A question that always crosses my mind is, what does it mean to be an American? Does that only pertain to the Native Americans or the colonists that took over the lands that would be now called the United States? According to the government I am a naturalized US citizen, does that make me American? My mother immigrated from the Philippines to the United States with five kids in her arms. For my mother, the US is seen as the land of opportunity. Every day she would lecture us, and show us her hands and say “look at these hands, I don’t want your hands to look like mine. You need to do well in school and get a job”. The hard work and determination provided by my mother made me a diligent and resilient person today. I started working as soon as I was old enough to start saving money for college. My first ever job was working at a community water park as a food server. I eventually moved up to a Food Service Manager. This is where I had a taste of being a manager for a business. With the encouragement from my parents and older siblings I was the first to go directly to a University instead of technical school. The support I get from my family and friends is unfathomable. I strive every day to give support to those I am surrounded by and speak louder for those who are afraid to speak for themselves. I struggled with having a voice growing up because I had older siblings that took care of me, but when I was no longer surrounded by those who lifted me up I found that strength within to divulge and conquer any problem I had. Rachella Mariano

A question that always crosses my mind is, what does it mean to be an American? Does that only pertain to the Native Americans or the colonists that took over the lands that would be now called the United States? According to the government I am a naturalized US citizen, does that make me American? My mother immigrated from the Philippines to the United States with five kids in her arms. For my mother, the US is seen as the land of opportunity. Every day she would lecture us, and show us her hands and say “look at these hands, I don’t want your hands to look like mine. You need to do well in school and get a job”. The hard work and determination provided by my mother made me a diligent and resilient person today. I started working as soon as I was old enough to start saving money for college. My first ever job was working at a community water park as a food server. I eventually moved up to a Food Service Manager. This is where I had a taste of being a manager for a business. With the encouragement from my parents and older siblings I was the first to go directly to a University instead of technical school. The support I get from my family and friends is unfathomable. I strive every day to give support to those I am surrounded by and speak louder for those who are afraid to speak for themselves. I struggled with having a voice growing up because I had older siblings that took care of me, but when I was no longer surrounded by those who lifted me up I found that strength within to divulge and conquer any problem I had. Rachella Mariano

My name is Maria Rachella David Mariano. I am a first generation college graduate and a first generation immigrant. Both my parents are immigrants from the Philippines and my four siblings, and I are first generation graduates. During my secondary education, I strived to make my parents proud of my accomplishments. My parents could not afford to pay for my college, so I started working as soon as I turned the legal age of 16 at multiple service jobs to save for college. I excelled academically to obtain the Life Scholarship recipient of South Carolina and the STEM Premier Scholarship. Unfortunately, this was not enough. I still needed to take out student loans, and work at least two part time jobs as a full time student. I still wonder how I managed to balance school, work and life during those 5 years. I grew up watching PBS because it was free. This is my earliest memory of being interested in STEM. I ended up completing a B.S in Chemical Engineering at Clemson University. At Clemson, they kept saying over and over that there are not a lot of women in Engineering and I did not realize that truth until I started my first job at a chemical company. Being born as a girl, or female is hard. History has shown time and time again that being born a girl is not desired. One example is in China’s one child policy that ended in 2015. Many female babies were discarded in hopes to get a boy in the next try. In Western Europe women were sold and or traded between families to secure loyalties and obtain large dowries. Even today, it is not widespread that women are given the same opportunities that are available to men. In society, women are painted as difficult, emotional, not aggressive and not assertive. When a woman is put in a management position is expected to have the same demeanor as a man, just because that is how other men managers act. I believe a woman can still have these “womanly” characteristics and still successfully manage others. The expectations of how a manager should have masculine traits to be successful is just a situation that is not willing to change. I am continuing my education at Audencia for a MSc. in Engineering Management. After I acquire this master's degree, I want to become a project manager or engineering manager. I want to be an example to others, and inspire other young women to break through the barrier of intimidation that the STEM industries have. In the engineering field, women placed in management roles are infrequent. Thus, I hope to one day inspire young girls to pursue a career in a historically male dominated field, and that they are able to push through any adversity that may come their way.

The Women in Engineering Management scholarship would be a perfect fit for my personal, academic and professional goals. Undoubtedly, I am a woman who is currently working as a Process/Project Engineer. For this reason, I would like to obtain this scholarship, because I have never studied abroad or been to Europe. Overall, I want to be able to allocate and utilize my time at Audencia'S MSC Engineering Management program, in such a way that would allow me to take full advantage of what studying abroad has to offer. Personally, both my parents are immigrants from the Philippines and my four siblings, and I are first generation graduates. During my secondary education, I strived to make my parents proud of my accomplishments. My parents could not afford to pay for my college, so I started working as soon as I turned the legal age of 16 at multiple service jobs to save for college. I excelled academically to obtain the Life Scholarship recipient of South Carolina and the STEM Premier Scholarship. Unfortunately, this was not enough. I still needed to take out student loans, and work at least two part time jobs as a full time student. I still wonder how I managed to balance school, work and life during those 5 years. When I attend Audencia, I want to be able to get the full experience and immerse myself in France’s culture and other opportunities that may arise. I do not want to have to worry if I could buy next semester’s textbooks or limit my time working two jobs while I am attending Audencia. Academically, I studied Chemical Engineering at Clemson University, because I always had an interest in the sciences and mathematics. The chemical engineering program required it’s students to choose a minor or emphasis area of study. So I decided to pursue a minor in Business Administration, because I had my first experience as a manager at a water park in my hometown. From this experience I enjoyed being in a leadership role, and the feeling of responsibility and reliability. Also, it has been a goal of mine to obtain a masters in management later in my career. With this scholarship, I could put my best effort in my education and development as an engineering manager. Professionally, attending Audencia will allow me to grow my international network and expand my competencies in business. In addition, I want to invest my time in the programs, organizations and workshops, to build my skills as a future manager. With these tools Audencia has to offer, I can grow my leadership and management skills. Clearly, women are still the minority in the engineering field, and women placed in management roles are infrequent. Thus, I hope to one day to inspire young girls to pursue a career in a historically male dominated field, and that they are able to push through any adversity that may come their way. I appreciate your consideration, and I look forward to building long lasting relationships during my time at Audencia.