Star Wars is my favorite series to watch, read, and learn more about. Its vast array of characters, planets, and plot lines in different stories are the main reasons I gravitate toward it. My dad introduced the series to me when I was very young and I have watched all the movies and all the series' many times over. But with a limited amount of visual content, I eventually moved towards the books in the Star Wars universe. It was there where the writing made the stories much more technical. There would be frequent discussions on how a spaceship worked or the science behind a futuristic machine. These things interested me, and really got me to become more intrigued in how electronics work in our own world. When it came time to choose a college major, I knew immediately I would pursue electrical engineering as it is what would allow me to understand technology and learn just like the stories I read years ago. As a first-generation college student with many siblings among multiple sets of parents, my financial security has been a very big concern. With ever-growing university and living expenses, being able to afford college on my own has been stressful. Having to deal with that stress, and work a job, while also trying to understand and learn complicated math, science, and engineering topics is extremely challenging. Gaining any amount of financial aid through scholarships is what can allow me to spend more time studying and working towards my dream of working with technology and electronics. To graduate high school I was required to get a certain amount of service hours. A way that I received mine was by volunteering for a weeklong summer camp at my local church for several years. During my time there, I learned a lot about the community I was serving. There were many campers who couldn't normally go and do fun things, but this summer camp was an exception and it would always bring them joy every time they could sign up. I never really thought of how something, that at times seemed like a chore to me, was actually really appreciated by those who were participating. The interaction between me and these campers made me want to try harder, to make their week as enjoyable as possible. Although this happened several years ago, how I interact with new people has definitely been deeply impacted. I want to take more time and get to know people; so I can really understand them.

My Grandfather had four bachelor’s degrees in various STEM fields. One of them was in Mechanical Engineering, and because of that he got to work at the NSA and dealt with microelectronics. During the summer before my sophomore year of High School, I actually got to go visit where my grandfather worked and travel around the NSA campus and facilities. It was super interesting and my grandfather was showing my siblings and I some of the things he got to do for his job and examples of tiny electronics that he would get to make during his workday. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away later that year right before Thanksgiving. He always took great interest in what I was learning in school and always tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. In a way, when it came time to choose my college major, I wanted to pick something that would make him proud. Something that I could use to support a future family and give them and I, a fun life, but also something that is hard to do and rewarding. That is how I stumbled upon Electrical Engineering. Just thinking about electricity really interested me and when I researched what disciplines fall under the major, I learned how I would learn more than just electricity but also about programming, signals, magnetism, and so much more. Being able to support my future family while working in some field that I find interesting is extremely important to me. This first year of my undergrad has led me to understand simple circuits and I have programmed for the first time. These skills are things that a year ago, I wasn’t sure I could understand them. It all seemed challenging and impossible to do, but I am really proud to say that it makes sense now. If I could see where I would be right out of my Undergrad, I wish I could. I want to see if I am going to decide to pursue my Master’s right away, or maybe wait a couple of years. I want to see what discipline of Electrical Engineering I found the most interesting and that I chose to specialize in. But, if I had to say what I see my future being, right now, I would say I am going to be driven by curiosity. Whatever path I choose with my degree, I am going to look for jobs that innovate. It is super important to me to leave an impact on the world, and one of the best ways to do that is to help innovate new technology. Especially if that technology would bring improvement to peoples’ everyday lives. Really, I see myself being an engineer. I see myself trying to fix and improve the problem given to me, and I want that to be for something that helps people. Something that makes life easier for people in a world where just getting by can be really hard. I want to be able to do my job and be proud of what I am doing. I especially want my future family to be proud of me. But more than anything else, I want to be on a path that I know my grandfather would be proud of. He was a great man, and I know I will strive to be as good of a person and engineer as he was.

As of right now I have taken and passed Calculus 1-3 and am currently using this knowledge in my Differential Equations course. During Calculus 1, I was just learning formulas for the most part. It didn’t seem that different from my algebra classes that I had taken, as there were just a few formulas you needed to use and plug values into. A limit to me was just a way to determine function continuity or the value of a function at a point. Eventually, my teacher began to give application problems and the usefulness of calculus started to become apparent. Being able to determine how something changes or accumulates or what something is heading toward is the basis of calculus. It might sound silly but my first introduction to this was a question about the rate of change of cars in a parking lot. And while in the real world not under ideal conditions, it is harder to determine this rate, while I was solving the problem I really started to understand and appreciate what calculus could be used for. In my mind, STEM fields are about taking a problem and using your tools to solve them (Whether that be a math problem or something more complex). Calculus is one of those tools. And nowadays most individuals in STEM fields are not solving problems with calculus equations on a daily basis, but the reason they are able to do their jobs is because people who have come before them used calculus to discover how things work and how jobs need to be done and why certain phenomena occur. So in this sense, calculus is important in STEM for the fact that most applications in STEM have come from applying calculus to the real world. But there is even more to it. Calculus is hard. For many people, calculus is a weird new way to do and think of mathematics. Once a class becomes like this, it is not uncommon for students to start to just learn how to do calculus, and not really understand it. You could learn how to solve math problems and just be really good at that, but not be able to understand calculus. When that happens, you are not taking advantage of the tool that you are being taught. By learning this new abstract concept, your world can open up. Just being able to understand something weird and new, allows your brain to grow and understand even harder subjects. At the end of the day, STEM is hard. STEM fields are super interesting and many people are drawn to them because of that, but if you are to be successful in STEM you must be able to grasp the hard and unique concepts that makeup STEM. By just learning and understanding calculus, you are becoming smarter and more likely to truly make sense of what the STEM field has to offer. And it would be a lot harder to do this and succeed in your field if you don’t have calculus.

When I was younger, I hated a lot of different vegetables. My taste buds despised how they made my tongue feel. It was so bad that I distinctly remember one night my mother said to me, “You are going to finish these. I don’t care how long it takes, you will sit here and finish everything on your plate.” Three hours is how long it took for me to struggle to eat each individual pea (my least favorite vegetable). But I did it, and at the time I didn’t like it which is funny to think about. Now I am a very different person from all those years ago. This past week I have eaten broccoli and green beans every single day. Currently, I am attending the University of Maryland and since first starting here in the fall semester of 2022, I have been striving to live healthier. From access to the dining hall here, I have been eating healthier than I ever have before. Cutting a lot of sweets from my diet, drinking water every day, and eating healthier meals have enabled me to improve myself. And honestly, I have never felt better. Eating well every day has a lot of good benefits that I am currently experiencing. Fewer breakouts and being healthier are just two of the many benefits that have encouraged me to keep going. Physical activity is also something that has alluded me for a long time. “Go outside and play,” was something I used to hate to hear from my mother when I was young. I liked to stay in and play video games or build with Legos. My journey to physical activity really started when I started 6th grade. I did not get a bus and so I had to walk to school. I walked there and back almost every school day for the three years that I was there. Even though I thought I would dread this, I ended up loving it. So much so that I even began to go on walks for fun, which is something I never could’ve imagined. From there, there is only so many times you can walk before you think you could start going on runs. Being able to go a little bit farther to get to my local park for a scenic route meant I had to start running. At first, it was hard, but eventually, I started seeing the fruits of my labor. My endurance improved and before I knew it I was just feeling better all around. I felt healthier and I liked that; it made me want to keep going for myself because I wanted to keep this feeling. And that is where I am today. In college I started to work out at the gym every day like clockwork, eat healthily, and go on my morning runs to start off my day. My body feels amazing and I have more confidence in my looks than I have ever had. In my opinion, everyone should live a healthy lifestyle. The way it makes you feel is something everyone should get to experience, and it really has changed my life.

In my first pre-algebra class I failed almost every test. It really bothered me since I was trying hard, but I wasn’t seeing results. The concept of letters in math confused me and I just couldn’t wrap my head around them. Although, I eventually saw the fruit of my labor. It was in the spring of my sixth-grade year, and we were receiving our math tests back. Just to put this into perspective, on the first three tests I was getting anywhere from 50-59%. When I got this one back, I looked at the top and it said “105%”. I literally jumped out of my chair. I had begun to think that maybe math just isn’t for me. Algebra is just too hard and I can be better at other things. This 105% gave me so much more confidence in myself and what I could do. I worked so hard and studied for hours to prepare for this test, and I got the highest score in the class. From there forward, I started to like math more. I began to do better. I understood algebra. Algebra was applicable in all of my future math classes. Every time I could call back to my past algebra knowledge, I felt ecstatic. It felt like there was always more to learn as well. Always another method to apply or even using algebraic manipulation to make a math problem that seems impossible, look like something I had done in the past. Right now I am taking differential equations and linear algebra in college, which will quite possibly be the last math class that I will ever take. I have already completed Calculus 1-3, and it is a weird feeling. I have been doing math ever since I started school, and algebra ever since I started middle school. It has been 8 years since my algebra journey started, and it is not that is coming to an end, but I know I won’t use it as much as I do in a math class. As I am solving these complicated problems and I must use algebra to solve for the answer, I don’t really think of what a pain it is. I think of how I will miss it. Being able to manipulate these letters and numbers in a way to get a solution is something I will always love. There is just something about it. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but I know it’s fun! Math and algebra gave me the confidence and realization that my goals are achievable; that if I work hard, I will see results. And that is why I will forever love and be grateful for algebra. It made me realize so much about myself, that I never would’ve found without it.

At present time, I am pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. When I wanted to choose my college major, I really wanted to pick something that could help my family. We didn't grow up poor, but we didn't always have money to do things or even help other people. Not having a lot of extra money means you can't really do extracurricular activities that cost money, you can't go on fun vacations like you hear other people take in school, and so much more. Now growing up, I always wanted to try hard in school. Both of my parents did not pursue higher education and because of this, the jobs available to them would never pay a salary that could allow our family to move forward. We were stuck. By trying hard in school I wanted to get good at math and science so I could one day get a good job and be able to support my own family and my eventual new family. So I tried. Sometimes I would have to stay up late because I had a hard time with Algebra. I just didn't get it. Until I did. One day it clicked and I started to get better. My grades were improving and I felt like I could do this. Come senior year of High School, I find myself applying to colleges. I chose Electrical Engineering for a couple reasons. Firstly, I would be lying if I said I didn't choose this major for money. That is my goal. I want to be able to provide a good life for me and my family by working hard in a field that is rewarding. But, at the same time I also chose this major because of how it interested me. Knowing how electricity worked seemed really interesting to me, and I would be able to also learn how to program, which is something I've heard about from so many people. It seemed like the right major for me and now that I am in college pursuing this path, I can definitely say I chose the right major. I've learned some programming in C and it is really interesting! I am improving and enjoying myself. In other classes I have also begun learning about electricity and even though it is a bit strange, I can confidently say I am captivated. I want to learn and am learning. I've even chosen to join a pilot course for differential equations and linear algebra for electrical engineering that my university has not offered before. All of these things that I am currently doing or have done, are because of my goals. Being able to help those close to me is what I am persuing, and that is why I am pursuing my degree.

'Star Wars: Lost Stars.' A story about love, betrayal, and most importantly, my favorite sci-fi series. A quick synopsis of this novel: two lovers join two different warring sides, for the causes that they believe in. To those who do know a bit more about Star Wars, one joins the Empire, and one joins the Rebellion. On the surface, it is just a book for those who are into the Star Wars universe. It's got the setting, characters, and plot of a typical Star Wars story, yet it includes something that I had never found in any other Star Wars book (or at least not done as well). Of course, I am talking about the love story between our two protagonists. Going back and forth between their viewpoints and further understanding why each character chose to walk the paths they are on. While this is not my favorite Star Wars book (as I am a big nerd and really love Star Wars books with multiple volumes to encompass a larger story), it is definitely one that I remember the most about. No matter how these two characters fought and believed in different ways to live in the galaxy, they always loved each other. They always came back to one another. In an ever dividing world, I thought the message was quite poetic and is something more people should be open too. While obviously being a part of two different warring factions is an extreme case and something that most people luckily do not have to experience, many people face disagreements in their everyday lives. Being able to disagree with another person, but still being able to treat them as a person and care for them (or even love them), is a super important lesson that not enough people know about today. I genuinely believe our world would be a better place if more people could take this lesson to heart. By reading this book, someone might be able to learn that lesson and maybe even affect some aspect of their or someone else's life. Even if you don't get that from this story, it is still a good read and I would recommend for anyone who likes sci fi(even if its just a little bit) or love stories. But hopefully, someone else will also be able to learn the lesson that this book taught me.

In total, I have 5 siblings. Three are from my mother and stepfather; while the other two are from my father and stepmother. I am the oldest and have had to help care for them in different ways. For my three siblings from my mother and stepfather, watching them after school and making sure they were taken care of while our parents were at work was a typical task for me. Sometimes more work would be required depending on the day, but I had a lot of responsibility thrown at me. I was also expected to strive to be the best I could academically and that is a driving factor in why I've pursued education. The expectations of my family have made me want to work harder and achieve great things. In my current pursuit of a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, this drive has not faltered and I remain on this same path. As a first-generation college student with many siblings among multiple sets of parents, my financial security has been a very big concern. With ever-growing university and living expenses, being able to afford college on my own has been stressful, to say the least. This is why I am on the search for scholarships in order to help me get the degree that I am striving towards. To graduate high school I was required to get a certain amount of service hours. Some of these you could get in middle or high school by doing various projects for certain courses such as Health. A way that I received mine was by volunteering for a weeklong summer camp at my local church for several years. During my time there, I learned a lot about the community I was serving. Many campers couldn't normally go and do fun things, but this summer camp was an exception and would always bring them joy every time they could sign up. I never really thought of how something, that at times seemed like a chore to me, was actually really appreciated by those who were participating. The interaction between me and these campers made me want to try harder for them to make their week as enjoyable as possible. Although this happened several years ago, how I interact with new people has definitely been deeply impacted. I want to take more time and get to know people; so I can really understand them.