YuBin - Investigation 2

## Three Role Models

#### **1. Ryan Higa**

Ryan Higa is regarded as one of the most famous YouTubers all time with 20 million subscribers and is known for his YouTube username NigaHigaandHigaTV. He became famous for his "How To Be" series where he gave out so-called "tips" on how to become a ninja, gangster or nerd. Ryan was born in Hilo, Hawaii on June 20, 1990, and has an older brother named Kyle. Ryan was extremely shy when he was young, was also living in the shadow of his older brother and they were both enrolled in Judo. After fifth grade, Ryan moved to another school and lost all of his friends. At his new school, he would be getting bullied relentlessly and feel depressed. Eventually, he found a way to end the bullying by entertaining others. From that point, he wants to be funny and pick up his mom's camcorder to record skits for his family and friends to watch. He and his friend, Sean Fujiyoshi created a YouTube channel on July 20, 2006, where they posted videos to share with their friends and family because they don't want to burn multiple physical copies for them every time.

Ryan experienced depression in high school because he didn't have many close friends and always think he is worse than everyone. Everything changed when he joined the wrestling team. By the end of high school, he earns the state championship wrestling title and second in the state in Judo just like his brother. Ryan felt like a completely new person and believes that anything could be done with enough effort. As time progressed, his channel was getting thousands of views and comments that are telling him to keep doing it. However, his parent wanted him to get a college degree, so he left Hawaii to UNLV for a degree in Nuclear medicine. But after two years, he dropped out of college to focus on video making. He went on to create many popular videos with his friends and growing the channel much faster. He collaborated with many famous YouTuber, and celebrities such as Smosh, Superwoman, Jeremy Lin and other.

Ryan Higa hasn't changed over the years:

Over the years, Ryan gained millions of subscribers, and he's still the same goofy guy. His purpose hasn't changed at all and he's humble and never let fame get into him. He works hard to produce a great video every week and every one of his videos has an awesome idea, leaving you to wonder how he comes up with this idea.

I admire Ryan Higa because he believes that anything could be done with enough effort and he has shown that in his videos and lives. His video also made people's lives better as well as inspire people to create their own content on YouTube or other film platforms.

**Reference:**

“Who Is Ryan Higa? Everything You Need to Know.” *Ryan Higa - Bio, Facts, Family Life of YouTuber & Actor,*  www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ryan-higa-7816.php.

Draw My Life - Ryan Higa (2013, April 04). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPmoDYayoLE&t=142s

#### **2. Steve Nash**

Steve Nash is considered being one of the greatest point guards in National Basketball Association(NBA) history. He is 6 ft 1 in(considered short to play in NBA) tall, a two time NBA MVP, eight-time NBA All-Star, and oldest player to lead in assists. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on February 7, 1974, and immigrated to Canada. Steve's younger brother, Martin, played professional soccer and his sister was a standout college player. In 1992, Steve was recruited by the Santa Clara University. Although Santa Clara was not known for its basketball prowess, Steve Nash and his team went on to upset the University of Arizona (The powerhouse) in a National Collegiate Athletic Association championship tournament. Steve Nash could do this during his first year with the program. He graduated with a BA in Sociology in 1996 and was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1996 NBA Draft. In his early NBA career, Steve Nash did not get a chance to show his talent as the point guard position was taken. After two years, he was traded to the Dallas Maverick. While playing for the Dallas Maverick, Steve's style of playing was able to direct the team's offense and helped him earn a spot in the All-Star. After a successful run with the Dallas Maverick, but failed to win a championship, Steve Nash would begin his new basketball journey with the Phoenix Suns in 2004. In the summer of 2012, Steve traded to Los Angeles Lakers and retired on March 21, 2015.

Steve Nash and his family founded The Steve Nash Foundation - Growing health in children. It is a private foundation dedicated to assisting underserved children in their health, personal development, education, and enjoyment of life. The website sells signed Jersey, T-shirt, tickets for events, and all donations go toward funding the underserved children in around the world and British Columbia.

Steve Nash: A True Role Model For Kids

Not only Steve Nash is talented but he is a humble player from Canada and he creates a foundation to help promote healthy living for underserved children. Steve Nash is one of the shortest basketball players and can still play which inspired many people to play the sport. He is always helping out kids with needs and makes time to meet sick kids in the hospital.

I admire Steve Nash because he is caring, helpful and inspiring. In his early career, he wasn't getting many minutes and fans actually booed him when Phoenix Suns drafted him. Eventually, he worked very hard and proved the doubters wrong by winning MVP twice.

**Reference:**

Shoals, Bethlehem. “Steve Nash.” *Encyclopædia Britannica*, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 18 Apr. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Steve-Nash.

“Who Is Steve Nash? Everything You Need to Know.” *Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline*, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/steve-nash-5252.php.

#### **3. Stephen Hawking**

Stephen Hawking is regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history. He is known for his groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology and is the author of several popular science books. Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England (exactly 300 years after the death of the astronomer, Galileo). His parent's house was near north London during the second world war, but Oxford was considered a safe place. He attended University College, Oxford and wanted to study mathematics even though his father preferred him to study medicine. However, Mathematics was not available at University College, so Stephen chose Physics. Stephen Hawking first began to notice the problem with his physical health at Oxford, where he would trip and fall, or slur his speech. He kept those symptoms to himself but his father noticed the condition and took him to see the doctor in 1963. At age 21, Stephen was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (which is commonly known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS)). He was not expected to live more than two years, and at first, he was depressed and didn't if he could live long enough to finish his Ph.D. But he defied the odds and attained his Ph.D. and went on to study more about Cosmology. As the disease spread, Stephen became less mobile and needed to use a wheelchair. In 1985, things became worse for Stephen, an emergency tracheotomy caused his total loss of speech. A speech-generating device was constructed for Stephen at Cambridge. He is still alive today and working on theories/ scientific paper. I admire Stephen Hawking because he has overcome the fear of dying and accomplished so much with his theories. Although he might not have saved someone's life, he inspires many people with his theories and incident.

**Reference:**

Ballarte, Chelsey. “Stephen Hawking Reflects on His 75-Year Past and Earth’s Uncertain Future." *Geekwire,* 3 July 2017, www.geekwire.com/2017/stephen-hawking-reflects-75-year-past-earths-uncertain-future/.

“Stephen Hawking The Official Website.” *Stephen Hawking* www.hawking.org.uk/.

If I were to interview one person, it would be Bruce Lee. He is known as a Chinese/American martial artist, actor, film director, philosopher, and founder of Jeet Kune Do. There were a lot of conspiracy theory on how he died and I would like to ask him what cause his death. But other than that, I'll focus on his philosophies and the method he used to train his power. Furthermore, he apparently has many world records that are very impressive, for example, he could hit 9-punch in only 1 second and could easily insert his fingers into an unopened Coca-Cola can. Therefore, I am sure it would be a very interesting interview.