Becoming a software engineer is financially one step closer for Andrew Fales, senior, due to his National Merit semi-finalist status.

“K-State has offered their second highest scholarship, and KU has offered an even larger scholarship if I become a finalist,” Fales said.

He is leaning towards Kansas State University, but wants to keep University of Kansas an option.

Fales said that he’s always been interested in computers and problem solving. When he was younger, his family had a computer that he would work on.

“I was always researching ways to make it faster,” Fales said. “I had to look up the history of it and find out what each piece was and that’s what drew me in first.”

Three qualities that he feels will help him in his future are that he is driven, focused and lucky.

“When I commit myself to something, I always follow through,” Fales said. “I work really hard, but I’m also a lot luckier than I should be.”

Though Fales is excited about his future career, he’s currently focusing on finishing high school. He said that he would enjoy working in a large company where he can experiment with bringing ideas to life.

“For now I just want to finish high school, but after college, I can see myself working for a big company like Garmin or Microsoft,” Fales said.