machines. After high school, I took a break from school and traveled. When I came home, I felt a lack of confidence as a student. My classes began to get more difficult, and I did not feel driven to succeed academically. As a result, my grades declined.

In my junior year, I felt as though I overcame those struggles when I received an opportunity to help my professor Dr. Vern Hart with his laboratory research. He was my second physics professor and had been working on a new form of medical imaging that can provide subcellular resolution. This imaging would help if you had a biopsy tissue from a surgery site needing to be examined. You would be able to determine which of the cells collected are healthy or cancerous. After class one day, I asked him if I could participate in his research, and he agreed. I felt so lucky as it is not easy to get into research at other institutions.

Dr. Hart helped facilitate my growth as a researcher and student. He gave me helpful feedback and helped me get back on track as a student. I loved getting to help with research work that I was passionate about. There is no upper limit on how much work you can do in the research field. I believe that in classes you can always work to get the outcome that you desire. This has been such an important lesson for me. There are no limits to the work that I can do that will benefit me. This experience positively shifted my academic journey from attending college for paperwork to attending to facilitate my career.

The research project that I am working on is developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system that auto-segments images to identify desired information efficiently and effectively. Examining the many images from a scan manually would require extensive effort. I am also working on AI optimizations in our reconstruction algorithm, as the process is a computationally expensive. The results are needed very quickly before the cells that were recorded die out.

My experience in the lab has led me to take on a leadership role, where I have helped students who are also on their research journey the same way Dr. Hart assisted me. Collaborating with smart and driven Wolverines who share my same passion allows me to feed off their energy. One of my favorite days in the research lab was when President Astrid S. Tuminez and a few of my previous professors came into the lab. I presented our work to them, and felt viewed as a colleague for the first time. That was a moment at UVU that I will never forget.

I have also been involved with the Esports Club. I joined right when it started and when the first competitive teams on campus took off. I volunteer for a couple of events each semester. My favorite events are the super marathons that we host. I have met many of my closest friends at these events as a result of being involved in this awesome club. This experience has also led me to utilize what I have learned and implement those skills into intramural activities.

After I graduate from UVU, I hope to get an AI research position because of the passion I developed working in the lab. My focus moving forward is pursuing what will maximize my time while doing what I am passionate about. That is my defining factor between continuing in my education or entering the workforce. I hope to continue doing the work that I set out for. It has been so enjoyable and I have learned so much. Why would I stop?