AP Environmental Science was supposed to be a fun and interesting class. I didn't expect it to launch the interest that would decide my college major. Ever since I started high school, I wanted to be an engineer. I loved solving problems, and I had always been creative. The only thing I did not know was what specific field of engineering I wanted to go into. I had taken computer programming, chemistry, and biology, and was still at a loss for what I was truly interested in. The light bulb finally went off when I took an environmental science class. One of the first activities that we did in the class was to track our carbon footprint. The specific tracker we used was going to tell us how many Earths we would need if everyone on Earth lived the same way we did. As I answered the questions, I realized that there were many small things my family could be doing. We weren't buying produce in season, we had cars with bad gas mileage, and we were not very aware about what is recyclable. When my classmates started finishing all the questions, we were all amazed at the results. Not a single person got the result under two Earths. At first, it was fun to see who had the "worst" environmental lifestyle. But it was soon made clear that the one Earth we have would not be enough for anyone in the class to keep living the way we do. We were then able to go back into the program. We were instructed to slightly change some of our answers to match those that we thought could be possible with more effort. It was clear to me at that moment that it is small changes that make the bigger difference. Slight lifestyle changes are what we need in the world. To make those small changes, though, there needs to be a lot more environmental education. This is why I chose STEM. Not only can I help educate companies and individuals that I work with in the future, but I can also work on engineering solutions for bigger problems that are also making an impact. Making environmentally smart decisions known to the public while also keeping them within a budget is my main goal. When people are aware of the situation, they will be moved to act on it. I know that my journey in the scientific field will help lead small communities to a big impact on the environment and the future of our planet, because we only have one.

In the United States, many people are able to worry about eating organic foods. We are able to worry about renewable energy and recycling. For others throughout the world, this is not the reality. People in developing countries rarely have the privilege to care about the environment. Caring about the environment should not be a privilege. While pursuing my degree in Environmental Engineering, I aim to work towards solutions that can be implemented throughout the entire world. Attacking this issue in a smaller community would be the first step. Cutting down on costs for environmental solutions will make it easier for all families to play their part. My field will allow me to discover new options on how to make this possible. I have always been passionate about the environment and I have seen that community efforts have the most effect. New, expensive inventions will not be what saves the Earth. It will be communities of people from all over the world collaborating for a brighter future, a future that I plan to have a hand in improving.