William Griggs Memorial Scholarship for Science and Math

Growing up, I was obsessed with space. I would spend my summers in the city library reading books about planets and neutron stars, learning about things called quarks and hadrons while trying to wrap my mind around the enormity of the universe. I have always been a curious person, often driving my parents to the brink of insanity with my constant questions. And it was this curiosity that prompted my parents to sign me up for my first robotics class in elementary school. Lego robots powered by servo motors are not considered the epitome of advanced machinery, but they were to me at the time. In middle school, I joined my school’s robotics team, competing at robotics competitions at UC Davis and meeting professors from Stanford University. Tinkering with Arduinos and Raspberry Pis, I navigated the world of circuitry and learned the language of C++. My childhood interest in outer space coupled with these experiences sparked my curiosity in space exploration, computer science, and engineering, inspiring my pursuit of a career in aerospace engineering. It is because of this that I have heavily involved myself with advocacy for STEM education and opportunities in my community. Women are a minority in STEM careers, especially engineering, and I use my position as Vice President of Women in STEM—a club that educates women at my high school about careers in STEM—to advocate for female interest in engineering. Additionally, my work for my school district’s Strategic Visioning Guiding Coalition is centered around adapting education to incorporate STEM classes and extracurriculars into schools across the county. In the fall, I will begin my time as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley as an aerospace engineering major, with the intention of going to graduate school to earn either a master’s degree or a Ph.D in aerospace engineering. I plan to use my curiosity and drive to explore the many aerospace opportunities the Bay Area provides, allowing me to immerse myself in space exploration and enterprise. In this, I plan to participate in research and become an aerospace engineer with NASA, working on developing materials and machinery that would help facilitate humanity’s drive for answers, helping to explore the many mysteries of the universe. I am particularly interested in the presence of life outside of Earth and want to use my knowledge to contribute to the development of observational spacecraft to search for signs of organic material in space. I believe that my experiences as a woman in a male-dominated field will bring new perspectives to projects, potentially leading to innovative solutions to challenges that will arise. Additionally, I want to inspire other women to pursue a career they may find daunting. I want to continue what I started in high school during my time at UC Berkeley and beyond, allowing for more female representation in STEM fields. William Briggs’ work in the aeronautical engineering field alone is commendable, but his support of the female pursuit of the same field is something I look up to. With the help of this scholarship, I will be able to represent William Briggs’ efforts in advocating for women in STEM while also being able to achieve my own dreams of exploring space and all it has to offer.