At my core, there are three guiding values: faith, adventure, and connection. These qualities shape how I grow, lead, and support those around me. Faith is the foundation of my life. It gives me a sense of purpose beyond achievements. Growing up, I would try to find fulfillment from external success, but I realized that even when everything in my life was going right, something was still missing. Exploring my relationship with God gave me everlasting peace. I embody this value by trusting in that purpose, understanding my life, staying grounded during challenges, and striving to live with intention and integrity. Adventure reflects my drive to grow. I push myself to step outside my comfort zone, whether that means taking on new opportunities or speaking up in unfamiliar situations. This mindset allows me to face failure with confidence and approach challenges with curiosity rather than hesitation. Connection shapes how I work with others. I strive to build genuine relationships and create an environment where people feel comfortable coming to me in any situation. The people I surround myself with shape who I become; that's why forming friendships is the foundation of connection. My friends challenge the way I think, support me when I doubt myself, and encourage me to grow. I push to connect with everyone the way I would connect with a friend and the way my friends connect with me. Together, these values guide every decision I make and my contribution to the communities I am part of.

I grew up in a town of fewer than five thousand people, where the most exciting hangout spot was a McDonald’s next to a half-empty strip mall. Everyone knew everyone; from kindergarten to fifth grade, my classmates and I practically knew which street each of us lived on. For a long time, I was content with this small bubble until I stepped outside of it. After fifth grade, I switched schools to a public STEM school that everyone back home called “a smart school.” Suddenly, I went from being at the top of my class to feeling painfully average. My new classmates were coding programs, rebuilding computers, and preparing for careers I hadn’t even known existed. As I continued my educational journey, joining more opportunities that my school introduced me to, I saw the detrimental difference between my school life and my home life. My elementary peers and I were now in high school, but we were living different high school experiences. While my old classmates were being steered toward trade school and finishing school with little direction, I was looking for research opportunities and attending lectures from colleges. It made me realize how deeply environment influences what we think we can achieve. That difference became my motivation to bridge opportunity gaps for others, especially for younger students who might not see their potential yet. My first chance came when I volunteered at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery with my school’s robotics team. I planned and led an Alka-Seltzer rocket activity for kids, guiding them through trial and error as they built and launched their creations. After the activity, we shared robotics opportunities with them, opening their eyes to STEM opportunities they can start as early as elementary school. Watching their faces light up as their rockets took off and their excitement as they learned they could make mechanical creatures reminded me of the importance of education. Since then, I’ve joined more youth STEM programs, running science booths and week-long summer camps. Each time, I met kids who just needed an opportunity to explore. I’ve learned that even the simplest encouragement can change how a child sees themselves. These moments have become the most meaningful part of my academic journey. They taught me that intelligence isn’t defined by competition, but by opportunity. I will fulfill my role as a future engineer not just by building machines, but by building access. I hope to create technology that solves meaningful problems, but I also want to make sure more students have the chance to become engineers themselves. I plan to continue mentoring robotics teams, volunteering at STEM camps, and creating hands-on activities that introduce engineering to students who may never have considered it before. Too often, talent goes unnoticed simply because someone was never given the opportunity to discover it. I want to help change that. Growing up, I learned that a single opportunity can completely change the direction of a person's life. Mine certainly did. By combining engineering with outreach, I hope to inspire the next generation of innovators and make STEM more accessible to communities like the one I grew up in. If I can help even one student realize that they belong in engineering, I'll know I've made a lasting impact. The opportunities I was given changed the direction of my life. My goal is to become that opportunity for someone else.

I began exploring STEM fields in middle school when I begged my mom to transfer me into a STEM-focused school 30 minutes from my home. Through exploring different coursework, job shadows, and internships in various fields, I can confidently say I found my passion in engineering, particularly aerospace engineering. What draws me to engineering is the balance between creativity and logic. I have always enjoyed creating things, whether that meant assembling small projects or turning simple materials into something more meaningful. Over time, I realized that engineering allows me to take that creativity and apply it in a structured, purposeful way. My high school career has been committed to expanding my STEM and engineering knowledge in order to prepare me for college and beyond. Entering high school, I immediately signed up for the hardest courses available, even though not many were offered. Through this, I was introduced to science fair. The first year, I explored aerodynamics, then planetary science, then space weather, each year broadening my knowledge and strengthening my interest in aerospace, specifically astronautics. I adapted quickly, refining my written reports and improving my data collection and analysis. By junior year, I had taken first at my local science fair and qualified for states, where I earned a scholarship. More importantly, these projects showed me that I enjoy the process behind engineering, asking questions, testing ideas, and improving them over time. In my junior year, I committed further to engineering by joining a rookie FIRST Robotics team. I am now a mechanism lead, guiding five students through the process of designing and building a mechanism. This experience gave me a deeper understanding of real-world engineering and taught me how to work effectively in a team. It also showed me that failure is a necessary part of progress. Not every design works the first time, but each iteration leads to improvement. Learning to adapt and continue forward is one of the most valuable skills I have gained. I have continued to prepare myself for a future in aerospace engineering by seeking out opportunities beyond the classroom. I completed an internship with Northrop Grumman during my junior year and joined a model rocketry team to better understand small-scale flight systems. I also challenged myself academically by taking a math class over the summer and enrolling in two math courses this year to strengthen my foundation. These choices reflect my commitment to being fully prepared for the demands of an engineering program. My interest in aerospace engineering comes from its ability to combine imagination with precision. The idea that multi-ton vehicles can overcome gravity and travel beyond Earth is both complex and inspiring. There are many ways to approach a single problem, and each requires both creativity and careful reasoning. That balance is what makes engineering meaningful to me and what continues to motivate me to pursue this field. In college, I will take full advantage of my resources, just as I did when I transferred schools in sixth grade. I plan to participate in research opportunities, pursue internships, and join on-campus organizations to continue developing my skills. I also hope to help other students overcome barriers to STEM involvement so they can access the same opportunities that shaped my path. As I work toward becoming an aerospace engineer, I will bring creativity, collaboration, and persistence to everything I do. College is the next step in that path, and this scholarship would directly impact my ability to attend a university with greater opportunities. I am committed to continuing to learn, to take initiative, and to approach challenges with determination.

The movie that has had the greatest impact on my life is Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. At first glance, it is chaotic, exaggerated, and comedic. But the first time I watched it, it felt uncomfortably familiar. Similar to Rafe, I experienced middle school as a time when I did not quite fit in. There was nothing especially dramatic about it, but I often felt out of place and lacked confidence in myself. Watching Rafe push back against his environment made me reflect on my own experiences. What stood out to me most about his rebellion was the creativity behind it. He took what frustrated him and turned it into something expressive, not to impress others but to define himself. Whether it was sticky notes on walls or paint on hats, he created in ways that were unconventional but intentional. For much of the film, he was bold in private, leaving his mark anonymously before eventually taking a public stand. That progression was what resonated with me. In middle school, I would try to take action without being recognized. I created faceless social media accounts where I shared tips on video games, ways to improve habits, and fun science content. Even though the impact was small, I was trying to contribute something positive. I kept it hidden from friends and family because I was afraid of failing publicly. After watching Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, I began to see that arc as a reflection of where I could go next. Rafe’s shift from private actions to public ones pushed me to do the same. I started stepping forward instead of staying hidden. I joined and eventually led extracurriculars, something I had once avoided out of fear of not being good enough. As I took on more responsibility, I began to make a real impact. I led STEM outreach events and taught peers new skills as a robotics lead. What began as small, private efforts to create change gradually grew into something more visible and intentional. I came to understand that meaningful change requires presence and courage, not anonymity. Hiding behind a screen or faceless identity can be a starting point, but it is not enough to shape the environment around you. Like Rafe’s shift from quiet, personal acts to bold, public expression, I moved from creating in the background to contributing in ways that others could see, engage with, and learn from. The film also changed how I think about resilience. It presents failure, embarrassment, and setbacks not as endpoints, but as part of the process of figuring out who you are. That perspective has stayed with me in both academic and personal challenges. Instead of avoiding failure, I have learned to engage with it, to treat it as a necessary step in growth rather than something to fear. Looking back, I still recognize the person I was in middle school, but I am no longer defined by that version of myself. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life did not just reflect my experiences. It helped me reframe them. It showed me that feeling out of place does not have to be limiting. It can be the starting point for creativity, resilience, and self-definition.

My name is Lyla Massey, and I am a senior at the Dayton Regional STEM School planning to pursue a bachelor’s, and eventually a master’s, degree in aerospace engineering. Throughout high school, I have focused on gaining hands-on engineering experience. I am a mechanical lead on my school’s robotics team, which qualified for the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship and earned the Rookie All-Star Award. I also interned with Northrop Grumman, where I programmed drones for swarm technology, and I have conducted aerospace-related research for the past three years. However, many of these opportunities came from a decision I made in sixth grade. I transferred from my local school in a small, low-income town of fewer than 3,000 people to a STEM-focused school thirty minutes away. That change gave me access to resources like 3D printers, engineering coursework, and work-based learning opportunities that were not available in my previous school. Seeing that difference made me more aware of how unequal access to education can be. While I was able to explore engineering early, many students in my hometown did not have the same opportunities to discover their interests. This is what motivated me to start giving back. I began volunteering at a local museum, where I led hands-on science activities for elementary students. One of the main activities I developed was a rocket-building workshop, where I designed the lesson, gathered materials, and adjusted the activity for different age groups. I focused on encouraging students to test their designs, make changes, and understand that failure is part of the process. If I could start my own charity, I would expand this idea into a mobile STEM outreach lab. The goal would be to bring hands-on learning experiences directly to schools and communities that lack access to STEM resources. Many students are interested in science but do not have the opportunity to explore different fields in a hands-on way. This program would serve under-resourced schools and community centers. Volunteers would travel to different locations with portable kits and lead structured workshops across multiple areas of STEM. These workshops would include activities such as building simple machines, experimenting with basic medical concepts like heart rate and human biology, exploring animal science through environmental and ecosystem models, and learning engineering fundamentals through circuits and robotics. The goal would be to expose students to a wide range of STEM fields so they can discover what interests them. Volunteers would guide students through the process of asking questions, testing ideas, and improving their work. This would help students build problem-solving skills while also making STEM feel more approachable. Each activity would be designed to be hands-on and adaptable so students of different ages and experience levels can participate. The goal of this charity would be to make STEM more accessible and give students the opportunity to explore different career paths at an earlier stage. By providing consistent access to these experiences, the program would help students build confidence and develop interests that they may not have discovered otherwise. Over time, the program would expand through partnerships with schools, libraries, and community organizations to reach more students.

I have been interested in engineering for as long as I can remember. In sixth grade, I asked my mom if I could transfer to a STEM-focused school thirty minutes from our home because I wanted stronger math and science programs. At the time, I did not realize how much that decision would shape my future, but it opened the door to opportunities that later confirmed my interest in aerospace engineering. For a long time, I struggled to answer whether I think more with the left side of my brain or the right. Eventually, I realized that engineering works best when both are involved. Creativity and logic are often treated as opposites, but in engineering they constantly overlap. Aerospace engineering especially requires imaginative thinking combined with strict physical constraints. Designing something that flies means balancing creativity with the realities of aerodynamics, structural loads, and propulsion. That challenge is what attracts me most to the field. When I entered high school, I chose the most rigorous classes available to me, even when advanced options were limited. Those courses pushed me to participate in science fair, which became one of the most influential parts of my academic experience. Each year, my projects grew closer to my interests. I started with aerodynamics, then explored planetary science, and eventually focused on space weather and its effects on satellites. Through these projects, I learned how to analyze data, write technical reports, and approach complicated problems step by step. By my junior year, I placed first at my local science fair, qualified for the state level, and received a scholarship for my project. More importantly, I discovered how much I enjoy research and the process of solving problems through experimentation. During my junior year, I also joined a rookie FIRST Robotics Competition team. I now serve as a mechanism lead, guiding five students through designing and building one of the robot’s mechanisms. Robotics showed me a different side of engineering. Instead of carefully planned experiments, the process often involved rapid prototyping, unexpected failures, and redesigning ideas multiple times before they worked. Learning to treat failure as part of progress became one of the most valuable lessons I gained from robotics. To prepare for engineering in college, I continued challenging myself academically. I took a math course over the summer and completed two math classes during my senior year, finishing high school in College Credit Plus Calculus II. I also had the opportunity to intern with Northrop Grumman during my junior year, where I worked on a drone swarming project involving quadcopters and autonomous coordination. That experience introduced me to systems-level engineering and reinforced my interest in aerospace technologies. I also joined the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s model rocketry team to explore rocket systems through hands-on work. Transferring schools in sixth grade exposed me to opportunities I would not have known about otherwise. Because of that experience, I try to help younger students discover similar opportunities. I volunteer at a local museum where I run hands-on science activities for elementary students, including a rocket-building activity I designed so students can experiment, redesign, and test their ideas. Through museum programs and church camps, I have worked with over 100 students and encouraged them to explore STEM programs such as robotics. In college, I plan to approach opportunities with the same curiosity that led me to transfer schools years ago. I hope to pursue research, internships, and engineering organizations that deepen my technical skills while working with others and continuing outreach that helps younger students discover opportunities in STEM.