As I twirled the black sharpie around my fingers, I surveyed my surroundings: the tennis balls spewed around empty courts, the bright sun streaming through thick trees, my mom’s worried face, my coaches deep in discussion, and my teammates huddled together running through their pre-match rituals—the calm before the storm. Soon, the tennis facility would be filled with players, noise, and chaos. Soon, I would fight for a State Championship and defend my title. If I won this year, I would be a two-time State Champ and complete my first undefeated season. My attention suddenly shifted to my hand when I felt a sharp pang of pain. I couldn’t help a frustrated hiss that escaped through my teeth as I tested the scab on my hand. Warmups this morning had caused my callus to break. For a couple of minutes, my greatest nightmare began to uncontrollably havoc its way through my mind: my bloody hand struggling to grip my racquet as I pushed through my pain during match point. Thankfully my mom broke me out of my haze when she found a bottle of super glue and helped me create a permanent bandage to hold my skin together. States have always had a way of putting my nerves and stress on edge. Forcing down my anxiety and shaking hands, I yanked the top off of the thick marker I was carrying and slowly walked toward my team. Almost in unison, my teammates began pulling out their own sharpies and turned toward each other. “Can you do my arm?” my doubles partner, Paige, asked me as I approached. “Of course!” I responded, “we’ve got this today”. I pursed my lips in focus as I gently held her arm and wrote on her skin the South African phrase, “ubuntu”. In English, “ubuntu” means “I am because we are''. This phrase is my team’s war paint. It is our reminder that we were fighting together and for each other. It is our promise that no matter what happens, we will have each other’s backs. "Ubuntu" is my reminder to give 100% to my peers in all circumstances. It is being a mentor, friend, coach, peacemaker, planner, communicator… whoever is needed to strengthen my team. Knowing that my team has my back through the challenges of the season is part of what makes tennis meaningful. I love varsity tennis, but my tennis journey started long before high school and long before I won two State Championships. In fact, my very existence began with immense struggle. Because I was born two months premature, when I was younger, I was shy and withdrawn. I lived in my own bubble and was quickly overwhelmed. Everything changed when I discovered tennis. Since I started playing tennis when I was five, tennis brought me out of my shell. It exposed me to the beauty of taking risks and friendship. It taught me to use discomfort and stress as a motivator instead of a barrier. Tennis is the reason I am who I am today. It is a source of escape, pride, learning, and family. It has made me a stronger, more confident, and more empathetic person. Tennis has taught me to fight in hard times, to stand my ground amidst opposition, to never give up or accept defeat, and to shake my fists for even the smallest victories. I am excited to use the skills and lessons that I have learned through tennis in college and in building my career as a computer systems engineer. In addition, I hope to introduce other young children to the beauty of tennis.

Computers That Learn “Cancer”. The discussion quieting, body-numbing, life-altering, world-ending, word that consumed my mind for 12 years. When she was 66, my Nana was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer that spreads through bone marrow. She was selected to be one of the 0.76 percent of Americans suffering from the disease. Cancer is a disease that touches everyone. It is a personal story that everyone can relate to. A universal threat. In this way, cancer connects the world’s leaders, doctors, nurses, scientists, philanthropists, and most recently, its computer scientists and engineers. Artificial Intelligence is beginning to make breakthroughs in cancer, and its implications are incredible. Startups and research centers from all corners of the world are discovering new ways to use AI in cancer treatment. They are creating AI able to detect cancer, make predictions, select treatments, and gather information. By coding AI to gather specific data from patient scans, it can collect information quickly and find patterns undetectable by the human eye. These programs can then compare patent data against other stored cancer patients and any known cancer information. This data can be used to predict a patient's cancer risk, cancer spread, future cancer symptoms, personalized treatment plans, and even response to different treatment options. For example, New York University researchers developed AI able to increase breast cancer identification rates by 37 percent, as well as reduce the need for tissue samples/biopsies by 27 percent. These newly created intelligent systems are changing lives and paving the way for future exploration. Cancer is only the beginning of the applications of technology and computer science. Every product, machine, and person is impacted by computer engineering. I can’t wait to begin studying computer engineering in college next year and develop my own world-changing programs and systems. To use my love for computer science, physics, and engineering to connect the world. My opportunities and ideas are endless, from space helicopters to cyber security to AI language translators. I am inspired not only to learn more about engineering but also to be among the 13 percent of women who are employed in the engineering workforce and the 27 percent of women working in a STEM field. Most importantly, I hope to inspire other young girls to follow their passions and their own dreams in STEM.

Computers That Learn “Cancer”. The discussion quieting, body-numbing, life-altering, world-ending, word that consumed my mind for 12 years. When she was 66, my Nana was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of blood cancer that spreads through bone marrow. She was selected to be one of the 0.76 percent of Americans suffering from the disease. When I was younger, “cancer” was simply an under-control sickness that caused my grandma to sleep in. As the years passed, however, the memories of my Nana began to change. My Nana, slowly pulling her arm across the table with her fingertips to grab the pepper shaker. My Nanna, expertly navigating her electric wheelchair around her Great Blue Heron statue, “Henrietta”. My Nana, self-consciously covering her bald head with a bright pink sun hat. My Nana, layered in patterned sweaters and blankets despite the Florida heat. Cancer is a disease that touches everyone. It is a personal story that everyone can relate to. A universal threat. In this way, cancer connects the world’s leaders, doctors, nurses, scientists, philanthropists, and most recently, its computer scientists and engineers. Artificial Intelligence is beginning to make breakthroughs in cancer, and its implications are incredible. Startups and research centers from all corners of the world are discovering new ways to use AI in cancer treatment. They are creating AI able to detect cancer, make predictions, select treatments, and gather information. By coding AI to gather specific data from patient scans, it can collect information quickly and find patterns undetectable by the human eye. These programs can then compare patent data against other stored cancer patients and any known cancer information. This data can be used to predict a patient's cancer risk, cancer spread, future cancer symptoms, personalized treatment plans, and even response to different treatment options. For example, New York University researchers developed AI able to increase breast cancer identification rates by 37 percent, as well as reduce the need for tissue samples/biopsies by 27 percent. These newly created intelligent systems are changing lives and paving the way for future exploration, making this my favorite tech invention in the last 10 years. Research is only the beginning of the applications of computer science. Every product, machine, and person is impacted by computer engineering. I can’t wait to begin studying computer engineering in college next year and develop my own world-changing programs and systems. To use my love for computer science, physics, and engineering to connect the world. My opportunities and ideas are endless, from space helicopters to cyber security to AI language translators. I am inspired not only to learn more about engineering but also to be among the 13 percent of women who are employed in the engineering workforce and the 27 percent of women working in a STEM field. Most importantly, I hope to inspire other young girls to follow their passions and their own dreams in STEM.

My favorite tech invention of the past 10 years is NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity. The first design for the Mars rocket was published in 2014 and it landed on Mars in April of 2021 where it has since completed 11 successful flights. Ingenuity is truly an engineering feat. Ingenuity is the first aircraft to complete a controlled flight on another planet, pioneering the way for future space technologies and space missions. Ingenuity proves that flight in Mar’s atmosphere and similar atmospheres is possible. It is technologies like Ingenuity that create opportunities for new discoveries about space and mars. While in flight, Ingenuity has taken many pictures of the Red Planet that allow us to learn more about the surface of Mars. Because of its high vantage point, Ingenuity can take photos of places that a rover could never reach and from viewpoints never seen before. From these pictures we are able to learn more about the geography of mars and whether or not any life forms on the planet exist. Creating an aircraft that could fly in Mars’s atmosphere posed a great challenge for engineers working on the project. Not only is Mars’s atmosphere thinner and gravity lower than Earth’s, but the Red Planet is also incredibly cold at night. During this time, temperatures reach about minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to keep itself warm and to operate successfully, Ingenuity needed to have a power source that could charge its lithium battery. To solve this problem, engineers added solar panels to the aircraft so that it could be completely self-sufficient after taking off for its first flight. Since taking classes related to the engineering field, it has been a dream of mine to become an engineer. The types of engineering that I am most interested in are aerospace and aeronautical engineering. When I first learned about there being a space helicopter, I was immediately hooked. I am fascinated by the computer science, engineering, math, problem-solving, and hard work used to create the spacecraft. It is remarkable how many aspects of the STEM field were used to create a single technology. NASA’s Ingenuity also reminds me of projects that I have worked on in the past such as creating and coding a robotic arm and coding a sprite for a video game. I believe that a college education is a monumental step towards accomplishing my dreams of becoming an engineer. I am so excited to pursue an engineering degree in the future and to learn more about STEM topics I am passionate about. In college, I am also looking forward to meeting other girls passionate about STEM and to challenging myself to learn as much about STEM as possible. It is innovations like Ingenuity that inspire me and encourage me to join a STEM field. I can’t wait to create my own technologies that will change the world. I believe that STEM fields shouldn’t be so male-dominated and it is my hope that I can inspire as many young girls to follow their dreams as possible.