From an early age, my fascination with mathematics and robotics fueled a desire to understand and create, which naturally led me to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at Southern Adventist University. Alongside my academic pursuits, I have actively engaged in community service, finding immense fulfillment in giving back and positively impacting others. One of the most significant ways I have given back is through mission trips, particularly in the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Spain. I led a team on a construction project in the Dominican Republic to build a church. Serving as an interpreter and guide, I not only bridged communication gaps but also facilitated collaboration among diverse groups. This experience honed my leadership and communication skills, highlighting the power of teamwork and the impact of engineering on community development. It was inspiring to see how our collective efforts could uplift a community and provide a place for people to gather, worship, and support one another. Additionally, I have been involved in multiple food drives and initiatives to support the homeless in my community. Organizing and participating in these drives, I’ve helped collect and distribute food to those in need, aiming to alleviate hunger and provide a sense of hope to the less fortunate. These experiences have highlighted the importance of empathy, compassion, and direct action in making a tangible difference in people’s lives. Looking to the future, my goal is to start my own engineering business focused on developing innovative technologies that address pressing societal issues. Central to my business vision is a strong commitment to community service and mission work. I envision creating affordable and sustainable solutions in areas such as renewable energy, clean water access, and efficient transportation. By partnering with non-profit organizations on projects like designing sustainable housing for low-income families and developing educational tools for underserved schools, I hope to create meaningful, lasting change. By integrating my technical expertise with a dedication to social responsibility, I aim to contribute to a more sustainable and equitable world. A key aspect of my future plans is to foster diversity and inclusion within the engineering field. My experiences have shown me the value of diverse perspectives in problem-solving and innovation. As a Hispanic male in engineering, I recognize the importance of representation and the need to break down barriers for underrepresented groups. Through my business, I plan to implement inclusive hiring practices, provide mentorship programs, and create opportunities for aspiring engineers from diverse backgrounds. By cultivating an inclusive environment, I believe we can drive greater creativity and develop solutions that better serve all communities. In conclusion, my journey in engineering is deeply intertwined with a commitment to service and a drive to make a positive impact on the world. Through mission trips to countries like Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Spain, organizing food drives, supporting the homeless, and youth mentorship, I aim to give back to my community and beyond. The support of this scholarship will enable me to continue my education, expand my community service initiatives, and ultimately, contribute to a more inclusive and innovative engineering landscape. Together, we can create a brighter future, driven by compassion, ingenuity, and a shared commitment to serving others.

From the moment I first watched an engineer on YouTube craft incredible inventions, I was captivated. The dance of numbers in mathematics and the awe-inspiring potential of robotics became my playgrounds, fueling a relentless curiosity and a drive to innovate. My childhood was a symphony of watching those videos and attempting to recreate the gadgets I saw, each project a stepping stone towards mastering the art of engineering. These early experiences didn't just shape my hobbies—they ignited a lifelong passion for problem-solving and invention, setting me on a path toward a career in engineering. Currently, I am a sophomore at Southern Adventist University, pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. My academic journey has been marked by significant projects that have deepened my understanding and commitment to the field. One of the most impactful experiences was leading a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where I interpreted for and guided construction teams in building a church. This experience not only honed my leadership and communication skills but also reinforced the importance of engineering in serving and uplifting communities. While I have not faced significant challenges as a Hispanic male in engineering, I recognize the broader issues of underrepresentation and the need for more diversity within the field. My experiences on mission trips have shown me the value of diverse teams working together towards a common goal. Leading these projects, I saw firsthand how different perspectives can lead to more innovative and effective solutions. I aim to bring this inclusive mindset to my future engineering career. Although I haven't had formal internships, my academic projects and mission work have provided me with substantial hands-on experience. For instance, in my mechanical engineering courses, I have engaged in various team projects that simulate real-world engineering challenges, such as designing and testing mechanical systems. These projects have helped me develop critical skills in teamwork, project management, and technical problem-solving, all of which are essential for a successful engineering career. Looking ahead, my career goal is to start my own engineering business, focusing on developing innovative technologies that address pressing societal issues. I aspire to become a role model in the Hispanic community, demonstrating that hard work and determination can overcome barriers and pave the way for future generations of engineers. By succeeding in my career, I hope to inspire other Hispanic students to pursue their dreams in STEM fields, contributing to greater diversity and inclusion in engineering. In conclusion, my journey in engineering is driven by a passion for mathematics, robotics, and a desire to make a positive impact on society. The support of this scholarship will enable me to continue my education, gain more hands-on experience, and inspire others in the Hispanic community to follow in my footsteps. Together, we can create a more inclusive and dynamic engineering landscape that reflects the rich diversity of our society and addresses the challenges of our time.

Bridging Cultures: My Journey in Engineering From a young age, I was captivated by the intricate workings of mathematics and the marvels of robotics. This fascination naturally led me to pursue engineering, driven by a desire to understand how things work and a passion for creating innovative solutions. Growing up, I spent countless hours tinkering with gadgets and building simple robots, nurturing a love for problem-solving and technical challenges. This early interest set the foundation for my career aspirations. Currently, I am a sophomore at Southern Adventist University, pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. My academic journey has been marked by significant projects that have deepened my understanding and commitment to the field. One of the most impactful experiences was leading a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where I interpreted for and guided construction teams in building a church. This experience not only honed my leadership and communication skills but also reinforced the importance of engineering in serving and uplifting communities. While I have not faced significant challenges as a Hispanic male in engineering, I recognize the broader issues of underrepresentation and the need for more diversity within the field. My experiences on mission trips have shown me the value of diverse teams working together towards a common goal. Leading these projects, I saw firsthand how different perspectives can lead to more innovative and effective solutions. I aim to bring this inclusive mindset to my future engineering career. Although I haven't had formal internships, my academic projects and mission work have provided me with substantial hands-on experience. For instance, in my mechanical engineering courses, I have engaged in various team projects that simulate real-world engineering challenges, such as designing and testing mechanical systems. These projects have helped me develop critical skills in teamwork, project management, and technical problem-solving, all of which are essential for a successful engineering career. Looking ahead, my career goal is to start my own engineering business, focusing on developing innovative technologies that address pressing societal issues. I aspire to become a role model in the Hispanic community, demonstrating that hard work and determination can overcome barriers and pave the way for future generations of engineers. By succeeding in my career, I hope to inspire other Hispanic students to pursue their dreams in STEM fields, contributing to greater diversity and inclusion in engineering. In conclusion, my journey in engineering is driven by a passion for mathematics, robotics, and a desire to make a positive impact on society. The support of this scholarship will enable me to continue my education, gain more hands-on experience, and inspire others in the Hispanic community to follow in my footsteps. Together, we can create a more inclusive and dynamic engineering landscape that reflects the rich diversity of our society and addresses the challenges of our time.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. I am in need of an scholarship because my goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I learned to work hard and study hard to graduate highschool with a 4.0 highest honors, I became the president of my school and a leader in the music program, which opened the doors for me to volunteer to travel internationally to share my talents. The school started a program, by the inspiring example of leadership from a teacher who advocated sending our highschool to a mission every year, out of the country, to bring optometry and construction and music to communities in great poverty. She taught me that true leadership is providing service, it is getting in the front line first to lead. She took us to three countries, Bolivia, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and through this volunteering, I learned to reflect true leadership to people that most need it. By one person’s example I saw everyone serving in construction, through hot weather, sweating hands, hunger and long hours of physical work, they cheered one another and worked with joy. I was also able to experience true leadership by volunteering in evangelistic series as speakers and interpreters, and it was my friends and I relying on each other and cheering each other which made me be able to deliver this message of hope to the people attending. I know that with my mom’s true example of leadership as an inspiration, and my teacher’s example, I was able to help in parts of countries that were in so much need. As an example of true leadership being service, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in countries or parts of our country that need the most. By volunteering in these amazing missions, I have learned to value the leadership of our school educators, my mother and mentors. And by now knowing true leadership I would like to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering degree, maybe to change the world for better and to keep serving communities in need for the good of all humanity.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. I am in need of an scholarship because my goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I learned to work hard and study hard to graduate highschool with a 4.0 highest honors, I became the president of my school and a leader in the music program, which opened the doors for me to volunteer to travel internationally to share my talents. The school started a program, by the inspiring example of leadership from a teacher who advocated sending our highschool to a mission every year, out of the country, to bring optometry and construction and music to communities in great poverty. She taught me that true leadership is providing service, it is getting in the front line first to lead. She took us to three countries, Bolivia, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and through this volunteering, I learned to reflect true leadership to people that most need it. By one person’s example I saw everyone serving in construction, through hot weather, sweating hands, hunger and long hours of physical work, they cheered one another and worked with joy. I was also able to experience true leadership by volunteering in evangelistic series as speakers and interpreters, and it was my friends and I relying on each other and cheering each other which made me be able to deliver this message of hope to the people attending. I know that with my mom’s true example of leadership as an inspiration, and my teacher’s example, I was able to help in parts of countries that were in so much need. As an example of true leadership being service, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in countries or parts of our country that need the most. By volunteering in these amazing missions, I have learned to value the leadership of our school educators, my mother and mentors. And by now knowing true leadership I would like to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering degree, maybe to change the world for better and to keep serving communities in need for the good of all humanity.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. I am in need of an scholarship because my goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to volunteer to travel internationally to share my talents, as my school started a program, by a really inspiring teacher to send our highschool to a mission every year to bring optometry and construction and music to communities in great poverty. Because of COVID, I was able to only go to three countries, Bolivia, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and through this, volunteering, my teacher and my group of traveling friends have inspired me to experience challenges, and take risks while I serve outside of the country. I have to thank my friends because as I saw everyone serving in construction, through hot weather, sweating hands, hunger and long hours of physical work, they cheered one another and worked with joy. We also volunteered together in evangelistic series as speakers and interpreters, and it was my friends and I relying on each other and cheering each other which made me be able to deliver this message of hope to the people attending. In all these experiences, some of us volunteered as interpreters, but all of us volunteered as construction workers, optometry assistants, musicians and speakers internationally during these three mission trips in highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration, my teacher’s cheer, and my group of friends having the opportunity with me, to be able to help in parts of countries with the most need, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in countries or parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference after I become and engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I have learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us. By volunteering to go to these amazing missions, I have learned to value our access to education. Therefore, by having only my mom, I will need this scholarships because winning it, will give me the means to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career, maybe to change the world for better and to keep serving communities in need for the good of all humanity.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. I am in need of an scholarship because my goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to volunteer to travel internationally to share my talents, as my school started a program, by a really inspiring teacher to send our highschool to a mission every year to bring optometry and construction and music to communities in great poverty. Because of COVID, I was able to only go to three countries, Bolivia, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and through this, volunteering, my teacher and my group of traveling friends have inspired me to experience challenges, and take risks while I serve outside of the country. I have to thank my friends because as I saw everyone serving in construction, through hot weather, sweating hands, hunger and long hours of physical work, they cheered one another and worked with joy. We also volunteered together in evangelistic series as speakers and interpreters, and it was my friends and I relying on each other and cheering each other which made me be able to deliver this message of hope to the people attending. In all these experiences, some of us volunteered as interpreters, but all of us volunteered as construction workers, optometry assistants, musicians and speakers internationally during these three mission trips in highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration, my teacher’s cheer, and my group of friends having the opportunity with me, to be able to help in parts of countries with the most need, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in countries or parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference after I become and engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I have learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us. By volunteering to go to these amazing missions, I have learned to value our access to education. Therefore, by having only my mom, I will need this scholarships because winning it, will give me the means to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career, maybe to change the world for better and to keep serving communities in need for the good of all humanity.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. My goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. Despite the hardships, my school started a program by a really inspiring teacher to send our highschool to do mission internationally every year, we were able to serve in other countries by bringing optometry, construction and music to communities in great poverty. Every time we came back to the United States, I felt great motivation to share service to my community and church by being a worship leader and helping our seniors. The hard work we endured in the mission did equipped us to bring more joy to work here for our community. During our missions, I was able to serve as an interpreter, construction worker, optometry assistant, and speaker internationally during my three mission trips to Latin American countries ( Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Dominican Republic) during highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration and by having helped sharing hope in parts of countries with the most need, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to fulfill basic needs in parts of our community where there is more need. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference here, so after I become and engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us, I will be a valuable tool to help those here. Coming back to the United States after these trips have helped me share the value living more simple. I started to encourage my friends to experience more of the simplicity of going to nature on a daily basis and to leave the influence of social media on the side. I would say that service, and participation in experiences that make us useful, has been beneficial to our mental health which is the most important part for having the drive to keep pursuing our career goals for life. In conclusion, having imparted service to kids in need in other countries during my highschool years have taught me to value of our own community, and how much they support us and our access to education. All this has given me the excitement to work hard to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career to change the world for better and the good of all humanity.

The greatest challenge I had to face in high school was math, specifically, pre-calculus and calculus. I go to a small Christian academy that has about 100 students from k-12th grade. We also have a small amount of teachers and two grades in each class. Freshman year I did algebra 1, it was a blast and the following year I did geometry. The problem started when the principal said the juniors, all four of us, did very well in geometry, and he just wanted us to jump right into pre-calculus with the seniors, who had already taken the necessary algebra 2. The jump was appalling for us all, including the seniors. Before the first semester had ended, three seniors and the new junior had dropped out of the class because their grades were so low. Before this class I never imagined I would have to extract so much effort and time out of my afternoon, evening, night, and morning. But I put my head into it and got more efficient. As I wrote the sentence of putting my head into it, it gave me the idea to create some help to put over my head. If I had the money and resources to create anything, I would create a program that would specifically download my book and class in my oculus virtual reality helmet. I would create an app to go with it that will read and write my formulas for me to memorize as well as make available a virtual tutor that will teach me and tutor me live on all the questions I have about the topic. My senior year started with the principal as my teacher, the principal didn’t have time to teach us, because he was busy teaching all the sophomores, juniors, and another new senior algebra 2. The bigger problem for us four seniors, was that since he didn’t have time to teach us, we didn’t have time to do notes in class. Notes which he grades. That meant that we had to come up with our own time to do notes for the lesson, teach ourselves the material, and then do the work for the lesson, every day. Then I would sleep at 10:30pm and wake up at 4:00am to do calculus and anything else I needed to. This schedule started draining me very quickly, I would just try to figure out the concepts and skip notes. I was wishing I could create the program and call it the oculus calculus life tutor. The program will help me to never again learn alone, and I will never have to learn calculus on a book in my room. I will allow the app to invite my classmates so we can have a tutoring session with the virtual tutor aside from school, specially my four classmates. In real life, I hadn’t learned necessary material well enough to build new concepts upon. Relearning it on my own time slowed down my rate of keeping up with my catch up. Definitely the help from a program like this will make my learning more effective and my time more efficient. Second semester is where I’m at now and it has still been difficult, but I am continuing to put my whole mind and effort into it. My current plan to solve the problem is that I have created a good routine. I’m eating a lot better now and exercising. My goal is to continue and finish off my high-school with a 4.0, go to straight to college, and take engineering.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. My goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I have learn to have balance as a trait, and because of it I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to travel internationally to share my talents. Though my school and teacher, I have been able to develop the trait of a good communicator which has lead me to achieve academic honors with the position of school president. I have been able to share service to my community and church, and served as an interpreter, construction worker, optometry assistant, and speaker internationally during my three mission trips to Latin American countries ( Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Dominican Republic) during highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration and care, I have developed the trait of being caring like her. This trait has led me to help sharing hope in parts of countries with the most need. As a thinker and risk taking, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in other countries or even parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference after I become an engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills I learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us. Coming back to the United States after these trips have helped me to value living more simple and being more reflective. I started to experience more of the simplicity of going to nature on a daily basis to leave the influence of social media on the side. The fashions and way to dress have less value after you see people who don’t have the means to even have clothes to wear. These experiences have made me not worry about the expectations of my peers and social media, but it has helped me build my own image based on simplicity. I would say that service, and participation in experiences that make us useful, construct these traits in our character and help to our mental health which is the most important part for having the drive to keep pursuing our career goals for life. In conclusion, having imparted service to kids in need in other countries during my highschool years have taught me to value our access to education, and have given me the excitement to work hard to make a difference in my community by using these traits which will serve me for my whole life and future.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. My goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to travel internationally to share my talents. I have been able to achieve academic honors, I have shared service to my community and church, and served as an interpreter, construction worker, optometry assistant, and speaker internationally during my three mission trips to Latin American countries ( Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Dominican Republic) during highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration and by having helped sharing hope in parts of countries with the most need, I have felt the drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in other countries or even parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference after I become and engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us. Coming back to the United States after these trips have helped me to value living more simple. I started to experience more of the simplicity of going to nature on a daily basis to leave the influence of social media on the side. The fashions and way to dress have less value after you see people who don’t have the means to even have clothes to wear. These experiences have made me not worry about the expectations of my peers and social media, but it has helped me build my own image based on simplicity. I would say that service, and participation in experiences that make us useful, is also beneficial to our mental health which is the most important part for having the drive to keep pursuing our career goals for life. In conclusion, having imparted service to kids in need in other countries during my highschool years have taught me to value our access to education, and have given me the excitement to work hard to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career to change the world for better and the good of all humanity.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. My goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career with a healthy mental health and character. Going through hardships, which include my parent’s divorce and my mother being left with three boys, took a toll on my mental health. I was depressed at times, but exercise, mission trips and the love I felt for my mother gave me the drive to become the best. I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to travel internationally to share my talents. As I was able to contribute to my community through my school and church as a worship leader; as I had the opportunity to go to other countries and serve as an interpreter, construction worker, optometry assistant, interpreter and speaker internationally during my three mission trips to different countries with so much need, it helped me to overcome my depression and find a purpose in life. I know that with my mom’s inspiration, involvement, support and getting me lots of therapy, along with sharing hope in parts of countries with the most need, I am able to go beyond my depression and have a drive to go to college to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in countries or parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference so after I become an engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I have learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries, I will be able to make a difference. I would say that service, and participation in experiences that make us useful, is beneficial to our mental health which is the most important part for having the drive to keep pursuing our career goals for life. I believe that having a healthy mental health, or doing everything to achieve it, it’s the most important work we have through high school besides getting our school education. I have learned to value our access to education and will work hard to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career to change the world for better and the good of all humanity and open doors to others that might be suffering from mental health challenges during their youth.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. My goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to travel internationally to share my talents. I have been able to achieve academic honors, I have shared service to my community and church, and served as an interpreter, construction worker, optometry assistant, and speaker internationally during my three mission trips to Latin American countries ( Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Dominican Republic) during highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration and by having helped sharing hope in parts of countries with the most need, I have the drive to go to school to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in other countries or even parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference after I become and engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us. Coming back to the United States after these trips have helped me to value living more simple. I started to experience more of the simplicity of going to nature on a daily basis to leave the influence of social media on the side. The fashions and way to dress have less value after you see people who don’t have the means to even have clothes to wear. These experiences have made me not worry about the expectations of my peers and social media, but it has helped me build my own image based on simplicity. I am grateful that I have been able to serve in other countries in need, because I have learned to value our access to education as well. This has inspire me to work hard to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career to change the world for better and innovate ideas to contribute to the good of all humanity.

My name is Elias and I am the son of a single mother who came to this country to work hard, she got an education while being 100% dedicated to her children. My goal now, at 18, is to give her back the satisfaction of seeing me going to college and getting my own career. I believe that through hardships, I will be graduating highschool with a 4.0, and with honors in music, which have opened the doors for me to travel internationally to share my talents. I have been able to achieve academic honors, I have shared service to my community and church, and served as an interpreter, construction worker, optometry assistant, and speaker internationally during my three mission trips during highschool. I know that with my mom’s inspiration and by having helped sharing hope in parts of countries with the most need, I have the drive to go to school to get an engineering degree to help create and engineer products to advance poverty in countries or parts of our country that most need it. I know that by seeing poverty I have been inspired to make a difference after I become and engineer, by using my critical thinking and problem solving skills that I have learned by experiencing poverty first hand in other countries that had very little luxuries available to us. As I was in Bolivia, we had no water readily available to us, so many times we had to use devices to purify water. I would like to engineer devices that purify and make water more available to the community. I saw in Dominican Republic kids that walked for miles to church and their shoes were tore up, I would like to engineer shoes that are made specifically for them to get to places faster, like tires and motors and made with more durable materials. In Costa Rica, I was not able to eat raw vegetables because of the bacteria it had in them. I would like to engineer a device to wash the vegetables with products that will make these vegetables safe to eat raw. I conclusion, through all these experiences, I have learned to value our available access to education, and will work hard to make a difference in my community and maybe other countries after I receive my engineering career to change the world for better and work hard for the good of all humanity.