I am passionate about becoming the best me I can be and using my future STEM career to do so. I want to study biomedical engineering at North Carolina State University and specialize in rehabilitation techonology. Becoming the best me looks like over coming my anxiety, providing a more fair and diverse STEM community, and supporting others in everything I do. After the pandemic I was in the worst mental state I had ever been in. I was insecure, I was constantly exhausted, and never thought that I would do anything worth living for. I closed myself off from friends, I stopped taking care of myself, and I wondered what would happened if I had just disappeared. Thankfully, I have a great supporting family and group of friends that would not give up on me. With their help, I started to begin the process of mentally healing. After searching for a reason to continue pushing through this rough patch, I discovered biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering combines the studies and problem-solving required in biology and medicine to create technology that will change the future. I discovered this field of study when I went to an engineering open house at a local university. I knew instantly that was what I wanted to do with my life. I finally felt like I had a purpose that can help others in my community and the world. I bought books, did individual research to increase my understanding, and started brainstorming how I could create technology to make patients' lives easier and more affordable. Basic prosthetics can cost almost $5,000 with more advanced technology pushing them to cost nearly 10 times that. Although not painful, prosthetics can make patients uncomfortable temporarily. The idea that prosthetics should be accessible, comfortable, afforable, grew on me. A veteran, someone with a birth defect, or a victim of a terrible accident should not have to worry about having an arm, leg, or even hearing aids. They shouldn't have to struggle financially in order to have the same opportunities as everyone else. We already live in a world that is not tailored to those that have undesirable conditions. There is no need to make things harder for them. So, I know that I want to help them access what they need. I want those that can't stand putting on a prosthetic leg or arm to feel confident in their appearance, health, finances, and skills.

I am passionate about becoming the best me I can be and using my future STEM career to do so. I want to study biomedical engineering at North Carolina State University and specialize in rehabilitation techonology. Becoming the best me looks like over coming my anxiety, providing a more fair and diverse STEM community, and supporting others in everything I do. After the pandemic I was in the worst mental state I had ever been in. I was insecure, I was constantly exhausted, and never thought that I would do anything worth living for. I closed myself off from friends, I stopped taking care of myself, and I wondered what would happened if I had just disappeared. Thankfully, I have a great supporting family and group of friends that would not give up on me. With their help, I started to begin the process of mentally healing. After searching for a reason to continue pushing through this rough patch, I discovered biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering combines the studies and problem-solving required in biology and medicine to create technology that will change the future. I discovered this field of study when I went to an engineering open house at a local university. I knew instantly that was what I wanted to do with my life. I finally felt like I had a purpose that can help others in my community and the world. I bought books, did individual research to increase my understanding, and started brainstorming how I could create technology to make patients' lives easier and more affordable. Basic prosthetics can cost almost $5,000 with more advanced technology pushing them to cost nearly 10 times that. Although not painful, prosthetics can make patients uncomfortable temporarily. The idea that prosthetics should be accessible, comfortable, afforable, grew on me. A veteran, someone with a birth defect, or a victim of a terrible accident should not have to worry about having an arm, leg, or even hearing aids. They shouldn't have to struggle financially in order to have the same opportunities as everyone else. We already live in a world that is not tailored to those that have undesirable conditions. There is no need to make things harder for them. So, I know that I want to help them access what they need. I want those that can't stand putting on a prosthetic leg or arm to feel confident in their appearance, health, finances, and skills.