Throughout my life, my most fierce and constant supporter has been my mother. When she told me that I could do and be anything that I wanted, she said it with the conviction of a person who truly believes what they are saying. When she looked at me, she emanated the purest love that any one person could ever hope to know. When she died, suddenly and unexpectedly, on May 10, 2023, it was the most devastating and significant experience of my life. As I am writing this on May 15, mere days after my mother’s passing, I cannot hope to fully convey what I am feeling or what I have learned from the experience, but I can, at least, begin to describe its initial impact on me. “How are you?”-- I have heard these three words more times in the last five days than I can bear to count, and, even though they are said in good conscience, I have come to believe that they are the cruelest and most inconsiderate words that can be uttered in the aftermath of a significant loss. I have, so far, done my best to dodge answering the question of how I am doing, but I don’t think that I can adequately continue this essay if I don’t answer it now. The answer comes in two parts. First, I’m suffering from a demoralizingly absolute heartbreak. Second, I’m inspired by the memory of my mother’s life, and I hope to embody the eternal kindness, unbridled joy, and impressive determination that she demonstrated in life. While I don’t imagine the heartbreak will subside any time soon, it is the memory of my mom that will have the greatest impact on my life going forward. Through my mother’s death, I have become more inspired than ever to live my life to the fullest, try my hardest in all that I do, and never let a day pass by when I don’t emanate love, kindness, joy, curiosity, acceptance, and open-mindedness. I believe that the greatest monument to my mother’s life will be to continue living a life that she would be proud of, rather than letting the sadness of her passing be the conductor of my remaining days. In her honor and my own, I will study hard, explore endlessly, and be a beacon of good. I am thankful for the lessons that my mother taught me during the 27 years that I had with her, and I am thankful now for the continuing impact that she has on me in her absence. I am more motivated than ever to do my absolute best and live life to the fullest, and I know that my mom would be proud of me for that. With the loss of a loved one there comes a choice: to die with the dead or to live a life that honors their passing. I choose the latter. I choose to live a life so fiercely full and beautiful that no one will ever doubt whether or not I am my mother’s daughter. As a beloved teacher, my mom was, and would have continued to be, my greatest supporter in regard to my continued education. Keeping that support in my mind and heart throughout the years to come will enable me to be a fantastic student, and I will thank my mother for that with every day that goes by.

My current pursuit of a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering isn't my first college experience, and I feel much better prepared to take on the combined mental, physical, and academic challenges that higher education brings this time around. If there's one thing that I learned from my first time in college, it's that it is of paramount importance that your mental health does not take a backseat. While I did eventually graduate with a BA in English from the University of Central Arkansas in 2019, it was not an easy road. It took me five years to complete what should have been a four-year program, and it was my neglect of my mental health that caused this prolongation. What I didn't realize initially was that it is well worth it to take the time to protect your mental health, even if that means slightly falling behind in academics. If you are constantly forcing yourself to work, work, work, even though it is causing your mental health to deteriorate, then eventually you won't be able to keep up and all of your hard work could come crashing down around you. I've been there. However, if you prioritize your mental health in school, even if that means missing one or two assignments, or not trying your absolute best, then you will be able to come back stronger than you were before and make up for what you missed while you were caring for yourself. Simply put, taking care of your mental health is a pre-emptive strike against burnout. There are countless ways that people choose to manage their personal wellness, but I found that there were three things specifically that helped me get control of my mental health and therefore be a more successful student. These are the same tactics I will use for my second stint at a four-year college. First, I made sure to stay hydrated every day. I've always been a fiend for soda, but they make me lethargic and unfocused. By upping my water intake, I was able to focus more steadily in class and felt much more energized and even throughout the day. Second, I walked to class every day that the weather permitted. It can be hard to maintain an active lifestyle during school, but even that small amount of exertion helped me feel physically healthy, which in turn positively affected my mental health and academic capabilities. Lastly, I talked about my feelings with friends and family. College can make you feel disconnected from others, so it can be hard to open up and express the things that are bothering you. Keeping negative thoughts and feelings bottled up is a recipe for disaster, so it was very important to me to find ways to express myself to someone other than my own subconscious. By leaning on these three tactics, I drastically increased my mental health in college. There are certainly more steps that I will take to ensure that I prioritize my personal wellness during the next four years, but these are the baby steps that will allow me to get there. I am excited by starting a new undergraduate degree and having the opportunity to be the best student possible for no one's sake but my own.

For as long as I can remember, I've had an insatiable appetite for learning. From English to science to math to health, I've always been enamored with how a comprehensive education can help me make connections and discoveries that I might not have had if I were only interested in one field of study. Anyone can say that they are interested in multiple fields, but what does it matter if they do not actively pursue a well-rounded education either in school or through individual pursuit? I have been, and will continue to be, a person who pursues multiple fields of knowledge, and in this essay I will explain how this will help me contribute not only to the fields of math and science but also to the world in general. To put my money where my mouth is, I'll begin by briefly explaining how exactly I have actively pursued comprehensive knowledge in school and in my own life. I graduated with a BA in English in 2019, obtained real estate licensure in 2022, became a self-taught, gig-playing musician in 2015, and am currently pursuing a BS in Bioengineering. As I said before, I'm a glutton for learning! Through these studies in literature, art, music, sales, science, and math, I have learned a great deal about humanity and its dreams, desires, needs, and issues. Along with this, I have also been a middle school educator for the past three years. It is the experience that I gained as a teacher that catalyzed my desire to obtain another undergraduate degree in STEM. As a teacher, I taught students of diverse race, religion, culture, and ability. While I've known many fantastic educators who practice equitable teaching, I still believe that there are many ways in which diverse students, especially those with learning disabilities, are not having their needs met. I also believe that many of the hurdles that learners with disabilities face can be minimized with technology. That's where a degree in Bioengineering comes into play for me. I plan on using a combination of my real-world experience, my creative and explorative mind, and my technological proficiency to create technology that will promote equity in the classroom and beyond. I will contribute to the world by being an advocate for those who may not have the power or ability to advocate for themselves, and I will contribute to the fields of math and science by using them to reach this goal. It is through constant exploration and learning that we can come to know more about the world and the people who surround us, which, in turn, can help us find solutions to many issues that plague our health, education system, and society. All that I can do is try my best every day to use my education and the tools that it has afforded me to make the world a better place, and that is exactly my plan.

For many students, math is a subject that elicits trepidation and uncertainty. If I had to wager a guess as to why, I would say that it is the complex and daunting nature of math that causes this trepidation. One thing is certain: mathematics evokes strong feelings in anyone who studies it. As for myself, I love math! If you are to learn anything about me from this essay, let it be that I am an avid proponent of logic and rationality. Whereas the arts are based in interpretation and individual opinions, math is based on logic and reason, with little to no space for doubt or ambiguity. Typically in math, an answer is either correct or incorrect, and that suits me just fine. I am also very enticed by the way math can be used to solve real-world issues. From designing roads and buildings to developing new technologies, math plays a crucial role in many different fields. I plan on doing my fair share of designing in the future, based on an education in Bioengineering, so I will need a strong foundation and advanced understanding of math. I'm very excited by the prospect of continuing my education in the field of STEM, but especially by the new mathematical knowledge and skills I will attain.

In a literal sense of the term, generational wealth is the wealth passed down from one generation to another. This wealth can be measured not only in dollars but also in resources and assets, which allow the inheritors of the estate both financial and social security. In a metaphorical sense of the term, generational wealth is an inherited foothold. I grew up in a large family, the youngest of four siblings, but I have never dreamed of having a large family of my own. For the time being, at least, I'm more than content to love and cherish my current and future nieces and nephews, and love and cherish them I do! So, with that being said, what can generational wealth mean to a person who doesn't plan on having children? What is the point of accumulating assets, resources, and financial stability if it will all just wither away into the wind once I'm gone? Well, let's remember the large family I grew up in and the aforementioned love I have for my siblings' children. When I'm gone, I would like to be able to be able to leave my accumulated wealth to my extended family and their descendants. To achieve generational wealth, I will be taking a multi-faceted approach involving several financial strategies. The first action I will be taking toward securing my future wealth is to obtain a BS in Bioengineering. I have already been awarded a BA in English, but I believe that maintaining a balance between the arts and sciences will be the most financially beneficial educational step to take. In doing so, I will be keeping myself open to a variety of career choices, which will help maintain me financially when there are swings in job demand. I am passionate and excited about both fields of study and work, so please don't interpret this as anything more than financial planning and preparation. Once I have obtained my BS and have started a career in STEM, I will begin more heavily investing in long-term assets, with real estate and stocks being the starting point. The real estate that I invest in will provide rental income, which I will once again turn around and invest in high-yield stocks. Repeat this cycle into perpetuity and you have the beginning of my generational wealth plan. Along with investing, I will also aim to maintain multiple sources of income. I am already doing this to a certain extent by playing live music and saving the base pay plus tips that I make, as well as gig-working as a food delivery driver. By saving a percentage of my income from all main and side income streams, I will build up a strong financial foundation that will benefit me and my family for years to come. To ensure that my family receives the most benefit as is possible upon my passing, I will also partake in estate planning to establish a will and trust so that my wealth will be bestowed in a tax-efficient manner. While I'm certain that I will add more steps in the future, I have now laid out the baseline for my multi-faceted approach to creating generational wealth within my family. The road is long from here, but I believe all of the hard work will be worth it in the end.

When I was six years old my best friend in the whole world was Bogie, my neighbor's dog. You see, Bogie and I had a tradition. A sacred tradition. Every afternoon we would meet on our respective sides of the gate that separated my neighbor's backyard from my own. For the next hour, we would sit there, happy in our own company, while I read aloud and Bogie listened. Bogie was my first audience, but he most certainly would not be my last. In 2019 I obtained a BA in English from the University of Central Arkansas, and have spent the years since as a middle school English teacher. I have learned many lessons from the countless books I've read throughout the years, and I've done my best to instill those lessons in others, as well. Think of any theme in literature, grand or small, and then consider how many you've books you've read that touch on that same theme. The stories that we read teach us complex ideas about love, friendship, family, greed, knowledge, respect, and anything else that can be imagined. Not all of these stories, however, present the same ideas regarding the same themes. Where one book might teach that love conquers all, another may preach that love is the ultimate weakness. Where one book might teach that money is the root of all evil, another may suggest that it is surely the root of all good. What this boils down to, and the point that I'm trying to reach, is that by reading voraciously we come face to face with the fact that everyone has a different story to tell, and always from a different perspective. What I consider to be the most important lesson from the books that I've read is to always take into account the perspective from which it is written. While a book may be a work of fiction, the perspective that the author utilized to write it is not. By analyzing that perspective we can learn about the author's motivation and reasoning for writing in the manner in which they have written, and that in turn can help us understand the world and the people within it. Based on this lesson, one of my personal and professional goals is to always take into account the perspectives of those around me. I will live and learn with an open mind, always aware that there are people who have different life experiences than I do, and therefore a unique perspective to offer.

As someone who has fluctuated between healthy and unhealthy eating habits, I can honestly say that I feel much healthier, both physically and mentally, when I maintain good eating habits. While the physical benefits of maintaining a healthy diet are amazing, it is really the mental benefits that make me believe it's important to have healthy eating habits. I am an anxious person. I always have been, and I suppose I always will be on some level. However, maintaining a healthy diet does wonders for relieving my anxiety, which in turn has a positive effect on my mental health in general. Why does eating healthy reduce my anxiety? Because I know that when I eat healthily I am reducing my risk for chronic diseases. Simply by ensuring that I eat a balance of fruits, nuts, vegetables, proteins, and grains, I am reducing my risk for heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. I also have a personal stake in the healthy eating game, because my father is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I didn't understand what that meant when I was younger, but now I try to live a lifestyle that keeps me as far away from a similar diagnosis as possible. As well as the all-important anxiety relief, I also feel less irritable and lethargic when I make sure to eat healthily. When I eat fruits and vegetables I feel energized, when I eat candy and processed foods I feel tired. When I eat grains and proteins I feel mentally balanced, when I eat unhealthy fats I feel much more irritable. It doesn't take a genius to notice a common thread there. For a real-life example, all I have to do is think back to my freshman and sophomore years of college. During these years I bought my lunch, and sometimes dinner, on campus nearly every single day I had classes. There were plenty of choices for food, but they were about 90% fast food choices. Pizza Hut, Chick-fil-a, Subway...those kinds of establishments. With no other choices, I gorged myself on these ultra-processed foods and felt my health slipping away from me slowly but surely. My anxiety and depression were on the rise, I was gaining weight, and my academic performance was being affected by these mental and physical changes. When I began maintaining a healthy diet again, I was once again able to concentrate in class, retain information, and be more outgoing. Based on my own experiences with both healthy and unhealthy eating habits, I truly believe that adopting a healthy diet can help support and maintain both physical and mental health, allowing us to lead healthier and happier lives.

Calculus, as we know, is a branch of mathematics that deals with change. In a world that is constantly changing on every front, how can a field of study that deals with change not be of paramount importance? From physics to engineering, statistics to real-world phenomena, calculus is a tool that, when used by those who have a solid understanding of it, can have monumental effects on the development of the world. One of the most obvious pieces of evidence in support of the importance of calculus is the development of computers. Imagine what the world would be like today if the original computer had never been improved upon or advanced with new technology. Knowledge would not be as readily available, our societies would not be nearly as connected, and our quality of life would be severely affected. It is thanks to the mathematical foundations of calculus that this is not our reality, as these are the foundations that make it possible to continue developing new and improved technology. So, calculus helps us develop new technology. That's fantastic, but why else is calculus important in the STEM field? To continue answering this question let's think about how calculus can help us model real-world phenomena. Calculus provides tools that can help us model the motion of objects, the flow of fluids, and the spread of diseases. Given our recent history and continued experience with Covid-19, I think it's reasonable to say that calculus is important simply because of its ability to help us track disease and therefore prevent its unnecessary spread. Despite having said this, there is still more evidence to support calculus' claim to importance. Think about a business. Any business. Now think about the systems in place that help that business operate smoothly. To perform at their greatest potential, to make the most profit or impact, and to remain afloat during fluctuations in the economy, a business must utilize systems that are optimized to their greatest extent. Calculus is the tool that helps us optimize those systems. For example, calculus can be used to find the minimum or maximum values of a function, which is important in such fields as economics, engineering, and physics. Overall, calculus is an essential tool in the STEM field, providing the mathematical foundations for many areas of science and engineering, and enabling us to understand and model complex systems and phenomena. Without calculus, our world would be a much more inefficient place.

For my whole life, the two goals most intrinsic to myself have been to continue learning and to retain a sense of childlike wonder toward the world. It is the perpetual and, I would say, successful pursuit of these two goals that makes me unique. Throughout my experience in academia, I've noticed that, while students generally are passionate and interested in their field of study, there is also a certain point when a learner begins to lack curiosity and imagination about their chosen field. What I mean to say is that students become so entrenched in their education that they sometimes forget to be creative and imaginative, as well. A student of English becomes so focused on their professor's interpretation of a text that they take it as gospel and do not do their own analytical due diligence. A student of architecture becomes so engrossed in the styles of the past that they forget to create the designs of the future, instead repeating buildings and design elements into perpetuity. Where there is a lack of creativity and wonder, there can be no progression. Rather than taking what I have learned as holy writ, I approach my education and life as one of Plato's cave dwellers, escaping the shadows and embracing the sun and earth and everything it entails for the very first time. I believe that education is a tool, it is a shadow on the wall, meant to be taken and interpreted and acted upon by those who have the creativity and drive to escape its confines. This brings us full circle back to the sense of childlike wonder that I mentioned early in this essay. When I look at the world and all of its issues what I see is potential, possibilities, and hope for a brighter future. I am continually amazed by new scientific discoveries, advancing technology, and the magic of the human will to create and advance. I don't these discoveries and advancements could have been achieved if those who pursued them didn't also have a lingering sense of wonder about the world. To be that passionate and excited about anything lends itself also to vulnerability, which many people, young people especially, are not keen on experiencing. It's easy to understand this trepidation, but it is not something I can relate to personally. If I know that I have a good idea, if I know that there is an occasion in which I shouldn't follow the social norm, then there is nothing that will get in my way from doing what I need to do, embarrassment be damned. My unbridled curiosity, creativity, and imagination are what I will use to make an impact on my community. Through a comprehensive education in both the Arts (BA in English from UCA 2019) and the Sciences (currently pursuing BS), I will be able to apply principles from both fields to create innovative technologies that promote accessibility and human health. My focus after obtaining the necessary technical education will be on classroom tools for students with learning disabilities/challenges. This focus stems from my experience as a middle school educator, during which I noticed glaring inequities. I will also give back to my community by continuing a long tradition of volunteer service. I'm neither ashamed nor embarrassed by the pure joy and wonder I feel toward the world, and I doubt I ever will be. Thank you for your consideration, and I encourage you to be amazed by something small today.

I've never subscribed to the idea that you have to choose one passion or career in life, and that is certainly not the path that I've chosen for myself. For me, success in life is about adventure, exploration, open-mindedness, and authenticity. My belief is that I can best embody these qualities by returning to school and completing a second undergraduate degree, this time in STEM. In 2019 I received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Central Arkansas. After being a middle school educator for the past three years, I haven't achieved the kind of fulfillment that I thought I would with my degree. What I then realized was that my idea of fulfillment wasn't being met because I wasn't being challenged to learn anymore, I wasn't exploring new fields of knowledge, and I wasn't living my most authentic life. Besides that, I've always been most inspired by the idea of a balance between the Arts and Sciences in my education. I believe that by utilizing the creativity I have in the Arts, as well as the technical aptitude I will gain from the Sciences, I will be able to design and create technology that will promote equity and accessibility for diverse people with diverse needs. This professional goal stems from my own experience as an educator, during which I came face-to-face with many accessibility issues for students with learning disabilities. I can change that! I will change that! I just need help getting there. Since I will be attending school full-time again, the schedule is not compatible with that of a full-time teacher, so I have been working two part-time jobs to save up for my academic expenses, bills, rent, etc. I need this scholarship award because as a teacher I wasn't paid adequately enough to save for situations such as this, and as a part-time worker and full-time commuter student I am afraid I won't have enough time and energy to put my full effort into my studies. I know I will be a successful STEM student, but my aim is to be an exceptional overachiever. I've done it before and I can do it again, just you watch! My academic plan for my BS is to be as open, intense, and engaged as I can possibly be. I'm going to be absolutely, mentally metal about my education and I CANNOT wait. That brings me to the big question: what does Heavy Metal music mean to me? Catharsis. Freedom. Acceptance. Mind-blowing riffs and reality-distorting bass. Heavy metal means that I can be whoever the hell I want to be, and I can be that person as emphatically as I wish. Heavy metal means that I can let my mind be at ease and just authentically enjoy the moments of my life however I deem right. I didn't start listening to Heavy Metal until around 2017, which happens to coincide with one of the most difficult, dark parts of my life and psyche, but once I started I couldn't stop. I'm addicted to the freedom. I'm in awe of the artistic adventure and exploration. I'm inspired by the open-mindedness of those within the Heavy-Metal community that I've had the pleasure of meeting. To belabor the point one last time, to me, Heavy Metal means fresh starts and unapologetic passion.

Throughout my life, I have always been intrinsically motivated by the ideals I hold dear. These ideals are as follows: to pursue knowledge, to live kindly, to promote the good, and to imagine endlessly. I believe the best path I can follow to embody these ideals is to maintain a balance between the Arts and the Sciences in my education and life. As such, I obtained my first undergraduate degree, a BA in English, from the University of Central Arkansas in 2019. I have spent the last three years teaching, and am now returning to school to obtain a second degree in STEM. Specifically, I pursuing a BA in Bioengineering. My hope is that by combining what I have learned in both the Arts and Sciences, I can do exactly what I always imagined I would do in my life: be a driving force for innovative technologies that take into account and are created for diverse human experiences, with an emphasis on equity, diversity, and social justice. My desire to create technology with humans in mind stems from my experience as a k-12 educator, as well as from my own education in the Arts. As a teacher, I have been perpetually astounded by the obstacles that remain in place for diverse students with social, emotional, behavioral, or learning disabilities. In this realm of infinite possibilities, I KNOW that there are solutions to any problem humanity faces, and I am excited and invigorated by the idea of being a part of those solutions. Thanks to my extensive reading over the years, I have come face-to-face (eyes-to-page) with every kind of character imaginable, entire universes that were created from nothing but a thought, technology beyond my wildest dreams, and each of these reading experiences have allowed my creativity and imagination to flourish. This is the same creativity and imagination that I would employ to dream up solutions to human issues on a minor or major scale, which would then be brought to life through my experience in STEM. What excites me about STEM isn't quite STEM itself, but rather how I could achieve my dreams by becoming more educated in the field. As I said before, I'm intrinsically motivated, and I believe it is right and decent to be excited by my own potential in STEM. Through my unbridled enthusiasm for innovative problem-solving and my steadfast belief in equity, I believe that I can truly have a positive impact on the world. I will use my knowledge to create tools that promote accessibility for every fashion of student in the classroom, as well as tools that promote and advance health, communication, and relationships amongst diverse groups of people. I would like to clarify here that my focus in the classroom will not only be on students performing with disabilities but also on students who are performing at a gifted or twice-gifted level. As a gifted student myself, I was often frustrated during my education by the lack of challenge I was given. With my own experiences in mind, I believe that I can create tools that will enable gifted students and disabled students to perform at their fullest potential with appropriate levels of challenge. As for my appropriate level of challenge, I found the years during my first undergraduate education to be some of the most challenging of my life. During my sophomore year of college, I was met with several harsh personal revelations that threw me off track academically, emotionally, and socially. During this period, due to the environment and experiences, memories I had repressed surged to the surface and caused me to question my childhood, my friends and family, and my life in general. My academics fell behind, my sociability floundered, and I allowed myself to fall into cycles of depression and anxiety. I lost the first battle between myself and my mental health and ultimately withdrew from the honors program to which I had been admitted and greatly enjoyed. I let myself continue slipping further down into depression for the subsequent semester, and then I realized how far I had strayed from the person and student that I aimed to be. Where I once was valedictorian, in high school, I then found myself struggling to keep my GPA in the threes. Where I once was president of multiple clubs and captain of sports teams, I then found myself too anxious to even consider collegiate sports or clubs. During my junior year of college I decided enough was enough. I threw myself back into my studies as much as I could, sought help and guidance from my friends and family, and became a self-taught musician playing solo in venues throughout central Arkansas. I put my academic, social, and mental health back on the pedestal it deserved to live on and got back on track to become the person I knew I could be. I have not finished becoming that person yet, but I know that continued education in STEM will move me further along the path. Thank you for your time and consideration for the Young Women in STEM scholarship.

There are an infinite amount of numbers. There are an infinite amount numbers even between points so closely related as zero and one. The concept of infinity, once I grasped its profound implications around the age of 16, served as my first memorable metaphysical connection with mathematics. Carrying that connection with me every day since has held immense sway in how I understand the world and the people around me. Let's revisit our old friends Zero and One. Within these two neighbor numbers lies an infinite realm of possibilities, an infinite combination of numbers in pattern and chaos. Now let's take out our magnifying glass and focus somewhere along the number line between Zero and One until two points stand out distinctly. 0.128496574 and 0.128496575 will serve our purposes just fine. Take a glance at these numbers...what stands out to you? For me, what stands out is the fact that while these are two distinct numbers, each with their own valid existence, they have much more in common than that which differentiates them. One number! One number is all that stands to tell apart our two new numerical friends. Taking this concept further, we can understand that between Zero and One will be infinite numbers, with infinite place values, that have only one, two, five, ten, twenty (you get the picture) differences between one another. While some numbers will have more differences than similarities, the fact remains that they can and will share some commonalities. My understanding of the world has been shaped by applying the principle of infinity to the people around me, by which I mean that I imagine that we are akin to numbers on a line between Zero and One. I rename the place values so that instead of considering tenths, hundredths, thousandths, and so forth, I'm instead considering hobbies, family, beliefs, customs, race, experiences, ideals, and any other of the infinite attributes of human existence. What I have found by employing this "Infinity Principle" is that since I may, and most likely do, have at least one thing in common with any other person, it is inevitable that we could find a point of connection. Once that connection is made, I can relate to any person I interact with, and thus have more meaningful conversations and relationships. To summarize, what draws me to mathematics is simple: I enjoy the fact that in a field so logical and precise, there remain endless possibilities. A number is a number, and a person is a person, but they are built upon the same foundation of infinite attributes.

Imagine with me: a feverish, tired, confused three-year-old has just woken up from her afternoon nap and it's time to check her temperature once again. Which route will you go with the thermometer? Forehead? Under the armpit? Whichever is the path of least resistance, am I right? I found myself in this exact situation just a few weeks ago while babysitting my niece and nephew. With my nerves on the very edge of reason, and my willpower not to call for help slipping, I made my way to my sister's medicine cabinet to retrieve the dreaded thermometer. Imagine, once again, my surprise at finding not a traditional thermometer, but something more akin to a bandaid that could simply be stuck to my niece's forehead to read her temperature. No fuss, no tears, no dramatics, simply peel and stick and the job is done! The point I'm trying to reach by telling you this story is as follows: I am most inspired by simple technologies that exist solely to make the user's life easier. Technology makes life easier...this isn't an original or bold statement on my part, but it is the truth of my perception and ideals. I am inspired by temperature-reading bandaids, by turns in the road that have been designed to allow the driver's steering wheel to stay at the same angle throughout the curve, by accessibility features that allow students with learning disabilities to succeed in the classroom. I am inspired by the ability of humans to bend technology to their will in order to improve the human condition. Through an education in STEM, I will devote myself to creating and distributing technologies that positively impact the moments of our lives. Just like my niece's fever-finding bandaid, I plan to dream up technologies, big and small, that will have a positive effect on human health, socialization, and education.

When I am at the end of my life looking back in the things that I have accomplished, I hope to see a woman who fought for equity, honesty, and health, and who is surrounded by people she loved fiercely and who loved her equally in return.

I know that there is magic in this world. Perhaps not magic in the mystical sense of the word, but there is magic, nonetheless, and I see it every day that I am alive. I have found myself amazed as I watch a plane fly overhead, as I take my niece’s temperature with a piece of technology resembling a simple bandaid, and as I read novels that describe incredible worlds made up of nothing but human imagination. That's what magic truly is to me: imagination, and the human will and drive to see our imaginations come to life. I myself have quite an expansive imagination, and this is what I believe will allow me to thrive in STEAM. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with an undergraduate degree in English. Since then, I have used my degree to pursue a career in teaching. I have been a good teacher. I have educated my students through honesty, authenticity, equity, and a mindset devoted to the good. Despite the deep fulfillment I have gotten from knowing that I have been a positive force in education and for my students individually, I also feel that I have not reached the limit of what I can achieve and contribute to the world. As such, I have decided to turn my attention and intellect back to school to pursue a new undergraduate degree in bioengineering. It may seem like a drastic change for me to switch from English to engineering, but it is my history in the humanities that I believe makes me a fantastic candidate to impact the world through technology. I, along with Connie and Nick Konatsosis, believe in a balance between the Arts and the Sciences. My imagination and creativity will never be hindered by thinking inside of the box, and I have read too many epics and adventures for my will to be broken by those who would say “it is impossible”. My staunch idealism (some say “bullheadedness”) that nothing is truly impossible is what has stoked my interest in advancing my education in STEAM. Technology, historically and unabashedly, has thrown the word “impossible” back in the face of society, time and time again. I would continue this tradition by making my own impact through STEAM. Specifically, my aim right now is to use my education in STEAM to improve accessibility and break down social barriers for those affected by learning or physical disabilities. Education, communication, and exploration should be accessible to any person who has the desire to pursue them, but during my time as a teacher I have seen that this is not always the case. I don’t mean that students with disabilities are being purposefully left behind, I just believe that I can use my education to create tools that will lessen the gap. I already have ideas for technology that will impact the education of learners with dyslexia, as well as technology that will allow ASL speakers to communicate more effectively with those who do not use or know sign. I don’t plan on stopping there, but I do have to get started first. It is my earnest wish to bring my magic into the world, and to use my background in the Arts to affect the Sciences. If you also believe in the magic of the human spirit, I implore you to help me on my way.