My name is Abigail Salazar. I am a senior from South East high School residing in the Los Angeles area. I found my passion in STEM at a young age. How I came to find this passion was relatively confusing; I found I had an interest in many things. Too many things, that choosing a singular one to study at a professional level was daunting. I was interested in rocks, sports, art, math, and many more that were worlds apart. I couldn't bring myself to choose between them, I couldn't fathom the thought of not doing something, so I didn't choose up until 7th grade in middle school. That's when I had my first official science class. Before, I didn't consider myself the science-y type because I was never introduced to STEM properly. Living in the Los Angeles area has its difficulties for low-income families. I grew up with the set "standard" of education. Not knowing what it truly meant to learn, or to differentiate knowing and learning. In this class, I was introduced to earth science, chemistry, and a bit of engineering. Every one of these subjects felt good to learn, why I felt this way I couldn't understand until I left the class. I realized that what I loved doing was learning through exploration. When I made this realization everything became clearer, I had decided what I wanted to pursue at a professional level. It was everything. This is why I am passionate about STEM; because it allows me to pursue everything through one focus. STEM encourages innovation and creativity, which are to address complex challenges and navigate growth in countless fields. Whether that may be creating new products, designing structured processes, or developing research, STEM gives me the opportunity and the tools to grow without giving any of my interests up. Having this outlook for my future goals fills me with excitement because this is something a young girl a few years ago couldn't have fathomed having. I couldn't grow or hone my skills in crafts or studies I liked due to my financial standing growing up, resources were exclusive to the rich and experienced instead of low-income youth, much less if that youth had an interest in STEM. Today, I plan on pursuing a degree in STEM, specifically Engineering, specializing in robotics. How will this help make a positive impact? I plan on using my degree to make a positive impact by revolutionizing the way we use the earths resources. Robotics can intertwine environmental sustainability with humane practices to incorporate a healthier lifestyle, through providing affordable alternatives. For example, finding and replacing expensive solar panels with accessible materials can encourage a percentage of the population to choose to go green. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing climate changes. This is just an example of the type of changes I want to implement in our society using robotics, to benefit our planet and future generations. Overall, I believe robotics has the potential to restructure countless features of society and upcoming industry, paving the way to greater efficiency, safety, and innovation for the near future. Helping my neighbors reach this future is exciting, confusing and scary, however I continue to look forward and work towards my degree because I know it is a field beneficial to the people around me. For this very reason the I consider the Code Breakers and Change Makers scholarship a key; a key to help me flourish and tap into my potential. This scholarship would take my career goals to the next level, through many different opportunities. It would take me a step closer to affording the college program I worked years to get into, gain academic resources, and nurture my learning in a new light. With the scholarship, I would be able to explore with fewer restraints, making the fight through the STEM field slightly less challenging than it already is. For this very reason I believe that with the help of this scholarship would serve as a great opportunity to develop my knowledge, skills, and performance in the STEM environment in collation with the confinements of a money driven world.

My name is Abigail Salazar. I am a senior from South East high School residing in the Los Angeles area. I found my passion in STEM at a young age. How I came to find this passion was relatively confusing; I found I had an interest in many things. Too many things, that choosing a singular one to study at a professional level was daunting. I was interested in rocks, sports, art, math, and many more that were worlds apart. I couldn't bring myself to choose between them, I couldn't fathom the thought of not doing something, so I didn't choose up until 7th grade in middle school. That's when I had my first official science class. Before, I didn't consider myself the science-y type because I was never introduced to STEM properly. Living in the Los Angeles area has its difficulties for low-income families. I grew up with the set "standard" of education. Not knowing what it truly meant to learn, or to differentiate knowing and learning. In this class, I was introduced to earth science, chemistry, and a bit of engineering. Every one of these subjects felt good to learn, why I felt this way I couldn't understand until I left the class. I realized that what I loved doing was learning through exploration. I made this realization and everything became clearer, I had decided what I wanted to pursue at a professional level. It was everything. This is why I am passionate about STEM; because it allows me to pursue everything through one focus. STEM encourages innovation and creativity, which are to address complex challenges and navigate growth in countless fields. Whether that may be creating new products, designing structured processes, or developing research, STEM gives me the opportunity and the tools to grow without giving any of my interests up. Having this outlook for my future goals fills me with excitement because this is something a young girl a few years ago couldn't have fathomed having. I couldn't grow or hone my skills in crafts or studies I liked due to my financial standing growing up, resources were exclusive to the rich and experienced instead of low-income youth, much less if that youth had an interest in STEM. This is why, STEM gives me opportunity and fills me with hope that money shouldn't and isn't a factor for success. Instead determination, will, and passion are all you need to make something happen.

Like any other young kid, I was indecisive. Actually no, scratch that, I was VERY indecisive. Not only did I not know what to choose from on the food menu or what shirt to put on in the morning, I was indecisive about my future.   I never really knew what I wanted to pursue throughout my childhood. I wanted to pursue everything. Choosing a single subject to follow for the rest of my life was scary, like many word it, to me, it was confusing and irritating. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to grow in one single field of interest. I was interested in many things; plants, rockets, art, photography, and even sports. Most of my interests were far from each other. I worried I wasn't going to find any interdisciplinary field to pursue. This is when I realized what I liked about each of my interests was the ability to explore. The core study behind Science. I realized the one common trait I loved so much was a field of its own. This very reason is why I was and still am, excited to pursue higher education in science, to grow in areas I didn't realize I needed to. For the following years, I submerged myself in the aspects of science. I learned what science was and what it meant to pursue it. It opened many different career choices and opportunities. However, what I loved about it back then and to this day is the fact that everything is science. Every career, job task, and hobby is intertwined with science. The liberty that came beyond this career encourages my studies to this day. Today, I plan on pursuing a degree in STEM, specifically Engineering, specializing in robotics. I chose to come into this field because I look forward to making a positive impact. I plan on using my degree to make a positive impact by revolutionizing the way we use the earths resources. Robotics can intertwine environmental sustainability with humane practices to incorporate a healthier lifestyle, through providing affordable alternatives. For example, finding and replacing expensive solar panels with accessible materials can encourage a percentage of the population to choose to go green. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing climate changes. This is just an example of the type of changes I want to implement in our society using robotics, to benefit our planet and future generations.  Overall, I believe robotics has the potential to restructure countless features of society and upcoming industry, paving the way to greater efficiency, safety, and innovation for the near future. Helping my neighbors reach this future is exciting, confusing and scary, however I continue to look forward and work towards my degree because I know it is a field beneficial to the people around me.

Like any other young kid, I was indecisive. Actually no, scratch that, I was VERY indecisive. Not only did I not know what to choose from on the food menu or what shirt to put on in the morning, I was indecisive about my future. I never really knew what I wanted to pursue throughout my childhood. I wanted to pursue everything. Choosing a single subject to follow for the rest of my life was scary, like many word it, to me, it was confusing and irritating. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to grow in one single field of interest. I was interested in many things; plants, rockets, art, photography, and even sports. Most of my interests were far from each other. I worried I wasn't going to find any interdisciplinary field to pursue. This is when I realized what I liked about each of my interests was the ability to explore. The core study behind Science. I realized the one common trait I loved so much was a field of its own. For the following years, I submerged myself in the aspects of science. I learned what science was and what it meant to pursue it. It opened many different career choices and opportunities. However, what I loved about it back then and to this day is the fact that everything is science. Every career, job task, and hobby is intertwined with science. The liberty that came beyond this career encourages my studies to this day. Today, I plan on pursuing a degree in STEM, specifically Engineering, specializing in robotics. How will this help make a positive impact? I plan on using my degree to make a positive impact by revolutionizing the way we use the earths resources. Robotics can intertwine environmental sustainability with humane practices to incorporate a healthier lifestyle, through providing affordable alternatives. For example, finding and replacing expensive solar panels with accessible materials can encourage a percentage of the population to choose to go green. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing climate changes. This is just an example of the type of changes I want to implement in our society using robotics, to benefit our planet and future generations. Overall, I believe robotics has the potential to restructure countless features of society and upcoming industry, paving the way to greater efficiency, safety, and innovation for the near future. Helping my neighbors reach this future is exciting, confusing and scary, however I continue to look forward and work towards my degree because I know it is a field beneficial to the people around me.

Like one of millions, I am the daughter of immigrants challenged by the pressure of success in the States. Success to keep up with my peers, to excel and to carry the fears of disappointment. My parents implemented the idea that success can be reached through determination and will. They recited those words so much that they sounded like broken records, but those records have been my playlist to help me get through all the hard times faced in my academics and personal life. They paved the way to the very person I am today and encouraged me to take advantage of the resources around me to better my chances of future success.  As I grew older, I put these words into practice. However, it was painfully soon that I found out that my parents were wrong. To a certain extent, at least. With hope, I applied to many programs, internships, and resources to further my learning, but I wasn't able to further pursue them due to my lack of resources, a.k.a., money. In my area of LA, many things revolve around money, especially education. Every well-rounded program I found to expand my learning came at a cost, a cost I had no funds to support. Same thing, left and right as years went by: I found it difficult to find any opportunities because they were tailored for the experienced and wealthy, instead of the poor and hopeful. Despite the drawbacks, I kept trying to harness my path to flourish in the way I knew it could. I took all the few opportunities available and grew with them to become the woman I am today. Without money, I was able to grow; however slowly it may have been, I grew.  For this very reason, I strive to win the Rose Concrete Scholarship because not only do I consider this scholarship to be simply money to me, I consider this scholarship a key; a key to help me flourish and tap into my potential.  A change in my academic life as I would no longer have the same restraints I did all these years back. This scholarship would take my career goals to the next level, through many different opportunities. It would take me a step closer to affording the college program I worked years to get into, gain academic resources, and nurture my learning in a new light. With the scholarship, I would be able to explore with fewer restraints, making the fight through the STEM field slightly less challenging than it already is. For this very reason I believe that with the help of the Rose Concrete Scholarship would serve as a great opportunity to develop my knowledge, skills, and performance in the STEM environment in collation with the constraints of a money driven world.

Why am I passionate about the degree I'm pursuing? Well, like any other young kid, I was indecisive. Actually, no, scratch that, I was very indecisive. Not only did I not know what to choose from on a food menu or what shirt to put on in the morning, I was also indecisive about my future.  I never really knew what I wanted to pursue throughout my childhood. I wanted to pursue everything. In my young perspective, choosing a single subject to follow for the rest of my life wasn't scary, as many like to word it. For me, it was confusing and irritating. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to grow in only one single field of interest when there are so many fascinating paths to choose from. I was interested in many things: plants, rockets, art, photography, and even sports. Most of my interests were far from each other, and I worried I wasn't going to find any field that shared these values. I continued to break my head over choosing one for many years to come until I had my first science class in middle school. This is when I realized that what I liked about each of my interests wasn't their individual properties but instead their ability to explore. I found that to be the core study behind science—to explore. Then, I realized the one common trait I loved so much in each of my hobbies was a field of its own.  For the following years, I immersed myself in aspects of science. I learned what science was and what it meant to pursue it. Along with it, I found many different career choices and opportunities for my future. However, what really drew me into this field back then and holds me there to this day is the idea that everything is science. Every career, job, task, and hobby is intertwined with science. The liberty that came beyond this career encourages my studies to this day. Today, I plan on pursuing a degree in STEM, specifically robotics. I chose to continue working towards this degree because robotics fits into the engineering field and intertwines in most, if not all, of today's and tomorrow's jobs, which is a promising opportunity. Despite it being a difficult field, I admire the creative outlet it displays. Being able to create various programs and machinery with my very hands to bring about meaningful change is something I look forward to in the future. I have seen how today's advancements are made through newly developed gadgets and equipment, helping the lives of everyone in my community. For example, many great feats have been achieved through this field, such as medical practices, educational systems, and safety equipment, that have taken our community to the next step. We are one step closer to an exciting tomorrow.  Overall, I believe robotics has the potential to revolutionize countless aspects of society and upcoming industries, paving the way to greater efficiency, safety, and innovation for the near future. Helping my neighbors reach this future is exciting, confusing, and scary; however, I continue to look forward and work towards my degree because I know it is a field I will be able to grow with.