Engineering is often defined as "the design and manufacture of complex products." Reflecting on this, I realize that my mom has been my personal engineer, shaping who I am today through her love and encouragement. Her guidance laid the foundation for my academic, personal, and professional growth. As I pursue my goals in biomedical engineering, her influence drives my passion to create solutions that advance healthcare. Growing up in Nigeria, I often visited my mother at work, watching her use natural herbs and remedies to nurse patients back to health. She ingeniously used available materials to design new medicines for those who couldn't afford professional treatments. Witnessing this, I knew I wanted to use my knowledge to improve the healthcare system and make a significant impact on the lives of others. To me, biomedical engineering offers a way to innovate—a way to channel my passion for helping others into a meaningful career. As an immigrant who came to America with my mother and two siblings, I have personally experienced the challenges of the American healthcare system. Living with diabetes, I often feared running out of insulin and had to ration it to avoid the steep costs. My mother always supported me and assured me I was worth the expense, but I couldn't escape the burden of the healthcare system. These experiences fueled my determination to use biomedical engineering to create more affordable medical solutions, decreasing health disparities and promoting health equity. My mother's ingenuity and resilience inspire me every day. At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, I took part in an Away semester, gaining hands-on experience in the biomedical engineering field. I am currently interning at the Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital, specifically in the Biomedical Engineering Department, working with Philips. My main tasks include completing repairs and preventive maintenance on medical technology, maintaining inventory using the company's online system, and communicating with manufacturers to schedule repairs and replace equipment. The hospital route of biomedical engineering is often overlooked, but it gives me great joy to ensure that equipment is safe for patients and meets the standards necessary to promote successful treatments and surgeries. During the first week of my experience, we received an infusion pump that had malfunctioned on a 4-year-old child. In that moment, I realized how critical my role was, especially for those entrusting the hospital with their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Since then, I have put my all into every task, from taking inventory of the Philips MX40 Patient Monitors, which collect patient vitals, to performing preventive maintenance on a GEN11 Generator, which allows doctors to produce radio frequency for cutting during surgery. My motto is to approach every task with love and compassion, striving to be hard-working and showing up as my best self every day. Although I am not directly providing treatment, I am ensuring that others have the tools they need for their treatments. This experience has allowed me to explore the world of medical technology, witness significant healthcare advancements, and use my knowledge to identify potential improvements to devices. I aim to become a biomedical engineer who uses her skills and education to advance healthcare, striving for equity and affordability. The Anderson Engineering Scholarship will enable me to pursue my engineering career and utilize the skills and resources necessary to share my ideas with the world. With only 6% of biomedical engineers being Black, I am determined not only to join that 6% but also to inspire other first-generation students to pursue their passions and show that it is possible.

Although I had developed a deep affinity for science over my academic years in America, it was always disheartening to grow up in an era where there was a lack of representation of Black women, especially those coming from first-generation immigrant families, in the scientific community. My mother had moved me, as well as my two older siblings, to America shortly after my father died in 2005. It was a difficult adjustment, both socially and financially. My mother had first worked at Walmart, working long shifts to try to support our family. It saddened me to see the toll the move had taken on her, and the long-lasting stress of caring for an entire family herself. During middle school, I met a woman named Victoria, who inspired me to pursue science as a career. She worked as a computer engineer at the International Business Machines Corporation and recently joined my church. Like me, she was an immigrant. During my freshman year in high school, she created a Girls Who Code program and invited me to join. She inspired me to pursue and work hard for my future, despite the racial difficulties that may come. During the college application progress, my greatest concern was the financial cost. Although my mother encouraged me to apply to any colleges I was interested in, I did not want to put any more financial stress on her. During my last year in high school, she was still paying for my sister to attend college and financially supporting my brother, who had recently graduated. Throughout my upbringing, she always prioritized my education and did the most she could financially to give me the best advantage in life. Although I was so grateful for the scholarship the college offered, I was still weary of the balance leftover. My mother wanted to avoid student loans, meaning she planned to pay the remaining tuition balance directly out of pocket. The Marian “Nana” Rouche Memorial Scholarship would help lessen the financial burden on her, allowing her to finally enjoy her life after struggling for twenty-two years. With this scholarship, I could finish my schooling and graduate with my bachelor’s in biomedical engineering, increasing the number of black women in the industry. I have always enjoyed the chance to create something that no one has ever imagined, and an opportunity to improve the healthcare industry. Diseases today, such as sickle cell and diabetes, can be soon resolved by new innovative techniques, such as stem cell treatment and regenerative medicines. By researching more of these modern technologies, biomedical engineering could decrease the number of health disparities between socioeconomic classes in the United States. As diversity within the STEAM industries increases, innovative ideas will arise, ideas that can change the world. I want to be used as an example to show every little black girl that despite the stereotyping black women undergo, we can succeed with hard work and perseverance.

When I was younger, my mother always taught me the importance of empathizing for those who were once in your situation, and using your newly gained skills to give back to the community. In 2008, my mother, my two siblings, and I had immigrated from Nigeria to America with nothing but two suitcases and eyes filled with hope. After my father’s death approximately three years earlier, my mother had made it a mission to give our family a fresh start. As I reflect on my childhood, I now realize how much financial struggle my mother endured to ensure her three kids were fed, well-educated, and happy. I remember discussing my regular weekend trip to the community food pantry with my friends at school, and then realizing it wasn’t a typical experience for them. It was a newfound revelation when I discovered the economic division between me and the other students at my school. Although it was an eye-opening moment in my childhood, I chose to ignore it because I was so proud of my mother, who had done her best to care for the family. I then made it my mission to do well academically, hoping to repay her for all her hardships when I grew older, and always remember the financial difficulties we faced as a family. During my third year in America, my family joined a new church, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). At first, I had been very reluctant, because I missed my old church in Nigeria and all my previous friends. On the first day of joining the church, I absolutely loved it. Growing up in that church, I was always welcomed, and enjoyed the astonishing sense of community within the church. It not only became my place of worship, but my place of friendship, camaraderie, learning, and growth. Around 2018, the church decided to create a food pantry, where people could come in and receive different food, health, and beauty products. I instantly wanted to volunteer every weekend because I had been in the same position, and I wish the community had offered more services to help those in need. It was such a transforming experience to meet other people in the community and see the positive impact you can make by just being there to hear and relate to some of their own struggles. In the RCCG Food Pantry, I was mainly responsible for directing the incomers, giving information, and answering questions. I also helped with the initial set-up, which involved setting up the tables and arranging the different products. During the COVID period, we could no longer have stations inside the building, because the number of people inside would increase the chance of spreading the Coronavirus. Instead, we came together and collaborated on the idea of the “drive-thru pantry”, in which people could stay in their cars outside, and we could pre-package the food in bags and leave it on a select table for them to choose from. This idea was very hygienic, successful, and gave the community members an accessible way to receive food and other grocery items. Volunteering at the RCCG Food Pantry not only allowed me to help my own community, but also jump-started my self-growth. In this world, continuous growth is a vital part of the human experience, but what makes it so much more worthwhile is using your own growth to give back to the community.

When I was younger, my mother always taught me the importance of empathizing for those who were once in your situation, and using your newly gained skills to give back to the community. In 2008, my mother, my two siblings, and I had immigrated from Nigeria to America with nothing, but two suitcases and eyes filled with hope. After my father’s death approximately three years earlier, my mother had made it a mission to give our family a fresh start. As I reflect on my childhood, I now realize how much financial struggle my mother endured to ensure her three kids were fed, well-educated, and happy. I remember discussing my regular weekend trip to the community food pantry with my friends at school, and then realizing it wasn’t a typical experience for them. It was a newfound revelation when I discovered the economic division between me and the other students at my school. Although it was an eye-opening moment in my childhood, I chose to ignore it because I was so proud of my mother, who had done her best to care for the family. I then made it my mission to do well academically, hoping to repay her for all her hardships when I grew older, and always remember the financial difficulties we faced as a family. During my third year in America, my family joined a new church, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). At first, I had been very reluctant, because I missed my old church in Nigeria and all my previous friends. On the first day of joining the church, I absolutely loved it. Growing up in that church, I was always welcomed, and enjoyed the astonishing sense of community within the church. It not only became my place of worship, but my place of friendship, camaraderie, learning and growth. Around 2018, the church decided to create a food pantry, where people could come in and receive different food, health, and beauty products. I instantly wanted to volunteer every weekend because I had been in the same position, and I wish the community had offered more services to help those in need. It was such a transforming experience to meet other people in the community and see the positive impact you can make by just being there to hear and relate to some of their own struggles. In the RCCG Food Pantry, I was mainly responsible for directing the incomers, give information, and answer questions. I also helped with the initial set-up, which involved setting up the tables and arranging the different products. During the COVID period, we could no longer have stations inside the building, because the number of people inside would increase the chance of spreading the Coronavirus. Instead, we came together and collaborated on the idea of the “drive-thru pantry”, in which people could stay in their cars outside, and we could pre-package the food in bags and leave it on a select table for them to choose from. This idea was very hygienic, successful and gave the community members an accessible way of receiving food and other grocery items. Volunteering at the RCCG Food Pantry not only gave me the opportunity to help my own community, but also jump-started my self-growth. In this world, continuous growth is a vital part of the human experience, but what makes it so much more worthwhile is using your own growth to give back to the community.