It was during elementary school when I found a love for math. Through my experience, math was more fun when you finally understood it and could apply it. I was able to comprehend multiplication faster than my peers, and I enjoyed it. This was my primary standout feature, and I show it off often. This feature continued throughout high school. I was an introverted student who could be seen as weird by others. I preferred to keep to myself, and it took me a while to get comfortable with other people. However, there were a few factors that didn’t allow me to have a low profile. I had a reputation from middle through high school as the smart kid. I was always in the top three through middle school, and was number one all through high school. This was especially highlighted when it came to math and I always rose to the occasion. As a teenager, the spotlight was on me and there was little room for error. With all of these high expectations, I was determined to meet them in all ways possible. This included my career focus. I needed to choose a career path that sounded “smart” but in a field that I would enjoy. One of my math teachers recommended Actuarial Science, a math heavy field. I researched it and saw some stereotypes associated with it, and they fit many traits that I would also describe myself as. It also paid well and had little competition, it seemed like a great choice. Therefore, I enrolled in college as an Actuarial Science major. One thing that continued from high school through college was my strength when it came to math. I still enjoyed calculus and statistics, but I didn’t enjoy courses that related to Actuarial Science. I did more research into Actuarial Science and how it works and it was no longer sounding like something I wanted to do. However, I was afraid of switching majors, because I thought that it was a sign of failure. I felt trapped and pressured into staying in a field I didn’t want to do. I needed to evaluate myself and figure out what it was that I didn't like. It was here when I realized that the problem was how I saw math. It wasn’t math that I enjoyed, rather it was problem solving. I have a strong desire to fix and figure out problems. Numbers and math are great and easy for me but my passion in math is centered around the problem solving aspect of it. A perfect career for me has to involve being able to effectively problem solve for others, organizations and the community to make them better. Because I have a strength in solving problems, it spreads throughout other aspects of my life. I love getting myself out of difficult situations, even though it might be stressful. I enjoyed the process of switching majors because it was a form of problem solving as well. I had to figure out what it was that I truly loved, and I had to find the major that fit that description best. This is why I decided to enter into the field of Industrial Engineering, a field where you look at businesses and systems, and you try to change things to make them more efficient. I am passionate about problem solving, and the STEM field gives me that opportunity. This will allow me to go into the community and evaluate where the problems in the community actually lie, and solve them to make my community the best it can be.

It was during elementary school when I found a love for math. Through my experience, math was more fun when you finally understood it and could apply it. I was able to comprehend multiplication faster than my peers, and I enjoyed it. This was my primary standout feature, and I show it off often. This feature continued throughout high school. I was an introverted student who could be seen as weird by others. I preferred to keep to myself, and it took me a while to get comfortable with other people. However, there were a few factors that didn’t allow me to have a low profile. I had a reputation from middle through high school as the smart kid. I was always in the top three through middle school, and was number one all through high school. This was especially highlighted when it came to math and I always rose to the occasion. As a teenager, the spotlight was on me and there was little room for error. With all of these high expectations, I was determined to meet them in all ways possible. This included my career focus. I needed to choose a career path that sounded “smart” but in a field that I would enjoy. One of my math teachers recommended Actuarial Science, a math heavy field. I researched it and saw some stereotypes associated with it, and they fit many traits that I would also describe myself as. It also paid well and had little competition, it seemed like a great choice. Therefore, I enrolled in college as an Actuarial Science major. One thing that continued from high school through college was my strength when it came to math. I still enjoyed calculus and statistics, but I didn’t enjoy courses that related to Actuarial Science. I did more research into Actuarial Science and how it works and it was no longer sounding like something I wanted to do. However, I was afraid of switching majors, because I thought that it was a sign of failure. I felt trapped and pressured into staying in a field I didn’t want to do. I needed to evaluate myself and figure out what it was that I didn't like. It was here when I realized that the problem was how I saw math. It wasn’t math that I enjoyed, rather it was problem solving. I have a strong desire to fix and figure out problems. Numbers and math are great and easy for me but my passion in math is centered around the problem solving aspect of it. A perfect career for me has to involve being able to effectively problem solve for others, organizations and the community to make them better. Because I have a strength in solving problems, it spreads throughout other aspects of my life. I love getting myself out of difficult situations, even though it might be stressful. I enjoyed the process of switching majors because it was a form of problem solving as well. I had to figure out what it was that I truly loved, and I had to find the major that fit that description best. This is why I decided to enter into the field of Industrial Engineering, a field where you look at businesses and systems, and you try to change things to make them more efficient. I am passionate about problem solving, and the STEM field gives me that opportunity.