My fascination with engineering really kicked off at the beginning of high school, but I think the seeds for this passion started when I was even younger. Growing up, I was always going to doctor's offices and hospitals with my mom. And even as a small kid I always wanted to know how their tools worked. The highlight of my days were when a nurse would show me how her new thermometer strips worked. And as I got older that interest in how medical devices worked developed into a determination to be part of the movement to improve medical devices and testing. Because, maybe, if some new device had been invented life could have been easier on my mom, maybe she'd still be here with me. If I can even be a small part of why a patient can have a better outcome, I'll know that I've put my childhood wonder to good use. Currently, I am studying Biomedical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. This upcoming academic year, I will be a Sophomore and I could not be more excited to jump back into my degree. In my freshman year, I did extensive hands-on work both in CAD and in lab settings. In these courses, I learned that drafting is definitively my favorite part of CAD and the lab is where I want to spend the rest of my life. Going into the next school year, it is time to take a deep dive into the core disciplines of biomedical engineering. I hope to take part in my university's undergraduate research opportunities during my time there. Next summer, I plan to take part in an internship or co-op as part of my curriculum. I am excited to see what the industry is like. While I am still quite early in my degree, I am excited and ready to take on the challenge ahead. Currently, I work for a company that engineers and builds industrial furnaces. While this might not directly correlate to what I hope to do in the future, the conversations I have had with the engineers there have been invaluble. Their advice is already proving to be very useful in my classes. As a kid, my mom always told me to follow my dreams and I'd like to think I am doing her proud in that respect. I couldn't imagine something else I would rather be doing. It's always a surreal feeling when you find yourself living your dream, but it is also so rewarding to see years of hard work come to fruition and look to the horizon of new challenges. I will become a biomedical engineer. I will be part of the next generation of medical advancements. I hope I never lose the love and wonder for learning that my childhood self had. I look foward to a rewarding career. And most of all I hope I make my mom proud, and I hope I do that little girl asking nurses about thermometers proud too.