“You can't be a scientist. That’s a man’s job” said Miguel. I was only 14 years old when I experienced machismo or sexism. I was speechless, but this was only a small taste of what my life was awaiting me. As I grew up, I start hearing things such as: No. You're young. No. You're a woman. No. You're inexperienced. No. You're stubborn. No. You're Mexican. I felt defeated. As a Mexican woman, my life constantly taught me disappointment, but I stood up and kept fighting. After so many NOs in my life, you learn how to turn them into a YES. Yes. I am young, but also resilient, creative, and strong. Yes. I am a woman, but I have the potential to be an engineer too. Yes. I am inexperienced, but full of passion for learning and helping my society. Yes. I am stubborn, but that keeps me following my dreams. Yes. I am Mexican Five years later, I came across Miguel. He asked me: How are you? I remember you were headstrong, are you still? I told him I had won my first NASA award. I spent hours working on this contest. Many people thought I was crazy and stubborn, but that fuel my energy to continue pursuing my dreams of becoming a scientist. This experience has pushed me to never give up. I have learned that I am the only want that can shape my future. As of today, I have been the author of two investigations that will soon benefit my community. In the future, I would love to improve the vaccines, perfect medicine, and continue researching potential solutions to Alzheimer’s. I have an eagerness within me to begin the study of chemical engineering in order to fulfill my dream of discovering a solution to Alzheimer's disease. Also, I hope to build my own company that will revolutionize the scientific world. I hope to explore graphene for its daily use, this with the purpose of reducing the carbon footprint and eliminate plastic from our lives. I have learned that life isn't easy, especially if you're a Latin woman, but without this experience, I would never be the resilient woman I am today.

“You can't be a scientist. That’s a man’s job” said Miguel. I was only 14 years old when I experienced machismo or sexism. I was speechless, but this was only a small taste of what my life in Mexico was awaiting me. As I grew up, I start hearing things such as: No. You're young. No. You're a woman. No. You're inexperienced. No. You're stubborn. No. You're Mexican. I felt defeated. Mexico taught me disappointment, but I stood up and kept fighting. After so many NOs in my life, you learn how to turn them into a YES. Yes. I am young, but also resilient, creative, and strong. Yes. I am a woman, but I have the potential to be an engineer too. Yes. I am inexperienced, but full of passion for learning and helping my society. Yes. I am stubborn, but that keeps me following my dreams. Yes. I am Mexican Five years later, I came across Miguel. He asked me: How are you? I remember you were headstrong, are you still? I told him I had won my first NASA award. I spent hours working on this contest. Many people thought I was crazy and stubborn, but that fuel my energy to continue pursuing my dreams of becoming a scientist. Mexico is a country that taught me that life isn't easy, especially if you're a woman, but without this experience, I would never be the resilient woman I am today. Mexico made me tenacious, and I love it. I have learned to love my flaws and to express myself. I promise myself to always dream big.

Chemistry has been my passion since middle school. As nerdy as it may sound, I have learned the periodic table song and my heart rushes every time I complete a titration problem or chemical reaction equation. It is no secret that my favorite allotrope of carbon is graphene. It gives me great pleasure to solve complex problems. I have been involved in research since I was invited to the Science Club. I wanted to find a solution to Alzheimer's to help my aunt. Witnessing her gradually losing our memories right before my eyes was simply heartbreaking. I was determined to never leave the lab, until I came up with a solution. I define an engineer as the “problem solver”. If there’s a problem, there will be a chemical engineer working day and night to solve it. Personally, I see chemical engineering as the wildcard of engineering careers because basically, you can do anything. Do you like cars? Would you die to have your own makeup line? Is research your passion? I assure you, chemical engineering is behind all this and more. Looking to my future, I'm determined to improve the lives of many. With the recent pandemic, I know now that pharmaceuticals is a very important component of the global community. I would love to collaborate in this field to improve the vaccines, perfect medicine, and continue researching potential solutions to Alzheimer’s. I have an eagerness within me to begin the study of chemical engineering in order to fulfill my dream of discovering a solution to Alzheimer's disease.

Chemistry has been my passion since middle school. As nerdy as it may sound, I have learned the periodic table song and my heart rushes every time I complete a titration problem or chemical reaction equation. It is no secret that my favorite allotrope of carbon is graphene. It gives me great pleasure to solve complex problems. I have been involved in research since I was invited to the Science Club. I wanted to find a solution to Alzheimer's to help my aunt. Witnessing her gradually losing our memories right before my eyes was simply heartbreaking. I was determined to never leave the lab, until I came up with a solution. I define an engineer as the “problem solver”. If there’s a problem, there will be a chemical engineer working day and night to solve it. Personally, I see chemical engineering as the wildcard of engineering careers because basically, you can do anything. Do you like cars? Would you die to have your own makeup line? Is research your passion? I assure you, chemical engineering is behind all this and more. Looking to my future, I'm determined to improve the lives of many. With the recent pandemic, I know now that pharmaceuticals is a very important component of the global community. I would love to collaborate in this field to improve the vaccines, perfect medicine, and continue researching potential solutions to Alzheimer’s. I have an eagerness within me to begin the study of chemical engineering in order to fulfill my dream of discovering a solution to Alzheimer's disease.

"This program looks for talented teens to make a difference,” my teacher said the very first day in the science club. I doubted my ability to innovate or invent something that benefits the global community. Nevertheless, I took the challenge. The first step is the observation: what does my community need? The problem I eagerly wanted to solve in my community were the neurological-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. Having an aunt with Alzheimer's, I wanted to solve the neurological-related diseases not only in my community but in the world. How could I, a sixteen-year-old teen, develop something beneficial for this type of patient? Don't get me wrong, I wanted to be optimistic, although I knew scientists, with specialized labs, knowledge, and experience, haven't found a solution to the problem. Could a teen be the answer to this problem? The second step is the hypothesis. I knew what I wanted to solve, but I didn't know how or with what. One morning I was riding the bus to school when I saw the famous bridge in the city which looked old and fragile. Then I said to myself: “Imagine this bridge made of graphene”. It was a brilliant idea! The graphene as the bridge in the synapses. I am a fan of graphene because it is the best of both worlds. This material is a nonconductor but also a conductor of thermal and electrical energy, is strong but flexible, and more innumerable features. As soon as I arrived at school, texted my teacher the idea. She texted back a happy emoji and a light bubble. That moment I knew I could think creatively if only I give myself the chance to see and explore the unknown. For the next 4 months, I dedicated my hours to research. I still remember that the first day of experimentation was on May 5th of 2019. On my first day, I learned to cultivate neurons. The excitement of mixing substances such as penicillin, substrate, amino acids, and other substances to sustain life was indescribable. Once the process was done, I placed them under a microscope to see them. They were like stars in the sky. The professor told me that there were at least 2 million neurons in those 50 ml. I happily said: “At least 1 neuron must be named Andrea.” I felt like Victor Frankenstein because at the end of the day it was my creation that I can see grow and develop, but I must take care of them. After 2 weeks and many days in the lab, we applied graphene, dissolved in pure water, to the neurons in various concentrations. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to manipulate graphene. Almost 5 months of dreaming about finding the right cure for neurological disease and the truth about the effectiveness of the graphene in human material was 24 hours away from me. I nervously waited to see the results and I asked myself: “What if it doesn't work?” That night I couldn't sleep. Now in the lab, I ran the test to check viability and cytotoxicity. I was 20 mins away to unveil the power of graphene in neurons. I was waiting patiently when suddenly I heard an unmistakable noise. The results were ready. My heart was beating fast as I read the results. I frantically said: “It worked. They are alive.” Although this was just one step of many investigations coming, the youth doesn't need to wait for a Ph.D. to start thinking scientifically creative and find amazing discoveries. With my passion to investigate, I want to broaden and challenge understanding beyond what it truly is. This experience will also encourage other aspiring scientists to start their own investigations. I genuinely believe the youth can make a change and I hope that, through this experience, they can see that nothing is impossible.