I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 10 years old on Christmas of 2016 when I got my first RC car. It was a green and black,1:16 Latrax Teton, modeled off the Monster Jam Truck called The Grave Digger. I couldn’t wait to take it out on the streets with my dad and hear the engine rev down the street. Boy was I disappointed! It only went like 20-25 mph and it was as quiet as a Tesla. I knew I had to upgrade the engine and fast! I went to YouTube and found a couple of videos on how to change out the motor and ESC. I ordered the parts and in no time, we were up to 40mph! That is when my passion for fixing cars began. I built one from scratch starting with only a chassis and shell. I had about 9 RC cars that I spent a lot of time, building , upgrading and racing with my dad and friends. It became a competition between me and my dad to see whose car was the fastest. Of course, I would always win. My most prize possession was my 1:7, Arrma Felony. This car could get up to 80+ mph and unlike my Latrax, you could definitely here it whizzing down the street. My parents saw my new found passion and ordered me a V8 Combustion Engine Model Building Kit for Kids, from Amazon. In my spare time, I would work on it and I successfully got it to run. I soon realized that engines not only power cars, but boats as well. I bought a RC boat from Bass Pro. I wanted to put a RC car engine in the boat. To do this, I had to modify the shell of the boat to add the engine and ECS from the RC car to fit. You should have seen that boat zooming across the water! I have now graduated to “real “ cars and used my own money to purchase a non-running 1994 Chevy Camaro V6 which I plan to rebuild. The first change will be to convert the 3.4L engine to a 5.3 LS engine. Over this past summer I had an opportunity to participate in the Summer Ignite Program at Universal Technical Institute in Dallas. I spent 3 weeks learning the basic components of an engine and ultimately took apart and put back together, a Ford Minivan engine. At the end of the program I took a test and successfully passed and earned a certificate. That certificate gives me credit for the course and I will not have to complete it next year when I enroll at UTI. As mentioned before, my dad is into cars as well. I have helped him with changing brakes, changing oil and many other maintenance repairs on his and my mom’s cars. I have loved working on cars since I was 10 years old. I am incredibly detailed oriented and understand how components work together. This is very important when you think about the safety of the vehicles operation. I want to learn everything about how to repair auto and diesel vehicles and that it is why I have chosen and been accepted to UTI. Universal Technical Institute is one of the nations leading providers of automotive and diesel training and I know that I will receive the best education there. Your scholarship will help my career dreams come true.