All it took was a step — just one step up the stairs — for everything to change. I was fourteen when I hurt my knee. I thought it would heal quickly, but weeks turned into months, and the pain did not go away. We visited doctor after doctor, who each examined me with many tests. I remember struggling with the isolation and difficulty in performing everyday tasks. Moreover, my need to ask for help was frustrating for what I was going through. It was hard to explain the constant ache in my knee to people my age, and harder still to watch life move on without me. I went from crutches to braces to injections, still without clear answers. When the diagnosis finally came, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, I knew life was going to be different. It was not just the physical pain. I missed weeks of school and struggled with simple daily movements. Climbing stairs became a challenge. Kneeling, squatting, or standing for prolonged periods was difficult. I had to learn to pace myself, and take breaks to respect my limits. My schoolwork often had to be done on my own time, sometimes from bed, which took discipline and self-motivation. I learned to be resourceful with my time and find new ways to keep up with assignments when I could not attend class. This diagnosis did more than change my routine. It shaped the way I thought about the world and my future career. I noticed tiny details that others often overlooked. Door handles that were difficult to grip and harder classroom layouts. I realized that design is not just about how something looks or works in perfect conditions. It is about making sure it works for everyone. My interest in creating started long before the diagnosis. My mom introduced me to coding when I was young, but I found myself more drawn to working with my hands. I wanted to build machines that could explore beyond Earth, and I wanted to solve problems that others might not even notice. Now, I am working toward my degree in mechanical engineering. My goal is to join the space industry and help design spacecrafts. I want to be part of the journey to explore new worlds while also inspiring other African women to see themselves in this field. Many of them do not consider it because of the lack of representation, but I want to change that. My journey has taught me patience and resilience. It has also shown me the importance of accessibility in design. This scholarship would not only support my education but also help me focus on my studies instead of my financial struggles. It would bring me closer to my goals and give me the freedom to put my energy into my work. When I finally take my place in the career I have worked toward, stepping into a spacecraft I helped design, I will remember that it all began with one step that almost stopped me.

From an early age, I knew I wanted more than just survival—I wanted to build, to create, and to prove that nothing could limit me. Growing up in a low-income family, we tended to save more and put more energy into our academics in the hope that our academics would propel us into financial stability. In doing so, this motivates me to put my all into everything in order to succeed. My goal is to provide for my family with a financially stable job in the aerospace engineering industry. My background in coding encouraged my interest in engineering, which is where I found my calling in building things with my hands. After battling medical issues such as arthritis, I believe I have gained determination and resilience as skills, allowing me to persevere in anything I set my mind to. Not only that, but I believe the sky is the limit and that I’m not confined to a specific set of things. I like to be free and independent and have the ability to make my own decisions as a woman in engineering. I believe that all the skills I have mentioned will enable me to achieve my dream of entering the aerospace industry as a Black woman in STEM and showing others that it is possible for them, too. There are no limitations to who you are and what you can do. I realize that’s why I decided to pursue a dance minor alongside my mechanical engineering degree. One might ask why I decided to go this route—two vastly different things from very dissimilar departments in the university. I would like to explore my creativity, and I believe the minor gives me the chance to do that. I’m also inclined not to take the basic road that everyone else is accustomed to. I not only decided to take the minor to expand my horizons but also to grow my creativity. As a kid, I didn’t have many opportunities growing up where I could dance without the chance of being stigmatized, especially with my favorite dance style. I will continue to use this opportunity to broaden my horizons by diversifying my college experience, achieve my childhood dream of dancing, and grow my creativity through all dance forms. My values seem to be: do what makes you happy. I don’t want to live a life that I didn’t choose for myself, or just work to earn money. All these things I continue to involve myself in are things that I know I would want to continue my life doing.