Throughout high school, I was a part of the National Honor Society. Through this, I sought out community service opportunities to support my school by helping with concessions during basketball games, and I have helped people sign up for the blood drive my high school supports. Additionally, I volunteered at Y-Care at my local elementary school, Johnston Elementary School in Appleton, WI. Being in the NHS has contributed to my development as a leader because it taught me how to help out my school and community while working together with others. Throughout these efforts, I contributed over 140 hours of my time in high school. I have helped to volunteer for the last six years for the concessions at Echoes of the Past Trade Fair for two days each year with approximately 25 hours to help the concessions, I am a part of helping to organize all the food needed, to set up, clean, run the front counter, as well as take down the concessions stand at the end of the two days. Over the six years, I have contributed approximately 150 hours in total. While in college, I have joined Zeta Omega Tau, a local sorority where we focus on our philanthropy, Miss Amazing, a pageant for young girls with disabilities to boost their self-esteem and show off a talent. This event is something they look forward to each and every year and it is so rewarding to see the smile on their faces on the day of the event. As a sorority, we contribute the most community service out of any Greek life on campus. With this amazing accomplishment, I am fortunate to be the community service committee head for Zeta Omega Tau. My role is to track community service hours as well as set up events. Some of the events that I have coordinated and attended have been volunteering at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay for their Polar Express event, a clothing drive that was donated to Manna For Life Ministries, several food/supplies drive for our very own Campus Cupboard and neighboring domestic abuse shelters, making fleece tie beds and supply drives for the pets at Wisconsin Humane Society, Pen Pal letters for local elementary students and several more amazing opportunities. This role has greatly helped me in college in several ways; this has helped me to become a part of the Green Bay community, me to be able to reach out and help local businesses, people, and fellow students. This has contributed to my development as a leader because I have also been able to guide girls to help out our community with these events that I coordinate, and see all of them happy to be helping out, which then fuels my pride in myself. I dedicate approximately 4 hours a week to my role as community service committee head, with 40 hours per semester for my community service credits. Leadership through service has open up my eyes and has not only shaped my personal development, but also strengthens my skills such as diversifying teams, solving complex problems, and strengthening bonds within my community, on and off campus. This opportunity to lead and grow through service has set me up for a life that encourages professional growth and provides tools to succeed and a voice in decision-making.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems. I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has also helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle are that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools—like GIS mapping and environmental modeling—to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. One of my significant involvements in the field of environmental engineering is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools—like GIS mapping and environmental modeling—to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools—like GIS mapping and environmental modeling—to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life. Not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child, but you also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, whether living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research; their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve the USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   While in college, I have joined Zeta Omega Tau, a local sorority where we focus on our philanthropy, Miss Amazing, a pageant for young girls with disabilities to boost their self-esteem. Along with this, we contribute the most community service out of any Greek life on campus. With this amazing accomplishment, I am fortunate to be the community service committee head for Zeta Omega Tau. My role is to track community service hours as well as set up events. Some of the events that I have coordinated and attended have been volunteering at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay for their Polar Express event, a clothing drive that was donated to Manna For Life Ministries, a food/supplies drive for our very own Campus Cupboard, making fleece tie beds for the pets at Wisconsin Humane Society, and several more. Both of these roles have greatly helped me in college in several ways; this has helped me to become a part of the Green Bay community, to be able to reach out and help local businesses, people, and fellow students, while also making a difference in all of Wisconsin's agriculture.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life. Not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child, but you also have to consider your values while helping society. The choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature, exploring, learning, and capturing memories. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside our school building. Due to being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen to major in STEM and major in Environmental Engineering. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college is to be able to become an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. While in college, I have joined Zeta Omega Tau, a local sorority where we focus on our philanthropy, Miss Amazing, a pageant for young girls with disabilities to boost their self-esteem. Along with this, we contribute the most community service out of any Greek life on campus. With this amazing accomplishment, I am fortunate to be the community service committee head for Zeta Omega Tau. My role is to track community service hours as well as set up events. Some of the events that I have coordinated and attended have been volunteering at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay for their Polar Express event, a clothing drive that was donated to Manna For Life Ministries, a food/supplies drive for our very own Campus Cupboard, making fleece tie beds for the pets at Wisconsin Humane Society, and several more.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college is to be able to become an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college is to be able to become an Environmental Engineer.

Throughout high school, I was a part of the National Honor Society. Through this, I sought out community service opportunities to support my school by helping with concessions during basketball games, and I have helped people sign up for the blood drive my high school supports. Additionally, I volunteered at Y-Care at my local elementary school, Johnston Elementary School in Appleton, WI. Being in the NHS has contributed to my development as a leader because it taught me how to help out my school and community while working together with others. I have helped to volunteer for the last six years for the concessions at Echoes of the Past Trade Fair for two days each year with approximately 26 hours to help the concessions, I am a part of helping to organize all the food needed, to set up, clean, run the front counter, as well as take down the concessions stand at the end of the two days. While in college, I have joined Zeta Omega Tau, a local sorority where we focus on our philanthropy, Miss Amazing, a pageant for young girls with disabilities to boost their self-esteem. Along with this, we contribute the most community service out of any Greek life on campus. With this amazing accomplishment, I am fortunate to be the community service committee head for Zeta Omega Tau. My role is to track community service hours as well as set up events. Some of the events that I have coordinated and attended have been volunteering at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay for their Polar Express event, a clothing drive that was donated to Manna For Life Ministries, a food/supplies drive for our very own Campus Cupboard, making fleece tie beds for the pets at Wisconsin Humane Society, and several more. This role has greatly helped me in college in several ways; this has helped me to become a part of the Green Bay community, me to be able to reach out and help local businesses, people, and fellow students. This has contributed to my development as a leader because I have also been able to guide girls to help out our community with these events that I coordinate, and see all of them happy to be helping out, which then fuels my pride in myself. I should be selected to receive this scholarship because college will be a significant part of my life to be able to accomplish my goals. My current goal would be to help create a better future for myself and the environment. My educational goals include being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. To me, I feel that becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion towards helping to save our environment.

My career goal is to become an environmental engineer committed to developing sustainable solutions that improve human well-being and protect the environment. Combined with my academic strengths in math and science, these experiences led me to pursue environmental engineering as a career that reflects both my skills and my values. At the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I have taken this passion further through research and professional experience. As a research assistant, I study how biochar application affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa crops. This work has the potential to improve agricultural yields while promoting soil health, an especially important issue in Wisconsin’s farming economy. By testing sustainable practices, I hope to contribute to solutions that help farmers grow healthier crops while protecting the environment. This research has strengthened my resolve to focus my career on innovative, science-based approaches to sustainability. I have also gained valuable hands-on experience as an environmental engineering intern. In this role, I have supported compliance programs related to air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. These experiences have shown me how environmental engineers balance regulatory requirements with sustainability goals. They have also provided me with practical skills that will help me transition smoothly into my future career. Beyond academics and internships, I have worked hard to build leadership and problem-solving skills. At my high school job, I worked my way from dishwasher to dishwasher manager, learning how to lead a team and handle responsibility. I also started a small business selling crocheted items, which has taught me time management, financial responsibility, and perseverance. These experiences have prepared me to manage the demands of college and a career while staying focused on my goals. One of my biggest challenges is the financial burden of higher education. My family does not have the means to support me in paying for college, and the cost of tuition, housing, and fees averages over $20,000 a year at UW–Green Bay. While I have saved money and worked to cover some expenses, the financial strain remains significant. This scholarship would help ease that burden, allowing me to focus more on my education and professional development. It would bring me closer to my goal of graduating with little to no debt, so I can begin my career as an environmental engineer without the constant weight of financial stress. More importantly, it would allow me to dedicate my energy toward research, internships, and projects that make a real difference in sustainability and environmental protection. For me, environmental engineering is more than just a career path—it is a calling. I want to dedicate my life to creating solutions that protect our planet and improve life for future generations. With the support of this scholarship, I will be able to pursue that purpose with fewer obstacles and greater determination. This scholarship would help relieve that financial burden and allow me to devote more time and energy toward my education, research, and professional development. It would bring me closer to my goal of graduating with little to no student debt, which is especially important for entering a field where the greatest reward is not financial but in the difference I can make for the environment and for future generations. By supporting me, this scholarship would not only help me achieve my personal and professional goals but also contribute to the broader mission of sustainability and environmental protection.

Throughout high school, I was a part of the National Honor Society. Through this, I sought out community service opportunities to support my school by helping with concessions during basketball games, and I have helped people sign up for the blood drive my high school supports. Additionally, I volunteered at Y-Care at my local elementary school, Johnston Elementary School in Appleton, WI. Being in the NHS has contributed to my development as a leader because it taught me how to help out my school and community while working together with others. I have helped to volunteer for the last six years for the concessions at Echoes of the Past Trade Fair for two days each year with approximately 26 hours to help the concessions, I am a part of helping to organize all the food needed, to set up, clean, run the front counter, as well as take down the concessions stand at the end of the two days. While in college, I have joined Zeta Omega Tau, a local sorority where we focus on our philanthropy, Miss Amazing, a pageant for young girls with disabilities to boost their self-esteem. Along with this, we contribute the most community service out of any Greek life on campus. With this amazing accomplishment, I am fortunate to be the community service committee head for Zeta Omega Tau. My role is to track community service hours as well as set up events. Some of the events that I have coordinated and attended have been volunteering at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay for their Polar Express event, a clothing drive that was donated to Manna For Life Ministries, a food/supplies drive for our very own Campus Cupboard, making fleece tie beds for the pets at Wisconsin Humane Society, and several more. This role has greatly helped me in college in several ways; this has helped me to become a part of the Green Bay community, me to be able to reach out and help local businesses, people, and fellow students. This has contributed to my development as a leader because I have also been able to guide girls to help out our community with these events that I coordinate, and see all of them happy to be helping out, which then fuels my pride in myself. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School in top to being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I should be selected to receive this scholarship because of the obstacles I have overcome to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge, and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. Since enrolling in college, I have joined the chess club, intramural volleyball, Zeta Omega Tau sorority, and the painting Club. Through these clubs and sororities, I have been able to contribute to my personal academic development the leadership because I have been able to guide and help other people through my positions and attendance at these club meetings.

My career goal is to become an environmental engineer committed to developing sustainable solutions that improve human well-being and protect the environment. Combined with my academic strengths in math and science, these experiences led me to pursue environmental engineering as a career that reflects both my skills and my values. At the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I have taken this passion further through research and professional experience. As a research assistant, I study how biochar application affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa crops. This work has the potential to improve agricultural yields while promoting soil health, an especially important issue in Wisconsin’s farming economy. By testing sustainable practices, I hope to contribute to solutions that help farmers grow healthier crops while protecting the environment. This research has strengthened my resolve to focus my career on innovative, science-based approaches to sustainability. Beyond academics and internships, I have worked hard to build leadership and problem-solving skills. At my high school job, I worked my way from dishwasher to dishwasher manager, learning how to lead a team and handle responsibility. I also started a small business selling crocheted items, which has taught me time management, financial responsibility, and perseverance. These experiences have prepared me to manage the demands of college and a career while staying focused on my goals. One of my biggest challenges is the financial burden of higher education. My family does not have the means to support me in paying for college, and the cost of tuition, housing, and fees averages over $20,000 a year at UW–Green Bay. While I have saved money and worked to cover some expenses, the financial strain remains significant. This scholarship would help ease that burden, allowing me to focus more on my education and professional development. It would bring me closer to my goal of graduating with little to no debt, so I can begin my career as an environmental engineer without the constant weight of financial stress. More importantly, it would allow me to dedicate my energy toward research, internships, and projects that make a real difference in sustainability and environmental protection. For me, environmental engineering is more than just a career path—it is a calling. I want to dedicate my life to creating solutions that protect our planet and improve life for future generations. With the support of this scholarship, I will be able to pursue that purpose with fewer obstacles and greater determination. This scholarship would help relieve that financial burden and allow me to devote more time and energy toward my education, research, and professional development. It would bring me closer to my goal of graduating with little to no student debt, which is especially important for entering a field where the greatest reward is not financial but in the difference I can make for the environment and for future generations. By supporting me, this scholarship would not only help me achieve my personal and professional goals but also contribute to the broader mission of sustainability and protection.

I am an environmental engineering student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay with a passion for sustainability, research, and community impact. As a graduate of Tesla Engineering Charter School, I completed an advanced STEM curriculum while also attending Appleton East High School. I currently work as a research assistant studying the effects of biochar on AMF colonization in alfalfa, a project aimed at improving sustainable agriculture in Wisconsin. I am also interning at Ahlstrom Thilmany Paper Mill, where I support environmental compliance through stormwater management, air permitting, and waste tracking. As I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a bisexual woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys said these things was because of the difference in our genders. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has also helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate us, who we are as people and the goals we are reaching for. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle is that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than getting the guys around us to change. My outcome from this group is gaining my best friend, I had had brief conversations with her before this group, although as we got closer, now she is the best thing to happen to me. She has helped me to become more social and outgoing around others. I would like to continue this mindset through career path, through this I think by increasing the support and help in schools, governments or industry for women in STEM will help to improve representation as well as will increase the percentage of women involved. From personal experience, it will continue to shape future goals by increasing representation of the women in STEM to encourage younger girls to join as well.

I am an environmental engineering student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay with a passion for sustainability, research, and community impact. As a graduate of Tesla Engineering Charter School, I completed an advanced STEAM curriculum while also attending Appleton East High School, earning 32 credits and gaining early exposure to engineering principles. I currently work as a research assistant studying the effects of biochar on AMF colonization in alfalfa, a project aimed at improving sustainable agriculture in Wisconsin. I am also interning at Ahlstrom Thilmany Paper Mill, where I support environmental compliance through stormwater management, air permitting, and waste tracking. As I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a bisexual woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has also helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate us, who we are as people and the goals we are reaching for. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle is that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than getting the guys around us to change. We had talked to one of our teachers to be able to use their classroom during our study hour, and he is very supportive of our group, so that we have a safe place to meet together each week. My outcome from this group is gaining my best friend, I had had brief conversations with her before this group, although as we got closer, now she is the best thing to happen to me. She has helped me to become more social and outgoing around others. I would like to continue this mindset through career path, through this I think by increasing the support and help in schools, governments or industry for women in STEM will help to improve representation as well as will increase the percentage of women involved. From personal experience, it will continue to shape future goals by increasing representation of the women in STEM to encourage younger girls to join as well.

"Heartstrings & Hazards" Theme: A high-energy obstacle course where romance meets chaos. Islanders race against each other in outrageous physical and mental tasks, all tied to the idea of “pulling on someone’s heartstrings.” Every challenge round tests attraction, chemistry, trust, and maybe a little bit of competitive sabotage. The Setup The villa’s lawn is transformed into a candy-colored “love labyrinth” filled with over-the-top props: giant foam hearts, water-filled tunnels, balance beams over glittery pools, and rope “heartstrings” crisscrossing the entire space. Romantic pop music blares over the speakers, but occasionally cuts out for dramatic announcements from the host. Each islander starts at their own entrance to the labyrinth, wearing a harness with ribbons hanging from the back — their “heartstrings.” The goal: race through the labyrinth to retrieve as many “love tokens” as possible while protecting your own ribbons from being snatched by rivals. Game Structure The challenge unfolds in three escalating rounds: Round 1: The Chase Islanders sprint into the labyrinth, dodging swinging foam “pendulums of passion” and crawling through giant inflatable rings. Scattered around are Love Tokens — plush velvet hearts in two sizes: Small Hearts (1 point each) hidden in tricky corners. Big Hearts (3 points each) placed in the most dangerous areas, like at the top of a slippery foam ramp. While collecting tokens, islanders can grab a rival’s ribbon. If someone loses all their ribbons, they must pause for 10 seconds at the “Heartbreak Bench” before rejoining the game. Round 2: The Connection Bridge Islanders pair up with someone they think they can work best with (or sabotage least). They must cross a wobbly, narrow bridge while holding a giant inflatable heart between them — no hands allowed. If the heart drops, they must start over. Successful crossings reward Golden Ribbons, which are worth extra points if they make it to the end of the challenge. Round 3: The Cupid’s Gauntlet The final section is a free-for-all chaos zone. The floor is covered in slippery foam, and islanders must dash between moving “Cupid Arrows” (foam poles swinging on ropes) to reach the final token pile. Here’s the twist: you can only carry three hearts at a time. Islanders must decide whether to bank their points quickly or risk going back for more — all while opponents try to yank off those final heartstrings. Scoring & Winner Reveal Points are tallied from: Love Tokens collected. Ribbons still attached at the end (each worth 2 points). Any Golden Ribbons (worth 5 points each). The highest-scoring islander wins the Heartbreaker’s Choice Prize — a powerful decision they get to make on the spot, such as: Choosing any islander for a luxury date outside the villa. Swapping two people’s beds for the night. Granting immunity to themselves or another islander in the next recoupling. Why It Works High Drama: The ribbon-snatching mechanic naturally stirs competition and playful aggression — perfect for sparking villa gossip later. Chemistry Tests: Pairing up mid-challenge forces unexpected duos to cooperate physically, sometimes awkwardly, and that can either ignite sparks or confirm incompatibility. Tactical Choices: The risk/reward element in the final gauntlet means the most daring players might win big or lose spectacularly. Optional Drama Twist Before the game begins, the host secretly lets the public vote on one islander to be “The Saboteur.” Their hidden mission is to target one specific person’s ribbons. If they succeed, they win a smaller secret prize — but if they’re caught, they lose half their own points. This keeps the audience involved, sets up post-game confrontations, and makes the challenge even more unpredictable.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature, exploring, learning, and capturing memories. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside our school building. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   The advice that I would give to my family and friends to make small changes to their carbon footprint at first, instead of making expensive, life-altering changes immediately. One of the starting changes I would suggest is shopping second-hand and thrift stores, in addition to going paperless when ever it is possible, such as receipts, bill or communication.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

1. My name is Carissa Ashman, and I am a dedicated environmental engineering student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. My passion for protecting the environment began in childhood, where I spent weekends exploring nature with my dad and sister, and attending a Montessori school nestled in a park full of diverse ecosystems. Throughout high school, I attended Tesla Engineering Charter School alongside Appleton East High School, where I excelled in math and science and graduated with 32 credits—well beyond the requirement. As a woman in STEM, I’ve faced challenges in male-dominated spaces, but my determination has only grown stronger. I’ve also balanced academic life with an internship that involves hands-on experiences, including interning as an environmental engineering assistant, where I contributed to air permitting, stormwater management, and waste compliance efforts. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, and my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems. 2.One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues. 3. When I first chose to study environmental engineering, I did it because I cared deeply about protecting the natural world—its forests, lakes, wildlife, and the planet as a whole. But I’ve come to realize that protecting the environment doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s not just about science or ecosystems. It’s also about helping people—our farmers, our neighbors, our communities—thrive alongside nature. That connection between environmental work and community impact became especially clear to me during my time as a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The project I worked on focused on biochar, a carbon-rich soil additive, and how it influences the colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in alfalfa plants. At first glance, this might sound like a hyper-specific academic topic. But the goal behind it is deeply practical: help farmers in Wisconsin grow healthier alfalfa crops—sustainably, affordably, and with fewer synthetic inputs. Alfalfa is one of the most important forage crops in Wisconsin’s agricultural economy. It supports our dairy farms, our local food systems, and the rural families who depend on successful harvests to make a living. When I realized that my work could help make their jobs easier—and their land more resilient—I started to see environmental engineering not just as a scientific field, but as a way to serve people and solve real-world problems. Our research found that increasing the biochar-to-soil ratio helps AMF thrive. These fungi naturally form relationships with plant roots, improving nutrient absorption and root strength. That means better crop growth with fewer chemicals. For farmers, that could mean less spending on fertilizer and a healthier, more productive soil for years to come. For rural communities, it means a step toward more stable food systems and sustainable land use. The impact of this research goes beyond one plant or one plot of soil. The USDA’s 2022–2026 Strategic Plan identifies biochar as a tool in the fight against climate change, especially because it stores carbon and improves soil quality over time. In this way, our work supports local farmers and contributes to global environmental goals. That dual benefit—stronger local communities and a healthier planet—represents the kind of change I want to create through my career. This research also changed me. It taught me to see science as something that lives outside the lab. I used to think of environmental engineering mostly in terms of infrastructure and conservation projects. But now, I understand how agricultural research is just as vital. It’s where the health of the land meets the needs of the people. And in a state like Wisconsin, where farming is a cornerstone of culture and economy, those needs are both urgent and personal. Before this project, I didn’t see myself as someone who could truly make a difference—especially while still in college. But working directly on a project that may one day help families in my home state opened my eyes. The data I collected, the samples I tested, the observations I made—they weren’t just academic exercises. They were part of a bigger picture. I felt connected to my community in a new and powerful way. It also made me more aware of the importance of equity in environmental solutions. Not every farmer has access to cutting-edge techniques or expensive inputs. If we can develop low-cost, soil-friendly methods to boost crop health—like adding biochar—we can support farmers who are too often left behind in policy and innovation. That matters to me. I want to be part of an environmental movement that includes everyone, especially those doing the hard work of feeding our country. This experience has clarified my vision for the future. I want to work at the intersection of science and service, where environmental engineering is used not just to protect landscapes, but to empower people. Whether I’m designing soil restoration projects, leading sustainable agriculture initiatives, or working on climate adaptation strategies, I want my work to directly benefit the communities I care about. At the end of the day, research taught me that impact doesn’t always come from sweeping gestures or massive inventions. Sometimes, it starts small: with a sample of soil, a plant’s root system, a fungus under the microscope. But when we zoom out, we see the larger effect—healthier crops, stronger local economies, and more sustainable practices. We see families who can stay on their land, communities that are better fed, and ecosystems that begin to recover. That’s the kind of change I want to be part of. That’s why I chose this path. And that’s how research—rooted in science but grounded in community—has made me a better student, a better leader, and a more thoughtful, hopeful future environmental engineer. 4. Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life. Not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child, but you also have to consider your values while helping society. The choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants and to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment will help me have a better future, knowing I did well in making a change and helping to create a healthier world. From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature, exploring, learning, and capturing memories. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside our school building. Due to being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen to major in STEM and major in Environmental Engineering. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. I should be selected to receive this scholarship because of the obstacles I have overcome to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge, and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. 5. One of my biggest goals in the next five years is to become a licensed Environmental Engineer, capable of leading projects that make a measurable impact on environmental sustainability and community resilience. This goal represents both where I want to go professionally and the kind of person I strive to be—someone who combines technical skill with a passion for creating positive change. To reach this goal, I plan to follow a clear path built on education, experience, and certification. First, I will complete my degree in Environmental Engineering along with my certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). My studies are giving me the technical foundation I need to solve complex environmental problems, from water and soil management to climate adaptation planning. GIS is particularly important because it allows me to integrate spatial data and satellite imagery into practical, actionable solutions for land and water resource management. The next step toward my goal is to gain hands-on experience through internships and early career positions in environmental consulting or engineering. I’ve already started building this foundation through my research and environmental internship experience, where I’ve worked with stormwater management, waste tracking, and compliance projects. Over the next five years, I plan to deepen this experience by contributing to projects focused on sustainable agriculture, water quality protection, and climate-resilient infrastructure. At the same time, I will pursue professional licensing by taking and passing the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) Environmental Exam soon after graduation. This will formally establish me as an Engineer in Training (EIT) and mark the first step toward full licensure. After gaining the required work experience under licensed engineers, my plan is to take the PE (Professional Engineer) Environmental Exam to earn my PE license. Achieving this milestone will not only expand my responsibilities but also allow me to sign off on projects that directly impact communities and ecosystems. Throughout this journey, I plan to continue learning, networking, and staying engaged in professional organizations like the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) or environmental engineering groups. These connections will help me stay current with new technologies and best practices, while also giving me opportunities to mentor students or young engineers following a similar path. In five years, I envision myself as a licensed Environmental Engineer working on projects that combine engineering, GIS, and sustainability to solve real-world problems. Whether it’s designing water management systems, improving soil health, or helping communities adapt to climate change, I want to create solutions that last. My plan combines education, experience, and licensure into a clear roadmap—one that takes me from where I am now to a professional who can make a lasting impact. 6. Education has been the foundation of how I’ve come to understand myself and my purpose. For me, learning has never been just about grades or passing classes—it has been about discovering who I am, what I care about, and how I can use my knowledge to make a difference. Inside the classroom, I’ve learned the technical skills that are shaping my career in Environmental Engineering and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Courses in environmental science, hydrology, and mapping taught me how interconnected our world is and how human decisions affect the environment around us. But more importantly, these classes revealed my purpose: to use STEM to protect natural resources and create sustainable solutions for communities. Every lab experiment, project, and lecture gave me another piece of the bigger picture—showing me that I want a career where my work directly impacts people and the planet in a positive way. Outside the classroom, education has shaped me through experiences that built confidence and resilience. Research and internships taught me to face challenges head-on, even when I didn’t know the answers. Learning how to analyze soil samples or work with GIS mapping showed me that education is not just about memorizing information—it’s about applying knowledge to solve real problems. Those moments helped me realize that I thrive when I am using what I’ve learned to create tangible change. Education has also shaped my values of curiosity, persistence, and service. Curiosity drives me to keep asking “why” and “how,” which is essential in both engineering and in life. Persistence has grown from learning that mistakes are part of the process; some of my most valuable lessons came from initial failures in the lab or on projects. Most importantly, education has shown me the value of service—how my skills can support others, whether by mentoring classmates, contributing to environmental research, or planning for sustainable communities. Understanding myself through education has led me to a clear purpose: to use my knowledge to protect the environment, support communities, and inspire others to care about the world we share. Every lesson, in and out of the classroom, has been a step toward that mission. 7. I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has also helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle are that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than to get rid of or change the males around us. We had talked to one of our teachers to be able to use their classroom during our study hour, and he is very supportive of our group, so that we have a safe place to meet together each month. My outcome from this group is gaining my best friend, I had had brief conversations with her before this group, although as we got closer, now she is the best thing to happen to me. She has helped me to become more social and outgoing around others. 8. My dad has been the most significant leader in my life, and with his leadership, he has instilled the same values in me. I have a very similar work ethic to his. With this ethic, I have been able to create great opportunities for myself. When I started at Tanner’s Grill and Bar as a dishwasher three and a half years ago, I would have never imagined what would come out of this high school job. When I became proficient as a dishwasher, I was allowed to start cooking in the kitchen. This took place after only four months on the job because my boss, Logan, had seen my work ethic and priorities. The person who had the role of dishwasher manager had found a new job and left the company. Although I was just a high schooler working with other adults, Logan allowed me to step up and become the new dishwasher manager. I was given this opportunity because of the leadership I had shown over the years. My new role gave me confidence and validated my leadership ability. This new role, on top of cooking, has given me the chance to connect with people on a different level. As the people I train and guide are high schoolers as well, I lead them while being empathetic, supportive, and humble, which I feel has helped me build better connections as their leader. I hope that by being their mentor and guiding them through their job, I will help to instill strong core values in them so they can grow just as I have. This job is important to me because it has helped to create structure and a community in my life, building a routine at work helped me plan and become more organized in my life. It has impacted me greatly because of the people I work with, they have helped me support my goals, overcome obstacles, and better myself as a person. This job has helped me increase my social skills and held me to a higher standard as a person and as an employee. This job has helped influence my educational plans because I know that if I can commit to a high school job this much, it helps me know that I will be able to stick with college and that it will be a good path for me. I have been proud to build the local community with this job because the grill and bar that I work at holds a strong place in Kimberly and has had a place in the residents' hearts for the last twenty-three years. A community is built within the business with the regulars who help to support us as we give back to Kimberly. This is done by helping to host benefit events such as supporting our local high school football team as a tradition before the game. My father stands as the most influential leader in my life, and through his guidance, he has instilled within me a strong set of values. Consequently, my work ethic mirrors his own, a characteristic that has opened numerous doors and presented me with remarkable opportunities. When I first stepped into Tanner’s Grill and Bar as a dishwasher three and a half years ago, little did I know the journey that lay ahead, all stemming from what began as a simple high school job. As my efficiency and skill as a dishwasher grew, I was soon entrusted with the opportunity to work in the kitchen as a cook, a transition that occurred within just four months of starting. My boss, Logan, had taken note of my dedication and commitment, recognizing my prioritization and work ethic. When the dishwasher manager at the time moved on to another position, Logan made an unexpected decision. Despite being a high school student among adult colleagues, I was offered the role of dishwasher manager. This opportunity was extended to me primarily because of the leadership qualities I had consistently demonstrated since joining the team. 9. One of the most defining moments of resourcefulness and resilience in my life happened during my first semester as a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. I had joined a project studying how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots, and I was eager to contribute. But my excitement quickly turned into anxiety when I realized how complex the lab work was. I had to analyze root samples under a microscope, identify colonization structures, and record precise data—tasks I had never done before. There was no clear step-by-step guide, and I worried that any mistake would ruin weeks of research. Instead of letting fear stop me, I decided to be resourceful. I broke the challenge into smaller steps and sought out every tool I could. I reviewed research papers and watched tutorials on AMF root analysis to better understand what I was seeing under the microscope. I asked questions during lab hours, learned from upperclassmen who had done the work before, and scheduled extra time to practice sample staining and identification. Slowly, my skills improved. After weeks of trial and error, I reached the point where I could confidently identify fungal structures and contribute reliable data to the project. I even created a simple guide for future students, hoping to make the process easier for others starting where I had been. From this experience, I learned that resilience is not about never feeling overwhelmed—it’s about continuing to move forward anyway. Resourcefulness, for me, meant being willing to learn in any way I could—through research, collaboration, and practice—until I found a solution. That moment shaped me as both a student and a future engineer. It showed me that challenges are not roadblocks but opportunities to grow and innovate, and that persistence often leads to the breakthroughs we’re most proud of. 10. If I were awarded this scholarship, it would make a meaningful difference in my ability to pursue my dreams of becoming a licensed Environmental Engineer and using my skills to create a more sustainable world. My dream is to protect the environment while supporting the communities that rely on it. Through my degree in Environmental Engineering and my certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), I am preparing to tackle challenges like soil degradation, water pollution, and climate change. My career goal is to work on sustainable land and water management projects that use engineering and GIS data to design solutions that are both practical and impactful. In the long term, I plan to take the FE Environmental Exam and eventually the PE Environmental Exam, allowing me to become a licensed engineer who can lead projects that protect natural resources and build resilience against environmental change. However, pursuing this path comes with financial challenges. I work hard to support myself through college, balancing jobs, internships, and research with my coursework. While I am proud of the independence and work ethic I’ve developed, it often means I have to make difficult choices between work and opportunities like research, mentoring, or professional development. Receiving this scholarship would ease that financial burden, allowing me to focus more on my education, research, and preparation for licensure exams instead of worrying about how to cover tuition and living expenses. Most importantly, this support would give me the freedom to fully invest in the experiences that will shape me into a skilled and community-minded environmental engineer. With your help, I can spend more time contributing to research that improves soil health and water quality, completing my GIS certification, and gaining the experience I need to bring innovative, science-based solutions to the communities I will serve. This scholarship is more than financial support—it is an investment in my dream to turn knowledge into action and to create a lasting, positive impact on the world around me.

I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has also helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle are that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than to get rid of or change the males around us. My outcome from this group is gaining my best friend, I had had brief conversations with her before this group, although as we got closer, now she is the best thing to happen to me. She has helped me to become more social and outgoing around others. I have been able to be very successful despite hardships throughout my life. Another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more education-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoors and actively oriented. With a combination of these types of parents, it changed my lifestyle each time I went back and forth between each house. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life. Not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child, but you also have to consider your values while helping society. The choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants and to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment will help me have a better future, knowing I did well in making a change and helping to create a healthier world. From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature, exploring, learning, and capturing memories. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue is being a Research Assistant at UWGB. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices.

I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school, where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has also helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. One of my significant involvements as an environmental engineering undergraduate so far is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. To me, I feel that becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion towards helping to save our environment. To reach my goals, financial help would be significant to me and the situation I am in. I have put a lot of time and effort into my future, and one of the only things that is holding me back is finances. Therefore this scholarship would be able to ease the financial burden of college debt.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in working to make a difference—big or small is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Through my education combined with this research, I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   This research also changed me. It taught me to see science as something that lives outside the lab. I used to think of environmental engineering mostly in terms of infrastructure and conservation projects. But now, I understand how agricultural research is just as vital. It’s where the health of the land meets the needs of the people. And in a state like Wisconsin, where farming is a cornerstone of culture and economy, those needs are both urgent and personal. Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Engineering with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to address critical environmental issues through science, technology, and data-driven solutions. My goal is to work in sustainable land and water management, helping communities adapt to climate change and protect natural resources. Through my education and hands-on research experience, I’ve developed a passion for applying STEM tools—like GIS mapping and environmental modeling—to solve real-world problems. I plan to continue exploring innovative technologies that support conservation, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture. As I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my lifelong career. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. As an environmental intern, I’ve had the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through a role focused on environmental compliance and sustainability. In this position, I’ve contributed to essential environmental programs, including air permitting, stormwater management, waste tracking, and wastewater treatment. My work involves maintaining records, performing environmental inspections, and helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion to help save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life. Not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child, but it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve the USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues. This research experience has influenced my future goals significantly. By being able to continue this positive research, this scholarship will be able to fund and support my journey toward driving innovation in my chosen field. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion towards helping to save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life. Not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child, but it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve the USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues. This research experience has influenced my future goals significantly. By being able to continue this positive research, this scholarship will be able to fund and support my journey toward driving innovation in my chosen field. Becoming an environmental engineer is more than just a career path for me, it is more of a lifestyle that I have been growing into from a young age and has continued through graduation and beyond. Becoming an environmental engineer is a way for me to put my knowledge and passion towards helping to save our environment. My career as an Environmental Engineer after graduation would help to benefit the environment by working to apply scientific principles and engineering practices to protect, restore, and sustain these ecosystems.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classes were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, and their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, and their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my connection to the environment has been a core part of who I am. My dad, my sister, and I spent most weekends exploring the outdoors—hiking trails, watching wildlife, and learning how ecosystems worked in real time. These moments weren’t just adventures; they were early environmental lessons. My dad, who has always valued the natural world, instilled in me a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. That connection to the environment only grew stronger during my early education at a Montessori school. Situated in a park, our classrooms were often outdoors. We learned science by interacting directly with the natural world—tracking animal prints, studying plant growth, and observing seasonal changes. This immersive experience solidified my understanding that nature isn’t just something to admire—it’s something we’re all responsible for sustaining. As I got older, I started noticing the negative changes around me—trees disappearing, invasive species spreading, water pollution increasing. It became clear that environmental degradation wasn’t a distant problem; it was happening in my own backyard. These observations made a lasting impact and ultimately shaped my academic goals. I knew I wanted to pursue a field that would allow me to make a tangible, positive difference. With strong skills in math and science, environmental engineering became the perfect path. To challenge myself academically, I enrolled at Tesla Engineering Charter School while also attending Appleton East High School. Tesla offered a rigorous STEM curriculum, requiring 32 credits instead of the usual 23, and pushed me to think critically and creatively. This experience not only strengthened my academic foundation but also deepened my interest in applying engineering to real-world environmental challenges. Today, as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, I’ve turned my academic passion into action. I currently work as a research assistant on a study examining how biochar affects arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization in alfalfa roots. Alfalfa is one of Wisconsin’s most important forage crops, and improving its growth sustainably is a major agricultural priority. Our research investigates how different biochar-to-soil ratios influence AMF colonization, which boosts root health and nutrient uptake in plants. Early results show that higher biochar levels support greater AMF colonization and plant growth. This work has the potential to support both environmental and agricultural goals. Biochar, a carbon-rich soil amendment made from organic waste, not only improves crop yields but also enhances soil health and stores carbon long-term—aligning with national climate goals. Similarly, AMF naturally improves soil structure and nutrient cycling, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Through this research, I’m contributing to practical solutions that address food security, climate change, and soil degradation. I’ve also had the chance to share my findings with farmers, community members, and students, sparking conversations about sustainable practices and helping others see how science can be a force for good. More importantly, this experience has shown me the power of using knowledge to serve others. I’m not just working in a lab—I’m helping lay the groundwork for a healthier, more sustainable future. My ultimate goal is to continue developing innovative solutions as an environmental engineer and to inspire others to care for the environment as much as I do. My community has given me the opportunity to grow, explore, and learn. In return, I’m committed to giving back through science, service, and stewardship. Whether I’m volunteering, conducting research, or supporting local initiatives, my goal remains the same: to protect the world that raised me—and make it better for those who come next.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, and their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation.

Choosing a path in life is never easy, especially when it involves balancing personal values and making a positive impact on society. For me, pursuing environmental engineering was a decision rooted in my passion for protecting our environment and improving quality of life for humans, animals, and plants. One of the most rewarding moments where my creativity truly led to success happened during my research at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where I studied how biochar and beneficial fungi could help farmers grow stronger alfalfa crops sustainably. Farmers in Wisconsin face a big challenge: how to increase alfalfa yields without relying on harmful chemicals that degrade soil health. The goal was to find a natural, eco-friendly way to boost plant growth. My creative idea was to combine biochar—a carbon-rich material made from burned organic matter—and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), a natural fungus that helps plants absorb nutrients. I hypothesized that by adjusting the biochar-to-soil ratio, we could stimulate AMF colonization in alfalfa roots and improve growth. However, this idea was easier said than done. The first obstacle was designing an experiment that accurately measured the subtle relationship between biochar amounts and fungal colonization. Early trials were frustrating: inconsistent soil mixtures and unpredictable fungal growth threatened to invalidate results. At one point, a batch of soil samples was accidentally contaminated, forcing me to restart weeks of work. Instead of giving up, I took a step back and applied creativity in my methods. I developed a more precise mixing process for the soil and biochar and created a detailed checklist for sample handling to reduce contamination. I also experimented with different incubation times for the fungi to optimize their colonization. These small but creative adjustments gradually improved the consistency of my data. Finally, the results were clear: higher biochar ratios significantly increased AMF colonization and root growth in alfalfa plants. This finding suggested a practical, sustainable way to help farmers increase yields without chemicals, supporting both agricultural productivity and environmental health. From this experience, I learned that creativity isn’t just about brilliant ideas; it’s also about persistence, adaptability, and problem-solving through trial and error. The obstacles I faced taught me to look beyond initial failures, break down complex problems, and find innovative solutions step-by-step. This project has shaped my approach to problem-solving: combining scientific knowledge with imaginative thinking to develop real-world solutions that benefit society and the environment. It also reinforced my commitment to environmental engineering as a way to protect our planet while helping communities thrive. If creativity is a muscle, this experience was my workout—sometimes messy and frustrating, but ultimately rewarding and strengthening. And if a few muddy gloves are part of the journey, so be it.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, and their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, which helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I grew up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, and their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation.

I have joined two intermural teams, 4s volleyball and 6s volleyball, that I am a part, this is my first opportunity to reach out and become a part of the college community. From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I believe that I could do anything with my life, and I would still choose to help our environment. While it may come with the same career path or maybe something different such as being a DNR warden or an animal biologist. I know that no matter where life takes me, it will always lead me back to helping our environment. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. I have been very successful despite hardships throughout my life, one of the main obstacles being that I am a bisexual woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be academically successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle is that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than to get rid of or change the males around us. The outcome of this group was significant to all of us who were a part of it. We all have similar experiences with the males in our school, and confiding in each other helps us not to feel belittled. We can share our true feelings and not be judged by our peers. We have come to know to confine ourselves in each other where we have comfort and a pragmatic and emotional support system, rather than confronting the males who are causing obstacles in our education.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade, which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our day, we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues that humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School, on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue, as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer, is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. An increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering and math.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main obstacles being that I am a bisexual woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be academically successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle is that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than to get rid of or change the males around us. We had talked to one of our teachers to be able to use their classroom during our study hour and he is very supportive of our group so that we have a safe place to meet together each month. The outcome of this group was significant to all of us who are a part of it. We all have similar experiences with the males in our school, and confining in each other helps us to not feel belittled, we can share our true feelings and not be judged by our peers. We have come to know to confine ourselves in each other where we have comfort and a pragmatic and emotional support system, rather than confronting the males who are causing obstacles in our education. My outcome from this group is gaining my best friend, I had had brief conversations with her before this group, although as we got closer now she is the best thing to happen to me. She has helped me to become more social and outgoing around others. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. This scholarship will help me to continue to do research similar to what I am doing now, and therefore spread my help and knowledge farther to help more people. Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has continued to affect my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoors and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. My sister has the most impact on me, my parents have been divorced since I was three years old, so both my mom and dad have supported me separately in different ways, although I feel my sister has had the greatest impact on me since she was always there for me. Growing up in a struggling household, financially and emotionally, my sister was always there for me whether at my mom's or dad's house, with different experiences she experienced similar things as me, so she was the one to help me the best. My sister has positively impacted by my decisions and my work ethic. She is three years older than me, and although we are taking different paths after high school, she supports me fully and tries her best to always be there for me and connect with me as much as we have time for each other. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, such that my educational goals are to be able to attain a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering and Technology at UW-Green Bay.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

My educational goals are to be able to attain a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering and Technology at UW-Green Bay. With this knowledge and experience, I would like to go on to help preserve and save the environment around us, to help all the people, plants, and animals live healthy and safe lives in this world. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. Such that my educational goals are to be able to attain a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering and Technology at UW-Green Bay.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main obstacles being that I am a bisexual woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. Not only has this affected me negatively academically, but it has helped me to grow as a leader with other women and minorities in our school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be academically successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. Steps that I have taken to overcome this obstacle is that I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Two other women and I had come together to create this group to create a safe place for us within our school. The viewpoint that I equipped to navigate this obstacle was looking for a way to bring us together, rather than to get rid of or change the males around us. We had talked to one of our teachers to be able to use their classroom during our study hour and he is very supportive of our group so that we have a safe place to meet together each month. The outcome of this group was significant to all of us who are a part of it. We all have similar experiences with the males in our school, and confining in each other helps us to not feel belittled, we can share our true feelings and not be judged by our peers. We have come to know to confine ourselves in each other where we have comfort and a pragmatic and emotional support system, rather than confronting the males who are causing obstacles in our education. My outcome from this group is gaining my best friend, I had had brief conversations with her before this group, although as we got closer now she is the best thing to happen to me. She has helped me to become more social and outgoing around others.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has continued to affect my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoors and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. My sister has the most impact on me, my parents have been divorced since I was three years old, so both my mom and dad have supported me separately in different ways, although I feel my sister has had the greatest impact on me since she was always there for me. Growing up in a struggling household, financially and emotionally, my sister was always there for me whether at my mom's or dad's house, with different experiences she experienced similar things as me, so she was the one to help me the best. My sister has positively impacted by my decisions and my work ethic. She is three years older than me, and although we are taking different paths after high school, she supports me fully and tries her best to always be there for me and connect with me as much as we have time for each other. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issues is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. During high school, I was a student at Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, Tesla Engineering Charter School is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role was to be a student and go above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. From a young age, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing memories in nature. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals, this helped me to be able to experience the beauty of diverse ecosystems firsthand. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering. However, as I continued to grow up, I continued to see a decline in diversity and an increase in environmental issues which humans cause the majority. Throughout my academic career, I have always excelled in math and science-based courses, hence my choice to enroll at Tesla Engineering Charter School. My great knowledge of math, science, and my surrounding ecosystems, fueled a positive choice for me to pursue environmental engineering through my college courses and my life-long career. I hope to be able to shed light and increase awareness about our declining environment while helping in every way that I can. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher-yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

Choosing a path is a pivotal decision in one's life, not only do you have to make your first decision in high school, when you are still a child but also it also has to take your values into account, while also helping society. For me, the choice to pursue environmental engineering stems from being able to help our environment and the animals in it. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. One of my significant involvements in addressing an important social issue as well as my career goal as an Environmental Engineer is being a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I am studying the relationship between biochar application and AMF colonization through this research. Increased biochar-to-soil ratio enhances the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in the alfalfa roots, with greater biochar ratios resulting in greater AMF colonization, therefore improving plant growth in comparison to lower or no biochar treatment. Increasing yields of alfalfa, one of the most relied-on forage crops, in an economically and environmentally sustainable way is one of the biggest challenges farmers face in Wisconsin, a leading agricultural state. This research is designed to help farmers enhance plant health by stimulating root growth and improving alfalfa yields and sustainability. This study serves as an initial investigation of how different ratios of biochar to soil will affect the presence of AMF colonization. The combination of biochar and AMF has been shown to increase root growth and increase the colonization of AMF in the root zone, therefore increasing the plant’s nutrient absorption potential. With my findings, I hope to help have higher-yielding crops in the Midwest, especially in my home state of Wisconsin. Higher yielding crops will help to address malnutrition and food poverty throughout the country. AMFs are increasingly relevant in agricultural research, their presence has been shown to strengthen soil health, contributing to increased food production to meet growing global demands and address environmental degradation that we are facing. In addition to helping the farmers with higher-yielding crops, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined in its Strategic Plan for 2022–2026, and identifies biochar as a climate-smart solution for soil enhancement and waste-utilization, supporting sustainable, resilient agricultural solutions. Biochar is recognized as a device for long-term carbon sequestration, helping achieve USDA’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.   Overall, not only am I working to help farmers, but this will positively impact the support for food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and nutrition, and will help to solve related issues.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else.

For me, a community is a group of people who make you feel like you belong and that you are a part of their social circle. Communities can be formed around different values such as religion, sports, school, culture or even just having the same passion for certain things. I think everyone can find a community in some aspects of their lives, just like I have been able to be a part of. I have been working as a cook and a dishwasher manager for the last four years at Tanners Grill and Bar in Kimberly, Wisconsin. This job is important to me because it has helped to create structure and a community in my life, building a routine at work helped me plan and become more organized in my life. It has impacted me greatly because of the people I work with, they have helped me support my goals, overcome obstacles, and better myself as a person. This job has helped me increase my social skills and held me to a higher standard as a person and as an employee. This job has helped influence my educational plans because I know that if I can commit to a high school job this much, it helps me know that I will be able to stick with college and that it will be a good path for me. I have been proud to build the local community with this job because the grill and bar that I work at holds a strong place in Kimberly and has had a place in the residents' hearts for the last twenty-three years. During high school, I found a small community that I could resonate with and feel a sense of belonging. This community has helped me create enduring connections and a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I strive to help others feel involved and the sense of community that I am fortunate to experience. Although there are a few males who may not have been respectful, I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” Women of Tesla is a student-run community where we meet at least two times a month and do bonding activities to come together as women and support each other. I have sought to help my community through opportunities to support my school by helping with concessions during basketball games and have helped people sign up for the blood drive that my high school supports. In addition to volunteering to help Y-Care at my local elementary school, Johnston Elementary School in Appleton, WI. While participating in helping at Appleton East High School's concession stand during home basketball games, this experience has contributed to my personal development as a leader because it has helped me to connect with others, whether it be working together with new people, or increasing my communication skills with others. I was allowed to lead the concessions stand, it was a good opportunity to learn more about various aspects of my school function and allowed me to get more involved with the students, staff, and families of my school community.

I am a graduate of Appleton East High School and Tesla Charter Engineering School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. My current goal is to be able to pay it forward by helping to create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been very successful despite adversity throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.”

Looking back on my life in 30 years, to consider my life as successful, it would take achievement of my current and future goals. My current goals include being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. Another one of my goals is to have a balanced life between my courses, work, and life. This means looking back in 30 years and not regretting the choices I am making now, which may mean changing my plans to better help myself now and also in 30 years. One accomplishment that will be important on this journey of success is to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with high honors, which includes a GPA of 3.75 or higher. This accomplishment would help to lead to my next accomplishment of finding a good long-term career as an environmental engineer. I hope this career will be within an hour of my family so that I can keep a strong relationship with my family throughout my whole life. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact to reduce the pollution in our environment, or whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or to be able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not, will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. During college, I hope to be able to be a part of a community like I am in now. This community has helped me to create enduring connections as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly-found friends was going bowling with them after school. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I strive to help others feel involved and the sense of community that I am fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

College will be a significant part of my life to be able to accomplish my goals. My current goal would be to help create a better future for myself and the environment. As a future environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. During college, I hope to be able to be a part of a community like I am in now. This community has helped me to create enduring connections as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly-found friends was going bowling with them after school. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I strive to help others feel involved and the sense of community that I am fortunate to experience. These goals have grown from what I experienced growing up. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

The first core value that defines me largely as a friend is community. The community I feel closest to has helped me to create enduring connections as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly-found friends was going bowling with them after school. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I try to make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience. Another fundamental core value that defines me is leadership, more specifically in my workplace. My dad has been the most significant leader in my life, and with his leadership, he has instilled the same values in me. I have a very similar work ethic to his. With this ethic, I have been able to create great opportunities for myself. When I started at Tanner’s Grill and Bar as a dishwasher three and a half years ago, I would have never imagined what would come out of this high school job. When I became proficient as a dishwasher, I was allowed to start cooking in the kitchen. This took place after only four months on the job because my boss, Logan, had seen my work ethic and priorities, later on he allowed me to step up and become the new dishwasher manager. I was given this opportunity because of the leadership I had shown over the years. My new role gave me confidence and validated my leadership ability. This new role, on top of cooking, has given me the chance to connect with people on a different level. As the people I train and guide are high schoolers as well, I lead them while being empathetic, supportive, and humble, which I feel has helped me build better connections as their leader. I hope that by being their mentor and guiding them through their job, I will help to instill strong core values in them so they can grow just as I have. A third core value instilled in me from birth is loyalty. My sister was the one to help me build this core value in myself, and she has had the most significant impact on me. My parents have been divorced since I was three years old, so both my mom and dad have supported me in different ways. However, my sister has had the greatest impact on me since we were always there for each other. Growing up in struggling households, financially and emotionally, my sister was always there for me, whether at my mom's or dad's house. We experienced similar things that impacted us in comparable ways. My sister is three years older than me, and although we are taking different paths after high school, we will support each other fully and always be there for each other, no matter the distance.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view on our environment and lead to better treatment. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. Adversity that I have faced is being a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful and I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

Minecraft has been a top three favorite game for many people born in Gen Z and Gen Alpha, an iconic game known worldwide. Not only is it a video game, but it can offer a positive influence on education and career development. Minecraft can have a positive influence on careers because it opens up new possibilities in computer science and coding, and the career paths of video game developers or software testers. Minecraft is also a positive influence on education developments by increasing cognitive skills, and increasing social skills. Minecraft can be a positive influence on education development because it can increase cognitive skills. Minecraft increases concentration, creativity, memories, and teamwork; which are all core aspects needed in life and education. If someone had started playing Minecraft at a younger age, these skills would also be crucial for social skills as they grow up. Having social skills is an important skill to have in life, whether that be during the education path of life, or career path, the development of this skill will help someone be more prepared to take on any situation. Minecraft can positively influence career development because, from a young age, it opens up new possibilities in computer science and coding. From a younger age, I had gotten into watching Minecraft YouTubers play Minecraft with new things and game modes coded in, this experience has helped me become more interested in coding. For others who may get more interested in computer science, it can become a career for them. This also applies for video game developers or software testers, Minecraft has infinitely many possibilities, as a free roam game, it is a great job to help teach software testers, because of its consistent updates to the game.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood experiences; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly.

I have been very successful despite adversity throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

In my 8th grade year of middle school, I joined our GSA group, where we would meet twice a week until COVID shut down our world. I had moved schools and at my new school, I have been unable to find that same sense of LGBTQ+ community within my school. Now as I go off to college with a more open world, I strive to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community at my college. While I have already looked into their programs, groups, and inclusive living programs, I hope to be able to stretch that feeling of security and belonging for myself, and anyone else who may be a part of my community. One way to help stretch the feeling of security and belonging is to let people choose their identities and labels, instead of conforming everyone to man, woman, or nonbinary, they should feel comfortable enough to identify however they choose. This also goes along with pronouns, instead of having only he/him, she/her, and they/them when asked what our pronouns are, it would make beginning steps if people start asking their preferred pronouns instead of assuming they use one of those three identifying pronouns. Stereotypes and expectations of dress code, language, and knowledge are also issues that should be changed, everyone is different in their own way, and no one should be making people feel left out just because everyone is different. While college is my next step in life, I hope to continue to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community in my future workplaces as well, this will greatly start with encouraging employees to express themselves for who they are, and not how people think they should act in a workplace. There should be policies put in place, just like with racial minorities, to eradicate harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies that workplaces use to lessen the value of minorities' work and lifestyle. One thing that I hope to be able to make an impact with is having more LGBTQ+ allies, this would be able to be done by having a more positive light being shed on LGBTQ+ communities to the discriminatory people. This could be done by asking more open-ended questions and getting to more about LGBTQ+ experiences and lives, without just assuming certain things about them. We have seen this improve since the gay liberation movements from the 1960s to the 1980s, while I was not born yet during that time, I have seen that if we take away more of the negative connotations around the LGBTQ+ community, then more people will be willing to accept and understand who they are as people, and seeing them as more than just their gender or sexual identity. I believe that any positive impact is a step in the right direction. This means by even getting a small group of people to support LGBTQ+, that support means the world and will help us stand up for ourselves, even if the rest of the world is hating on us. A little support goes a long way, and I think that should be recognized a lot, although the real change that should be made is within ourselves, where we know ourselves best.

The first core value that defines my character largely as a friend is community. The community I feel closest to has helped me to create enduring connections as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly-found friends was going bowling with them after school. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I try to make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience. Another fundamental core value that defines me is leadership, more specifically in my workplace. My dad has been the most significant leader in my life, and with his leadership, he has instilled the same values in me. I have a very similar work ethic to his. With this ethic, I have been able to create great opportunities for myself. When I started at Tanner’s Grill and Bar as a dishwasher three and a half years ago, I would have never imagined what would come out of this high school job. When I became proficient as a dishwasher, I was allowed to start cooking in the kitchen. This took place after only four months on the job because my boss, Logan, had seen my work ethic and priorities. The person who had the role of dishwasher manager had found a new job and left the company. Although I was just a high schooler working with other adults, Logan allowed me to step up and become the new dishwasher manager. I was given this opportunity because of the leadership I had shown over the years. My new role gave me confidence and validated my leadership ability. This new role, on top of cooking, has given me the chance to connect with people on a different level. As the people I train and guide are high schoolers as well, I lead them while being empathetic, supportive, and humble, which I feel has helped me build better connections as their leader. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. These goals have grown from what I experienced growing up. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. My sister has also made the biggest impact on me to go to college and pursue higher education. My parents have been divorced since I was three years old, so both my mom and dad have supported me separately in different ways, although I feel my sister has had the greatest impact on me since she was always there for me. Growing up in a struggling household, financially and emotionally, my sister was always there for me whether at my mom's or dad's house, with different experiences she experienced similar things as me, so she was the one to help me the best. My sister has positively impacted by my decisions and my work ethic. She is three years older than me, and although we are taking different paths after high school, she supports me fully and tries her best to always be there for me and connect with me as much as we have time for each other. With her, I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. A time when my hard work paid off is being able to buy and pay off my truck for $17,000, on top of already having $35,000 saved up for college even before I started attending college. All my nights working at my job for the last four years had paid off, and I am so proud of myself because that was one of the main goals that I had, and the main thing I was saving up for from when I first started working up until then. Being able to know that I worked hard to be able to earn my truck and my college education makes me feel very appreciated for the opportunities that I was able to work towards. I have put a lot of my time, effort, and savings into getting to this point, and with no financial support from anyone else, I am very proud of myself for how much effort I have put into my work to get to this point in my life, accomplishing some of my biggest goals.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

In my 8th grade year of middle school, I joined our GSA group, where we would meet twice a week until COVID shut down our world. I had moved schools and at my new school, I have been unable to find that same sense of LGBTQ+ community within my school. Now as I go off to college with a more open world, I strive to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community at my college. While I have already looked into their programs, groups, and inclusive living programs, I hope to be able to stretch that feeling of security and belonging for myself, and anyone else who may be a part of my community. One way to help stretch the feeling of security and belonging is to let people choose their identities and labels, instead of conforming everyone to man, woman, or nonbinary, they should feel comfortable enough to identify however they choose. This also goes along with pronouns, instead of having only he/him, she/her, and they/them when asked what our pronouns are, it would make beginning steps if people start asking their preferred pronouns instead of assuming they use one of those three identifying pronouns. Stereotypes and expectations of dress code, language, and knowledge are also issues that should be changed, everyone is different in their own way, and no one should be making people feel left out just because everyone is different. While college is my next step in life, I hope to continue to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community in my future workplaces as well, this will greatly start with encouraging employees to express themselves for who they are, and not how people think they should act in a workplace. There should be policies put in place, just like with racial minorities, to eradicate harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies that workplaces use to lessen the value of minorities' work and lifestyle. One thing that I hope to be able to make an impact with is having more LGBTQ+ allies, this would be able to be done by having a more positive light being shed on LGBTQ+ communities to the discriminatory people. This could be done by asking more open-ended questions and getting to more about LGBTQ+ experiences and lives, without just assuming certain things about them. We have seen this improve since the gay liberation movements from the 1960s to the 1980s, while I was not born yet during that time, I have seen that if we take away more of the negative connotations around the LGBTQ+ community, then more people will be willing to accept and understand who they are as people, and seeing them as more than just their gender or sexual identity. I believe that any positive impact is a step in the right direction. This means by even getting a small group of people to support LGBTQ+, that support means the world and will help us stand up for ourselves, even if the rest of the world is hating on us. A little support goes a long way, and I think that should be recognized a lot, although the real change that should be made is within ourselves, where we know ourselves best.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $23,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $9,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $5,301.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering Technology from the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay. In my 8th grade year of middle school, I joined our GSA group, where we would meet twice a week until COVID shut down our world. I had moved schools and at my new school, I have been unable to find that same sense of LGBTQ+ community within my school. Now as I go off to college with a more open world, I strive to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community at my college. While I have already looked into their programs, groups, and inclusive living programs, I hope to be able to stretch that feeling of security and belonging for myself, and anyone else who may be a part of my community. One way to help stretch the feeling of security and belonging is to let people choose their identities and labels, instead of conforming everyone to man, woman, or nonbinary, they should feel comfortable enough to identify however they choose. This also goes along with pronouns, instead of having only he/him, she/her, and they/them when asked what our pronouns are, it would make beginning steps if people start asking their preferred pronouns instead of assuming they use one of those three identifying pronouns. Stereotypes and expectations of dress code, language, and knowledge are also issues that should be changed, everyone is different in their own way, and no one should be making people feel left out just because everyone is different. While college is my next step in life, I hope to continue to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community in my future workplaces as well, this will greatly start with encouraging employees to express themselves for who they are, and not how people think they should act in a workplace. There should be policies put in place, just like with racial minorities, to eradicate harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies that workplaces use to lessen the value of minorities' work and lifestyle. One thing that I hope to be able to make an impact with is having more LGBTQ+ allies, this would be able to be done by having a more positive light being shed on LGBTQ+ communities to the discriminatory people. This could be done by asking more open-ended questions and getting to more about LGBTQ+ experiences and lives, without just assuming certain things about them. We have seen this improve since the gay liberation movements from the 1960s to the 1980s, while I was not born yet during that time, I have seen that if we take away more of the negative connotations around the LGBTQ+ community, then more people will be willing to accept and understand who they are as people, and seeing them as more than just their gender or sexual identity. I believe that any positive impact is a step in the right direction. This means by even getting a small group of people to support LGBTQ+, that support means the world, and will help us stand up for ourselves, even if the rest of the world is hating on us. A little support goes a long way, and I think that should be recognized a lot, although the real change that should be made is within ourselves, where we know ourselves best.

In my 8th grade year of middle school, I joined our GSA group, where we would meet twice a week until COVID shut down our world. I had moved schools and at my new school, I have been unable to find that same sense of LGBTQ+ community within my school. Now as I go off to college with a more open world, I strive to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community at my college. While I have already looked into their programs, groups, and inclusive living programs, I hope to be able to stretch that feeling of security and belonging for myself, and anyone else who may be a part of my community. One way to help stretch the feeling of security and belonging is to let people choose their identities and labels, instead of conforming everyone to man, woman, or nonbinary, they should feel comfortable enough to identify however they choose. This also goes along with pronouns, instead of having only he/him, she/her, and they/them when asked what our pronouns are, it would make beginning steps if people start asking their preferred pronouns instead of assuming they use one of those three identifying pronouns. Stereotypes and expectations of dress code, language, and knowledge are also issues that should be changed, everyone is different in their own way, and no one should be making people feel left out just because everyone is different. While college is my next step in life, I hope to continue to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community in my future workplaces as well, this will greatly start with encouraging employees to express themselves for who they are, and not how people think they should act in a workplace. There should be policies put in place, just like with racial minorities, to eradicate harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies that workplaces use to lessen the value of minorities' work and lifestyle. One thing that I hope to be able to make an impact with is having more LGBTQ+ allies, this would be able to be done by having a more positive light being shed on LGBTQ+ communities to the discriminatory people. This could be done by asking more open-ended questions and getting to more about LGBTQ+ experiences and lives, without just assuming certain things about them. We have seen this improve since the gay liberation movements from the 1960s to the 1980s, while I was not born yet during that time, I have seen that if we take away more of the negative connotations around the LGBTQ+ community, then more people will be willing to accept and understand who they are as people, and seeing them as more than just their gender or sexual identity. I believe that any positive impact is a step in the right direction. This means by even getting a small group of people to support LGBTQ+, that support means the world, and will help us stand up for ourselves, even if the rest of the world is hating on us. A little support goes a long way, and I think that should be recognized a lot, although the real change that should be made is within ourselves, where we know ourselves best.

My name is Carissa Ashman, I am a graduate of Appleton East High School and Tesla Engineering Charter School. I plan to obtain a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering Technology from the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay. In my 8th grade year of middle school, I joined our GSA group, where we would meet twice a week until COVID shut down our world. I had moved schools and at my new school, I have been unable to find that same sense of LGBTQ+ community within my school. Now as I go off to college with a more open world, I strive to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community at my college. While I have already looked into their programs, groups, and inclusive living programs, I hope to be able to stretch that feeling of security and belonging for myself, and anyone else who may be a part of my community. One way to help stretch the feeling of security and belonging is to let people choose their identities and labels, instead of conforming everyone to man, woman, or nonbinary, they should feel comfortable enough to identify however they choose. This also goes along with pronouns, instead of having only he/him, she/her, and they/them when asked what our pronouns are, it would make beginning steps if people start asking their preferred pronouns instead of assuming they use one of those three identifying pronouns. Stereotypes and expectations of dress code, language, and knowledge are also issues that should be changed, everyone is different in their own way, and no one should be making people feel left out just because everyone is different. While college is my next step in life, I hope to continue to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community in my future workplaces as well, this will greatly start with encouraging employees to express themselves for who they are, and not how people think they should act in a workplace. There should be policies put in place, just like with racial minorities, to eradicate harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies that workplaces use to lessen the value of minorities' work and lifestyle. One thing that I hope to be able to make an impact with is having more LGBTQ+ allies, this would be able to be done by having a more positive light being shed on LGBTQ+ communities to the discriminatory people. This could be done by asking more open-ended questions and getting to more about LGBTQ+ experiences and lives, without just assuming certain things about them. We have seen this improve since the gay liberation movements from the 1960s to the 1980s, while I was not born yet during that time, I have seen that if we take away more of the negative connotations around the LGBTQ+ community, then more people will be willing to accept and understand who they are as people, and seeing them as more than just their gender or sexual identity. I believe that any positive impact is a step in the right direction. This means by even getting a small group of people to support LGBTQ+, that support means the world and will help us stand up for ourselves, even if the rest of the world is hating on us. A little support goes a long way, and I think that should be recognized a lot, although the real change that should be made is within ourselves, where we know ourselves best.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly changed my mind and who I was as a person. While staying home, I loved the online schooling and it made me more involved and more focused on the work with the way it was taught. In addition to better schooling, staying home helped me connect better with my family after drifting away from them before the pandemic.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer with a Bachelor's degree is Environmental Engineering Technology. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32 credits. I should be selected to receive the Eitel Scholarship because of the obstacles that I have overcome throughout my life to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This experience is on top of my childhood; for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the world's beauty. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major in college. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with many plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. By becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32 credits. I should be selected to receive the —-------------------------------------------------- because of the obstacles that I have overcome throughout my life to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 54 students.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. One of the requirements for this STEM-based school is to take AP Calculus AB, which I had taken my senior year of high school. While I have always enjoyed math, this course has been able to broaden my knowledge and understand more concepts within the STEM fields. Calculus can be used in almost all field of STEM, and help to connect how field parts of the field may connect to each other.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else. My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly found friends was going bowling with them on a four-day weekend. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. In addition to my high school career, for most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. In addition to my experiences during high school, for most of my life, my dad has led me through life teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to help create a better future for myself and the environment because it would help to achieve my current and future goals. My educational goal includes being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water, or provide more sustainable lifestyles. That last positive impact is where I believe the shift toward EVs is the best path for improving global mobility and environmental health. The top two human activities that are most responsible for greenhouse gasses are burning fossil fuels for electricity, and transportation. The one overlapping cause of these two main activities is vehicles, there is almost one car per person in the United States. With this EVs only make up 1% of the vehicles being manufactured. This shows that shifting toward EVs is the best path for improving global mobility and environmental health because it will start by reducing the main problem from the sources and cleaning up afterward. This is because we are currently trying to clean up our environment, without solving the root of the issue. Shifting towards EVs will help to create a cleaner, safer, and more efficient mode of transportation for everyone who currently owns a fossil fuel-powered vehicle. Oil is the main fossil fuel that powers gas-powered vehicles, although it is a nonrenewable resource. In the future, we will eventually run out of oil and will have to move to a different source of energy, but if we start to shift toward EVs, then we can help to create a more sustainable future by lowering our dependency on oil and other fossil fuels. Not only will it help in the future but it will help to improve environmental health and human health. With a slow shift to EVs, as we are seeing currently, illnesses will start to go down with the reduced vehicle emissions. As well as the dependency on clean energy we will be taking fewer resources from the environment while driving zero-emissions vehicles which will improve our air quality and reduce water, air, ground, and thermal pollution. EVs are the best way to contribute to improving our modes of transportation and energy transformations, which are best if they are renewable resources. A shift to EVs is a positive shift, although it would be best if a significant amount of people in first-world countries would be willing to make the shift because that would help to save the health of our entire planet without having to make very significant shifts in their lifestyles, whereas they would still be able to drive and travel elsewhere.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.”

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

In my 8th grade year of middle school, I joined our GSA group, where we would meet twice a week until COVID shut down our world. I had moved schools and at my new school, I have been unable to find that same sense of LGBTQ+ community within my school. Now as I go off to college with a more open world, I strive to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community at my college. While I have already looked into their programs, groups, and inclusive living programs, I hope to be able to stretch that feeling of security and belonging for myself, and anyone else who may be a part of my community. My current goal would be to help create a better future for myself and the environment because it would help to achieve my current and future goals. My educational goals include being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. One way to help stretch the feeling of security and belonging is to let people choose their identities and labels, instead of conforming everyone to man, woman, or nonbinary, they should feel comfortable enough to identify however they choose. This also goes along with pronouns, instead of having only he/him, she/her, and they/them when asked what our pronouns are, it would make beginning steps if people start asking their preferred pronouns instead of assuming they use one of those three identifying pronouns. Stereotypes and expectations of dress code, language, and knowledge are also issues that should be changed, everyone is different in their own way, and no one should be making people feel left out just because everyone is different. While college is my next step in life, I hope to continue to make an impact in the LGBTQ+ community in my future workplaces as well, this will greatly start with encouraging employees to express themselves for who they are, and not how people think they should act in a workplace. There should be policies put in place, just like with racial minorities, to eradicate harassment, bullying, and discrimination policies that workplaces use to lessen the value of minorities' work and lifestyle. One thing that I hope to be able to make an impact with is having more LGBTQ+ allies, this would be able to be done by having a more positive light being shed on LGBTQ+ communities to the discriminatory people. This could be done by asking more open-ended questions and getting to more about LGBTQ+ experiences and lives, without just assuming certain things about them. We have seen this improve since the gay liberation movements from the 1960s to the 1980s, while I was not born yet during that time, I have seen that if we take away more of the negative connotations around the LGBTQ+ community, then more people will be willing to accept and understand who they are as people, and seeing them as more than just their gender or sexual identity. I believe that any positive impact is a step in the right direction. This means by even getting a small group of people to support LGBTQ+, that support means the world, and will help us stand up for ourselves, even if the rest of the world is hating on us. A little support goes a long way, and I think that should be recognized a lot, although the real change that should be made is within ourselves, where we know ourselves best.

I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32 credits. I should be selected to receive the North Star Dreamers Memorial Scholarship because of the obstacles that I have overcome throughout my life to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else. Like the rest of the world, the COVID pandemic is an experience that has greatly changed me and my mindset. During the middle of the pandemic and online school, I started high school at a new distraction with no friends at this new school, while leaving behind my old friends. In middle school, I was starting to go down a bad path, lacking in school, retreating from my friends, and slipping away from family. Although the COVID-19 pandemic greatly changed my mind and who I was as a person. While staying home, I loved the online schooling and it made me more involved and more focused on the work with the way it was taught. In addition to better schooling, staying home helped me connect better with my family after drifting away from them before the pandemic. When we went back to school, masks and all, it was a different school and district than I was in before the pandemic, I started to make new friends and now I feel better connected to my new friends than I ever have been to any of my friends. Unlike many in the world, the COVID pandemic positively changed me in several ways and helped to make me a better and stronger person.

I show leadership in my life by being a manager at my job. I work to lead and guide the employees to do the best that they can while being responsible and respectful about it. I lead in my classes by setting good examples, being respectful to my teachers and other students, as well as getting my work done and turned in on time while sustaining excellent grades. I show leadership in my community by helping to volunteer in my community by helping with sports concessions, helping to connect with young elementary students, and guiding them towards a good path in life. I have been working as a cook and a dishwasher manager for the last three years at Tanners Grill and Bar in Kimberly, Wisconsin. I have been proud to build the community with this job because the grill and bar that I work at holds a strong place in the village of Kimberly and has a place in most resident's hearts. A community is built within the business as well as regulars who help to support us as we give back to the community. This is done by helping to host benefit events, as well as supporting our local high school football team as a tradition before the game to eat our food to do well. This builds up the community around us because it builds structure in our village and helps to bring everyone together. This job is important to me because it has helped to create structure in my life, building a routine at work helped me plan and become more organized in my life. It has impacted me greatly because of the people I work with, they have helped me support my goals, overcome obstacles, and better myself as a person. My responsibilities as a cook are to stay on task while planning, preparing, and cooking food items, while also keeping a clean and safe environment within the kitchen. As a dishwasher manager, I am responsible for scheduling and dealing with scheduling conflicts among the several dishwashers we have. Being able to manage these people has helped me increase my social skills and held me to a higher standard as a person and as an employee. As a part of the Student Leadership Program, I have been able to tour and discover different job opportunities within my community, as well as to help build up my leadership and social skills. My role is to be a leader among other people and to be a student to learn new skills to help me in everyday life. And as a part of the National Honors Society my role is to be a student and to help support the community around me. I show leadership by leading as an example to others around me where I hope to inspire them to help out our community just like I am.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. Like the rest of the world, the COVID pandemic is an experience that has greatly changed me and my mindset. During the middle of the pandemic and online school, I started high school at a new distraction with no friends at this new school, while leaving behind my old friends. While staying home, I loved the online schooling and it made me more involved and more focused on the work with the way it was taught. In addition to better schooling, staying home helped me connect better with my family after drifting away from them before the pandemic. When we went back to school, masks and all, it was a different school district than I was in before the pandemic, I started to make new friends and now I feel better connected to my new friends than I ever have been to any of my friends. Unlike many in the world, the COVID pandemic positively changed me in several ways and helped to make me a better and stronger person.

I have been very successful despite hardship throughout my life, one of the main hardships being that I am a woman in STEM, more specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate us, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge. One specific hardship I have faced on this is a guy making belittling comments on my final project of constructing a 3-dimensional house model. The main reason these guys had said these things was because of the difference in our genders. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. I have gotten support from other women in our engineering school where we meet about once a month, as we are called “Women of Tesla.” I have been able to be very successful despite hardship throughout my life, another one of the main hardships is having divorced parents. I live between both houses half of my time, although they only live about seven miles away from each other, it has affected my life since I was three years old, several times a week. Having them divorced when I was three years old, they both had different parenting styles. My mom was more educational-oriented, whereas my dad was more outdoor and actively orientated. With a combination of these types of parents, it did change my lifestyle each time I went back and forth from each house. Although this helped me succeed because it helped me get two different perspectives and teaching, I took this opportunity to grow as a person through both of their lessons, rather than them coming together and only teaching me one life path, such as what other married parents may do. Having divorced parents also came with switching schools and houses every few years. Although I was able to succeed despite this hardship I was able to overcome the biggest issue of having fewer friends due to moving. Whether going back and forth from my parent's houses, attending six different schools by the time I was in 9th grade, or living in 10 different houses by the time I was 13 years old. The one thing that stayed consistent the entire time was having my older sister by my side. From a young age, we have always been close, and have gotten even closer after the COVID pandemic spread. She was the one consistency in my life and she understood the most about my lifestyle, this brought us closer together than I could be with anyone else.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly found friends was going bowling with them on a four-day weekend. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience. For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, financial aid from scholarships, such as this one, would help greatly. Winning this scholarship would help me achieve my current goal of graduating college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

My current goal is to be able to help create a better future for myself and the environment as an Environmental Engineer. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. I have been able to experience skills and training in STEAM industries. This has been done throughout my high school career. I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEAM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This scholarship will help me to graduate college with little to no debt I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $23,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $7,301.

I have been working as a cook and a dishwasher manager for the last three years at Tanners Grill and Bar in Kimberly, Wisconsin. I have been proud to build the community with this job because the grill and bar that I work at holds a strong place in the village of Kimberly and has a place in most resident's hearts. A community is built within the business as well as regulars who help to support us as we give back to the community. This is done by helping to host benefit events, as well as supporting our local high school football team as a tradition before the game to eat our food to do well. This builds up the community around us because it builds structure in our village and helps to bring everyone together. This job is important to me because it has helped to create structure in my life, building a routine at work helped me plan and become more organized in my life. It has impacted me greatly because of the people I work with, they have helped me support my goals, overcome obstacles, and better myself as a person. My responsibilities as a cook are to stay on task while planning, preparing, and cooking food items, while also keeping a clean and safe environment within the kitchen. As a dishwasher manager, I am responsible for scheduling and dealing with scheduling conflicts among the several dishwashers we have. Being able to manage these people has helped me increase my social skills and held me to a higher standard as a person and as an employee. I am also a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School. It is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32.5 credits. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. After COVID began to recede, I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly found friends was going bowling with them on a four-day weekend. This was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience.

I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32 credits. I should be selected to receive the Schmid Memorial Scholarship because of the obstacles that I have overcome throughout my life to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32 credits. I should be selected to receive the Kalia D. Davis Memorial Scholarship because of the obstacles that I have overcome throughout my life to get to where I am now. One of the main hardships is that I am a woman in STEM, specifically in a male-dominated engineering school. With the males being the majority, they feel they dominate the women, and with that, they underestimate my projects and just my overall knowledge and they speak poorly because of our gender differences. Although they think less of me, I have been able to be successful. Statistically speaking, I am more successful than most of the class because I have a class rank of 5th out of 52. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt. My long-term goal after college graduation is to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer.

I am a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. This is the community I feel closest to, it has helped me to create enduring connections, as well as a pragmatic and emotional support system. I attended five different schools before finishing out my high school career at Tesla Engineering Charter School with a graduating class of 52 people. Switching schools six times in 12 years meant not feeling a sense of belonging. I started to become closer with the other students and teachers in my school. One of my first strong bonds with these newly found friends was going bowling with them, this was one of the first times I didn't feel as if I had to try to fit in. It is where I felt I belonged the most in this world, not knowing what I was missing until I found it with them. Seeing how this community has significantly helped me after feeling left out throughout my childhood, I try to make everyone else feel involved and feel the sense of community that I was fortunate to experience. I have been working as a cook and a dishwasher manager for the last three years at Tanners Grill and Bar in Kimberly, Wisconsin. I have been proud to build the community with this job because the grill and bar that I work at holds a strong place in the village of Kimberly and has a place in most resident's hearts. A community is built within the business as well as regulars who help to support us as we give back to the community. This is done by helping to host benefit events, as well as supporting our local high school football team as a tradition before the game to eat our food to do well. This builds up the community around us because it builds structure in our village and helps to bring everyone together. This job is important to me because it has helped to create structure in my life, building a routine at work helped me plan and become more organized in my life. It has impacted me greatly because of the people I work with, they have helped me support my goals, overcome obstacles, and better myself as a person. My current goal would be to help create a better future for myself and the environment because it would help to achieve my current and future goals. My educational goals include being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world.

For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. My current goal would be to help create a better future for myself and the environment because it would help to achieve my current and future goals. My educational goals include being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. One accomplishment that will be important on this journey of success is to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with high honors, which includes a GPA of 3.75 or higher. This accomplishment would help to lead to my next accomplishment of finding a good long-term career as an environmental engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our environment, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world.

For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I am also a student of Tesla Charter Engineering School on top of being a student at Appleton East High School, it is a STEM and engineering-based school that has helped to advance my knowledge and interest in engineering. My role is being a student and going above and beyond the standard Appleton East graduation requirements. I have committed a lot of time to this school because, on top of Appleton East's graduation requirement of 23 credits, Tesla Charter Engineering School's graduation requirement is 32 credits. In addition, I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While we all know that college is expensive, my total cost of college at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is, on average, $20,237 per year before any aid. To help pay for college, I already have a computer that I can use, and I have a lot of money saved up for all my costs for the first three semesters. Breaking down the expenses, tuition is $7,873, housing and food plan is $8,063, and the other expenses are about $4,301. I plan to pay for college mostly with the money I have saved up through my job at Tanner’s Grill and Bar since 2020. While I have saved approximately 65% of the money I have made to go toward my college expenses, whereas about 30% has gone towards paying off my truck and all its expenses, the other 5% has been spent on other, everyday things. My parents are divorced, so they are each working to support themselves and myself. They would be unable to pay for my college path, while also paying the bills of their houses and vehicles. I do not come from a family that makes a lot of money, so money is prioritized for the important needs of my family, and while college is important for my future, they do not have the money to support me in college. While I do not have support from any family, or the government, I need financial aid from scholarships, such as this one. Winning this scholarship would help me to achieve my current goal of being able to graduate college as an Environmental Engineer.

For most of my life, my dad has led me through life, teaching me many things about the environment and protecting the world around us. My dad, my sister, and I would spend most of our weekends out in nature exploring, learning, and capturing the beauty of the world. In addition to learning from my dad, I also went to a Montessori school from first grade through third grade which greatly impacted my decision to pursue a STEM major. At Montessori, my school was in a large park with a great variety of plants and animals. Most of our days we would do activities outside and be able to interact with nature right outside of our school building. As a result of being surrounded by nature for the majority of my childhood, I have come to respect and protect the environment around us. I have chosen that by becoming a STEM major and majoring in Environmental Engineering, I will be able to use applied sciences and mathematics to help preserve the environment around us. My current goal would be to help create a better future for myself and the environment because it would help to achieve my current and future goals. My educational goals include being able to graduate college within three years with little to no student debt, my long-term goal after college graduation is to be able to acquire a long-term career as an Environmental Engineer. One accomplishment that will be important on this journey of success is to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with high honors, which includes a GPA of 3.75 or higher. This accomplishment would help to lead to my next accomplishment of finding a good long-term career as an environmental engineer. As an environmental engineer, I hope to make a positive impact within my field, whether that be done by making a greater impact on reducing the pollution in our environment and oceans, whether it be improving widespread recycling and waste management, or being able to provide clean water access to areas that are not privileged or managed well enough to have access to large amounts of clean water. This would be able to prevent the pollution from coming from the land that goes to our streams, and lakes that eventually end up in our oceans. Overall, my main goal is to improve the quality of life for humans, animals, and plants; being able to help our ocean, the living or not. This will help humans have a better view and hopefully lead to better treatment of our environment. Having humans improve their view of our environment, will help me have a better future knowing I did well in making change and helping to create a healthier world. Creating a healthier world and environment in my local environment will help to prevent pollution and waste from entering our oceans and affecting our marine biology.