Confucius said, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,” and I couldn't agree more. Thanks to my grandparents, I discovered my interest in machines at an early age by working on tractors at their John Deere dealership just outside of Pittsburgh. Under the mentorship of my grandfather, in his garage, I learned the intricacies of how machines function. My interest shifted from tractors to automobiles after attending my first Corvettes at Carlisle at the age of seven. My grandfather, known to me as PapPap, brought his ‘74 Corvette to my first Corvettes at Carlisle experience. At the time, my knowledge of cars was limited, and I had not yet been bitten by the metaphorical “car bug.” I spent my time shining up the car to prepare it for the parade as a member of “PapPap’s Pit Crew.” Corvettes at Carlisle turned into an annual August event, and it was here that I learned that the people who developed the Corvettes were engineers. From that moment, my career aspirations in the automotive industry were born. With each year spent at Corvettes at Carlisle, I spent less time in the kid’s tent and more time walking the fairgrounds with my PapPap, attending everything from demonstrations at the grandstand to engineering talks. It was here that my enthusiasm for Corvettes and automotive engineering grew through networking with onsite engineers and fellow Corvette enthusiasts. I obtained career advice and learned about the design choices behind the newest Corvette models. Corvettes at Carlisle became more than just a car show I attended with my grandfather; it became the spark for my career goal – to become a member of the Corvette engineering team. Building on this foundation, I am currently in my second semester in the mechanical engineering program at Purdue University. Here, I participate in Purdue Electric Racing, an electric Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) team, to gain hands-on engineering experience and expand my automotive knowledge. This summer, I was selected to participate in a study abroad program in Italy, where I will spend time at Brembo and Ferrari. I can thank Corvettes at Carlisle for not only turning me into a Corvette enthusiast but also for helping me discover automotive engineering as a career path. I look forward to the day when I can stand in the Corvette tent at Carlisle, not as an attendee, but as a Corvette engineer, proudly representing the GM engineering team.