My plan for life after high school is to get a Mechanical Engineering degree with a Minor in Aerospace at the University of Nevada, Reno. Using that degree, I plan to fulfill my dreams of becoming a civilian contractor for a defense company such as Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to work for those companies designing and working with cutting edge technology. Getting this scholarship will enable me to follow those dreams as I currently don't have the means to attend college. To expand on that, I have a large family of six people living together in Las Vegas, Nevada and am the oldest of four brothers approaching college. Three of us are in high school currently as senior, junior and freshman. Each of us are accelerated high achievers and looking forward to college depending on how much we can each raise and earn. I have been accepted to UNR and my goal is to graduate from there with a Mechanical Engineering degree with an Aerospace Engineering minor. I have saved my money from my summer job as a lifeguard for the past two years as well as birthday and holiday money from my grandparents over the years. Our family has not been able to save enough for college while having to pay for everyday living, on top of the fact that our savings went down while my dad was unemployed for three years after the pandemic. Recently, we have had a lot of medical expenses as well. My mom broke her ankle and wrist in September 2024 requiring multiple surgeries and leaving her unable to do much of anything, especially work, for the remainder of the year. This has been a source of high stress and hardship for the family since we have had to take on her workload. This was tough on my family specifically because it is larger than most. Overall, I am raising $13,500 for the first year (or $54,000 for four years) to be able to stay on campus in the dorms and cover meal expenses. To elaborate on my interest in Mechanical Engineering, it stems from being a part of the VEX Robotics Competition and First Robotics Competition. Participating in those made me realize that I like designing and problem solving. My role on the team is a jack of all trades, I do the electronical, mechanical, programming and drive the bot. Also, as a senior member, I mentor newer students and teach them how to do Robotics. This is why I'm interested in Mechanical Engineering; it will give me the resources and knowledge to continue doing what I enjoy. I want to be able to continue doing things like that and I believe that Mechanical Engineering will allow me to do that. Some more experience I have with Mechanical Engineer is my time spent building a fully autonomous UAV. My school requires us to complete a senior year project. My group, 3 of us, decided we wanted to build a drone and test different propellor designs to cut down on propellor noise. We successfully built the drone. Through my experience building and programming the drone, I have learned a lot about the engineering process, which has solidified my decision to become a Mechanical Engineer. In the end, this scholarship will allow me to follow my dreams of becoming a Mechanical Engineer by providing me the means to achieve that dream.

My plan for life after high school is to get a Mechanical Engineering degree with a Minor in Aerospace at the University of Nevada, Reno. Using that degree, I plan to fulfill my dreams of becoming a civilian contractor for a defense company such as Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to work for those companies designing and working with cutting edge UAS technology. Getting this scholarship will enable me to follow those dreams as I currently don't have the means to attend college. To expand on that, I have a large family of six people living together in Las Vegas, Nevada and am the oldest of four brothers approaching college. Three of us are in high school currently as senior, junior and freshman. Each of us are accelerated high achievers and looking forward to college depending on how much we can each raise and earn. Currently, I have been accepted to UNR, and my goal is to graduate from there with a Mechanical Engineering degree with an Unmanned Aerial Systems minor. Our family has not been able to save enough for college while having to pay for everyday living, on top of the fact that our savings went down while my dad was unemployed for three years after the pandemic. Recently, we have had a lot of medical expenses as well. My mom broke her ankle and wrist in September 2024 requiring multiple surgeries and leaving her unable to do much of anything, especially work, for the remainder of the year. This has been a source of high stress and hardship for the family since we have had to take on her workload. This was tough on my family specifically because it is larger than most. Overall, I am raising $13,500 for the first year (or $54,000 for four years) to be able to stay on campus in the dorms and cover meal expenses. To elaborate on my interest in Mechanical Engineering and UAS specifically, it stems from the Drafting classes at my school and being a part of the VEX Robotics Competition and First Robotics Competition. Participating in those made me realize that I like designing and problem solving. My role on the team is a jack of all trades, I do the electronical, mechanical, programming and drive the bot. Robotics is where my interest in unmanned and remote-control systems started. Another factor that influenced this is my Drafting classes. In those classes, we learn CAD to model parts and pieces. It was through those classes that I discovered that I like to 3D model something that can actually be used in real life, specifically modeling drones or drone parts. Some more experience I have with that furthers my interest in drones is my time spent building a fully autonomous UAV. My school requires us to complete a senior year project. My group, 3 of us, decided we wanted to build a drone and test different propellor designs to cut down on propellor noise. We successfully built the drone. The design for the drone was developed through lots of research and testing until it was as good as we wanted it to be. Being part of that experience has shown me that I want to continue working with drones in the future, hopefully making a career out of it. In the end, this scholarship will allow me to follow my dreams of becoming a Mechanical Engineer, with a focus in UAS, by providing me the means to achieve that dream.