My name is Alexander Alaniz, and I am excited to pursue a career in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (A/E/C) industry. I am currently a senior and a student of the Design Engineering Academy at Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky. My cumulative GPA is 4.25, and I have earned my industry certification in Mechanical Engineering. I have always been interested in pursuing a future in engineering, starting with my participation in a robotics team in elementary school. In middle school, I joined the Technology Student Association (TSA), which further fueled my interest in the field. Now, in high school, I have taken advanced classes in Science, Math, and English while concentrating heavily on S.T.E.M. One important fact about me is that going to school has not always been easy. I struggled with reading, and while I was working hard, I found myself falling further and further behind. I was finally diagnosed with A.D.D late into the 3rd grade. The diagnosis brought in school intervention and services. With their help and a lot of hard work, I learned to be successful even with my learning challenges. Another aspect of my background that fueled my interest in engineering was growing up as a military child. Life in a military family had its own unique set of challenges and struggles. Along with the numerous family relocations, my father was deployed on five separate combat deployments. Living in this environment taught me to face challenges and adapt to changes. It also exposed me to different cultures, languages, religions, and new ways of thinking. During my father's last duty assignment at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, I had the opportunity to visit over 25 countries. It gave me the passion to travel, never stop exploring new things and embrace diversity. Most importantly, it deepened my desire to be an engineer because I was able to see so many wonderful feats of engineering especially as they related to architecture, engineering, and construction. For example, I visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, the Berlin Wall, in Berlin, Germany, and the Aqueduct of Segovia in Spain. I am excited to attend Anderson University in Indiana in the fall of 2023, where I will pursue a degree in Mechatronics Engineering and be a member of AU’s Men’s Lacrosse Team. I was also selected to join Anderson University’s Honors Program, where I hope to develop my skills further and contribute to the architecture, engineering, and construction industry's progress.