The choice of civil engineering as my major came from my preexisting interest in architecture. At first glance these two disciplines may not relate to each other, but they in fact have complete influence over one another in the real world. It felt natural to become an engineer to myself, but I also was interested in how buildings came together to create a beautiful piece of architecture. In high school, it was not clear what I wanted to do when I got into college, but as I explored the major of civil engineering, it felt like the best of both worlds. To my understanding, civil engineering is the fundamental engineering of infrastructure that the public utilizes; such as roads, buildings, water treatment, bridges, and more. Two sub-disciplines I am particularly interested in are structural and coastal/environmental, but I lean more towards the structural side of civil engineering. I figure that to get expertise in these fields I would need to take up an internship and take the relevant courses involved. Hopefully, by 2030, I’ll be able to earn my degree in civil engineering. Working towards the goal of graduation, I feel everyday that I’m in class, I’m preparing for it–even though it may not seem like it. This also applies to the FE exam that I plan to take before I graduate. Though I do not plan to take the PE exam, I will of course study for the FE exam as the days until I take it inches closer. All of this to reiterate: every time I’m in class, this is the goal I’m preparing myself for–this is just the "appetizer before the main course”. A much blue sky idea of mine is to eventually begin supplying people with affordable housing in some way. Either it be working for someone or beginning my own firm, it has always been in the back of my mind. The reasoning is self explanatory, with the markets actively working against consumers, I believe that something must be done in order to ease the mind of first time home owners or the less fortunate. Despite the in depth plan, this is only the beginning. I want my civil engineering degree to prepare myself to get into architecture, hence my concentration in structural engineering. I look forward to being able to perform the tasks of an architect and engineer in the near future. From the point of graduation I will work to and through my architectural prowess and become skilled in both of my dream professions.

A much blue sky idea of mine was to go into business and build affordable homes strictly for people in need, and not large real estate companies that pawn their property off for unaffordable prices. Many people fail to understand that there is a large majority of people in need of housing in America, and I feel as if I should be the someone with the ability to help give these individuals a chance at owning a place that they can call home. However, this is easier said than done coming from someone like me. Growing up, I always viewed myself not as a bright individual, but as someone who blended within the shadows of everyone's vision–an incidental character in a television show. I always thought of myself as a below average person among steady, or as steady as a child in grade school could be, learners. Now and then, I found myself scribbling tiny buildings in the corner of my school work, or creating buildings in “sandbox” video games. I’ve always had an interest in the way buildings were constructed, and how things were made. These drawings were just one of the many things I did to keep my mind off of my actual school work, which I considered myself to be a “failure” in. Until high school, I kept the same outlook on my educational prowess: the usual self-doubt, the mentality of never locking in on work–I had no clue what I wanted to do. I only did the school work because I knew of the consequences of not doing it. At this point I knew that I wanted to go to college for something but I honestly never had the energy to commit to the idea. After a horrible streak of bringing home a terrible string of letters on my report card, it was enough to turn my attitude around and make me seriously buckle down on my school work for once. After hours of what seemed like punishment, I finished studying and excelled in school from that point forward. This one decision helped me realize the great power I possessed, a power which eventually led me to earn multiple awards for academic achievement from Murphy High School and find out that my “scribbles” and interest in construction is a legitimate career path I can take. This experience has given me the confidence to hopefully earn a bachelor's and or master's degree in civil and architectural Engineering, either of which I hope to use in good faith to the American population in need of shelter. I feel that as an individual, we should not willingly ignore the problems in front of us, and within us.