In my years as a student, I've never felt like I fit in. I have always been an avid reader; it runs in my family. As a kid, my dad and I would pick a series and read them together, and discuss them. When I was in the second grade, I took one of his physics books and started reading it. I was so intrigued by what I learned that I wanted to use a combination of Archimedes principle and the principles of buoyancy to turn water bottles, clay, and some tubing into a reverse flow water fountain for my science fair project. My teacher didn’t believe that I had done the work at all, let alone by myself. After about an hour of arguing back and forth and defending and explaining my project, she called the principal to “prove I'm lying” and the cycle repeated itself. This would be the beginning of a cycle that I would face in most classes that had me lose interest in the education system as a whole. I would turn in papers that were well written and be accused of plagiarism, be asked to redo math questions on tests because I finished first, do science fair projects, and be told I didn’t do them. When I left high school to start my college journey/excursion I was told by my counselors and teachers that because I was in my school's App Academy I should pursue Engineering. While my dad suggested physics at the time, I didn’t know the full scope of what the field of physics had to offer. I initially followed the advice of my teachers and declared myself an engineering major. In an effort to become a more mature and responsible adult, I wanted to follow the directions of the ones who had made it. Whether it was taking accelerated math classes to teaching engineering camps in the summer, the more I threw myself into engineering the less interested and motivated I was. It seemed that I would always find my way back to physics, specifically Quantum Physics and its limitless possibilities. In my freshman year, I came across David Bohm’s Quantum Theory, and reading that book sent me down the long journey to physics that brought me to this point in my life I am at now. Through that pursuit, I was able to accomplish many accolades including HENAAC Woman of the Year 2017, several opportunities to work with NASA in their L’Space programs as well as IBM and Northrup Grumman. These experiences coupled with my father's steady encouragement allowed me to change my major to physics. This process and my desire to fit in caused me to spend three years of my life pursuing someone else's goal. Once I was in a major that actually suited me, I was still faced with my struggle to find a place I could feel comfortable and be successful. As I looked at schools to transfer to, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to belong. I was plagued by my experiences with teachers asking if I was in the right class, there to try and impress a boy, or telling me that they wouldn’t slow down their class so I could keep up before the class had even started which was discouraging and made me determined to find a place for people like me, so I turned to the HBCU’S where I could be surrounded by fellow scholars of color all working toward the same goal, achieving success in a world set up for us to fail.

In my years as a student, I've never felt like I fit in. I have always been an avid reader; it runs in my family. As a kid, my dad and I would pick a series and read them together, and discuss them. When I was in the second grade, I took one of his physics books and started reading it. I was so intrigued by what I learned that I wanted to use a combination of Archimedes principle and the principles of buoyancy to turn water bottles, clay, and some tubing into a reverse flow water fountain for my science fair project. My teacher didn’t believe that I had done the work at all, let alone by myself. After about an hour of arguing back and forth and defending and explaining my project, she called the principal to “prove I'm lying” and the cycle repeated itself. This would be the beginning of a cycle that I would face in most classes that had me lose interest in the education system as a whole. In my first year in high school, I felt like I was lost in the middle of an ocean with no shore in sight. I went from being a part of the majority of the student population to consistently being one of the only females of color in most of my honors classes. I was a novelty at Pasadena High School. The number of times I was told “I spoke so well” was so often I was convinced it was actually something to be proud about, it wasn’t until I saw some of Malcolm X’s and Dr. King’s interviews that I understood that it wasn’t truly a compliment so much as a slight belittling of my intellect. It seemed that I would always find my way back to physics, specifically Quantum Physics and its limitless possibilities. In my freshman year, I came across David Bohm’s Quantum Theory, and reading that book sent me down the long journey to physics that brought me to this point in my life/ I am at now. Though my dad tried to get me to pursue it, my lack of self-confidence and fear of failure made me stay in the engineering field for three years. Through that pursuit, I was able to accomplish many accolades including HENAAC Woman of the Year 2017, several opportunities to work with NASA in their space programs as well as IBM and Northrup Grumman. These experiences coupled with my father's steady encouragement allowed me to change my major to physics. This process and my desire to fit in caused me to spend three years of my life pursuing someone else's goal. Once I was in a major that actually suited me, I was still faced with my struggle to find a place I could feel comfortable and be successful. As I looked at schools to transfer to, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to belong. I was plagued by my experiences with teachers asking if I was in the right class, there to try and impress a boy, or telling me that they wouldn’t slow down their class so I could keep up before the class had even started which was discouraging and made me determined to find a place for people like me, so I turned to the HBCU’S where I could be surrounded by fellow scholars of color all working toward the same goal, achieving success in a world set up for us to fail.