From a young age, I have been taught that WHO we are and HOW we care for others in the spaces we take up matters greatly. As an aspiring female engineer, this feels like a calling. In sixth grade, I visited a local university campus for a student showcase at the College of Engineering, thanks to my engineering teacher’s recommendation. This visit, combined with beginning Project Lead the Way classes at my school, ignited a passion that would carry me through middle and high school, allowing me to delve into aerospace, robotics, mechanics, coding, and manufacturing. The complexities of engineering, with its blend of creativity and precision, fascinated me, and I found myself eager to learn more. It was also during this time that I joined a VEX Robotics competition team. The thrill of competition and the camaraderie of work days with my team were unparalleled experiences. But when I joined the team, I felt very uncertain and out of place. Being one of the few females in the room was intimidating and hard. As I gained skills over time, I found my footing and my voice.My journey has shown me that the scarcity of women in these spaces underscores the necessity of my participation and success. An important moment in a particular high school season of robotics comes to mind that underscores this for me. I was at a tournament with my team when a younger girl approached me at the competition to inquire about our robot and how it worked. I sat with her on the floor. Her excitement was palpable as we discussed each component, and I saw the impression it made on her. I could tell that through our conversation, she could envision herself building a robot one day and coming to a competition of her own. Looking back, this interaction meant more to me than even the award I received at the World Championship for notebook documentation. Because this small interaction underscored for me moving on from feeling small and not knowing if I deserved to be in this space to understanind the impact I could see myself having as a role model in this space for others. As a future female mechanical engineer, I aspire to inspire other girls and women, showing them that they, too, can excel in engineering and STEM fields. I want to be a part of creating a future where girls can envision themselves doing hard and groundbreaking things, to know there is a seat for them at the table, and to be WHO they are meant to be in whatever space they want to take up in our world.

To me, resilience means showing up even when everything in you is telling you to shut down. It means finding ways forward when the road is unclear, uncomfortable, or exhausting. It’s not about pretending everything is fine. It’s about choosing to keep going, even when it’s hard. Living with a chronic condition like severe contamination OCD has challenged me in ways I never expected. It’s not about liking things clean or being a little more organized. It’s about facing a constant storm of intrusive thoughts that convince you the world is unsafe, that everything you touch could hurt you or someone you love. For me, OCD has meant spending hours trying to leave my dorm room. It has meant avoiding lab equipment I desperately wanted to use, and fighting through panic to walk into a classroom and sit at a desk that felt contaminated. Resilience, in my life, has looked like finding ways to manage all of that while still pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. It means being honest with professors when I need accommodations and learning to advocate for myself even when it’s uncomfortable. It has meant creating routines that help me navigate triggers and setting up systems to support my success. And it’s meant accepting that I will sometimes move a little slower or need more recovery time, but that does not mean I am not strong. It means I am human. As a student at the University of Florida, I carry this diagnosis with me into every class, every team meeting, every project. I also carry my determination to succeed. I love engineering. I love the way it challenges me to solve problems, to think creatively, and to design things that can make life better. I’m part of the Gator VEX Design Team, and I’m working toward a certificate in Engineering Leadership because I believe engineers are not just builders of things. We are builders of impact. My OCD has taught me to think critically, to prepare thoroughly, and to pay attention to the small details. I have learned to lead with empathy, to listen more deeply, and to show up for others with the same grace I hope to receive. College hasn’t been easy. There have been weeks where the mental load of OCD and the academic pressure collided, and I felt like I was drowning. But each time, I kept going. Not perfectly. But persistently. That’s what resilience is. It’s not shiny. It’s not always Instagram-worthy. It’s often quiet. It happens in the moments when no one is watching. Living with OCD will always be part of my story. But it will never be the whole story. I am an engineer. I am a leader. I am someone who cares deeply about creating a more inclusive world, especially for people who feel like they don’t belong in it. And I am resilient, not because I don’t struggle, but because I keep choosing to rise anyway.

In elementary school, everyone used to joke that I had OCD because I was overly organized. If only I could have guessed then that I would actually be diagnosed with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder only a few years later. I spent two years of my high school life not being able to touch my couch, hug my parents, and I almost went to a mental health hospital. I spent hours every night working through exposures and years working with my therapist fighting to gain control back over my life and my brain. I am proud to declare that my OCD is no longer on the medical scale, but it has been a long road to get here. In sixth grade, I visited a local university campus for a student showcase at the College of Engineering at my engineering teacher’s recommendation. I can still remember feeling so small in comparison to the buildings and amongst the college students and their innovative projects. That same year, I began Project Lead the Way, my school’s engineering track of classes. That track and university visit propelled me into middle and high school engineering classes where I have had the opportunity to study aerospace, robotics, mechanics, coding, and manufacturing. I could have never imagined that time would lead me to such a passion for engineering, process, design, and outcomes that both work or do not work… yet. As I look toward my future, I am on a mission to contribute significantly to the mechanical engineering field. I envision myself at the forefront of groundbreaking research and development in mechanical engineering. Whether it's designing innovative propulsion systems, crafting cutting-edge materials, or conceptualizing next-generation technology, I am ready to make significant contributions that push the boundaries of what is currently deemed possible. As a person, I strive to leave people better than I found them, know I can do hard things, and to embrace and learn from mistakes. These are things I was raised to do, and I love empowering others to know the same. I am someone who is committed to becoming a life-long learner and who values the quality of experiences I can help create for others. It's scary for me to think that my OCD almost took all of those dreams away from me. I know I could not have made it this far without my family and friends who helped me learn how to accept support during a hard time, but even now it is hard to see any aspect of this experience as positive. I KNOW that my journey with OCD will be lifelong, and in that way, I am not sure I will ever be done learning the lessons it will teach me. But for now, I'm upright, and on the path that I know will allow me to use my natural gifts and be a catalyst to create the change I have always wanted to in the world. And I am grateful and excited to see what comes next.