I take after my father- I was named after him. As a girl named after her dad, I have complicated feelings about it. What isn't complicated is I love him, I'm like him in many ways, and we are both inventive entrepreneurs. He's different than me though- he was a boy born to a farmer, he didn't get a college degree, and he struggled most of his life with being an alcoholic. He's done many amazing things though, one of which is network to have a patent made in dedication to an invention he saw on YouTube. The young man who created this machine used a different kind of propellor technology, though he has passed away. My father's dedication to this interest inspired me. Using centripetal force from a centrifuge style "propellor" could innovate drones, and I found myself scouring the internet for more information on frictionless technology by using electromagnets, superconductors, and perhaps even magnetrons- imagining how I could make his invention come to life on a larger scale than the hobby plane the man in the video had used. My dad does not always have a complete plan on developing and following through on his big plans, but that's one way I feel like I'm unique from him. I want to develop these new ideas with a passion, so I am planning to achieve this goal. I researched schools where I could study building drones. I was accepted into Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. This is the first step, and the next step is to secure funding for my first year, join Air Force ROTC to pay tuition after my first year. Embry-Riddle is expensive, and I come from a low-income family. I don't have any other viable options for universities that I can actually learn to design, fabricate, and repair drones. Though I do have options to study aerospace engineering locally, it doesn't fulfill the career path I'm interested in. I received about $30,000 of transfer scholarship, pell grant, Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarship, though I still have an estimated cost of $25,000 for housing, tuition, food, and indirect costs. I have spoken in depth with Air Force recruiters and Embry-Riddle staff that have experience in the military and work with ERAU AFROTC- If my grades are good the first year, the following years I should see my tuition covered by AFROTC. My current game plan to lower this $25,000 cost during the first year is: apply to scholarships and network with a lavender farm in the area that lets visitors stay for no cost in exchange for work while I visit the school through the summer and the local FedEx location that I can transfer from my local FedEx that I work at. I'm hoping that I may be able to pay rent or trade my experience working with websites and social media to stay longer-term at the lavender farm to reduce the cost of housing during my first year, and the FedEx location there will take me on as a transfer employee. If I succeed in getting a part-time job at FedEx I qualify for tuition reimbursement as well. I want to innovate drones specifically because I have inherited so much from my father, including his love for flying machines. A huge obstacle in my path is the cost of the most viable university for me to reach my goals, though it seems my biggest out of pocket cost will be living expenses. To overcome this financial challenge I am communicating and planning ahead to receive funding and keep my job after moving.

I grew up in a household burdened by mental illness and addiction. Both my parents struggled with alcoholism, and my mother’s bipolar disorder became particularly severe during menopause. While my father achieved sobriety seven years ago, I didn't live with him-my parents had separated because of the toxic dynamic between them, and I only visited my dad during the summer. Living with my mother’s mood swings and addiction often left me carrying the weight of our household alone. She lost her job, and when my sister moved out, my mom's stress and anger were directed at me. I found myself juggling bills and school while struggling with my own depression. The pressure and isolation took a toll on me. In high school, I started smoking weed to cope. Soon after, I became entangled in an unhealthy relationship, which I eventually escaped (with PTSD). I moved in with my sister where we lived in a moldy duplex which triggered further mental health challenges, while I fell further into an eating disorder I developed from my stressful relationship. For a time, it felt like I was constantly reacting to life, rather than living it. Once I got into a better environment, my best friend injured my spine. I had started doing remarkably well, I was eating and making more money that year than I ever had before. I found myself having to quit my job after crying every day from the immense pain I was in. I began investing in my own health, using credit cards to afford treatment and physical therapy. Over the past five years, I have worked on recovery from chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I got sober, established flexible work and school routines, and gradually regained control of my life. Today, I hold a job in the industry of my Associates of Art in Art, maintained three jobs during the holidays, and am helping both friends and family. I have been off mental health medication for over a year and a half, and while I continue to work on my physical health, most days I live without pain. My experiences with mental illness and recovery have shaped not only my resilience but also my aspirations. Having endured significant challenges, I worked hard to find health and happiness. I found inspiration to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Unmanned Aircraft Systems because of influences in my childhood from my dad and grandpa. I hope to innovate drone technology that is more efficient, sustainable, and capable of meaningful impact. In order to do that I have been working endlessly to achieve financial freedom from the debt that my injury led me to take on. The perseverance, discipline, and empathy I have developed through my journey will guide me toward this goal. Mental illness has affected my family deeply and shaped my own path in profound ways. Through recovery, I have learned the importance of balance, support, and self-investment. Today, I approach life with determination and hope, ready to pursue my dreams and give back to others who face similar struggles.

I grew up surrounded by stories of flight. My grandfather studied aerospace engineering at Texas A&M and worked with NASA after he was told he wouldn't be able to be in the Air Force. "If I can't fly 'em, I'll build 'em." My father earned his pilot’s license but never flew professionally, I inherited my father's name as well as his inventive spirit. My mother and father never graduated from college, though they sought some form of higher education or certifications. From an early age, flight represented both possibility and restraint. As a first-generation college student, I am to fly beyond my circumstances. Being first-generation has meant navigating higher education without a map. My parents always emphasized that education mattered, but I had to jump into higher education without a guide. I had to learn how to apply, plan financially, and advocate for myself largely on my own. Growing up poor and with alcoholic parents meant I had to teach myself anyways. As an adult, I find myself increasingly financial responsibility for my mother's care, which has made it difficult to move out independently or to embark on a bachelors degree. While finishing my associates degree, the roads to my house were flooding; continuing my education locally became a dangerous idea. Balancing work, family obligations, and disaster has been my greatest challenge, but it has also shaped my resilience and independence. Despite these obstacles, I remain focused on my goals. I currently have approximately $30,000 in tuition left to cover after a $20,000 transfer scholarship provided by Embry-Riddle. I plan to join AFROTC or enlist in the Air Force to help afford my education, housing, and flight training. I am employed with FedEx and intend to transfer locations, using their tuition reimbursement program to refund part of what I spend out of pocket on tuition. My goal is to create financial stability so I can succeed academically, while gaining the freedom of distance from my stressful roots. What drives me forward is innovation. My father holds a patent for a flying machine, and I hope to help further develop this concept into drone technology that is more energy-efficient and capable of carrying heavier cargo with sustainable energy. I want to contribute to the future of aerospace by creating aeronautical systems that make flight more accessible, efficient, and responsible. In many ways, my dream is both metaphorical and literal: I want to fly free of limitations, and I want to build things that fly better. This scholarship would give me something invaluable—peace. Reducing my financial burden would allow me to focus on studying, working, and to work on a bachelor's degree from a place of stability rather than survival. As a first-generation student, this support would not only move me closer to my career goals but reward my perseverance, responsibility, and determination. I am ready to build a future that honors where I come from while finally allowing me to fly away from the nest.

There's a war in the sky. Bubble dome flying machines over urban utopias keep the frontlines at a distance, though I've seen it- the horror, the tragedy of kamikaze machines built with no pilots and no hesitation. Walking through civilian cities on advocacy missions is like walking through a dream. This is what I became a warrior for: upholding the glory of my country, protecting my family and children, and ensuring domestic tranquility. When I signed myself over to become an agent of the military, all I knew is the paradise I find myself persisting through now. Somehow I crossed the veil into limbo. The pearlescent machines traveling where the radio waves fly convince us that we are well. We are progress. Now I am constricted to the haunted space in my mind, isolated like in a bubble. The reality of war keeps my mind focused as I step into the tube after sliding my payment card for access to public transportation. I keep my eyes down on my combat boots, unable to see the glory in the technology around me. I am the other side of the coin now. When I was a child I was protected and sheltered, led to believe I was safe. I was insulated. In the present, I am inverted. I am the protector. The mag-lev activates and the tunnel outside turns into a blur, coming into focus as we pass into an aerial rail that provides a landscape view of the distance. We move faster with frictionless energy, but the distance remains clear. I still find myself separated from common sights of skyscrapers and mundane operations by glass and mental armor, though I allow myself to reminisce. We've already halted, the gentle electro-magnetic brakes bringing us still. I pass through the exit and move silently, marching through the crowd to leave the upper platform and locate a self-driving taxi at the automated kiosk. As I order my transportation, I realize I've not had human conversation at a single point in my journey. My eyes drift away from my hardened mind. I observe propeller lifted glass-cleaners wiping windows just below the clouds. My ears notice the gentle hum and whizzing of society. The sound is that of a well-oiled machine. As I wait, still as stone, a baby cries. I turn slightly to observe. A mother with a young child and baby is juggling luggage and diaper bags when her daughter gently takes the wheeled luggage to free her mothers hands. The mother smiles. The only sunshine that can reach past the castles of glass towering around us. My car arrives, and I slide into the posh seats, crisp uniform holding my posture high. My hands rest on my knees. I see the family loading into a car in front of me as the car merges out into traffic. I have no bags, just myself. Here humans are treated with dignity by machines. They are in service to us. At one point dignity is all I knew. On the front lines, machines are usually piloted by military members. We sign away our personal ethics when we enlist. The ethics of our government are what we follow. That's why so many of them end up discharged for mental illness. When they aren't remotely piloted, the automation is still designed with ill-intentions. The downside to unmanned aircraft and robots is that our service member's lives aren't at stake. Why is that a downside? The actions of the machines become more ruthless, more anonymous, and the targets of attack increasingly become civilian. Drones with nuclear cores smash into buildings, hospitals, universities. This is a tactic that was started by the Russians, though drones didn't use nuclear cores at the time. February 2025 they ran multiple drones into the reaction site where the Chernobyl meltdown had happened during their conflict with Ukraine.It's ironic because the project was originally a USSR project, so the Russians continued to make their disaster worse once the territory had become Ukraine. A new building had been erected around the original building to contain any radiation and fallout. Destroying that barrier meant more poison would spread to the territory they had lost and wanted to reclaim. Machines are tools. We are the ones making decisions. In college I was required to take ethics classes. When I enlisted, I wanted to be an agent for good. Now I understand that I became a member of the most powerful military in the world, and it is my job to keep the upper hand. I thought more power meant I could do more good. The result of working my way up to an officer position was to separate myself from the pain of the frontlines, and instead of a soldier I am an unwitting conductor in the symphony of war.