At the start of my freshman year, I was an undergraduate student pursuing a computer science major since it gave me many options on what specific technology area I wanted to work in. But later, I realized that working with data science was something I also wanted to do. My dream since I was in middle school was to work at NASA in their communication department. Starting as a data scientist, then a software developer, and eventually becoming a software engineer. I originally did not know that choosing this major would bring a lot of challenging courses, but if it means I can accomplish my dream, I will pass and conquer those classes. I knew that I wanted to choose a major in STEM when I watched the movie Hidden Figures, and honestly, I was blown away. Seeing how technology made it possible to send people into space really stuck with me. That’s when I knew I wanted to work in space tech. I could totally picture myself helping astronauts on their missions, being the one they count on to solve tech problems while talking to them from Earth. Just imagining it gets me excited for what’s ahead. At the start of my high school career, the first year was virtual, as it was during the pandemic. Doing classes online was something new for me, but it taught me to be more responsible for my academic courses. It was up to me to join my online classes and do homework. I took those skills with me to my freshman year of college, as there is a lot of freedom of attendance in my in-person classes. Later, during my sophomore year of high school, I started a technical school where I was in the computerized drafting class. On the first day of starting that class, I knew very little about the materials that were being taught, as if I were entering into a new world. That class ran until my high school graduation, and in the class, I learned how to use some architecture software such as Solid Works, AutoCAD, and Autodesk Inventor, as well as how to hand-draw house blueprints. From day one, I would constantly ask questions on how the software worked or how to draw a specific part of the blueprints of a house. That is when I learned that asking questions and helping is never the wrong thing to do, as you can learn from it. Now, in college, I ask tons of questions in my classes. Then, in my third year of high school, I participated in a SKILL USA competition. It is a competition where many technical schools from the state of Pennsylvania will bring their students to compete in their respective technical classes. I represented my computerized drafting class from my school; in the end, I did not win the competition, but I learned emotional resilience that sometimes it is okay to lose. You can always win at something else. Lastly, since the sole income of my home is my single mother, since I started high school, I have worked part-time jobs to help my mother. Being able to generate income from a young age has taught me how to manage the value of a dollar, master time management and balance, and have a significant improvement in my social and communication skills. My experience in high school has made me the person I am today.