Vroom! My mom swears that is the first word I spoke as a child. My name is Cristian Martins, and I go by my middle name, Brady. For as long as I can remember, I have always had an obsessive interest in cars. From the cartoons I watched as an infant to the toys I played with, everything in my young world had to revolve around cars. One of the greatest stories my mom tells stems from when I was in preschool. I was just four years old and the teachers had concerns that I wasn’t engaged with most activities. They apologized to my mom for never having any finger paintings or macaroni art to send home to hang on the fridge because they simply couldn't pull me away from playing with cars. There was a young student teacher in the class, and she came up with the brilliant idea to let me use the cars as a means to make art. She squirted some paint on a paper plate and then allowed me to drag the wheels from the toy cars through the paints, making the coolest refrigerator art made of tire treads. My mom loved this teacher's kindness and innovation so much, that the art not only made it to our fridge but became framed artwork in our house. This just goes to show how much cars have meant to me and how supportive my family has been with my love of cars and my decision to seek this career path. As the years have ticked away, my love, passion, and thirst for automotive knowledge has grown exponentially, coming to a head at the end of my sophomore year when my mom and I bought a 1965 Wide Body Convertible Ford Mustang (that was originally being sold for parts) and I began the restoration process. Every night after football and wrestling practice, I found myself in our garage working on bringing the Mustang back to life. From rebuilding the engine and transmission to electrical, and everything in between, my goal was to have it up and running by my senior prom, a goal I can proudly say I met. It was through the restoration process of the Mustang, which I affectionately call "Mamala" in honor of my mustang-loving great-grandmother, that I was able to put together a portfolio of the transformation of the car. That portfolio, helped me be one of only 40 students accepted into the automotive restoration program at McPherson College, the country's only college to offer a 4-year bachelor of science degree in that field. I am so excited to have found my passion at such an early age and have already started my next project, a 1980 Ford F150 Stepside, in honor of my grandfather who drove one. As I venture into this next chapter of my life, I am so blessed to have my family's support with my career path, and can't wait to hit the ground running in the fall.