Moving to Hawaii during my freshman year of high school was a difficult adjustment for me. I left behind my community in California and suddenly found myself in an environment where my sister and I were the only Black students at our school. I rarely saw people who looked like me, and that lack of representation made me feel isolated and disconnected. As a naturally introverted person, this made it even harder to find a sense of belonging, and for a while, I kept to myself. Before joining robotics, I had never seriously considered engineering as an option. I had never been in a school or program where hands-on engineering or technical projects were offered, so it didn’t feel like something meant for me. When I joined my school’s robotics team, the Sharkbots, I initially focused on learning coding on my own and kept to myself. That began to change after my first robotics competition in Honolulu. Working alongside my teammates, sharing what we had built, and interacting with the larger robotics community helped me feel included. As I stayed involved, my role on the team continued to grow. I moved from working independently to learning directly from upperclassmen and collaborating more closely with others. I transitioned from handling solo tasks, such as working on the wiring board independently, to forming a wiring team where we organized, built, and troubleshooted the robot’s electrical systems together. Over time, I became more integrated with the team and eventually took on leadership responsibilities as a team lead. This progression helped me grow technically while also teaching me how to communicate clearly, support others, and work as part of a team. Our team competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition regional event in Australia, where we faced unexpected challenges during matches. When part of our robot failed, I worked closely with a teammate to evaluate realistic solutions based on our time and available materials. That experience taught me how to balance creative thinking with practical decision-making. We advanced to the finals and qualified for the FIRST Robotics World Championships in Houston, Texas. Despite limited funding and having never attended Worlds before, we came together to fundraise enough to compete, which reinforced my belief in teamwork and perseverance. These experiences shaped my interest in science and led me to pursue Computer Engineering. I am now a senior at North Carolina A&T State University, where I continue to build on the skills I first discovered through robotics. Throughout college, I have completed three internships that allowed me to apply what I learned in the classroom to real-world engineering environments, further confirming that this is the field I want to remain in. Balancing internships, coursework, and maintaining a 3.0 GPA has challenged me, but it has also strengthened my confidence and work ethic. Giving back remains an important part of my journey. I now volunteer with FIRST Robotics, working with middle school students through the same robotics organization that introduced me to engineering in high school. Being able to return in a mentorship role feels full circle. I help students who may not yet see engineering as an option for themselves develop technical skills and confidence, as I did in school. My goal is to pursue a master’s degree in engineering and use technology to create opportunities for underserved communities. Receiving the Willie Louis Pegues Scholarship would ease my financial burden and allow me to stay focused on my education while continuing to grow as a student, leader, and mentor. I hope to honor this scholarship by continuing to learn, serve, and support others through science and education.

Growing up, I didn’t have access to STEM activities in school or extracurricular opportunities. I had never considered engineering as a career until I joined the robots team in high school. That experience opened my eyes to what STEM could offer, but it also made me aware of the lack of diversity in the field. At competitions, I noticed very few girls and even fewer African Americans. As the only African American on my team, my mom often reminded me that wherever I went, I was representing more than just myself. This realization sparked my passion for empowering underrepresented kids through STEM education. Representation matters, it’s powerful to see someone who looks like you succeeding in a field. It makes the dream feel more attainable. I encouraged them by sharing how, during my robotics journey, I faced challenges like broken robots, faulty code, and even making last-minute repairs with a cardboard box. I reminded them that despite those struggles, I still made it through and found success, and they were already excelling far beyond what most first-time teams achieve. Their determination amazed me, they adapted, took risks, and communicated effectively as a team. At the end of the competition, their efforts were rewarded with an award for being a hardworking team. Seeing their satisfaction and delight reaffirmed why I enjoy giving back to STEM programs. Not only are those times of development, perseverance, and accomplishment crucial for robotics achievement, but they also help students develop the confidence they need to succeed in other areas of their lives. My goal is to continue empowering students, especially those from underrepresented groups, to see STEM as a pathway full of possibilities. By sharing my experiences and encouraging them to persevere, I hope to help them realize their potential and take pride in their journeys.

1. Being the first in my family to earn a college degree is an incredible honor and a big responsibility. It’s about breaking through barriers and opening doors for my family and community. My mom has always been my rock, showing me the importance of perseverance and hard work. She started college when she was younger, but had to stop because she couldn’t get the funding and her family couldn’t help. That experience has made her even more determined to make sure my sister and I don’t face the same struggles. She’s taken out loans to help me through college, and her sacrifices push me to succeed. To me, earning this degree isn’t just about personal achievement it’s about showing my younger sister and my niece that anything is possible with hard work. This degree is more than just for me. It is a tribute to my family's efforts and my dedication to helping others, particularly in STEM. 2. I’m studying computer engineering at North Carolina A&T, focusing on robotics. This journey started for me back in high school with FIRST Robotics. It showed me how creativity and technology could come together to solve real problems. Robotics gave me hands-on experience with programming, wiring, and teamwork skills that I still use today. In college, I want to dig even deeper into these areas, not just to understand them better, but to apply them to challenges in the real world. I’m also passionate about giving back. I volunteer with Aggie Academy on campus, mentoring elementary school students in their first year of robotics competitions. Seeing their faces light up when they complete a mission with their robot or see how cool technology can make all the difference. I want to show them that a career in engineering is not only possible but exciting and fulfilling. 3. In the long run, my goal is to make a real impact in the field of engineering and to be a part of creating solutions that make a difference. I want to be on the cutting edge of robotics technology, solving problems that improve quality of life. But I also see myself as a mentor and advocate, helping to increase representation in STEM, especially among Black youth and women. Soon, I hope to land a tech job where I can continue to grow professionally and contribute to innovative projects. Eventually, I’d like to return to North Carolina A&T as a recruiter, sharing my story and helping the next generation of students find their path in engineering and tech. I know that’s a long road ahead, but with the support of my mom and my family, I’m confident I can get there. Supporting my family is also a big part of my vision. I want to be there for my sister as she pursues a challenging major in college, making sure she has the resources and support she needs to succeed. For my niece, I’m already getting her into robotics at home, showing her circuits I built and encouraging her to explore with LEGOs. I hope to find a FIRST LEGO League team for her to join so she can start building her love for STEM. In the future, I see myself as not just an engineer, but also a mentor and advocate for young people. I want to inspire the next generation to believe in their potential, to see themselves in STEM, and to know that their dreams are achievable, no matter where they start.

The constant work ethic of my mother has greatly influenced who I am now. As a single mother, she faced significant challenges but always prioritized my sister’s and my education. Growing up in a neighborhood with high dropout rates, she refused to let our future be defined by those circumstances. She even went as far as relocating us so I could attend a school with higher graduation rates and greater opportunities. When my mom was younger, she began pursuing higher education but had to stop because she couldn’t secure government funding and her family wouldn’t support her. That experience fueled her determination to ensure my sister and I wouldn’t face the same obstacles. She has taken out loans to help me pay for college despite the financial pressure, proving her faith in the transformative effects of education. Because of her sacrifices, I was able to attend a charter school with a robotics program, which ignited my passion for engineering and ultimately inspired me to pursue a degree in computer engineering. Today, I honor her sacrifices by mentoring young students and introducing them to STEM. I began by working with my niece, introducing her to robotics through the circuits I built in class and encouraging her creativity with LEGOs. I hope to further her interest in engineering by finding a FIRST LEGO League team for her to join. In college, I expanded my outreach by volunteering with Aggie Academy through Aggies for Engineering and Community Enrichment (AECE), a campus organization. Aggie Academy, a free public laboratory school in East Greensboro, serves elementary students and fosters their growth in STEM. This year, I’ve had the privilege of helping students during their first year of robotics competitions, supporting them as they build teamwork skills, confidence, and a passion for STEM. I am dedicated to increasing representation in engineering, particularly among Black youth and women, and hope to inspire more young minds to pursue STEM careers. Thanks to my mom’s resilience and determination, I’ve been able to dream bigger and achieve more than I ever thought possible. She has shown me the true power of sacrifice, perseverance, and the transformative impact of education.

Moving to Hawaii during my freshman year of high school was difficult for me. Being naturally introverted, I often found ways to be by myself. I decided to challenge this by joining the robotics team, the Sharkbots. Initially, I studied coding on my own, however, I felt like an outsider. This all changed when I decided to go on what was my first robotics trip to Honolulu. I shared a room with a teammate, actually worked with people during the competition, and shared a lot with the community about what we were doing. From that point forward, I started to feel like I was a part of something. Since then I’ve worked with various sized groups, gotten better at public speaking, and taught younger students what I learned. In what seems like a short period of time, I went from being an introverted girl learning about robotics to being an Overlord. When I accepted the position as Overlord, I didn’t know what it meant to lead others, but I jumped in with both feet. I was working with multiple groups of students on building the chassis, actuator, circuit board, and writing code for our robot. We decided to name our robot Saturn, I made deadlines and facilitated meetings every week to show Saturn’s progress, and helped team members stay on the same page. We entered Saturn into the regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) in Australia. I began to feel more confident in being a leader and working with others. When part of our robot failed during a match, a teammate gave ideas on how to fix it. I took his ideas and contemplated if we had the time and materials, then put a plan together. The two of us were paired together because of his out-of-the-box thinking and my ability to determine if it was a plausible plan. We were finalists and qualified to compete in the FRC World Championships in Houston, Texas. Before going home we broke down our robot Saturn for travel, uncertain if we were going to be able to make it to the world championships. We exhausted our entire budget for the regional competition, and never in our high school history had a robotics team made it to the world championships. In the 4 weeks between getting home from regionals and the world championships, we fundraised enough money to go! When competing in the regional competition I learned how to get better organized and we worked better as a team. During my time in Houston, I lived and competed with my team and collaborated with other teams from around the world. Being a small team from Hawaii, we were a student-driven team and worked hard to make great accomplishments despite our limitations. In the world competition, we ranked high in the preliminaries, enabling us to become alliance captain in the playoffs. During my university search and applications, I have reflected on my high school experience and found satisfaction and pride in my progress. I pursued my interest in programming by initiating a study in Python, created and programmed sensors to collaborate with actuators, learned soldering and wiring, and helped build the circuit board for my team’s robots. I joined a project focused on building an electric car, and also joined a welding project, researching welding equipment and gaining experience at a welding expo. Facing the difficulty of moving from California to Hawaii in the middle of my freshman year challenged and changed me. Before robotics, I did not know much about what I wanted to do in college. After exploring engineering, I have found my passion.

My mom was not able to finish college because her mom wouldn't pay for it. My education has always been her number one priority. She has moved me and my sister to different states if it meant we would have a better environment for learning. Not many people in my family have been to college, because of that the whole process is new to us. My mom was there every step of the way from review my essays to helping me find schools. Now that I've picked to go to Prairie View A&M she will pay for me to go to college any way she can. Since she has done so much for me I just want to make one thing easier on her. I will do work-study and revive as many scholarships as I can to help out.