We have all been watching the news. This dark cloud is descending upon the US and it feels as if we can’t do anything about it. The protests, the ignorance, and the uncertainty that we all face is terrifying. Hispanics in a panic for what could happen to them or their families. I myself can account for this, watching my parents, once strong and proud, now withered down to shells of their former selves trying to become invisible. Watching my little sister take her pictures for identification cards and no longer enjoying life as a kid. It’s always been looking over the shoulder and being careful to who you talk to, never living. I’ve seen the news of the protests. Seeing all different kinds of people standing up together as one to show defiance of the government and all of its wrong doing. How I longed to be part of that. My mom feared police retaliation and everything that could go wrong. Las publicaciones no son lo único que muestra desafío mija, protests are not the only way to show defiance, my mom would say to persuade me from going. La educación es algo que nunca te pueden quitar de ti, education is something that they can never take away from you, she would say to accompany the former sentence, trying to push me toward the safer route in fear of losing her daughter. She taught me to value education and its steadfast power that comes with it. Continuing on my educational path is my form of defiance against a government that threatens my family every breathing moment. I plan to graduate with an engineering degree that will allow me not to rely on anyone and to help my younger sister through college. I hope to land a job with my dream company, Pape-Dawson as a civil engineer. I see myself advocating for Hispanics, especially Latinas, in STEM. I want to be a role model that I needed when I was younger, to make it easier for someone like me and help avoid the same mistakes I made while on this path. I’m ready to work hard just like my parents before and plan to honor their sacrifices that they have made for their family. Some of the hardest working people I have met are Hispanics. My parents have worked tirelessly without knowing things were going to get better. The atmosphere of the country seems to be against my people, but they’re just afraid of the influence and the power we wield. I know that my generation of Hispanics entering college will rattle the stars and I plan to be a part of something bigger than myself.

The thing that I have really wanted is to buy all the books in the Rick Riordan universe.

The smell of gasoline has been a permanent scent surrounding my childhood. It was the smell I associated with my dad, who was a truck driver. He would often be gone for days leaving my mom, my siblings, and I alone. Whenever I would miss him, I would often go poking around at his work table, playing with tools that were too big. As I grew older, my dad would frequently take me with him to help with repairs of whatever needed fixing at the time, either the lawn mower, the car, or even his 18-wheeler. My passion for engineering was not something I knew I wanted from an early age, it was a gradual development, a slow-burn if you will. My small school shaped the way I viewed my peers and my plans. The majority of my peers all wanted to pursue agriculture and go to the same school, Texas A&M. So much so that the school cut the engineering program due to the lack of enrollment, leaving me to follow the next best pathway that my school offered, health science. While still in the STEM area, it changed the way I viewed engineering as a whole. Before I viewed engineering as a field that primarily dealt with buildings and bridges when it's really so much more. Engineers and the health field go hand in hand. Especially civil engineers, limiting pollution in cities, minimizing destruction from natural disasters, and promoting exercise through sidewalks and bike lanes. Even though pursuing the health science path was an unexpected detour, it helped me truly appreciate the path I chose and to reassure me that I did not waste years of schooling on health science rather than engineering. However trying to choose which type of engineering to major in was one of the hardest choices I’ve had to make. To my family, it seemed to them that I changed my mind every week. From chemical to environmental, I would always second guess myself, always thinking of What If? What if this isn't the field for me? What if there is something better out there? What if I fail? That last one always seemed to make a reappearance at the least desirable moment. We have all heard the phrase, Inspiration comes in the unlikely moments, well mine came in the middle of a cross country meet. I was almost done with my race and usually I think of how much I’m dying and how I’m almost done with the race. For this particular race, I had an epiphany about how my town has no sidewalks. You might ask why this thought interrupted my mindset, well let me tell you. For cross country practice, we run all over town in order to get mileage. All of our runs include running on the shoulder of roads, but they aren’t very wide. Often, we would have to run in a single file. Having this epiphany in the middle of a race was not ideal that it cost me a medal, but that didn’t matter because I finally knew what type of engineering I wanted to do, civil, and as soon as I got home, I changed my major from chemical engineering, the mindset from the week before, to civil engineering. My parents were so excited that I finally made my choice. I know that this field is for me, no second guessing. While the What ifs still continue, it's up to me to push those boundaries that have held me back both self-imposed and societal. I can only hope that I can leave my mark.

The smell of gasoline has always been a constant presence throughout my life. It’s the first smell that reminds me of my dad after coming back home after a week of not seeing him. It’s the smell that reminds me of cross country traveling in the early mornings. My family has always stuck together through thick and thin. My parents have had the grueling task of raising four daughters through life’s ever changing circumstances. They tried so hard to hide the problems that life threw at them away from us, but we always knew better. And soon the smell of gasoline would fill the air. Gasoline has always been the reminder of everything that I lacked growing up. To me, it always seemed as if my peers had taken the opportunity of going to school for granted and had everything handed to them, while I tried to hide all of my setbacks from my parents to not worry them any more. I have had to work twice as hard to be even considered a worthy academic opponent to my peers. I’ve always known that my parents have always wanted more than their life for us, so I set my sights on an engineering degree, and once again the smell of gasoline greets me. This time the smell of gasoline didn’t scare me, in fact the smell didn’t remind me of the past, it showed me the endless possibilities. This scholarship would allow for the opportunity of college to become a stepping stone for those like me striving toward a path of something greater than themselves. Those like me value the importance of education and would want to build something permanent in tribute to their families and their hardships. It would help my parents learn to not be ashamed of the smell of gasoline and to give them the opportunity of putting their children through school. The value of education is taken to heart for families like mine because we understand what it is like to struggle and this scholarship would help break the cycle once and for all. Going into engineering, I hope to become the role model I wanted and needed while growing up. I need to prove to myself, and most importantly to those who grew up like me, that anything is possible regardless of the circumstances that life throws. While the smell of gasoline was always a reminder of everything my family lacked, now it is the comforting scent of my future.

I am a runner. Running on the trails or even around the neighborhood makes me feel like I’m flying. It has given skills that I would’ve never gotten if I wasn’t a runner. I have learned to be disciplined and dependable. As a runner, you have to put yourself and your training first. Running in the early morning or late in the evening allows for a runner’s high. It makes you feel like you’re on top of the world. That feeling is something that can't be achieved anywhere else. These skills were learned from the outdoors while doing a sport. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. Discipline allows for organization and goal setting. These are important to the workplace and in personal life because it provides a foundation for milestones to be conquered. This foundation is to be reinforced with dependability. Dependability shows that you are reliable to others and most importantly yourself. Trustworthiness is established and is the foundation of everything good in life. In addition to being a runner, I have been an avid reader. Ever since I was a small child, my mom has nurtured my love of reading. She would use books as my reward or my punishment. My mom would take my sisters and I to the library every Saturday as reward for helping her complete all the chores we needed to do. Even though the library was in the next town over, she would always take us. She could've given us electronics instead to save her the gas, but she wanted us to have a thirst for knowledge instead which has translated into our school and education. Reading has been my safe haven for as long as I can remember. Anytime I was upset or scared, I would retreat to my room and read. It didn’t matter what genre I read, I was always comforted. Filling my life with eccentric characters and role models has made me feel less alone. That feeling of being surrounded by people but still feeling out of place has been the story of my life, and books have made me feel loved. The characters I've read about have taught me that everything happens for a reason. Everything might go wrong but it all has a purpose in shaping you for the better. These two qualities have shaped me into the person I am today. I wouldn’t know who I would be without them. They have given me a well rounded life allowing me to manage stress and as well as explore my creative side. It has given me the strength and confidence to pursue my goals and ambitions without no hesitation.

My entire life has been defined by the color of my skin. I was either to exotic for my friends or I was too white for my community. For the longest time, I have let it define me as a friend, a daughter, and as a person. After enduring four years of high school and having experiences, I know I’m so much more than the color of my skin. I have never been expected to accomplish anything in my life, all because of my skin. While schools have the job of teaching and supporting students, they sometimes turn a blind eye to those who are different. I’ve had to work twice as harder than the rest of my peers just to show my commitment and dedication for education all while my peers just take it for granted. While I’ve been upset about the hand life has dealt me, I know that I can’t do anything to change the past, I know that I can do everything in my power to change my future and the future of others who are like me. Being an educated Latina and a Latina in STEM sends a message to those who have doubted and belittled me. It shows that I and others like me have the dedication and the drive to accomplish anything we put our minds to. All the stereotypes and setbacks that I have faced throughout my educational journey have made my success worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. I know that I have been made a better and stronger person just for being the unique person I am. While I have learned that I am more than the color of my skin, I cannot forget my culture and upbringing. Those two things are what has made me me. They have shaped every aspect of myself and made me invaluable to those around me. Being a Latina in STEM, my roots allow me to be those role models who were just like me that I never saw growing up. Having role models that resemble yourself is one of the most beautiful things to experience, and I would like to have the opportunity to be someone people strive to be and look up to. I want to be a source of inspiration for those like me who need to believe in themselves. I speak from experience when I say that anything is possible when you believe in yourself.

My entire life has been defined by the color of my skin. I was either to exotic for my friends or I was too white for my community. For the longest time, I have let it define me as a friend, a daughter, and as a person. After enduring four years of high school and having experiences, I know I’m so much more than the color of my skin. I have never been expected to accomplish anything in my life, all because of my skin. While schools have the job of teaching and supporting students, they sometimes turn a blind eye to those who are different. I’ve had to work twice as harder than the rest of my peers just to show my commitment and dedication for education all while my peers just take it for granted. While I’ve been upset about the hand life has dealt me, I know that I can’t do anything to change the past, I know that I can do everything in my power to change my future and the future of others who are like me. Being an educated Latina and a Latina in STEM sends a message to those who have doubted and belittled me. All the stereotypes and setbacks that I have faced throughout my educational journey have made my success worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. I know that I have been made a better and stronger person just for being the unique person I am.

My entire life has been defined by the color of my skin. I was either to exotic for my friends or I was too white for my community. For the longest time, I have let it define me as a friend, a daughter, and as a person. After enduring four years of high school and having experiences, I know I’m so much more than the color of my skin. I have never been expected to accomplish anything in my life, all because of my skin. While schools have the job of teaching and supporting students, they sometimes turn a blind eye to those who are different. I’ve had to work twice as harder than the rest of my peers just to show my commitment and dedication for education all while my peers just take it for granted. While I’ve been upset about the hand life has dealt me, I know that I can’t do anything to change the past, I know that I can do everything in my power to change my future and the future of others who are like me. Being an educated Latina and a Latina in STEM sends a message to those who have doubted and belittled me. It shows that I and others like me have the dedication and the drive to accomplish anything we put our minds to. All the stereotypes and setbacks that I have faced throughout my educational journey have made my success worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. I know that I have been made a better and stronger person just for being the unique person I am. While I have learned that I am more than the color of my skin, I cannot forget my culture and upbringing. Those two things are what has made me me. They have shaped every aspect of myself and made me invaluable to those around me. Being a Latina in STEM, my roots allow me to be those role models who were just like me that I never saw growing up. Having role models that resemble yourself is one of the most beautiful things to experience, and I would like to have the opportunity to be someone people strive to be and look up to. I want to be a source of inspiration for those like me who need to believe in themselves. I speak from experience when I say that anything is possible when you believe in yourself.

My entire life has been defined by the color of my skin. I was either to exotic for my friends or I was too white for my community. For the longest time, I have let it define me as a friend, a daughter, and as a person. After enduring four years of high school and having experiences, I know I’m so much more than the color of my skin. I have never been expected to accomplish anything in my life, all because of my skin. While schools have the job of teaching and supporting students, they sometimes turn a blind eye to those who are different. I’ve had to work twice as harder than the rest of my peers just to show my commitment and dedication for education all while my peers just take it for granted. While I’ve been upset about the hand life has dealt me, I know that I can’t do anything to change the past, I know that I can do everything in my power to change my future and the future of others who are like me. Being an educated Latina and a Latina in STEM sends a message to those who have doubted and belittled me. It shows that I and others like me have the dedication and the drive to accomplish anything we put our minds to. All the stereotypes and setbacks that I have faced throughout my educational journey have made my success worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. I know that I have been made a better and stronger person just for being the unique person I am. While I have learned that I am more than the color of my skin, I cannot forget my culture and upbringing. Those two things are what has made me me. They have shaped every aspect of myself and made me invaluable to those around me. Being a Latina in STEM, my roots allow me to be those role models who were just like me that I never saw growing up. Having role models that resemble yourself is one of the most beautiful things to experience, and I would like to have the opportunity to be someone people strive to be and look up to. I want to be a source of inspiration for those like me who need to believe in themselves. I speak from experience when I say that anything is possible when you believe in yourself.

My entire life has been defined by the color of my skin. I was either to exotic for my friends or I was too white for my community. For the longest time, I have let it define me as a friend, a daughter, and as a person. After enduring four years of high school and having experiences, I know I’m so much more than the color of my skin. I have never been expected to accomplish anything in my life, all because of my skin. While schools have the job of teaching and supporting students, they sometimes turn a blind eye to those who are different. I’ve had to work twice as harder than the rest of my peers just to show my commitment and dedication for education all while my peers just take it for granted. While I’ve been upset about the hand life has dealt me, I know that I can’t do anything to change the past, I know that I can do everything in my power to change my future and the future of others who are like me. Being an educated Latina and a Latina in STEM sends a message to those who have doubted and belittled me. All the stereotypes and setbacks that I have faced throughout my educational journey have made my success worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. I know that I have been made a better and stronger person just for being the unique person I am.

A sense of belonging. Freedom. Self. These are all things that I have felt when reading any type of book. Books are filled with eccentric characters and intricate worlds faced with their own types of problems and hardships. They have allowed me to escape from my own loud mind and have made me feel like someone valuable, someone who wouldn't be left behind. Ever since I was a small child, my mom has nurtured my love of reading. She would use books as my reward or my punishment. My mom would take my sisters and I to the library every Saturday as reward for helping her complete all the chores we needed to do. Even though the library was in the next town over, she would always take us. She could've given us electronics instead to save her the gas, but she wanted us to have a thirst for knowledge instead which has translated into our school and education. Reading has been my safe haven for as long as I can remember. Anytime I was upset or scared, I would retreat to my room and read. It didn’t matter what genre I read, I was always comforted. Filling my life with eccentric characters and role models has made me feel less alone. That feeling of being surrounded by people but still feeling out of place has been the story of my life, and books have made me feel loved. The characters I've read about have taught me that everything happens for a reason. Everything might go wrong but it all has a purpose in shaping you for the better. This early love of mine has shaped me into the person I am today; so much so that I started a book in my high school. I can share that love of reading and books with my peers. While for the majority of my high school career, I have always been scared of what people might think of me or of looking like a fool. Reading about how my favorite characters were themselves and just lived without regrets, gave me the courage to be more outgoing and myself. I only get one chance to write my life story and the chapter of not being myself or being scared to do anything is over; I write my own story. I want to live without regrets, so by the time I get to the end of my story I can honestly say that I have lived just as eccentrically as my favorite characters.

I’m proud of my Mexican heritage; while sometimes it has been something that has held me back, it has also been something that is a value to me and my community. My Mexican heritage consists of my big and large family that has always been there to support me especially now with applying to college. Even though it might seem like a setback that my parents never attended college, what they lack in education they make up for in love and support, and that makes me proud of them and what they represent to me. My parents have helped me embrace my heritage through a unique way: showing each other Spanish memes when one of us has a bad day. By embracing my heritage it has allowed me to show who I really am to the world and to show others that being different is ok. My parents' love and support for me and my family have shown me that family is everything and is worth fighting for; and without love what is there left to fight for? Without their love and support, I would not be able to go through the grueling process of applying to college. With their love, I have been able to decide what I want to study in college: chemical engineering. With chemical engineering, I want to be able to make my contribution in slowing down climate change. With chemical engineering, I want to find a way to make food production more efficient thus cutting down on emissions that aid in climate change. In doing so, I can leave my mark as an engineer and as a Latina. After the 2024 elections, we found out that FAFSA is one of the things that is going to be taken away. Ever since I heard about this, I have been applying to scholarships like crazy trying to lighten the financial load for my parents. Even with all of their love and support, it couldn’t hide the stress that my parents faced with the grueling job of putting me through college. We might not be rich, but my parents’ love and support that they have given me through this college track and all my life makes it seem like we are. I wouldn’t trade it for the world and for that I will always be proud of my heritage and above that: my parents.

One simple act of inspiration can affect someone’s life. No matter how small, it still impacts someone’s life. I fell in love with STEM when my parents took me to the Houston Space Center. My love of science and math has driven me to participate within my community and inspire those around me. It has led me to volunteer for my school’s STEM camp and its cross country camp as well. Being the daughter of immigrant parents, they have encouraged me to pursue the college route. I remember looking at the different majors that colleges offer, and I remember thinking how science and math sounded interesting to me. It is what sparked my interest in STEM and it is what has guided me throughout my years in schooling. Growing up in my household, I have learned to prioritize. I had three sisters and each of us contributed to the household chores around the house. Those chores taught about hard work, and that hard work transferred to our school work. Leaning toward the STEM route, I understood that it was going to be a difficult degree to earn, especially chemical engineering. However, having that passion for the sciences will make it easier for me to visualize my end goal, especially when times get hard and I want to quit. This passion has fueled my desire to pursue this goal and to prove to those who believed I could not do it because of who I am. This passion has not only been reserved for myself, but has affected those around me with and inspired them to find their own passions. Every summer, my school hosts a STEM camp for little kids; and every year after I passed the age limit, I have volunteered as a camp counselor. In this STEM camp, we teach the kids the wonders and mysteries of the STEM field through games and experiments. I have been able to work alongside kids showing them how the experiments worked and explaining to them about the science behind it. I have been able to inspire kids through this camp by helping them decide to pursue STEM or find their true passion. Inspiring kids at a young age can help them find something they love and encourage their growth and confidence. With STEM being a little stressful, I needed to find an outlet for my stress; what can be a better outlet for stress than running? I started running in sixth grade and continued through my senior year. Even running itself can be stressful, but having a tight-knit group can help. Which is why our coach started a running camp to encourage kids to run, while expanding the cross country program from the bottom up. I have volunteered as a counselor teaching kids about the best techniques for running and stretches to prevent injuries. Working in this camp has allowed me to encourage kids to run while showing how having a supportive team is helpful. Many of these kids have continued their participation in running through high school through the support of the counselors and their teammates. While the sport itself might seem daunting, it is the teammates that make it worth it. Inspiration can come in many forms and through different clubs. It is my goal to inspire those around me and become a role model for those like me who have big dreams they hope to make reality. Goals and dreams cannot be achieved without some inspiration, this scholarship can not only help fund their dreams, it also gives inspiration to follow through on their plans.

One simple act of inspiration can affect someone’s life. No matter how small, it still impacts someone’s life. I fell in love with STEM when my parents took me to the Houston Space Center. My love of science and math has driven me to participate within my community and inspire those around me. It has led me to volunteer for my school’s STEM camp and its cross country camp as well. Being the daughter of immigrant parents, they have encouraged me to pursue the college route. I remember looking at the different majors that colleges offer, and I remember thinking how science and math sounded interesting to me. It is what sparked my interest in STEM and it is what has guided me throughout my years in schooling. Growing up in my household, I have learned to prioritize. I had three sisters and each of us contributed to the household chores around the house. Those chores taught about hard work, and that hard work transferred to our school work. Leaning toward the STEM route, I understood that it was going to be a difficult degree to earn, especially chemical engineering. However, having that passion for the sciences will make it easier for me to visualize my end goal, especially when times get hard and I want to quit. This passion has fueled my desire to pursue this goal and to prove to those who believed I could not do it because of who I am. This passion has not only been reserved for myself, but has affected those around me with and inspired them to find their own passions. Every summer, my school hosts a STEM camp for little kids; and every year after I passed the age limit, I have volunteered as a camp counselor. In this STEM camp, we teach the kids the wonders and mysteries of the STEM field through games and experiments. I have been able to work alongside kids showing them how the experiments worked and explaining to them about the science behind it. I have been able to inspire kids through this camp by helping them decide to pursue STEM or find their true passion. Inspiring kids at a young age can help them find something they love and encourage their growth and confidence. With STEM being a little stressful, I needed to find an outlet for my stress; what can be a better outlet for stress than running? I started running in sixth grade and continued through my senior year. Even running itself can be stressful, but having a tight-knit group can help. Which is why our coach started a running camp to encourage kids to run, while expanding the cross country program from the bottom up. I have volunteered as a counselor teaching kids about the best techniques for running and stretches to prevent injuries. Working in this camp has allowed me to encourage kids to run while showing how having a supportive team is helpful. Many of these kids have continued their participation in running through high school through the support of the counselors and their teammates. While the sport itself might seem daunting, it is the teammates that make it worth it. Inspiration can come in many forms and through different clubs. It is my goal to inspire those around me and become a role model for those like me who have big dreams they hope to make reality. Goals and dreams cannot be achieved without some inspiration, this scholarship can not only help fund their dreams, it also gives inspiration to follow through on their plans.

STEM has always been my passion. At first, it started out as a fascination for space. After visiting the Houston Space Center, I wanted to know everything I could about space. As a result, by fifth grade, I read every single book about space from the school’s library. The older I grew, the more my dreams changed from being an astronaut to being someone behind the scenes helping them get to space. However, this wouldn’t be my dream if I didn’t have the yearning to know more about space. The knowledge of not knowing about something has driven my STEM passions and curiosity. In order to achieve my goals, one big obstacle stands in my way: chemical engineering. Chemical engineering is one of the hardest engineering majors, but to earn my career, I need it. This one challenge I’m excited to take down, knowing that I can tackle a difficult major that will lead me to my goals. There might be times where I struggle, but I know that it is for something that is worthwhile and meaningful to me. With a chemical engineering degree, I plan to help further space exploration. I might not be the one on the moon, but I can be the one to put astronauts there. Space exploration is something that has always pushed the world to be both cooperative and competitive. Having a bigger focus on space exploration, we, as a globe, can make significant discoveries that have immense impact. Having a chemical engineering degree in the space industry can allow me to help create safer space crafts and dependable telescopes. I want to be able to assure that an astronaut has the best and safest crafts to carry them to the moon and back. Dependable telescopes can help us better understand space and its greatest mysteries. What once seemed like a dream now feels like a goal. Everyday, I know that each step I take today is one more step to achieving my goal. Teachers always want their students to have a well-rounded education. Even though I hate English class, I love to read. One of the books I have recently read is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. On the surface it may seem like a book about the past of someone who had much to lose. However, after reading the book, it gave me an important life lesson that is useful for conquering challenges: no one is going to give you the future you want; you have to work and fight for what you want and think you deserve. Learning this message from this book has empowered me to fight for what I want. Earning a STEM degree is tough enough, but it's even worse when you don't have an end goal in sight. Having this empowerment will allow me to get through the tough times. College is one step toward my career goals, but college is expensive. I have taken college level classes throughout my years in high school in order to lessen the class load and tuition that comes with it. Winning this scholarship will allow me to feel less stress on having to pay for college. The less stress I feel, the more focused I can be for my studies. Going to college will be one more step toward my goals; completing a STEM degree will continue to ignite my passion for STEM, but it will make it a reality. Being a part of the STEM community after college is an essential part of my goals. Being Latina in STEM is a milestone for me and my community. It is a testament to what I can overcome and achieve. Being a part of the STEM community as a minority can help inspire others like me to break down barriers and strive to be the best in the field. Even though being a minority makes it harder to achieve my goals, but it has been my biggest stepping stone, where my gender has made me determined and my ethnicity has made me invincible.

Every year as I get older, I look back and see how much I have grown both physically and mentally. However I still have a long way to go until I have reached the point of maturity and where I want to be in my life later on. There are three things, three attributes that I need to work on to achieve the best version of myself that is capable of achieving everything I have planned for my life: dependability, responsibility, and outgoing. Those attributes all have a role in the future I want for myself. Dependability is others being able to count on you. My mother has taught me from a young age to honor my word to myself and others. For instance when I say I’m going to do something, I should honor my promise or if I don't, I should own up to my mistakes.This trait, even though I may possess it, it is not at the level I wish it to be. I wish to become more dependable to those around me and most importantly to myself. Responsibility is one attribute that we should all have; it might be one of the most important traits that someone can possess. Just like dependability, my mother has taught me to have this from a young age. This trait is one of the most important assets to making my dreams come true. It will allow me to excel in my education and beyond; just like a plant needs water to grow, I need responsibility to make my dreams come true. Out of all the traits I could have chosen, I have chosen to be more ambitious. For my entire life, I have been an introvert. I have been closed off to my peers, and am only true to my closest friends. Inorder to achieve my goals, i need to be more ambitious and bold. No one is going to hand me my dreams, I have to work hard and take what is mine. This scholarship will allow me to fulfill one step of my dreams. It will fund them and allow me to feel a little bit less stressed about money. By winning this scholarship, it will enable me to be more dependable to my studies, more responsible with my money, and more ambitious for the future I deserve. These three traits are what my goals and future revolves around. My future will never come without these traits.

Throughout my high school experience, I have always volunteered as a camp counselor for the La Vernia STEM camp for little kids in my school district. Within this STEM camp, little kids have the opportunity to learn about science and engineering through hands-on experiments, games and competitions with other kids. As a camp counselor, I was in charge of these kids in helping them understand and encourage their fascination with learning and passion for STEM. I would help them with their projects and games. Most importantly, I helped inspire them to pursue STEM as a career pathway for college and beyond. I believe that inspiration is the most important ingredient for success. By helping with this science camp for the past four years, I have been able to give these kids passion for education that most lack. Many of my past kids that I have worked with have come to me months after telling me that I helped give them the passion to pursue either engineering or biology in college. Meeting with the kids I have taught in the past, them telling me that they are going to pursue science beyond high school allows me to feel the impact of my reach beyond my comprehension. Even though my community involvement revolves around this STEM camp, I love working to help foster a love for the sciences because I believe that passions starting from a young age can lead to meaningful change and impact later on. Working at this STEM camp has amplified my passion for engineering and everything science related. New experiments and games are played every year that pique my interest, and new scientific discoveries are being discovered every day; science never stops surprising me. Also seeing how I have impacted someone’s life just by my passion for science, I know I can make a difference in the world. That is why I will continue my passion for science beyond high by majoring in chemical engineering. With this scholarship, I can help pay my way to college, starting with my tuition. Since my parents never got to go to college, they have made it a priority for me to go, including paying for my college all four years. Despite my passion for science, I know that chemical engineering is a hard major and it might take me five years to get my degree, meaning that my parents will continue to pay for my college in spite of me taking longer. That is why it is imperative that I win this scholarship. Even though they are paying for my college, it is still a burden on them and my family. This scholarship can help ease some of that burden off of my parents shoulders.

BookTok recommendations have led me to some of the most impactful and soul breaking books that I have ever read. For my ideal bookshelf, I have chosen The Song of Achilles, Salt to the Sea, A Thousand Boy Kisses, and The Silent Patient. Out of all the books on BookTok, these have impacted my life and the way I view it. They have given me lessons that I could not learn in a classroom setting. Each of these books have altered my soul and broke me in some way I cannot explain, the most powerful books always do. The Song of Achilles was one of the first books that made me cry. After I read it, I could not stop crying about it; anytime I thought about it I would break down. It broke my heart once I read the very last line, “In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”. It taught me to love unconditionally even though destiny has other plans because our time on Earth is limited. We need to love freely. A Thousand Boy Kisses is another book that made me cry. This book taught me to live within the moment because you never know when it could be your last. This lesson combined with those lessons my mom has taught me about love, had my soul breaking down to the very last word. Even though this book taught me about love, it also taught me about death and grief, how every moment in life is precious and death that once seemed like the end turns out to be a place without pain and sorrow. Salt to the Sea is one book that showed the realities of World War two. It was painful to read and to experience that realities of losing those you love and yourself. Even though war might take those you once cherished, it also brings the most unlikely people together. The situations that the characters went through were some of the most unimaginable situations, but they never gave up. There was nothing to be done to prevent those situations, but how those characters handled them showed their personality and grit. All the books I have described have shown me how to love those who are in my life, but The Silent Patient has taught me to expect that people lie and are not who you expect them to be. The plot twist towards the end of the book made me realize that. Some people can be cruel and be someone completely unexpected. It has taught me to maintain a healthy balance of suspicion with the love I give freely. Those four books have given me the life lessons I would have had to learn the hard way. With books, I am able to live thousands of lives without leaving home. The places I have traveled and the lives I have lived have given some of my greatest memories and heartbreaks of my life, and as I continue to read, I hope to experience more.

Throughout my high school experience, I have always volunteered as a camp counselor for the La Vernia STEM camp for little kids in my school district. Within this STEM camp, little kids have the opportunity to learn about science and engineering through hands-on experiments, games and competitions with other kids. As a camp counselor, I was in charge of these kids in helping them understand and encourage their fascination with learning and passion for STEM. I would help them with their projects and games. Most importantly, I helped inspire them to pursue STEM as a career pathway for college and beyond. I believe that inspiration is the most important ingredient for success. By helping with this science camp for the past four years, I have been able to give these kids passion for education that most lack. Many of my past kids that I have worked with have come to me months after telling me that I helped give them the passion to pursue either engineering or biology in college. Meeting with the kids I have taught in the past, them telling me that they are going to pursue science beyond high school allows me to feel the impact of my reach beyond my comprehension. Even though my community involvement revolves around this STEM camp, I love working to help foster a love for the sciences because I believe that passions starting from a young age can lead to meaningful change and impact later on. Working at this STEM camp has amplified my passion for engineering and everything science related. New experiments and games are played every year that pique my interest, and new scientific discoveries are being discovered every day; science never stops surprising me. Also seeing how I have impacted someone’s life just by my passion for science, I know I can make a difference in the world. That is why I will continue my passion for science beyond high by majoring in chemical engineering. With this scholarship, I can help pay my way to college, starting with my tuition. Since my parents never got to go to college, they have made it a priority for me to go, including paying for my college all four years. Despite my passion for science, I know that chemical engineering is a hard major and it might take me five years to get my degree, meaning that my parents will continue to pay for my college in spite of me taking longer. That is why it is imperative that I win this scholarship. Even though they are paying for my college, it is still a burden on them and my family. This scholarship can help ease some of that burden off of my parents shoulders.

I am the daughter of two immigrants who did not receive the opportunity to pursue higher education. With that in mind, my parents have taught me the importance of education. Since I would be the first in my family to go to college, I will not squander the opportunity my parents have worked so hard to provide to me. With that in mind, I have learned to go above and beyond in not just my school work but also in life. Being part of a large hispanic family, I have learned to work hard and to be patient with others and everything else in life. My unique self is a result of growing up with my family that strives to achieve the American Dream. With being given the opportunity to go to college, I want to help change the world for the better. I’m going to major in chemical engineering in order to change the world. I'm going to change the world by showing how Hispanic women, double minorities in STEAM, deserve to be given the chance to go into challenging fields of study. The number of hispanics and hispanic women are small, but even smaller in STEAM related fields. By majoring in chemical engineering, I can help prove that Hispanics are just as intelligent to be able to major in engineering; that is how I am going to help change the world, changing how the world perceives Hispanics in college settings. STEAM is interesting because it presents different facts that people did not know before. People can learn astonishing facts about the human body to the mysteries that math holds. On tests, math and science tend to be easier than English because there is only one correct answer if the right formulas were used rather than two answer choices that could both be right. For me, math tends to be straightforward with formulas and science continues to wow my mind with amazing facts and information. Majoring in a STEAM related field gives me the two subjects I find the most interesting. Since I have been given the opportunity to attend college, I have chosen to major in chemical engineering. I have chosen this field because I find it interesting, but also because to make an impact, I have to go big or go home. A STEAM degree would allow me to prove to those who have doubted my skills. It is a statement which proves to the world that women can do anything a man does. With that in mind, I can help demonstrate how my upbringing has greatly influenced my skills and qualities, where my ethnicity has made me strong, and where my gender has made me resilient.

Being a daughter of immigrants, my parents have always pushed the educational path that they never got to achieve. This was one of the earliest dreams I had, the dream of going to college. However as I got older, it became more than a dream, it became a stepping stone to achieving larger and professional dreams, working at NASA. To me, college is one of many ways I can help my parents in the long run and represents barriers to be knocked down. To be a double minority in a college setting can show to my community and the world that we can do it and deserve a chance to prove it. Going to college is not a privilege, it is an opportunity that should not be squandered. Applying to scholarships as seniors is meant to help find our dreams and goals. This scholarship is no different. My goals follow the obvious path: high school graduation, college, and then job. My dream job is to be working at NASA as a food scientist; I would be helping make and test nutritious and safe space food for astronauts. In order to land the job, I would need a chemical engineering degree along with experience from an accredited four-year college or Rice University, my dream school. With the aim to reach my dream job, I would need to graduate top of my class at graduation. As allotted above, I only have a couple of steps to complete in order to get my job. Even though the amount of the scholarship might not be a large sum, it can still cover my education. As my mom always says, “anything is better than nothing.”, this simple statement goes to show that no matter how big or small a scholarship might be, it will always be appreciated no matter what. This scholarship would be used to cover anything from books to part of my tuition. I would be grateful for any scholarship won, including this one, to help fund my education and to help take the burden off my parents. By funding my college education, I am one step closer to achieving my goals. While in college, not only do I plan to earn a chemical engineering degree, but also gain work experience along with the degree through internships and leadership conferences. This experience coupled with the engineering degree will help improve my chances of landing the dream job. This scholarship does not come close to covering my tuition, but it will allow me to start chipping away at the college costs that could possibly weigh me down going forward. Going to college one step further at achieving my goals, but winning this scholarship will help me go to college with an unburdened mind, knowing that some of my expenses have been covered with this scholarship.

Being a daughter of immigrants, my parents have always pushed the educational path that they never got to achieve. This was one of the earliest dreams I had, the dream of going to college. However as I got older, it became more than a dream, it became a stepping stone to achieving larger and professional dreams, working at NASA. To me, college is one of many ways I can help my parents in the long run and represents barriers to be knocked down. To be a double minority in a college setting can show to my community and the world that we can do it and deserve a chance to prove it. Going to college is not a privilege, it is an opportunity that should not be squandered. Applying to scholarships as seniors is meant to help find our dreams and goals. This scholarship is no different. My goals follow the obvious path: high school graduation, college, and then job. My dream job is to be working at NASA as a food scientist; I would be helping make and test nutritious and safe space food for astronauts. In order to land the job, I would need a chemical engineering degree along with experience from an accredited four-year college or Rice University, my dream school. With the aim to reach my dream job, I would need to graduate top of my class at graduation. As allotted above, I only have a couple of steps to complete in order to get my job. Even though the amount of the scholarship might not be a large sum, it can still cover my education. As my mom always says, “anything is better than nothing.”, this simple statement goes to show that no matter how big or small a scholarship might be, it will always be appreciated no matter what. This scholarship would be used to cover anything from books to part of my tuition. I would be grateful for any scholarship won, including this one, to help fund my education and to help take the burden off my parents. By funding my college education, I am one step closer to achieving my goals. While in college, not only do I plan to earn a chemical engineering degree, but also gain work experience along with the degree through internships and leadership conferences. This experience coupled with the engineering degree will help improve my chances of landing the dream job. This scholarship does not come close to covering my tuition, but it will allow me to start chipping away at the college costs that could possibly weigh me down going forward. Going to college one step further at achieving my goals, but winning this scholarship will help me go to college with an unburdened mind, knowing that some of my expenses have been covered with this scholarship.

My primary motive for pursuing college as a first generation student was my parents. My parents never received the opportunity to go to college, as a result they pushed me toward the college route in order to earn an education they never got the chance to achieve and to have more than they ever had. With my family, I have learned not to squander this opportunity they have worked so hard to provide. Education, as my mom always says, is something that no one can ever take away, that is why it should be valued. Another reason I decided to pursue college is because of how under represented hispanics are in college enrollments, especially women. Hispanics either do not have the means to go to college or the opportunity to go. Those numbers get even smaller when looking at STEM related majors. I want to be able to go to college in order to help encourage those around me, making the statement that hispanics are just as capable of earning a STEM degree as any other ethnic group. I’m interested in pursuing a STEM degree because I find science captivating. Science has always been one of my best subjects that I have always excelled in; I have the opportunity to major in something that I am passionate about. During school, math and science have always been classes that I have understood easily. A STEM degree, such as engineering, is two subjects that have come easily to me and one subject that has always held my interest. Being passionate about STEM has allowed me to grow a stronger bond with math and science which will help me later when I may want to give up. It also gives me the opportunity to show my community that a hispanic woman is intelligent enough to major in STEM. Since I have been given the opportunity to attend college, I have chosen to major in chemical engineering. I have chosen this field because I find it interesting, but also because in order to make an impact, I have to go big or go home. Chemical engineering is one major that if I complete it I can prove that hispanics have what it takes to major in STEM. The completion of a STEM degree would allow me to prove to those who have doubted me and those like me. It is a statement which proves to the world that Hispanics and women can do anything they dream of. With that in mind, I can help demonstrate how my upbringing has significantly influenced my skills and qualities, where my ethnicity has made me strong, and where my gender has made me resilient.

I am the daughter of two immigrants who did not receive the opportunity to pursue higher education. With that in mind, my parents have taught me the importance of education. Since I would be the first in my family to go to college, I will not squander the opportunity my parents have worked so hard to provide to me. With that in mind, I have learned to go above and beyond in not just my school work but also in life. Being part of a large hispanic family, I have learned to work hard and to be patient with others and everything else in life. My unique self is a result of growing up with my family that strives to achieve the American Dream. With being given the opportunity to go to college, I want to help change the world for the better. I’m going to major in chemical engineering in order to change the world. I'm going to change the world by showing how Hispanic women, double minorities in STEAM, deserve to be given the chance to go into challenging fields of study. The number of hispanics and hispanic women are small, but even smaller in STEAM related fields. By majoring in chemical engineering, I can help prove that Hispanics are just as intelligent to be able to major in engineering; that is how I am going to help change the world, changing how the world perceives Hispanics in college settings. STEAM is interesting because it presents different facts that people did not know before. People can learn astonishing facts about the human body to the mysteries that math holds. On tests, math and science tend to be easier than English because there is only one correct answer if the right formulas were used rather than two answer choices that could both be right. For me, math tends to be straightforward with formulas and science continues to wow my mind with amazing facts and information. Majoring in a STEAM related field gives me the two subjects I find the most interesting. Since I have been given the opportunity to attend college, I have chosen to major in chemical engineering. I have chosen this field because I find it interesting, but also because to make an impact, I have to go big or go home. A STEAM degree would allow me to prove to those who have doubted my skills. It is a statement which proves to the world that women can do anything a man does. With that in mind, I can help demonstrate how my upbringing has greatly influenced my skills and qualities, where my ethnicity has made me strong, and where my gender has made me resilient.

My plans for the future involve attending a four-year university and majoring in biochemistry.The biochemistry major is something I want to major in because it studies the reaction of the human body from medicines to chemicals to basically anything. The pandemic affected me and my family. My parents and my three sisters got covid; after witnessing my family members suffer through the disease and myself praying that none of them had to go to the hospital, I knew that I wanted to major in biochemistry. The vaccines that were released during the pandemic weren’t trusted by my parents. By becoming a biochemist, I can help prevent the uncertainty of the effectiveness of vaccines for any illness, like the uncertainty faced by my own family. Attending a four-year university is a dream that my parents and I both share. My three sisters and I are the first generation in our family to receive a college education. We understand the value of education and don’t take it for granted. It is our top priority if our parents are going through the financial burden to allow us the chance to receive a college education. A four-year university like the University of Texas at Austin will help me achieve my goals. Their biochemistry program is ranked in the top 10% in the country and ranked number 2 in the state of Texas. Their biochemistry professors are highly sought after and respected by others. This university will help me get to where I want to go: NASA. Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to be an astronaut at NASA. Even though I wanted to be other things like a wedding planner, I still wanted to be an astronaut through it all. After the pandemic, my plans changed. Even if I don’t become an astronaut, I still want to work at NASA; it will somehow fulfill the dream of mine. I want to work at NASA as a biochemist because they help find ways for astronauts to have better nutrition in space. They work together with astronauts and other scientists to achieve better nutrition and a better overall health throughout astronauts’ space flights. Earning this scholarship will help fund my dreams of going to a four-year university. By funding my college education, it will be one step closer to working at NASA. I will be extremely grateful if I do earn this scholarship.