Courtesy of Holly Clemens
- Andy Collins is a Valorant esports athlete in its Challengers League.
- An esports collegiate scholarship paid for most of his undergraduate and master's degrees.
- After working from 8 am to 5 pm, he practices and strategizes with his team for four hours.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andy Collins, a 26-year-old software engineer from Chicago pursuing a professional esports career playing the first-person shooting game Valorant. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Decades ago, it seemed like every American child wanted to become an astronaut after seeing the United States' rapid progress in the space race.