Legacy. Wow! Leaving a legacy for other young girls and women to follow would be amazing. I want my legacy to show women they can break through barriers while remaining feminine, strong, and self-reliant. I am a swimmer and majoring in engineering. In both venues I can leave my legacy by working hard to show my perseverance to overcome challenges. In the water, I want my legacy to show that I was competitive and still showed good sportsmanship. I want to set records for other women to strive for to increase our abilities. I want my legacy to encourage women to grow stronger and to be faster. I want to make it to a level of achievement where I can give back to the sport and support young girls striving to diversify the sport of swimming and striving to set their own records. I would leave a foundation to provide funding for swimmers. In the classroom and the business world, I want to learn as much as possible and solve the world's issues. My legacy will show me as a role model for women. When young girls read about scientific discoveries or inventions, I want them to have a role model that is like them. Where they can play dress up as a scientist or engineer and dream big about changing the environment or traveling to distant planets, because I made a difference in the world they will read about my legacy. Ultimately when I leave this place, I want my legacy to show I was compassionate for others and I did my very best to improve the world--to leave it better than when I came into it. If I can make that type of impact then my life will be a success.

I plan on studying Engineering at Purdue University. I want to major in engineering to develop solutions for world issues such as global warming, providing clean water to underdeveloped nations, or creating new ways to produce energy without harming our planet. Moving forward in a world full of technologies that create more problems for humans such as introducing harsh chemicals into our lakes and streams must be averted. I want to be a part of the future that finds manageable solutions where the cost does not outweigh the benefits and humans and earth can benefit. While engineering has many aspects from electrical to mechanical and chemical, learning from several disciplines will help me to advance in my abilities to develop needed solutions to help thousands of people globally. By helping others around us, we can build stronger alliances and ensure the success of the human race while maintaining this wonderful world we share. I could select a vast number of occupations to establish a career, however none of them will provide me with the ability to rapidly change our world for the better when compared to what I can achieve as an engineer. That is why I would like to become an engineer.

As a freshman at Springboro HS, I became very ill. It wasn’t a normal illness that could be easily identified, it was a strange debilitating virus that invaded my body. While this illness was short lived, it created a personal hardship I had to overcome. I am a swimmer; I swim 2-3 hours a day. I had become ill and didn’t realize how sick I was so I kept pushing myself to practice. At the precipice of the illness, I went to see the doctor. My mom urged the doctor to find a cause. I was so weak I couldn’t lift my arms up over my head. I had a blood test completed and it turned out that my creatine phosphokinase (CPK) results were extremely elevated. For a normal person the range is between 26-192 U/L, my blood indicated my CPK level was over 1900 U/L from the first test. This was as if I just completed a marathon (I had been sleeping for nearly two days prior to the test)! The virus was attacking my muscles; the more I worked out the more CPK was produced by my body to repair the muscles. I was causing a serious condition that could have been fatal. My muscles were breaking down and releasing potassium into my blood stream. If potassium levels get too high it can cause kidney failure and your heart can stop. Two months and many tests later to eliminate any muscle disease or necrosis, I was cleared to return to swimming. I had fallen behind in my training and I had on-going muscle fatigue to overcome. I could barely swim when I started training; I had to stop frequently. Daily, I would try to do a little more knowing that I could not lose sight of my original goals of breaking HS records and becoming a State Champion. I kept telling myself that I didn’t have an excuse, the virus was a temporary setback and I kept pushing myself to practice. Some of the techniques I used were mental, self-motivating techniques. I would set a practice goal and reward myself for achieving it. I swam the 50-yard Freestyle and relay events since I could only swim short distances. I had to prove to myself I was still fast. The first relay I was on as a freshman earned me praise from my teammates. I was the anchor leg and no one could understand why a freshman was swimming fourth. We were in second place against a rival swim team. I dove in the water and gave it my all, caught up, and passed the other team! We took first place in the event and my teammates were ecstatic. I earned the nickname, The Freshman. This was an extrinsic motivating factor that helped me to continue to achieve more. I didn’t break any records my freshman year, I made the state championship, but I didn’t medal. The next three years I continued working hard, listened to my body, and eventually became the 50- and 100-yard Freestyle Ohio HS State Champion. I hold 6 event records, helped my team win the Southwest Ohio Coach’s Classic (largest HS swim meet in the nation), and have earned a place on the Purdue University swim team. The obstacle I had to overcome was the mental challenge not to give up on my dreams. I was so extremely fatigued for several months that I didn’t think I would ever regain my edge. I had to challenge myself; I did and I am a much stronger person mentally and physically for overcoming this personal hardship.

Growing up I’ve learned that being female is wonderful and being female in a world that expects you to make an impact on the future is even better. Right now, is the most opportune time for women because many of the major hurdles have been hard fought by the women before us—we are in. When I say we are in, I mean we are in the front lines and we are in the industries that were previously excluding women from even the dream of being a part of something great. For my generation our goals should be to make an impact on the STEM industries and grow in numbers. I envision myself as a woman that will make history. I expect to change the world. As a woman in STEM, specifically engineering, I will help to change the social acceptance of women in STEM related fields. While I am only one woman entering the field, I will, be one more than before I began. Being one more allows young women all over the world to see a role model in the industry and I alone can potentially affect hundreds of young women to believe they too can become a scientist, researcher or an engineer. This change may not be evident at first as it will take time and has taken time for women to stand on the shoulders of giants. When I review the great achievements of women in STEM, the earliest achievements were not highly recognized or attributed to women. This will be part of the change and I will use my math skills and public presence to impact the world. As more women enter STEM careers and make advancements for science, the recognition will also be there. I expect to influence this change based on my achievements in science. Not everyone finds this as a necessary change, however, ensuring diversity based on gender can expand diversity in thought. Our social construct of design and engineering can expand and evolve with the increase in diversity of thought. As a female I can contribute to these changes on a global scale. I plan to change the way others think about women in STEM by applying my skills and knowledge, persevering in this difficult field of study and creating the unimaginable. As I learn and expand my own thought process, invent new materials or products, I will be writing a new history for women. I will create the change needed for equality by being the change required for equality. I plan to engage my community and the young women of our society to continue to strive to do more and to be more. I expect to influence people in the engineering world as much as I expect to change the women’s swim records at Purdue University. In addition to attending college to achieve my educational goals, I am also attending college to continue my swimming career. With the Olympics in reach, I plan on setting new records for Purdue Women’s Swimming, the Big 10 Conference, and potentially the NCAA. I have always been under the belief if you do not work towards breaking the records and setting higher standards for the next generation, then there won’t be progress for the future. I plan on changing the standards for Purdue Women’s Swimming by continuing to work hard in the pool. I have read many reports concerning the disparity in on-line classrooms where women are perceived as weak, ideas are brushed off, or the men in the class talk over the women/interrupt them during the Zoom calls. I realize this is a world I am entering. As a strong, athletic woman, I believe I can change (at least the classrooms I’ll participate in) to ensure this type of behavior is recognized and the women in the class can overcome and change the perceptions of the men in the room. I can help to create equality through my presence in the classroom. The men will not just see another woman, they will see one of the finest athletes on the campus. I mentioned that I can use my public presence to impact the world. As I work hard in the pool to achieve a near celebrity status, I will also be working hard in the classroom. I believe young ladies will look to me as a role model both in athletics, as well as in STEM careers. My current role in my high school is a reflection of what I intend to change in the world. I am involved in classes and interest, such as comic book collecting and flying drones, that are typically considered male hobbies. I am also a leading scholar athlete in my school and the nation. I know as I go to college, many students will expect to make change, while others are just happy to get lost in the crowd. As a naturally introverted individual, I will need to adapt to the various social aspects of college from creating new study groups, to after hour gatherings, or simply talking with my professors on a professional level rather than strictly in a student-learner role. For me, this will be the challenge and I will adapt by finding my “quiet” in other ways. I will need to learn and adapt to the environment, be more outgoing and demonstrate extroverted qualities to ensure I can contribute to changing the world for women in STEM and to make the world a better place. Giving a voice to those who have none will be a challenge. By stepping up and taking on the challenge to lead in the world of STEM as a female engineer, overcoming the social struggles women face, and being the role model for the next generation of great women in technology is how I plan to make the world a better place.

I am a senior and a varsity swimmer from Springboro, Ohio. I started swimming at a very early age and it soon became one of my favorite activities. It is an integral part of my life just like learning. I love learning and that has encouraged me to continue my education. I also like a challenge, so I will major in engineering. I’ve always been interested in science, and math comes easily to me, so following this path was a simple choice. I consider myself a friendly, compassionate person. I have many hobbies to include art, comic book collecting, and traveling. I enjoy making artwork using ceramics, paper or other materials. and I enjoy drawing. These activities are relaxing and allow me to think. I think about solutions to problems for school, how to improve my swim, and my plan for the future. My parents are a huge influence in my life. They have been my guiding light throughout my childhood and have taught me that I should always work harder than the next person as long as I am doing it smartly. I have worked to apply this work ethic to dominate in nearly everything I participate in. They have worked to ensure I do not look for outs because I am female, but rather to find strength in being a female. For example, I was given the opportunity to take an “Intro to Engineering” class as a freshman in high school. Two options were given: Intro to Engineering or Intro to Engineering for Women; I chose the first option. On the first day of class my instructor asked me about my choice and gave an opportunity to switch classes. I declined the offer and let him know that learning in a room full of boys would be a simulation for working in an industry full of men. I did not believe there should be a difference in the teaching approach if the result based on gender if we were learning in the same environment; if I needed to adapt to succeed then I would adapt. I enjoyed the classwork during the first year and continued with the courses. I was often one of only two females in the class. I can say I maintained higher scores in class, earning my Inventor certification in 2019, and often out scored and out performed the boys. Part of me felt the need to do more than them--to out perform them. I approached many situations differently than they did and my results were similar or often better. My decision making is a direct result of how I was raised. Both of my parents are Air Force veterans—my mom joined the AF during a tumultuous time of change for women (allowing women to enter combat zones, fighter pilots, etc. and less than 10% of the AF was female; challenging to say the least). My Dad has always approached raising my sister and I as equal to boys. If there was something heavy, he would have us lift it, if the yard needed to be mowed, we would mow it. He also involved us in home renovations, car repairs, and often gave us math and science introductions outside of our school learning--something other families only depend on boys to do. They gave me a world where it was ok to explore science and it was wonderful to learn and understand math. My confidence to stand toe-to-toe with any peer and having the personal desire to love science and math is testament to the influence of my parents and my choice of engineering.