“Keep close the ones that believe in you.” - April Green My name is Amber Spencer, and I’m so thankful for all those close to me who have supported and shaped me into who I am. There are two people in my life though, who have contributed so much to my life. My most valued relationship is with my best friend, my mom. From giving me her laugh, smile, kindness, and work ethic, my mom made me into my current self. She’s my role model in everything I do. Additionally, she has supported me in all my academic and athletic endeavors and has made so many sacrifices to help me get where I am today. From working two jobs, driving me to practices, and making me dinner so I could study, nothing would have been possible without her support. I have wrestled all four years of high school, and especially the last two years, I put everything I had into wrestling. I honestly would have quit my sophomore year if it wasn’t for Coach John. He supported me through the hard losses, the injuries, and all the emotions of the last four years. He never left my side or ever stopped believing in me in anything, both on and off the mat. He was there for me when I became a California State Placer, and a year later, pulled out of the state meet and crying in his arms with a torn ACL. The biggest effect he had though was always encouraging me to dream big and giving me the skills to reach my goals. By attending Grand Canyon University, I will be one step closer to achieving my goals of improving others' quality of life and making our world a better place. I want to do something that provides equal opportunities and potential for everyone, regardless of the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. I plan to become a biomedical engineer to help improve medical devices, like prosthetics, for children. These devices can help them gain mobility, independence, and confidence. Daily tasks like walking can become more manageable, along with the gained sense of freedom. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. Prosthetics can open up so many possibilities, and give them a second chance at an ability that was either nonexistent or taken away from them. While the process of relearning to walk, throw a ball, or use stairs can be extremely challenging, it can be so rewarding to achieve. Mobility devices can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their lives, which is why I want to be a part of that process and help them accomplish unimaginable things ahead. As Coach John says, “Always dream big, because even if you don’t achieve it, you get closer than if you didn’t try.” These goals have always been important to me, and I hope you will consider helping and supporting me along the way. Thank you.

My name is Amber Spencer, and I plan to attend Grand Canyon University to work towards becoming a biomedical engineer. I’ve been involved in the engineering program at school since 6th grade, and in this time, I’ve taken courses including robotics, coding, air and space engineering, green architecture, computer science, and civil engineering and architecture. In these classes, while we did learn about the engineering process and using our creativity to solve problems, it also exposed me to the underrepresentation of women in STEM. Very often, I was one of four females in the classes compared to about 20 male peers. This pattern has become more extreme as many of my female friends dropped the class over the years, while seemingly more males joined in. Nonetheless, I continued working toward my goal of becoming an engineer. My primary goal for school is to put myself in a position where I can make our world a better place. I want to do something that provides equal opportunities and potential for everyone, regardless of the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. Although this has been my goal for a long time, figuring out what this meant for me was more complicated, as there are a lot of ways to help others. Ultimately, I decided that to accomplish this, I want to help improve medical devices, like prosthetics, for children. These devices can help them gain mobility, independence, and confidence. Daily tasks like walking and cooking can become more manageable, along with the gained sense of freedom. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. Prosthetics can open up so many possibilities, while also giving them a second chance at an ability that was either nonexistent or taken away from them. While the process of relearning to walk, throw a ball, or use stairs can all be extremely challenging, it can be so rewarding to achieve. Mobility devices can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their lives, which is why I want to be a part of that process and help them accomplish unimaginable things ahead. By attending college, I will become one step closer to achieving my goals of improving others' quality of life. As my coach says, “Always dream big, because even if you don’t achieve it, you get closer than if you didn’t try.” These goals have always been important to me, and I hope you will consider helping and supporting me along the way. Thank you.

My name is Amber Spencer, and I plan to attend Grand Canyon University to work towards becoming a biomedical engineer. I’ve been involved in the engineering program at school since 6th grade, and in this time, I’ve taken courses including robotics, coding, air and space engineering, green architecture, computer science, and civil engineering and architecture. In these classes, while we did learn about the engineering process and using our creativity to solve problems, it also exposed me to the underrepresentation of women in STEM. Very often, I was one of four females in the classes compared to about 20 male peers. This pattern has become more extreme as many of my female friends dropped the class over the years, while seemingly more males joined in. Nonetheless, I continued working toward my goal of becoming an engineer. My primary goal for school is to put myself in a position where I can make our world a better place. I want to do something that provides equal opportunities and potential for everyone, regardless of the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. Although this has been my goal for a long time, figuring out what this meant for me was more complicated, as there are a lot of ways to help others. Ultimately, I decided that to accomplish this, I want to help improve medical devices, like prosthetics, for children. These devices can help them gain mobility, independence, and confidence. Daily tasks like walking and cooking can become more manageable, along with the gained sense of freedom. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. Prosthetics can open up so many possibilities, while also giving them a second chance at an ability that was either nonexistent or taken away from them. While the process of relearning to walk, throw a ball, or use stairs can all be extremely challenging, it can be so rewarding to achieve. Mobility devices can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their lives, which is why I want to be a part of that process and help them accomplish unimaginable things ahead. By attending college, I will become one step closer to achieving my goals of improving others' quality of life and improving the world around me. As my coach says, “Always dream big, because even if you don’t achieve it, you get closer than if you didn’t try.” These goals have always been important to me, and I hope you will consider helping and supporting me along the way. Thank you.

My Favorite Team USA Athlete is Amit Elor. As a fellow wrestler and California state placer, it is amazing to see how far she has come from the same arena in Bakersfield that I get the privilege to compete at every year. Additionally, Elor is such a dominant wrestler and puts on a show at every match she attends. I truly enjoyed watching her in all her Olympic matches last summer in Paris and earning the title of Youngest USA Wrestling Gold Medalist, for both males and females. She is truly unstoppable. She stands out to me compared to other athletes because of how “human” she makes herself on social media. She's not over here bragging and saying it's easy. She admits the challenge she goes through, both on and off the mat, to get to where she is. She talks about the injuries she has experienced, the hard weight cuts, and the hard losses. But unlike other athletes, in a sport filled with cutting weight and unhealthy behaviors, she shows off her food and what a healthy, balanced diet looks like. This can be so encouraging to the future generation who are falling into the peer pressure of cutting weight without yet understanding how damaging it can be to their body. But in addition to showing her love of wrestling on social media. Elor posts trendy, fun reels, workouts, time spent with friends and family, and all her travels. By traveling around and throwing clinics, Elor is also helping bring the next generation of female wrestlers up and inspiring them all to follow in her footsteps. She is such an inspiring person both on and off the mat for all female wrestlers. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Amit Elor and to hopefully watch her again in her next dominant Olympic run!

My name is Amber Spencer, and I plan to attend Grand Canyon University to work towards becoming a biomedical engineer. I’ve been involved in the engineering program at school since 6th grade, and in this time, I’ve taken courses including robotics, coding, air and space engineering, green architecture, computer science, and civil engineering and architecture. My primary goal for school is to put myself in a position where I can make our world a better place. I want to do something that provides equal opportunities and potential for everyone, regardless of the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. Ultimately, I decided that to accomplish this, I want to help improve medical devices, like prosthetics, for children. These devices can help them gain mobility, independence, and confidence. Daily tasks like walking and cooking can become more manageable, along with the gained sense of freedom. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. Prosthetics can open up so many possibilities, while also giving them a second chance at an ability that was either nonexistent or taken away from them. Although the process of relearning to walk, throw a ball, or use stairs can all be extremely challenging, it can be so rewarding to achieve. This can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their life, which is why I want to be a part of that process to help them accomplish unimaginable things. Throughout high school, in addition to the engineering classes, I was a member of the women's wrestling team. I have been captain of my school’s wrestling team for the last two years, and it has been incredible to watch it grow from just four girls in my freshman year to our team of 17 this year. As captain, I was heavily involved in recruiting and making this growth possible. I also valued building a relationship with every girl on the team, no matter how big or small it was; I truly considered every girl who stepped on the mat my friend. With this, I was a part of the support system for a lot of them, and was there to listen to anything, big or small, and help when they needed me. While it can be scary to step outside your comfort zone and try something new, especially in a male-dominated sport, this year, we had the largest group of girls in Santana history feel invited enough not only to try that first practice but also keep coming back. As captain, I worked hard to not only inspire, guide, and unite this group of girls to earn multiple tournament titles, but also help them learn to love the sport of wrestling. The underrepresentation of women was not only on the wrestling mat, though, but also in the classroom. Very often in my engineering classes, I was one of four females compared to about 20 male peers. This pattern has become more extreme as many of my female friends dropped the class over the years, while seemingly more males joined in. This pattern wasn’t going to change though, unless we said something to the incoming freshman. We all came together at the school events, like the carnival and freshman orientation, to advertise women in STEM and all the possibilities available. With all this effort, I’m glad to say the incoming Introduction to Engineering Class will have 14 males and 12 females! I believe women in STEM are so important, and I hope you will consider supporting me to reach my goals of helping and encouraging others. Thank you.

My family has been in San Diego for years, but now with rising prices on everything, it is becoming a hard place to live. Neither of my parents has a college education, but they have both worked their way up in their given field. My dad is a welder/fabricator making trophy trucks, and my mom is a Vet Tech, currently working two jobs to help us out financially. My parents do so much for me, supporting me in all my athletic and academic goals. By attending college, I will become one step closer to achieving my goals of making our world a better place. I want to do something that provides equal opportunities and potential for everyone, regardless of the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. I’m attending college to work towards becoming a biomedical engineer. With this, I see myself helping create mobility devices for children. These devices can help them gain more mobility, independence, and confidence. Daily tasks like walking can become more manageable. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. Prosthetics can open up so many possibilities and give them a second chance at an ability that was either nonexistent or taken away from them. This can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their life, which is why I want to be a part of that process.

With all the technology that surrounds us daily, there are many possible STEM-related fields available. After years of my school incorporating STEM topics and careers into my learning, it has inspired me to want to pursue it in my future career. I have been involved in the engineering program at school since 6th grade. In this time, I’ve taken courses including robotics, coding, air and space engineering, green architecture, computer science, and civil engineering and architecture. In these classes, while we did learn about the engineering process and using our creativity to solve problems, it also exposed me to the underrepresentation of women in STEM. Very often, I was one of four females in the classes compared to about 20 male peers. This pattern has become more extreme as many of my female friends dropped the class over the years, while seemingly more males joined in. Nonetheless, I continued working toward my goal of becoming an engineer. My primary goal for school is to put myself in a position where I can make our world a better place. I want to do something that provides equal opportunities and potential for everyone, regardless of the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. Although this has been my goal for a long time, figuring out what this meant for me was more complicated, as there are a lot of ways to help others. I ultimately decided I want to improve devices in the medical field. I’m attending Grand Canyon University to work towards becoming a biomedical engineer. With this, I see myself helping create mobility devices for children. These devices can help them gain more mobility, independence, and confidence. Daily tasks like walking and cooking can become more manageable, along with the gained sense of freedom. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. Prosthetics can open up so many possibilities, while also giving them a second chance at an ability that was either nonexistent or taken away from them. Although the process of relearning to walk, throw a ball, or use stairs can all be extremely challenging, it can be so rewarding to achieve. This can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their life, which is why I want to be a part of that process to help them accomplish unimaginable things. Technological advancements are being imagined daily, making it understandable how the prosthetic capabilities in the next 20 years might not even be imagined yet. This allows someone in the field to always be learning and working on improving their skills to help make the lives of those using the prosthetics better. By asking these questions, we can better the fit, capabilities, and comfort for users because all prosthetics are unique. I also will value putting the user as the central focus of the things we are working on, which are attached to their body, rather than only working and focusing on the prosthetic. By attending college, I will become one step closer to achieving my goals of improving others' quality of life. As my coach says, “Always dream big, because even if you don’t achieve it, you get closer than if you didn’t try.” These goals have always been important to me, and I hope you will consider helping and supporting me along the way. Thank you.

If you asked me a year ago what my plan for the future was, I would be wrestling in college with my scholarship to Illinois Wesleyan University while working to become an engineer. This was my dream, and going all year ranked 4th in California, I could feel myself getting close. But now, as I recover from ACL, medial and lateral meniscus surgery, and with no state medal, I can say there was a change of plans. This was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but everything happens for a reason, and I’ve now chosen to put my health and education first. I have seized this opportunity to instead attend Grand Canyon University, and I plan to work towards becoming a biomedical engineer to create prosthetics for children. Between their new mobility and independence, daily tasks such as walking or cooking can become more manageable. Additionally, things like sports can become possible in a new way than ever before. This can truly have a positive impact on all aspects of their life. I will continue to push myself to these goals because I’ve always wanted to help people and improve their quality of life. I want to make our world a better place and do something that allows an equal opportunity and potential for everyone, no matter the circumstances they were born into or have experienced. While at GCU, I also plan to continue giving back to the wrestling community while helping coach girls' wrestling at a local high school. Positivity, empathy, and authenticity. These are the traits that I feel best define what it takes to be a strong leader. They need to be someone who inspires, guides, and unites a group of unique individuals to allow the best aspects of the team to shine. This is not an easy job, and it's something I struggled with when I was thrown into my leadership position on the wrestling team. I have been captain of my school’s wrestling team for the last two years, and it has been incredible to watch it grow from just four girls in my freshman year to our team of 17 this year. As captain, I was heavily involved in recruiting and making this growth possible. And as all the girls on the team will tell you, wrestling is not an easy sport. My number one goal when recruiting girls was to be honest about this fact, but also show them how amazing of a sport it can be. I showed them that you can work hard and have fun at the same time, with just a simple change in mindset. I also valued building a relationship with every girl on the team, no matter how big or small it was; I truly considered every girl who stepped on the mat my friend. With this, I was a part of the support system for a lot of them. There's a lot that can be going on inside a person's head, and I was there to listen to anything, big or small, and help when they needed me. But above everything on this list, I was a leader because of the example I set for my girls. I showed them winning honorably and believing in themselves. I also showed pre-match nerves and anxiety, emotions that most are scared to admit. But most importantly, I showed them to dream big and that anything they work hard for is possible. As my coach says, “Always dream big, because even if you don’t achieve it, you get closer than if you didn’t try.” Thank you.