Ginger Riley Gift Scholarship

When I first came to the United States, I didn't understand a single sentence in English. Words were swirling around me in class, and on the streets, and I had to really concentrate on trying to understand. At times I felt lost, but those struggles built my determination; not only to learn English, but also to discover what I wanted to do in my career. I want to be a mechanical engineer. This choice evolved from a uniqueness and sense of problem-solving spirit, and from being encouraged by people who believed in me when I didn't, or at least not at first! To me engineering is the language of building solutions. I see a clear connection between learning English and learning to design machines; both require persistence and creativity. I finally discovered my path when I joined robotics club in high school. I was afraid my limited English would limit my creativity, but then I learned that creativity wasn't contingent on my having perfect English. When I witnessed our team build a robot, and then move our robot across the competition floor, I remember the same joy I felt when I read my first book in English and understood it! My experience in the robotics club confirmed I wanted to spend my life designing and building things that have an impact on our world. The person who probably has had the biggest impact on me is my mother. A single parent, she worked hard every day of my life to give me opportunities. I saw her fix all sorts of broken things around without using the correct tools and she would say things like , " We can not give up because it looks difficult". Her persistence made me think about challenges as opportunities, and ultimately gave me the confidence and plan that I could create solutions on an even larger scale, engineering them! Of course, no story about persistence is complete without mentioning teachers. One of my English teachers insisted I speak in class to emphasize that I would be making mistakes throughout life and that this was important. I gained confidence not only in verbal language, but also in my other STEM classes, and I started to ask questions and offer my ideas. This was when I realized the language was not the barrier that I thought; it was actually a bridge to other possibilities. So I am now on my part to college!I want to be a mechanical engineer who designs technologies that solve problems for communities. I am going to stay focused in achieving this. My journey as an English language learner has shown me what one can be capable of by being resilient and adaptable. For me, mechanical engineering is just not a career, it is a way for me to honor my mother's sacrifices, my teachers' encouragement and my own persistence to turn obstacles into stepping stones.