Being a new kid in my junior year of high school was definitely not the easiest decision; I was saying goodbye to the peers I grew up with, the campus I was familiar with, and I was leaving my friends behind. This decision was so difficult, in fact, that I couldn’t even fully go through with it. Shortly after the Covid-19 lockdown and we were able to attend in-person school again, I would say, to put it lightly, I was in the slumps. Although I was naïve about my situation at the time, I felt lonely, like I was failing, and like nobody cared. Having not attended high school before due to the pandemic, I believe my expectations were far too high, and I was extremely disappointed. I was also already in a rough patch in my social life from being home all the time. For my junior year, I took a jump to attend a private Christian school. Even though I have been a Christian all my life, this place was a complete eye-opener. I went from wearing jeans and crop tops to having to follow a strict dress code; talking with all my peers to not even recognizing faces; knowing my previous school’s hallways like the back of my hand to getting lost trying to find my class. I know “Christian school” paired with “unfriendly students” sounds like an oxymoron, but that was my experience. I started school by going all out, trying to be extra bubbly and outgoing, to just weeks later giving up because I would go days without anyone talking to me. The unfamiliarity, dramatic change in school work, and lack of a social life, I was miserable. Six weeks after being at this school, I begged my mom to let me go back; I could not stand to be there any longer. Hate is a strong word and a term I don’t use on the regular, but I would say that I hated my time there. That being said, I had an epiphany. If I could go back and change my mind, I wouldn’t. My time there opened my eyes to what I had been taking for granted before, and I was able to better my relationship with God, realizing that He helped me get out of the destructive mindset of feeling sorry for myself I was living in, even if I did not realize what was going on at the time. When I went back to my old school, which I am currently still at, I saw faces excited to see me, my friends would talk to me all day, I didn’t eat lunch alone anymore, I didn’t get lost, I got the familiarity of my teachers back, it was everything I had before with a new perspective. Since then, I have genuinely not had a bad day at my school—I take advantage of spending time with those I grew up with and that little, country school I attend. Though in my case being the new kid was borderline horrible, it was an experience that taught me to be appreciative of what I have, and I would go through it all again if I had to because, though I was unaware at first, I love the life God has gifted me with.

Growing up as a girl in West Virginia not much is expected from me. Out of state, some may think my purpose is to fulfill the average West Virginian stereotype of being uneducated and living in a holler; in state, some may expect me to go into the local nursing program or work for the nearest hospital. Although I heavily considered going into the medical field, the decision never quite felt right. I spent the majority of my childhood building things as a creative innovator—rather, disguised as a little girl building Legos, playing sandbox video games, building small towns out of cardboard for my cats, and even complex leprechaun traps for St. Patrick’s Day. I would do all of these things on my own—sketching rough drafts on paper; finding the cheapest, yet most stable ways to go about my small projects, like using old things around the house instead of material from a craft store, and I would just build through trial and error. Based on this described childhood, it may be surprising that I even considered medicine, but thinking back, it was a choice based on others and not my own. I always knew I didn’t want to fit the shape of a mold, but I never actually expected the outcomes that are packaged with jumping outside the box. In sophomore year, on a whim, I decided I wanted to join the engineering career cluster at my high school for my upcoming junior and senior year—I thought that “building model bridges” or working with “cool stuff” on the computers sounded a lot more enjoyable than dissecting cow eyes or growing bacteria in BioMed. While I knew engineering was a male-dominated field, I was not prepared to be the only girl in my class. Worried about being the odd one out, I am grateful that my peers have been so inclusive, and the course opened my eyes to what engineering was and I felt as if my indecisiveness about what path I was going to take had completely disappeared. In my third semester of engineering, my class indulged in the concept of civil engineering and architecture— I never once had any complaints I was excited every day to go to this class. From eagerly creating model houses and using new software to even calculating the cost of concrete and rebar, I looked forward to the third period. This specific course confirmed that weird feeling I got when I was “certain” I was going to Med School. — I was telling that little girl to throw away her creativity skills, to stop trying to solve those minor problems like giving her cats a place to live, and to do something in the completely other direction that she was already heading. I now know where my future colligate experiences and career lie: civil engineering. I am still anxious about what I might face going forward, but I certainly won’t let my gender or background affect my goals. I plan to attend Marshall University in the fall of 2024, and even if I am the only girl in my class again, that won’t stop me from being the best student I can be. I hope to not only positively impact my community through necessary projects that will better society, but to be an example to anyone who may feel intimidated into pursuing their dreams just because of who they are or where they came from. While it seems like my path to become a civil engineer just started, I’d argue I've been heading in that direction since I was just a little girl.

Throughout my childhood, I did not always plan on becoming a civil engineer; I didn’t even know what the term “engineer” meant until a few years ago, but I would still say my civil engineering career started when I was a little kid. I grew up, different from a lot of girls my age, building things as a creative innovator—rather, disguised as a little girl building Legos, playing sandbox or simulation video games, constructing small towns out of cardboard for my cats, and even complex leprechaun traps for St. Patrick’s Day. I would do all of these things on my own—sketching rough drafts on paper; finding the cheapest, yet most stable ways to go about my small projects, like using old things around the house instead of materials from a craft store, and I would just craft through trial and error. Based on this described childhood, it may be surprising that I used to want to be a dermatologist. I struggled for a long time over just knowing what career path I wanted to pursue. I was set on going to medical school because I wanted to help others—but a dermatologist? I was telling that little girl to throw away her creativity skills, to stop trying to solve those minor problems like giving her cats a place to live, and to do something in the completely other direction that she was already heading. In sophomore year, on a whim, I decided I wanted to join the engineering career cluster at my high school for my upcoming junior and senior year—I thought that “building model bridges” or working with “cool stuff” on the computers sounded a lot more enjoyable than dissecting cow eyes or growing bacteria in BioMed. On my first day of engineering class, I walked in as the only girl out of around thirty students. I knew this class was going to be male-dominated, but I never imagined that I would be the only female present. I was still passionate about engineering though, so I stuck with it even though I would be treading through unfamiliar territories. Through this course, I have been able to work on exciting and fun projects, like designing a Habitat for Humanity home, soldering electrical circuits, working on bridge models, working as a team, and overcoming challenging tasks, all the while using those same skills I used for Lego building and designing cardboard complexes for my cats. Though it has been intimidating being alone as a girl, my male peers have been beyond great to work with, making sure to be inclusive and even voting me in as the program’s executive. Despite this, I could not promote women going into STEM more. Many girls are told jobs like engineering aren’t feminine, and they should pursue something else, but that could not be further from the truth. I have been able to indulge in the skills I was born with, and girls who share the same traits as me should too. —Their creative, problem-solving traits should never be suppressed. Through my collegiate and future career path in civil engineering, I hope to be an inspiration to girls like me, who grew up thinking they should do something else, or who were intimidated by a male-dominated occupation. I would love to see more women in STEM, and I want to work hard to be an encouragement for anyone who can defy the odds, spreading the message that you can truly be whatever you want to be.

My name is Ava Edmonds, I’m a high school senior graduating in June of 2024 from Wayne High School based in the small town of Wayne, West Virginia. I plan on attending Marshall University in the fall of 2024, studying civil engineering. I grew up expressing myself and the traits I was born with; from showing my creativity through the cardboard infrastructures I’d make for my cats when I was in elementary school, to teaching myself how to sew and stitch up my own prom dress for junior year, I have spent my life taking the innovative route to solving problems I faced—even if those problems consisted of: “What am I going to wear to prom?” or “Where are my indoor cats going to comfortably live?” Through these little achievements, I began to put together what I was good at—realizing that maybe I should do something in STEM. For many years of my life, I thought I wanted to be in the medical field, as I always wanted to help people and better my community. In my sophomore year of high school, I was faced with the option of choosing between different career clusters. On a whim, I decided that, “You know what? Maybe dissecting cow eyes and growing bacteria in a lab isn’t for me.”—I was going to go into engineering. I figured that designing model bridges and creating house plans sounded very similar to what I did growing up, whether it be through my cats’ little houses or simply learning a new skill like sewing, sounded a lot more enjoyable. When I got to class, I was surprised to see I was the only girl. I assumed that it would be a male-dominated path, but I never imagined I’d be alone. Though intimidating, I absolutely loved this class, and still greatly enjoy it. I have learned so much about how engineering is an aid to my community, and how I can make a positive impact through a career in this field. My male peers have been beyond supportive, too, always counting me in and even voting me to be the executive of the PLTW Engineering program, Pioneers of Engineering. As time went on, I developed an ever-growing interest in civil engineering, and it is what I look forward to doing in my colligate and future career life. Through civil engineering, I plan to positively impact the world in a variety of ways. I want to use my God-given traits of creativity and innovation, my love for math and science, and my abilities to work as a team to solve problems that would ultimately better my town. Whether it be working on things like a flood wall project, to designing a Habitat for Humanity home, I hope that whatever I do I can leave the world in a better place. Other than favorably helping my community through my work, I hope to also serve as an inspiration for not only anyone going into STEM, but also girls like me, who are interested in these male-dominated careers. Many girls feel as if they have to fit in a certain mold, or are nervous to be the only girl like I have been, but I truly believe there are many hidden gems amongst women who don’t believe they can do what they were meant to do because of their gender. Civil engineering is the key for me to be able to check off all the boxes; taking advantage of the traits I was born with, bettering my community, and being an inspiration to girls who grew up just like I did.

My name is Ava Edmonds, I’m a high school senior graduating in June of 2024 from Wayne High School based in the small town of Wayne, West Virginia. I plan on attending Marshall University in the fall of 2024, studying civil engineering. I grew up expressing myself and the traits I was born with; from showing my creativity through the cardboard infrastructures I’d make for my cats when I was in elementary school, to teaching myself how to sew and stitch up my own prom dress for junior year, I have spent my life taking the innovative route to solving problems I faced—even if those problems consisted of: “What am I going to wear to prom?” or “Where are my indoor cats going to comfortably live?” Through these little achievements, I began to put together what I was good at—realizing that maybe I should do something in STEM. For many years of my life, I thought I wanted to be in the medical field, as I always wanted to help people and better my community. In my sophomore year of high school, I was faced with the option of choosing between different career clusters. On a whim, I decided that, “You know what? Maybe dissecting cow eyes and growing bacteria in a lab isn’t for me.”—I was going to go into engineering. I figured that designing model bridges and creating house plans sounded very similar to what I did growing up, whether it be through my cats’ little houses or simply learning a new skill like sewing, sounded a lot more enjoyable. When I got to class, I was surprised to see I was the only girl. I assumed that it would be a male-dominated path, but I never imagined I’d be alone. Though intimidating, I absolutely loved this class, and still greatly enjoy it. I have learned so much about how engineering is an aid to my community, and how I can make a positive impact through a career in this field. My male peers have been beyond supportive, too, always counting me in and even voting me to be the executive of the PLTW Engineering program, Pioneers of Engineering. As time went on, I developed an ever-growing interest in civil engineering, and it is what I look forward to doing in my colligate and future career life. Through civil engineering, I plan to positively impact the world in a variety of ways. I want to use my God-given traits of creativity and innovation, my love for math and science, and my abilities to work as a team to solve problems that would ultimately better my town. Whether it be working on things like a flood wall project, to designing a Habitat for Humanity home, I hope that whatever I do I can leave the world in a better place. Other than favorably helping my community through my work, I hope to also serve as an inspiration for not only anyone going into STEM, but also girls like me, who are interested in these male-dominated careers. Many girls feel as if they have to fit in a certain mold, or are nervous to be the only girl like I have been, but I truly believe there are many hidden gems amongst women who don’t believe they can do what they were meant to do because of their gender. Civil engineering is the key for me to be able to check off all the boxes; taking advantage of the traits I was born with, bettering my community, and being an inspiration to girls who grew up just like I did.

From starting on Minecraft Lite Pocket Edition when I was just in elementary school, to playing on realms with a bunch of my friends in high school, the game holds a lot of memories from me. I would even go as far as to state that Minecraft has greatly impacted my choice to go into civil engineering. I dabbled in all aspects of the game: playing in creative flat worlds, joining servers like Hypixel, playing single-player survival worlds, speed running, learning about redstone, enjoying multiplayer realms, trying different challenges like skyblock, but one component has always stood out to me. Building has been my favorite part. Starting a multiplayer game with my friends? I’ll build the base. Need a quicker way to get around the world? I’d make an underground subway system. Is the base difficult to navigate? I’ll design efficient roads and pathways, figuring out the best locations for building positions. All of which are exactly the tasks at hand for civil engineers, and I didn’t even know! I was drawn to this aspect of the game; my childhood revolved around my creativity: building Legos, constructing crafts, and designing infrastructures in Minecraft. You would be surprised to think I wanted to go into the medical field—I was telling the little girl who got excited for the weekend to come just so she could plan out the city streets in her survival Minecraft world to put those innovative and imaginative traits behind her and do something completely different. I had indulged and advanced in the skills I was given without even realizing it and heading into the path I felt I was meant to follow. This game is responsible for countless memories of laughing with my friends, feeling rewarded after finishing a building project or beating the game, bringing me closer to my siblings, and highlighting my critical thinking, creative, and teamwork characteristics. This is why it resonates with me so deeply. Even though Minecraft is known for being a kid's game, it has been so beneficial for allowing me to pursue what I like, and I attribute it to the main reason as for why I am going into STEM, and I had a great childhood along the way.

Math has always been my favorite subject in school. Though I would not deem myself the greatest at it, I love doing it. Even outside of school, I find myself playing games like Sudoku and Mancala, and I would also tend to call dibs on being the banker when my family and I would play Monopoly. I have always found math intriguing, as what we do on paper comes to life in everyday world applications. Many kids in my class would always complain, questioning why they even had to do math because they would not use it in the real world, but the more I learned, the more I noticed it in my day-to-day life. When I was younger, I began to see fractions in the pizza slices, and now that I am older I have a visualization of the Fibonacci sequence outside in pinecones and flower pedals. It enthralls me, making it a subject of mine I look forward to learning more about—I even chose a STEM career for my love of math and science. I just do not want to admit that I do not know if I could stand to take any more English or history classes. I have decided to choose the colligate and future career path of becoming a civil engineer; an occupation in which math is a necessity. I cannot wait to discover how algebra, physics, calculus, and other STEM classes will relate to my dream job in which I will be able to use the skills I was born with along with being an aid in bettering my community. Though these classes won’t be easy, I am thoroughly looking forward to the challenge and the unbeknownst knowledge to come.

Before I even started school, I remember my dad surprising my brother with our very own 3DSs. –This was the start of countless memories that I would soon, and still do, make on occasion. I grew up with a black 3DS, a pink DS, the infamous Wii U, and a variety of games. My personal favorites have been Tomadachi Life, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Mario Maker 3D, Mario Kart 7 and 8, and Mario Party—now that I think of it, they might all be my favorite. My brother and I would even sit and watch my dad, in excitement, beat intense levels of Super Mario 3D World before we would go to bed each night. There is, though, one co-op game my family and I thrived on: Mario Party for the DS. I distinctly remember my brother, two step-sisters, and I—along with my two younger siblings who didn’t have a DS—all meeting up in the same room so “the wifi would work better.” We would give one person the game and tell the others to join, even physically putting our DSs right beside each other because we thought the connection would be stronger. Every time we went to play, we would squirm in excitement, as we could hardly wait for all four of us to get on. I was always Luigi, my older step-sister was always Yoshi, my younger step-sister was always either Daisy or Peach, and my brother was whoever the girls weren’t. I remember a distinct multiplayer session where we got on a game that ended in ecstatic screams, aggravated hollers, and laps being taken around the room. We would hang off the sides of the bunk bed and get so amped up. I recall being truly afraid of getting my picture taken in the minigame “Camera Shy;” nervously shaking while tracing pictures with my chewed-up stylist in “Double Vision;” spamming my D-Pad the point in which I had no idea how it still worked in “Soap Surfers.” I can only imagine what my parents heard coming from upstairs: stomping around, shouting in both angers from losing and winnings, that bunk bed rocking from jumping up and down. We were creating memories. I would like to say I remember this specific scenario because I happened to win this game of Mario Party, but it was because of the time I spent with my family. Playing these silly little games drew us closer. We would do our chores hastily so we could play, even helping out with each other’s jobs so we could get the tasks done quicker. Together we would laugh and fellowship because of our DSs and Nintendo games like Mario Party. We made unforgettable memories that we still like to look back on and laugh at, and though it’s saddening, I don’t think we have ever been closer than when we all gathered together to play Mario Party due to school and jobs. Though I don’t play it much anymore, and there isn’t a lot of time to get together to enjoy games, Nintendo has played a huge role in my childhood, and I can’t help but smile thinking about the times we have had because of it.

Throughout my childhood, I did not always plan on becoming a civil engineer; I didn’t even know what the term “engineer” meant until a few years ago, but I would still say my civil engineering career started when I was a little kid. I grew up, different from a lot of girls my age, building things as a creative innovator—rather, disguised as a little girl building Legos, playing sandbox or simulation video games, constructing small towns out of cardboard for my cats, and even complex leprechaun traps for St. Patrick’s Day. I would do all of these things on my own—sketching rough drafts on paper; finding the cheapest, yet most stable ways to go about my small projects, like using old things around the house instead of materials from a craft store, and I would just craft through trial and error. Based on this described childhood, it may be surprising that I used to want to be a dermatologist. I struggled for a long time over just knowing what career path I wanted to pursue. I was set on going to medical school because I wanted to help others—but a dermatologist? I was telling that little girl to throw away her creativity skills, to stop trying to solve those minor problems like giving her cats a place to live, and to do something in the completely other direction that she was already heading. In sophomore year, on a whim, I decided I wanted to join the engineering career cluster at my high school for my upcoming junior and senior year—I thought that “building model bridges” or working with “cool stuff” on the computers sounded a lot more enjoyable than dissecting cow eyes or growing bacteria in BioMed. On my first day of engineering class, I walked in as the only girl out of around thirty students. I knew this class was going to be male dominated, but I never imagined that I would be the only female present. I was still passionate about engineering though, so I stuck with it even though I would be treading through unfamiliar territories. Through this course, I have been able to work on exciting and fun projects, like designing a Habitat for Humanity home, soldering electrical circuits, working on bridge models, working as a team, and overcoming challenging tasks, all the while using those same skills I used for Lego building and designing cardboard complexes for my cats. Though it has been intimidating being alone as a girl, my male peers have been beyond great to work with, making sure to be inclusive and even voting me in as the program’s executive. Despite this, I could not promote women going into STEM more. Many girls are told jobs like engineering aren’t feminine, and they should pursue something else, but that could not be further from the truth. I have been able to indulge in the skills I was born with, and girls who share the same traits as me should too. —Their creative, problem-solving traits should never be suppressed. Through my collegiate and future career path in civil engineering, I hope to be an inspiration to girls like me, who grew up thinking they should do something else, or who were intimidated by a male-dominated occupation. I would love to see more women in STEM, and I want to work hard to be an encouragement for anyone who can defy the odds, spreading the message that you can truly be whatever you want to be.

Growing up at Buffalo Valley Missionary Baptist Church in Wayne County, West Virginia, I have walked through life with God as a central point. From picking up after game time as a kindergartener to teaching Sunday school classes as a twelfth-grader, I love being involved, and it has taught me what it means, and how fulfilling it is, to help others and serve God. I'm involved in my church’s Teens for Christ, volunteer for our local church camp, served for our city mission, and help out with Vacation Bible School. Despite all of my involvement, like many other Christians, my relationship with Jesus and my faith has had its ups and downs. I was saved and baptized when I was in the second grade, which seems quite young, but I grew up in church and have constantly been surrounded by loving, devoted Christian family members and friends. I did, though, go through seasons of my life where I struggled with being certain of my salvation. I knew in my heart that I trusted that Jesus is the son of God and my Savior, but I feared that maybe I was too young, questioning in my mind: “I understand now, but did I fully understand then?” I was always too ashamed to admit my fear to others and was scared they would be disappointed in me. This was until one testimony made me certain after I had been praying for an answer; it was given by a lady who went to my church. She explained the same instance I was going through, and the group of girls around me began to agree that they went through something similar. I thanked God for providing a comforting answer like He usually does, and I continued to live the life I did before I struggled to know my salvation—ready to share my testimony with those who are going through what I did. I plan to use these trials and lessons taught by Him, or even ones I have heard from others, to be a light to the world, especially in my education and future career. I plan on going into civil engineering at Marshall University—but how can a student and a civil engineer be a light for God and create a better world? Civil engineers design the factors that make society work together, and I am ecstatic to better my community as a whole through God. Colossians 3:17 (KJV) says, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” I can easily just be grateful and give glory to God through any work I do. I can also be a witness to others, I have found that simply just praying before I eat, setting a good example, not using poor language, and openly talking about my church and faith do so much for the people around me and my future colleagues. —You don’t have to stand behind a pulpit and preach for others to see or hear about Jesus. And you also don’t have to wear a cape to make a positive impact, society could not function without civil engineers. Through my different seasons of life, God has taught me so much, and I look forward to learning more and sharing what I have learned with others in my everyday life alongside bettering my community with my career choice.

Growing up at Buffalo Valley Missionary Baptist Church in Wayne County, West Virginia, I have walked through life with God as a central point. From picking up after games as a kindergartener to teaching Sunday school classes as a twelfth grader, I love being involved, and it has taught me what it means, and how fulfilling it is, to help others and serve God. I'm involved in my church’s Teens for Christ, volunteer for our local church camp, served for our city mission, and help out with Vacation Bible School. Despite all of my involvement, like many other Christians, my relationship with Jesus and my faith has had its ups and downs. I was saved and baptized when I was in the second grade, which seems quite young, but I grew up in church and have constantly been surrounded by loving, devoted Christian family members and friends. I did, though, go through seasons of my life where I struggled with being certain of my salvation. I knew in my heart that I trusted that Jesus is the son of God and my Savior, but I feared that maybe I was too young, questioning in my mind: “I understand now, but did I fully understand then?” I was always too ashamed to admit my fear to others and was scared they would be disappointed in me. This was until one testimony made me certain after I had been praying for an answer; it was given by a lady who went to my church. She explained the same instance I was going through, and the group of girls around me began to agree that they went through something similar. I thanked God for providing a comforting answer like He usually does, and I continued to live the life I did before I struggled to know my salvation. There have been several other occasions where God has answered my prayers, and maybe if I don’t understand some of the things He's done now, I have faith in him. I have faith in Him to be a comforter and to provide answers that will benefit for the better. I don’t know why He allowed me to live in uncertainty for so long, but I do know now that I can count on Him. I now have a testimony of my own that I can share with believers who go through what I did—and this is the case for so many other things. I plan to use these trials and lessons taught by Him, or even ones I have heard from others, to be a light to the world, especially in my education and future career. I plan on going into civil engineering at Marshall University—but how can a student and a civil engineer be a light for God? Colossians 3:17 (KJV) says, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” I can simply be grateful and give glory to God through any work I do. I can also be a witness to others, I have found that simply just praying before I eat, setting a good example, not using poor language, and openly talking about my church and faith does so much for the people around me. —You don’t have to stand behind a pulpit and preach for others to see or hear about Jesus. Through my different seasons of life, God has taught me so much, and I look forward to learning more and sharing what I have learned with others in my everyday life.

To outsiders, the traits of being a West Virginian are shoved into a box. Some like to reference the negative statistics, saying we are “uneducated hillbillies,” and stating that we do not have a lot going on for us. Alternatively, some are reminded of the infamous Country Roads, the Herd or the Mountaineers, Mothman, or our beautiful landscaping that encapsulates what it is almost like to be in heaven. While these confined descriptors of West Virginia are true, and we do love to embrace those positive stereotypes of eating pepperoni rolls and sharing heartfelt coal-mining stories, I have found that this state and the people in it are so much more. Growing up, while I never said it out loud, I had an inward disappointment about why my family decided to stay in this state. I did not want people to think poorly of me just because of where I was from; I put a restraint on what I thought I could do because I was just some little girl surrounded by a bunch of mountains. “There are bigger colleges out there. There are better sports teams. There are more opportunities elsewhere.:” These are all thoughts that floated around and infected my mind. As I grew older, though, my thought process has done a complete one-eighty. I learned about people who defied the odds— gaining the title of a true encourager for myself and those similar. I learned about celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Steve Harvey; famous athletes like Jerry West and Randy Moss; singers like Brad Paisley and Noah Thompson; and some of my personal greatest inspirations, Katherine Johnson and Homer Hickam. Those last two names, as a student going into STEM, I give credit to for why I have decided to stay in my hometown and indulge in a career in engineering. I relate to both of them greatly, from Homer sharing his relatable domestic struggles growing up in a small town and impressing his community, to Katherine going against the stream working her way up as a woman in a male-dominating career to aid astronauts landing on the moon. The more I looked into their lives after being introduced through the book, “Rocket Boys,” and the movie, “Hidden Figures,” I realized that a lot of their success came from being a West Virginian. Filled with small towns and tight-knit communities, living here has provided a source of family and friends that simply cannot be found anywhere else. Just like Homer couldn’t have made it as far as he did without his close peers and encouraging teachers, I could not have either. There is always someone to lean on here, whether it be church members, family, teachers, or friends, we all go through similar trials and experiences. Just recently, when a fellow student at my high school, suddenly passed away, I got to see my whole community get together and support one another. From our local pizza place helping achieve funds, to sports teams wearing badges in remembrance, everyone was able to play a part in lifting each other up after a tragedy—you don’t find that anywhere else. So, what does it mean to be a West Virginian to me? To be a West Virginian is to succeed when no one else thought you could, to thrive and be part of a community that is always there for each other, and to appreciate the heritage that lies amongst our mighty hills. Though I took it for granted when I was younger, I would not exchange this life I have been given here for anything else.

While I have not always grown up wanting to be a civil engineer, let alone not even knowing what the term “engineer” meant until a few years ago, I would still say my civil engineering career started when I was a little kid. I grew up building things as a creative innovator—rather, disguised as a little girl building Legos, playing sandbox or simulation video games, building small towns out of cardboard for my cats, and even complex leprechaun traps for St. Patrick’s Day. I would do all of these things on my own—sketching rough drafts on paper; finding the cheapest, yet most stable ways to go about my small projects, like using old things around the house instead of material from a craft store, and I would just build through trial and error. Based on this described childhood, it may be surprising that I used to want to be a dermatologist. I struggled for a long time over just knowing what career path I wanted to pursue. I was set on going to medical school because I wanted to help others—but a dermatologist? I was telling that little girl to throw away her creativity skills, to stop trying to solve those minor problems like giving her cats a place to live, and to do something in the completely other direction that she was already heading. In sophomore year, on a whim, I decided I wanted to join the engineering career cluster at my high school for my upcoming junior and senior year—I thought that “building model bridges” or working with “cool stuff” on the computers sounded a lot more enjoyable than dissecting cow eyes or growing bacteria in BioMed. My junior year, though, was one of the greatest academic challenges I have faced. I got to class and I was the only girl, and for the entirety of the year, we learned nothing. My class and I had been cursed with a teacher who didn’t want to work. I questioned several times wondering if I had made a mistake: “Maybe I should’ve picked another class—I don’t even know what engineering is, maybe it’s not for me.” I didn’t know anything about engineering and I felt like I was falling behind the other classes because those students were learning more about what they wanted to do. This was all until my senior year when we got a new engineering teacher, Ms. Amorim. Having only completed one semester of Civil Engineering and Architecture, I have learned exactly what engineering is, even though it took a lot of extra hard work to recover from the previous year. I began to notice it everywhere in my daily life—the bridges I cross every day, the roads I drive on, the red lights I stop at, the dam by my house, and so much more. Because of civil engineering, we have a functional civilization. In my small town, if we had no civil engineers, the town would most likely be underwater, and you could only make it a few minutes down the road; society simply could not work without it. Over time, I have grown to appreciate the infrastructure around me and consider the amount of time and effort put into what makes our world work. In this class, we developed bridges, modeled houses, worked with clients, and budgeted for each of our projects. I truly enjoyed this class more than any class I have before—I grew to be passionate about it when Ms. Amorim began to show us what civil engineering is. I found it hard to think that I even questioned choosing a different career path, but I just needed my eyes opened. I am beyond excited to continue my life in civil engineering: using my problem-solving skills, leadership traits, creativity, teamwork abilities, and passion to make an impact on the greater good of our society.

Growing up at Buffalo Valley Missionary Baptist Church in Wayne County, West Virginia, volunteering is not a new thing for me. From picking up after game time as a kindergartener to teaching Sunday school classes as a twelfth grader, being a volunteer has taught me what it means, and how fulfilling it is, to help others. Alongside those, I have done other work: (at Wayne Elementary School) organizing bookshelves, checking out books, and even aiding kids in bringing out their creativity in the art room with the National Honors Society; providing and organizing food for Huntington’s City Mission with my Teens for Christ Group; serving meals, cleaning, and doing crafts with my local church camp; I also arrange games with the children at Vacation Bible School. One of my favorite weeks of the entire year is when Camp Jeri holds our, and a few other churches', annual church camp. Starting at eight years old, when you can become a camper, I stayed in the cabins for three years—but that lifestyle wasn’t for me—I was one of those kids that got homesick. I loved the environment, though, and couldn’t bear just not going anymore. Dozens of kids’ lives were changing for the better: it was a week full of laughter, emotional worship, and unmatched fellowship, all in a place where the negatives of the outside world don’t exist. To stay involved, I am now known as one of the lunch ladies, a craft leader, an extra hand to help clean, and sometimes I’m even a babysitter. Other than the people and the incredible services, craft time has my heart. I adore seeing the youth work on their projects—each one different from the next. Their creative wheels are almost visibly turning, and seeing their smiles grow bigger after their crafts progress daily is worth “giving up” over ten-hour days for an entire week. I would identify myself as a creative person and quite the innovator when it comes to helping younger kids. I have found ways to cleverly make spilled paint into a piece of art, accidentally splitting the wood and turning it into an authentic, one-of-a-kind piece of art; bringing the best out of a finger-painted neon and brown, wood-carved derby car. Craft time at Camp Jeri is single-handedly something I look forward to annually. I like to give credit to things like this for why I enjoy indulging in my creativity, problem-solving, working with others, and having decent leadership skills. Civil engineering is what I plan on pursuing after high school at Marshall University in the fall of 2024. With the skills and traits I have picked up from being a volunteer, I am excited to apply them to a colligate and occupational career path where I can spend a lifetime continuing to help people—from designing infrastructures to better our community to simply being an inspiration for other young women who want to live a life through STEM. I hope that if I am ever not able to volunteer at Camp Jeri anymore, I can bring it with me wherever I go and decide to major in. –Carrying with me the joy and fellowship; the inspiration and hard work put forth by so many others to make that one week of the year so memorable. I am beyond excited to bring what I have and have gained to the table, and make a life out of it. Most people think success is getting rich or popular, but I define it as living in this world as someone who tries their best to make a positive impact.