Reagan Scoles
Living with Tourette’s Syndrome is a different experience for everyone who has it. For me, my Tourette’s Syndrome has been quite mild. When I was little, my parents noticed I was doing some strange movements, such as scrunching my face, rolling my shoulders back, and squinting at the TV, even when I told them I could see it well. I was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome around the age of eight, and it started to get worse. It got to the point where my teachers were noticing it, as I would often unintentionally interrupt class by clearing my throat or jerking my arm out to the side.
One occasion I remember quite well was when my teacher had brought my class to the school library for a story. As she read to my class, I began to clear my throat and make grunting sounds. It became such a distraction that she asked me to stop. That is when I told her about Tourette’s Syndrome, and how some of my actions were involuntary. This event is important in my eyes because it was the first time I told someone about it after they asked me to stop. From there, it became easier to tell others about Tourette’s Syndrome, and I became much more confident when speaking to others in general.
The Dollars4TicScholars Scholarship will help me meet my career and life goals by providing the funds I need to attend college. I plan to earn the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interactive Design and Game Development degree from Savannah College of Art and Design. While I attend college, I will work on and create games for projects. My studies will focus on the skills I need to write the code that will run game engines.
My goal is to secure a job at a game development company upon graduation. It is my hope to have a final project to turn in to potential employers at that time – something that others may have an enjoyable experience playing. Potential employers that regularly visit SCAD looking for potential employees include Google, Epic Games, Blizzard, etc. It is at these companies that I plan to make games that will, in some way, benefit others. For example, if I work with virtual reality, perhaps I could make medical games that will simulate surgeries, which would help train surgeons. Or perhaps I could help create war simulation games to help train soldiers for battle. There are infinite possibilities in the game development world; these are but a few of the ways I could engage in it.