I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had a cancer diagnosis. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old when this happened. He had been diagnosed a few years prior to his passing with Alzheimer's dementia. As we know, this diagnosis only progresses and worsens as times passes. The last year of his life was the worst for him. He was no longer able to remember all of his family anymore and he often had hallucinations and anxiety. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home and attend virtual school. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours. I would help with feeding, changing, bathing and giving them their medications. I would spend time with them and talk to them and take pictures with them. At this time of my life I was 14-15 years old. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to do so, but I did prove to myself that I could. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. If I had not been able and available or have had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility. This was during the time of the pandemic, so they would have been alone and possibly died alone if I had not been willing and able to help take care of them. I want to note that the nursing facilities in Michigan were not allowing anyone to enter the buildings to see their loved ones at all. This was due to the pandemic restrictions. So had we not been able to care for my grandparents in their home, they likely would have died alone in a care facility. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, especially the elderly, has shaped me into the person I am today.

I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. I remember being involved with the team and building the field and lego robot for the competition. During my time in high school, I was a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics and was closely involved with the robot build and operation. A personal challenge I have been able to overcome through the years is having the confidence in myself to be able to know that I could be a part of the robotics team and make a difference. I am happy to have been able to progress through the years and I can say that during my senior year of high school, I was a co-captain for my robotics team. This progression had been steady over the years and I feel I was able to gain confidence as the years passed and make it to that level of accomplishment. I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandfather passed away in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old at the time. During that time, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I worked two part-time jobs in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role. I have experience with volunteering as well. In high school, I volunteered with a church group who organized and distributed food to families in need in the community. During college, I worked with the local fire department visiting homes in the community to supply working fire detectors. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the local humane society. I am attending Kettering University and studying to obtain a degree in Industrial Engineering. I also am working in my co-op position at Adient. I am fascinated by learning how things work and operate and how these things are used to make day to day life better for everyone. I am very excited being in this chapter of my life of pursuing my dreams and being the person I have hoped to become. My future plans are to graduate from my program and start my career as a full fledged engineer, doing what I love. This scholarship would greatly help towards paying the cost of my education at Kettering University. I have been fortunate up to this point of not having to worry about student loans yet and for that I am ever so thankful.

I think people, including myself, would say my biggest strength is I put my heart and soul into everything I do. I pride myself on being organized and having good time management skills in order to balance my life and responsibilities, which includes volunteer work too. I worked two part-time jobs before my senior year while in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role and I consider it second nature and comes easily to me. I have experience with volunteering as well. During college, I worked with the American Red Cross and the local fire department visiting homes in the community to supply working fire detectors. The community I did and continue to do most of my volunteering is in Flint, Michigan. This is a community that has many low income families living at poverty level or below. Many of the homes we visited did not have working fire detectors, so this was a much needed volunteer event that I was able to help organize and participate in. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the local humane society, making toys and playing with the dogs and cats there. There are many sheltered animals that were in need of some attention and care, even if just playing with them and providing toys for them. My college friends and I also created holiday cards for children who were spending their holidays in the hospital. During the fall of 2025, I worked with other students to organize a clean up of a local park in the Flint community. This included removing exposed nails and staples from picnic tables and outdoor furniture to prevent potential injury. Once that was done, we painted and stained them to look new again and cleaned up the grounds from debris and trash for the community members to enjoy and feel safe. During my high school time, I was a team captain for my FIRST Robotics Team 66 from Ypsilanti, Michigan during my Senior year in high school. I was involved in building the robot and participated on the drive team at the competitions. This was a very fulfilling and wonderful experience and I loved every minute of it. Our team made it to the semi-finals that year. I am so grateful to have been able to be a part of this team and the experience it gave me. Also during high school, I volunteered with a church group who organized and distributed food to families in need in the community. This felt very rewarding as the families were low income and really in need of the food and supplies that we were able to provide to them. I maintain my high work ethic and drive while pursuing my dreams of going to college and studying engineering. I have been interested in engineering since I was a young girl. My dad is an engineer and I have always worked with him on projects from building a home to working on fixing my car when it needs repairs. I love learning new concepts like this and being able to be involved in this career gives one a sense of pride and accomplishment. Leadership through service such as volunteering is so very rewarding and fulfilling as well. Being a part of making a difference in a community through volunteering is so powerful and makes a difference where it's needed most.

I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school. I have been focused on this ever since then. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM. I have grown up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. I was in first grade when my dad and mom formed a group to participate in the program. I did this until I was in 4th grade. I remember being involved with the team and building the field and lego robot for the competition. I have very fond memories of this and found the building component of the program very fascinating. During my time in high school, I was a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics and was closely involved with the robot build and operation. My dad was a mentor for the team, so we worked together on this project. I was able to brainstorm with my mentors and teammates about how to build a robot to compete in the game by analyzing the objective of the game. We laid out what our goal was by using a method that weighed the different options by ease of build (complexity), cost, effectiveness and strength. This helped narrow down what robot design we were going after. We were able to make it to the semi-final rounds that year. A personal challenge I have been able to overcome through the years is having the confidence in myself to be able to know that I could be a part of the robotics team and make a difference. I grew up participating with my robotics teams as mentioned above. I am happy to have been able to progress through the years and I can say that during my senior year of high school, I was a co-captain for my robotics team. This progression had been steady over the years and I feel I was able to gain confidence as the years passed and make it to that level of accomplishment. I am very proud to have been able to do that and I am very grateful for that opportunity. I started out in robotics in first grade and I am proud I stuck with it through the years. I am attending Kettering University in Flint, Michigan and studying to obtain a degree in Industrial Engineering. This has been my goal since I was young. I also am working in my co-op position at Adient, which is a seating company for vehicles. I am fascinated by learning how things work and operate and how these things are used to make day to day life safe and better for everyone. As mentioned, I grew up in an engineering family, so I have been exposed to these concepts and understanding how things work and why all my life. I am very excited being in this chapter of my life of pursuing my dreams and being the person I have hoped to become. My future plans are to graduate from my program and start my career as a full fledged engineer, doing what I love. This scholarship would greatly help towards paying the cost of my education at Kettering University. I have been fortunate up to this point of not having to worry about student loans yet and for that I am ever so thankful.

I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM so I have grown up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. I was in first grade when my dad and mom formed a group to participate in the program. I did this until I was in 4th grade. During my time in high school, I was a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics and was closely involved with the robot build and operation. I was able to brainstorm with my mentors and teammates about how to build a robot to compete in the game. My dad was also a mentor and team member as well. It was nice working with him on this project and I looked up to him at that time just as I did as a child. I am proud to say, we were able to make it to the semi-final rounds that year. Also during high school and the pandemic, I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandfather passed away in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. Being around people who have dementia and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. If I had not been able or had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility, therefore, they likely would have died alone. I also worked two part-time jobs before my senior year while in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role and I consider it second nature and it comes easily to me. I am attending Kettering University in Flint, Michigan and studying to obtain a degree in Industrial Engineering. This has been my goal since I was young. I also am working in my co-op position at Adient, a seat company for vehicles. Safety is our paramount concern. I am fascinated by learning how things work and operate and how these things are used to make day to day life better for everyone. I am very excited being in this chapter of my life of pursuing my dreams and being the person I have hoped to become. My future plans are to graduate from my program and start my career as a full fledged engineer, doing what I love.

I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had a cancer diagnosis. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away unexpein the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old when this happened. He had been diagnosed a few years prior to his passing with Alzheimer's dementia. As we know, this diagnosis only progresses and worsens as times passes. The last year of his life was the worst for him. He was no longer able to remember all of his family anymore and he often had hallucinations and anxiety. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home and attend virtual school. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours. I would help with feeding, changing, bathing and giving them their medications. I would spend time with them, talk with them and take pictures with them. At this time of my life I was 14-15 years old. This time I spent being a caregiver to my grandparents shaped me into the young woman I have become now. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to do so, but I did prove to myself that I could. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. If I had not been able and available or have had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility. This was during the time of the pandemic, so they would have been alone and possibly died alone if I had not been willing and able to help take care of them. I want to note that the nursing facilities in Michigan were not allowing anyone to enter the buildings to see their loved ones at all. This was due to the pandemic restrictions. So had we not been able to care for my grandparents in their home, they likely would have died alone in a care facility. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, especially the elderly, has shaped me into the person I am today. I find I am mature for my age and I feel having the caregiver experience when I was younger is a big part of that. I take my college career seriously and strive to do the best I can and be the best version of myself as I navigate this busy time in my life. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

I think people, including myself, would say my biggest strength is I put my heart and soul into everything I do. I have been told I am a hard worker and I put all my effort and pride into what I do and accomplish. I pride myself on being organized and having good time management skills in order to balance my life and responsibilities. I spent a year and a half of my high school years doing online virtual school. That was a big challenge and I did not care for that, but I had to make the best of it. I was able to maintain getting my assignments and school work done on time and maintain an A average in my classes. I work hard to get good grades and know that I have put all my effort into doing something when I put my mind to it. I worked two part-time jobs before my senior year while in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role and I consider it second nature and comes easily to me. I have experience with volunteering as well. In high school, I volunteered with a church group who organized and distributed food to families in need in the community. During college, I worked with the local fire department visiting homes in the community to supply working fire detectors. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the local humane society, making toys and playing with the dogs and cats there. In addition, my friends and I created holiday cards for children who were spending their holidays in the hospital. During the fall, I worked with other college students cleaning a local park in the community, including removing exposed nails and staples from the picnic tables and outdoor furniture. Once that was done, we painted and stained them to look new again. I also was a team captain for my FIRST Robotics Team 66 from Ypsilanti, Michigan during my Senior year in high school. I was involved in building the robot and was on the drive team at the competitions. This was a very fulfilling and wonderful experience and I loved every minute of it. Our team made it to the semi-finals that year. I am so grateful to have been able to be a part of this team and the experience and memories it gave me. I continue to maintain my high work ethic and drive while pursuing my dreams of going to college and studying engineering. I have been interested in engineering since I was a young girl. My dad is an engineer and I have always worked with him on various projects from building a home to working on fixing my car when it needs repairs. I love learning new concepts like this and being able to be involved gives one a sense of pride and accomplishment that is like no other. I currently work in my co-op position at an automotive seating company and love the work I do there as a student intern. I am heavily involved in the safety portion that goes into making these products reliable and safe for the general population. This is a very rewarding component of the job and to me, a very important one as well. I take pride in knowing I can be a small part of this imperative process of keeping people safe on the roads.

My journey with my faith has been a very important part of my life. I was baptized as a baby and did attend church with my parents growing up. My grandmother was one of the Sunday school teachers and I often went with her to the classroom when she was there. I grew up attending church services for many years. As I grow older, I have realized how imperative my faith is to me and how it impacts my view of the world and how I carry myself as a person. It has impacted my decisions greatly throughout the years and I am grateful for that. I know that treating others the way I want to be treated in life is huge and plays a big factor into how I am as a person. I feel I have gained wisdom, strength, understanding and a genuine heart due to having a strong faith in something that is not of this world. I know I am not in control of most of what is going on in my life and the world around me, and my faith has led me to this thought process overall. I knew I always wanted to pursue higher education once I graduated high school. I have always been drawn to the engineering world and understanding how things work and how they can make the world a better place. This seems so simplistic but it really is what drives me to do what I am doing and continue to strive to be better. My family is a faith filled family so this whole concept is not foreign to me. I have grown up with this as a pillar in the household. Relying on my faith has helped me through some very difficult times in my young life thus far. I was in high school when the pandemic shut the world down. At that same time, both my maternal grandparents were very ill and I had to help out the family and be a personal caregiver for both of them. They passed away during the pandemic one year apart from each other and that was a very difficult loss for all of us. I was able to remain strong and be with them both when they took their last breaths on this earth. They both passed away in the home so I was present when this happened. I always felt peace with the dying process and being so closely connected to it at a very young age for both my grandparents, whom I was very close to. I know they both would be so proud of my accomplishments thus far. They always hoped I would pursue higher education and obtain a degree so I know they would be happy I am working hard towards that goal now. In addition to my personal faith journey, I had the opportunity of volunteering with others at a local church in my community while I was in high school. It involved packaging food products and distributing these food boxes to families in the community who were less fortunate. I really enjoyed my time doing this type of work and knowing I was involved in helping others in need is very humbling. I look forward to volunteering more in the future as well. Thank you for this opportunity to apply to this scholarship.

My journey with my faith has been a very important part of my life. I was baptized as a baby and did attend church with my parents growing up. My grandmother was one of the Sunday school teachers and I often went with her to the classroom when she was there. I grew up attending church services for many years. As I grow older, I have realized how imperative my faith is to me and how it impacts my view of the world and how I carry myself as a person. It has impacted my decisions greatly throughout the years and I am grateful for that. I know that treating others the way I want to be treated in life is huge and plays a big factor into how I am as a person. I feel I have gained wisdom, strength, understanding and a genuine heart due to having a strong faith in something that is not of this world. I know I am not in control of most of what is going on in my life and the world around me, and my faith has led me to this thought process overall. I knew I always wanted to pursue higher education once I graduated high school. I have always been drawn to the engineering world and understanding how things work and how they can make the world a better place. This seems so simplistic but it really is what drives me to do what I am doing and continue to strive to be better. My family is a faith filled family so this whole concept is not foreign to me. I have grown up with this as a pillar in the household. Relying on my faith has helped me through some very difficult times in my young life thus far. I was in high school when the pandemic shut the world down. At that same time, both my maternal grandparents were very ill and I had to help out the family and be a personal caregiver for both of them. They passed away during the pandemic one year apart from each other and that was a very difficult loss for all of us. I was able to remain strong and be with them both when they took their last breaths on this earth. They both passed away in the home so I was present when this happened. I always felt peace with the dying process and being so closely connected to it at a very young age for both my grandparents, whom I was very close to. I know they both would be so proud of my accomplishments thus far. They always hoped I would pursue higher education and obtain a degree so I know they would be happy I am working hard towards that goal now. In addition to my personal faith journey, I had the opportunity of volunteering with others at a local church in my community while I was in high school. It involved packaging food products and distributing these food boxes to families in the community who were less fortunate. I really enjoyed my time doing this type of work and knowing I was involved in helping others in need is very humbling. I look forward to volunteering more in the future as well. Thank you for this opportunity to apply to this scholarship. Instagram - madelinefinamore

I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school. I have been focused on this ever since. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM. I have grown up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. I was in first grade when my dad and mom formed a group to participate in the program. I did this until I was in 4th grade. I remember being involved with the team and building the field and lego robot for the competition. I have very fond memories of this and found the building component of the program very fascinating. During my time in high school, I was a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics and was closely involved with the robot build and operation. My dad was a mentor for the team, so we worked together on this project. I was able to brainstorm with my mentors and teammates about how to build a robot to compete in the game. We laid out what our goal was by using a method that weighed the different options by ease of build (complexity), cost, effectiveness and strength. This helped narrow down what robot design we were going after. We were able to make it to the semi-final rounds that year. A personal challenge I have been able to overcome through the years is having the confidence in myself to be able to know that I could be a part of the robotics team and make a difference. I grew up participating with my robotics teams as mentioned above. I am happy to have been able to progress through the years and I can say that during my senior year of high school, I was a co-captain for my robotics team. This progression had been steady over the years and I feel I was able to gain confidence as the years passed and make it to that level of accomplishment. I am very proud to have been able to do that and I am very grateful for that opportunity. Also during high school and the pandemic, I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had a cancer diagnosis. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online so I was able to be home and attend virtual school. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours. I would help with feeding, changing, bathing and and giving them their medications. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. If I had not been able or had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility, therefore, they likely would have died alone. I also worked two part-time jobs before my senior year while in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role and I consider it second nature and comes easily to me. I have experience with volunteering as well. In high school, I volunteered with a church group who organized and distributed food to families in need in the community. During college, I worked with the local fire department visiting homes in the community to supply working fire detectors. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the local humane society, making toys and playing with the dogs and cats there. My friends and I created holiday cards for children who were spending their holidays in the hospital. During the fall, I worked with other students to clean a local park in the community, including removing exposed nails and staples from the picnic tables and outdoor furniture. Once that was done, we painted and stained them to look new again. I am attending Kettering University and studying to obtain a degree in Industrial Engineering. This has been my goal since I have been young. I also am working in my co-op position at Adient. I am fascinated by learning how things work and operate and how these things are used to make day to day life better for everyone. I am very excited being in this chapter of my life of pursuing my dreams and being the person I have hoped to become. My future plans are to graduate from my program and start my career as a full fledged engineer, doing what I love.

I have a very personal experience with cancer and taking care of loved ones who have been afflicted with this horrible diagnosis. I was a personal caregiver for both my grandparents who had cancer. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, with help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer. She had become ill right when the lock downs in 2020 started. She was hospitalized for a week and we were unable to visit her. This was very difficult not knowing what was going on with her while she was there and getting a terminal cancer diagnosis during that time as well. Because of the pandemic restrictions, we were only able to discuss her diagnosis, treatment and prognosis over the telephone with the doctors and specialists. This was a very difficult and confusing time for us as a family to navigate this diagnosis of my grandmother and the pandemic at the same time. After a week in the hospital, she did return home. She deteriorated quickly and my family made the decision to have hospice come care for her in the home. She died about 2 weeks after returning home from that hospital admission in her bed. This time was a whirlwind and a huge shock to our family. While she was home for that short time, we all took care of her until she passed away. She required total care by that time of her life. She declined so quickly before our eyes that we barely had any time to process and fully grasp what was happening. My grandfather passed away a year later in the home as well. He had cancer too and dementia. I will always be grateful to say I was present with both my grandparents during those last moments of their lives. I was 15 and 16 years old when this happened. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home and attend virtual school at the same time. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with providing care in the afternoon and evening hours once school was finished for the day. Being around people who have cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. I’ll be honest, I was very scared when all this started to happen. This experience of taking care of them helped me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. I know in my heart I was able to help take care of them during their last years of life and this provided peace of mind for all involved. If I had not been able or had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility. This was during the time of the pandemic, so they would have been alone and possibly died alone, due to the pandemic restrictions. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and have a cancer diagnosis. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, has shaped me into the person I am today.

I have known that I want to go to school to be an engineer since middle school. I have been focused on this ever since that time. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM. I have grown up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my grade school. I was in first grade when my dad and mom formed a group to participate in the program. I did this until I was in 4th grade. I remember being involved with the team and building the field and lego robot for the competition. I have very fond memories of this and found the building component of the program very fascinating. In addition, during my senior year in high school, I was a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics and was closely involved with the robot build and preparing for the competitions. My dad was a mentor for the team, so we were able to work together on the project, which was fun and rewarding. I brainstormed with my mentors and teammates about how to build a robot to compete in the game by closely analyzing the objective of the game. We laid out what our goal was by using a method that weighed the different options by ease of build (complexity), cost, effectiveness and strength. This helped narrow down what robot design we were going after. I helped build frame rails for the robot and assembled them to form the robot base and drivetrain. We made our own frame rather than using the kit bot frame due to the small size we wanted for the whole robot to be. We built up the wheels with sprockets, bearings and axles to make it driveable. I also assisted with building and testing the slingshot/catapult mechanism on the robot. We designed and built a prototype catapult out of wood to verify we could get the cones up on the goal posts, which was an objective in the game for that year. We had to figure out the amount of force and the angle that it had to start travel and to stop travel in order to hit the intended target. I welded together the final version of the catapult because we made it out of steel and did not want the shock to break it apart. I had the opportunity of working with many different tools during the robot building process. I used a lathe to make chain tensioners; a bridgeport to share the chain tensioners with a mill carbide bit and drilled holes in the frame rails; a miter box saw for cutting stock to length and wood for the field and bumpers; a welder to complete the catapult and winch motor mount; a sander to smooth the parts from the band saws and deburr parts of the sharp edges; a grinding wheel to shorten screws and bolts; a vertical band saw to cut polycarbonate for the catapult load base; side panels for the electronics and protective cover pieces; a horizontal band saw to cut aluminum to length and plastic to size from bulk stock; hand drills to cut off wheels and reciprocating saws to finalize the parts being made. I was able to use a Kreg jig tool and table saw to cut wood boards into pieces to build the frame for the bumpers for the robot. I also was able to observe other team members make chains, electronics, camera wiring, and programming of the robot that I was able to learn about as well. I participated daily in robotics for 3 months while maintaining a 3.9 GPA in school. This was challenging but allowed me to see the results of hard work and determination. Being involved with this program was instrumental in giving me the confidence and drive needed to be able to work towards my dream of obtaining a college education at a very reputable and respected engineering university and maintain a rigorous schedule. Learning about how things operate and can be improved to better people's lives overall is very fascinating to me. Engineering is a career where I can do that everyday and know I am making a difference. I know being an engineer involves critical thinking skills and problem solving everyday to make sure the design and a product is safe and can improve quality of life for people everywhere. I realize I am so fortunate to be able to pursue my dream of studying to become an engineer which is what I have envisioned to be since I was a young girl. I currently work in my co-op position for a car seating company. Our main objective is safety and I enjoy what I am learning every day there. I have had the opportunity to work with some really wonderful and brilliant engineers at all levels. Brainstorming, critical thinking and problem solving are tasks I perform daily there and I love how engaged and involved I am as a student. Learning all the skills I am now is only going to enhance my abilities and productivity as a full fledged engineer in the real world.

I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had a cancer diagnosis. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old when this happened. He had been diagnosed a few years prior to his passing with Alzheimer's dementia. As we know, this diagnosis only progresses and worsens as times passes. The last year of his life was the worst for him. He was no longer able to remember all of his family anymore and he often had hallucinations and anxiety. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home and attend virtual school. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours. I would help with feeding, changing, bathing and and giving them their medications. I would spend time with them and talk to them and take pictures with them. At this time of my life I was 14-15 years old. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to do so, but I did prove to myself that I could. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. If I had not been able and available or have had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility. This was during the time of the pandemic, so they would have been alone and possibly died alone if I had not been willing and able to help take care of them. I want to note that the nursing facilities in Michigan were not allowing anyone to enter the buildings to see their loved ones at all. This was due to the pandemic restrictions. So had we not been able to care for my grandparents in their home, they likely would have died alone in a care facility. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, especially my elderly grandparents, has shaped me into the person I am today.

I grew up in a Christian home. I attended a Lutheran school from grades 1-4. I have always known Christ and the teachings of the Christian Bible. My parents are now divorced but I was baptized as a baby and remember going to church and attending Sunday school as well. Faith has always been important to me and my family. I know we are all sinners and need the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ on a day to day basis and know we are only saved because of Him and what He has done for us. I strive to be a good human being and pray and repent daily and talk with others about God and my faith in the hopes of spreading His love and bring others to Him if possible. I try to behave in a manner becoming to Christ, knowing I fall short but am always continuing to strive for this, sometimes needing subtle reminders of this. I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school. I have been focused on this ever since then. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM. I have grown up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. I was in first grade when my parents formed a group to participate in the program. I did this until I was in 4th grade. I remember being involved with the team and building the field and lego robot for the competition. I have very fond memories of this and found the building component of the program very fascinating. During my time in high school, I was a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics and was closely involved with the robot build and operation. My dad was a mentor for the team, so we worked together on this project. I was able to brainstorm with my mentors and teammates about how to build a robot to compete in the game by analyzing the objective of the game. We laid out what our goal was by using a method that weighed the different options by ease of build (complexity), cost, effectiveness and strength. This helped narrow down what robot design we were going after. We were able to make it to the semi-final rounds that year. A personal challenge I have been able to overcome through the years is having the confidence in myself to be able to know that I could be a part of the robotics team and make a difference. I grew up participating with my robotics teams as mentioned above. I am happy to have been able to progress through the years and I can say that during my senior year of high school, I was a co-captain for my robotics team. This progression had been steady over the years and I feel I was able to gain confidence as the years passed and make it to that level of accomplishment. I am very proud to have been able to do that and I am very grateful for that opportunity. I started out in robotics in first grade at my small private school and was grateful to be able to finish high school participating with a team as well. I am attending Kettering University now and studying to obtain a degree in Industrial Engineering. This has been my goal since I was young. I also am working at my co-op position at Adient, which is a car seating company. I am fascinated by learning how things work and operate and how these things are used to make day to day life safer for everyone. As mentioned, I grew up in an engineering family who also believed in Jesus, so I have been exposed to both of these concepts all of my life. I am very excited being in this chapter of my life of pursuing my dreams and being the person I have hoped to become. My future plans are to graduate from my program and start my career as a full fledged engineer, doing what I love. This scholarship would greatly help towards paying the cost of my education at Kettering University. I have been fortunate up to this point of not having to worry about student loans yet and for that I am ever so thankful. Thank you for this opportunity to apply for this scholarship.

I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had a cancer diagnosis. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old when this happened. He had been diagnosed a few years prior to his passing with Alzheimer's dementia. As we know, this diagnosis only progresses and worsens as times passes. The last year of his life was the worst for him. He was no longer able to remember all of his family anymore and he often had hallucinations and anxiety. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home and attend virtual school. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours. I would help with feeding, changing, bathing and and giving them their medications. I would spend time with them and talk to them and take pictures with them. At this time of my life I was 14-15 years old. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to do so, but I did prove to myself that I could. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. If I had not been able and available or have had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility. This was during the time of the pandemic, so they would have been alone and possibly died alone if I had not been willing and able to help take care of them. I want to note that the nursing facilities in Michigan were not allowing anyone to enter the buildings to see their loved ones at all. This was due to the pandemic restrictions. So had we not been able to care for my grandparents in their home, they likely would have died alone in a care facility. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for grandparents, has shaped my goals and the person I am today.

My maternal grandparents had a very big impact on me. I was a caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away unexpectedly in the home in June 2020 from cancer. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old at the time. He had been diagnosed a few years prior to his passing with Alzheimer's dementia. As we know, this diagnosis only progresses and worsens as times passes. The last year of his life was the worst for him. He was no longer able to remember all of his family anymore and he often had hallucinations and anxiety. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home and attend virtual school. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours. I would help with feeding, changing, bathing and giving them their medications. At this time of my life I was 14-15 years old. Being around people who have dementia and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. I’ll be honest, I was very scared when all this started to happen. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to care for them, but I did prove to myself that I could. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. I know in my heart I was able to help take care of them during their last years of life and this provided peace of mind for everyone involved. If I had not been able and available or have had the confidence in myself to help care for them in their home, they may have had to be admitted to a care facility. I want to note that the nursing facilities in Michigan were not allowing anyone to enter the buildings to see their loved ones at all. This was due to the pandemic restrictions. So had we not been able to or willing to care for my grandparents in their home, they likely would have died alone in a care facility. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for my grandparents, has shaped me into the person I am today. I am so grateful that I could do that.

I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school and have been focused on this ever since. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM so I grew up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. This was not expected to gain any ground as it was a very small school in a rural area. To our surprise, the interest in the group really took off. I was in first grade when my parents formed the group to participate in the program. I have very fond memories of this and found the building component of the program very fascinating. I also loved seeing the students and their families get involved in all levels of the program. In high school I went on to be a team member for Team 66 with FIRST Robotics. My dad was a mentor for the team, so we worked together on the project and build of the robot. We laid out what our goal was by using a method that weighed the different options by ease of build, cost, effectiveness and strength. I would never have thought I would love robotics as much as I did. Being involved in this program since elementary school proved that to me. We made our own frame rather than using the kit bot frame due to the smaller size we wanted for the whole robot to be. I assisted with building and testing the slingshot/catapult mechanism on the robot. I welded together the final version of the catapult because we made it out of steel and did not want the shock to break it apart. I had the opportunity of working with many different tools during the robot building process. Examples of these tools and what was done include: a lathe to make chain tensioners; a bridgeport to share the chain tensioners with a mill carbide bit and drilled holes in the frame rails; a miter box saw for cutting stock to length and wood for the field and bumpers; a welder to complete the catapult and winch motor mount; a sander to smooth the parts and sharp edges; a grinding wheel to shorten screws and bolts, a vertical band saw to cut polycarbonate for catapult load base and side panels for electronics and protective cover pieces; a horizontal band saw to cut aluminum to length and plastic to size from bulk stock; hand drills to cut off wheels and reciprocating saws to finalize parts being made; a Krieg gig tool and table saw to cut wood boards into pieces to build the frame for the bumpers for the robot. In addition, I also was able to observe other team members making chains, electronics, camera wiring and programming of the robot. I participated in robotics 3 days per week for several months of the school year while I maintained a 3.9 GPA. I have always loved learning about how things operate and how they can be improved to better people's lives overall. Engineering is a career where I can do that and know I am making a difference. I know being an engineer involves critical thinking and problem solving everyday to make sure a product or design is safe with the benefit of improving the quality of life of people everywhere. I am so excited to be able to attend a very respected engineering university and work hard towards the career I have always dreamed of doing.

Calculus is the backbone of the STEM fields and I will attempt to provide a few details why. It provides the critical thinking and logical problem solving that is necessary to work with high level technology and change involved with this technology. It is often explained as the foundation that drives the processes involved at all levels of the STEM fields. Examples of a few of the STEM fields include: medicine, biology, computer science, chemistry and physics, math, environmental fields, and economics to name a few well known ones. Look at it as the framework for all the dynamic changes that are involved in these areas. Calculus helps to understand these dynamics and work with the ever changing world of STEM. Think of calculus as the underlying primary language among these fields of learning. Using calculus allows us to describe and analyze the ever changing world we live in on a day to day basis. It provides the necessary tools in STEM to understand the basis of what is going on at any given time and understand the role of all the moving parts. Examples of this are velocity and acceleration used in mechanical engineering. Use of calculus in civil engineering allows engineers and scientists to calculate the structural load of all the materials being used. In addition, for electrical engineers, it allows for one to analyze the currents and voltage present in circuits for example. In medicine and biology, it creates safe use of diagnostic testing done on humans and interventions used to treat diseases and illnesses, including surgery. For scientists and biologists using calculus in their world, it allows for them to research and understand the constant changes that are happening. In pharmacy and medicine, it allows for providers to know how medicine is absorbed in our bodies as well as metabolized and excreted. Without being able to analyze these processes, safety would be very compromised and harm would likely occur. In the computer and technology world, calculus allows for people to reduce the risk of error by providing the ideal model to follow for program development and use. Using calculus allows for engineers and scientists to examine the smaller components and parts involved and serves to help them understand the concepts as a whole when all these parts are working together. Examples of areas calculus is used are: building an engine, working with artificial intelligence, understanding disease processes and treatments for them as outlined above. It is not only helpful to understand calculations but to understand and improve processes and why they happen. Using calculus maintains safety and the ability to continue to grow, evolve and learn in all the areas described above.

I have a very personal experience with dementia and cancer and taking care of others who have been afflicted with these horrible diseases. I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had a cancer diagnosis. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. He didn't want to have to be in a nursing facility and we were able to fulfill his wish of staying in his home. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old when this happened. He had been diagnosed a few years prior to his passing with Alzheimer's dementia. As we know, this diagnosis only progresses and worsens as times passes. The last year of his life was the worst for him. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day. I would help with feeding them, changing them, bathing and turning them and giving them their medications. I would spend time with them and talk to them and take pictures with them. My grandpa enjoyed when I would take pictures and "selfies" with him, he always would laugh and smile when we did that. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. I was worried and anxious about how I was going to be able to handle these changes and seeing those closest to me, struggling so much and wondering how I could help them. I gained so much confidence in myself during this time in my life. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. I know in my heart I was able to help take care of them during their last years of life and this provided peace of mind for all the family. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, especially the elderly, has shaped me into the person I am today. I am so grateful for these past life experiences that I had.

I think people, including myself, would say my biggest strength is I put my heart and soul into everything I do. I have been told I am a hard worker and I put all my effort and pride into what I do and accomplish. I pride myself on being organized and having good time management skills in order to balance my life and responsibilities. I spent a year and a half of my high school years doing online virtual school. That was a big challenge and I did not care for that, but I had to make the best of it. I was able to maintain getting my assignments and school work done on time and maintain an A average in my classes. I work hard to get good grades and know that I have put all my effort into doing something when I put my mind to it. I worked two part-time jobs before my senior year while in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role and I consider it second nature and comes easily to me. I have experience with volunteering as well. In high school, I volunteered with a church group who organized and distributed food to families in need in the community. During college, I worked with the local fire department visiting homes in the community to supply working fire detectors. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the local humane society, making toys and playing with the dogs and cats there. My friends and I created holiday cards for children who were spending their holidays in the hospital. During the fall, I worked with other students to clean a local park in the community, including removing exposed nails and staples from the picnic tables and outdoor furniture. Once that was done, we painted and stained them to look new again. I also was a team captain for my FIRST Robotics Team 66 from Ypsilanti, Michigan during my Senior year in high school. I was involved in building the robot and was on the drive team at the competitions. This was a very fulfilling and wonderful experience and I loved every minute of it. Our team made it to the semi-finals that year. I am so grateful to have been able to be a part of this team and the experience it gave me. I maintain my high work ethic and drive while pursuing my dreams of going to college and studying engineering. I have been interested in engineering since I was a young girl. My dad is an engineer and I have always worked with him on projects from building a home to working on fixing my car when it needs repairs. I love learning new concepts like this and being able to be involved so much which gives one a sense of pride and accomplishment that is like no other.

I have a very personal experience with dementia and caregiving. I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. He didn't want to have to be in a nursing facility and we were able to fulfill his wish of staying in his home. My mom is a single mom and had to work full time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I knew it was coming as he looked very peaceful and his breathing had changed. I called my mom at that time. She was not able to make it home in time to be there, but I was there with him in the living room when he passed. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. I was 16 years old when this happened. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years so I was able to be home. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would have online school during the day, and be available to help with caregiving in the afternoon and evening hours once school was finished for the day. I would help with feeding them, changing them, bathing and turning them and giving them their medications. I would spend time with them and talk to them and take pictures with them. My grandpa enjoyed when I would take pictures and "selfies" with him, he always would laugh and smile when we did that. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. I was worried and anxious about how I was going to be able to handle these changes and seeing those closest to me, struggling so much and wondering how I could help them. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to do so, but I did prove to myself that I could. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. I know in my heart I was able to help take care of them during their last years of life and this provided peace of mind for all the family. I am currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, especially the elderly, has shaped me into the person I am today. I am so grateful for these past life experiences that I had.

I have a very personal experience with dementia and caregiving. I was a personal caregiver for my grandfather who passed away at the age of 94. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. My family and I took care of him in his home so he did not have to go to a facility for the last years of his life. He didn't want to have to be in a nursing facility and we were able to fulfill his wish of staying in his home. My mom is a single mom and had to work full- time. She managed to take care of her parents, including my grandpa who had dementia, with the help from myself and my brother. My grandmother passed away somewhat suddenly in the home in June 2020 from cancer as well. My grandfather passed away a year later in June of 2021 peacefully in his recliner chair. I was there by his side when he drew his last breath. I will always be grateful to say I was present with him during those last moments of his life. During the time of the pandemic, our school was all online for almost 2 years. As mentioned, my mom is a single parent and had to work. I spent a lot of my time at my grandparents home during these few years to be able to help. I would be available to help with providing care in the afternoon and evening hours once school was finished for the day. I would help with feeding them, changing them, bathing and turning them and giving them their medications. My grandpa enjoyed when I would take pictures and "selfies" with him, he always would laugh and smile when we did that. At this time of my life I was 14-15 years old. Being around people who have dementia and cancer and require the care that they need has helped me to be a more compassionate, patient, kind and understanding person. Initially, I was not confident in my abilities to be able to do so, but I did prove to myself that I could. I gained so much confidence in myself during this time in my life. This experience of taking care of them has shown me to appreciate life and our loved ones while we can. I know in my heart I was able to help take care of them during their last years of life and this provided peace of mind for all the family. After this experience, I went on to obtain a part-time job where I was a personal sitter in assisted living for a woman who had dementia. I enjoyed this job and know that the time I spent caring for my grandparents really has shaped me into the person I am today and I respect and appreciate the elderly now more than ever. I enjoyed spending time with and working with the elderly. They have so much wisdom. I know my time with them had provided peace of mind for them, the care staff and the resident’s family. I am pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Kettering University and maybe one day will be able to work to better the lives of those who are ill and require long term care. I am unsure how that may look at this time, but I know the time I spent in my life directly caring for others, especially the elderly, has shaped me into the person I am today. I am so grateful for these past work experiences that I had.

I think people, including myself, would say my biggest strength is I put my heart and soul into everything I do. I have been told I am a hard worker and I put all my effort and pride into what I do and accomplish. I pride myself on being organized and having good time management skills in order to balance my life and responsibilities. I spent a year and a half of my high school years doing online virtual school. That was a big challenge and I did not care for that, but I had to make the best of it. I was able to maintain getting my assignments and school work done on time and maintain an A average in my classes. I work hard to get good grades and know that I have put all my effort into doing something when I put my mind to it. I worked two part-time jobs before my senior year while in high school. Both of those jobs involved working with the elderly population in assisted living facilities. I really enjoyed that type of work and made some lasting memories. Helping others who are in need is a very rewarding role and I consider it second nature and comes easily to me. I have experience with volunteering as well. In high school, I volunteered with a church group who organized and distributed food to families in need in the community. During college, I worked with the local fire department visiting homes in the community to supply working fire detectors. I also had the opportunity to volunteer with the local humane society, making toys and playing with the dogs and cats there. My friends and I created holiday cards for children who were spending their holidays in the hospital. During the fall, I worked with other students to clean a local park in the community, including removing exposed nails and staples from the picnic tables and outdoor furniture. Once that was done, we painted and stained them to look new again. I also was a team captain for my FIRST Robotics Team 66 from Ypsilanti, Michigan during my Senior year in high school. I was involved in building the robot and was on the drive team at the competitions. This was a very fulfilling and wonderful experience and I loved every minute of it. Our team made it to the semi-finals that year. I am so grateful to have been able to be a part of this team and the experience it gave me. I maintain my high work ethic and drive while pursuing my dreams of going to college and studying engineering. I have been interested in engineering since I was a young girl. My dad is an engineer and I have always worked with him on projects from building a home to working on fixing my car when it needs repairs. I love learning new concepts like this and being able to be involved so much which gives one a sense of pride and accomplishment that is like no other. Receiving a scholarship such as this one, would be such a blessing for me. It would help me to pay my tuition each semester to continue at Kettering University. I am very grateful for these types of opportunities and reducing any amount of loans needed is a huge peace of mind for my future. Thank you

I think people, including myself, would say my biggest strength is I put my heart and soul into everything I do. I have been told I am a hard worker and I put all my effort and pride into what I do and accomplish. I pride myself on being organized and having good time management skills in order to balance my life and responsibilities. I have known that I want to be an engineer since middle school. I have been focused on this ever since then. My dad is an electrical engineer for GM. I have grown up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. When I was in elementary school, I was involved in forming a FIRST Lego Robotics team with my family at my school. I was in first grade when my dad and mom formed a group to participate in the program. I did this until I was in 4th grade. I remember being involved with the team and building the field and lego robot for the competition. I have very fond memories of this and found the building component of the program very fascinating. In high school, I participated with FIRST Robotics and was a team captain for Team 66. These experiences were so rewarding and fun and I am grateful I had the opportunity to have them. My career goals have been to attend Kettering University and study to obtain a degree in Industrial Engineering. This has been my goal since I have been young. I also love the position I have at my Co-op with Adient Seating company. I am fascinated by learning how things work and operate and how these processes are used in day to day life by the general public. As mentioned, I grew up in an engineering family, so I have been exposed to these concepts and understanding how things work and the benefits of them all my life. I am very motivated and excited about working towards pursuing my dreams and being the person I hope to become. I love learning new concepts like this. Being so involved and dedicated to a career like this one gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment that is like no other. I have always been interested in recycling and how we can utilize techniques to help reduce the use of products that are harmful to our environment and the ecosystem, for example. I have read about an inventor named Boyan Slat from the Netherlands. His story is intriguing and admirable to me. He is the CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, started in 2013. He developed this idea after going scuba diving near Greece and couldn't help but notice the vast amount of waste and plastic in the ocean. He then made this his passion to come up with a solution to reduce the impact of the problem globally. Initially, the first few designs of his system were not successful as he had hoped. But he and his team persevered and developed one that did work effectively. He continues to work on improving this type of system by cleaning up the plastic and debris in all types of bodies of water. I hope with my degree and motivation that I can continue to improve products for general consumers. At present, I am working at Adient with engineers who work on assuring and maintaining safety and improvement in global seating, including automobiles. This type of product impacts the vast majority of human beings and I am happy to be a part of it today.

I have known that I wanted to be an engineer and make an impact on the world since I was young. My whole life, I have been exposed to many different engineering concepts. My dad and step mom are both engineers at General Motors. I have been involved in engineering activities since I can remember. These include: FIRST Lego robotics, FIRST robotics, GET WISE program, PLTW program at my high school and others. I have also been a part of the build of my dad’s current home, which he built from the ground up without the help of contractors or builders. Having these experiences in my life have pushed me to work towards becoming an engineer as well. With these experiences along with my experiences at my university I am empowered to work as hard and intelligent as I can. At my university, students work for three months, go to school for three months and this repeats until we graduate. Working every three months at my engineering company and working with different departments across the company has given me so much knowledge and hands-on experience. Being involved in all of these different engineering fields has helped me gain so much inspiration to be the best engineer I can and prove to myself that I can make a difference in my career. As I work in the real world as a manufacturing engineer, I hope to make a big impact at my company. I would like to be involved in more plant work and help the impact our engineers make on the manufacturing processes at my company. Having these experiences in college have helped me a lot in providing informative and helpful feedback from my peers, school and work. Working as an Industrial or Manufacturing Engineer will allow me to assist my fellow coworkers on rebalancing our line to optimize our performance, to reduce as much waste as possible, and to validate we are producing the best quality products we can. Doing this will shape the future for my company's efficiency and my past experiences from childhood through college will empower me to get there. Being lucky enough to receive this scholarship will help me to pursue my degree even further; to hopefully one day go for my master's degree. I love what I am doing and if I can continue to follow this path without having to worry about if I can pay for it without a lot of loans will ease my stress and help me focus more on my studies and my co-op work as I move towards choosing my thesis. I would be greatly appreciative and use this scholarship for the good of easing my tuition costs.

1) I am studying Industrial Engineering at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. I have wanted to be an engineer since I was a young child. I grew up in an engineering household where my dad and stepmom are both engineers at General Motors. The school I am going to is very vigorous with only 10 out of 11 weeks that consist of learning instead of the usual 15 week semesters. Our program has students attend school for 3 months, then for 3 months we work in a real world job that gives us experience in our chosen field. This process repeats until graduation. I don’t get a summer break like I used to, instead I am applying my learning to the real world in different labs across my company, which is Adient. I have worked in the Materials Lab, Warranty Lab, a JIT Plant, and travelled to Plants outside my state. 2) I feel that I deserve this scholarship funding because I am a hard working student and dedicated engineer in training. My education also costs a good amount of money, so I will need many different scholarships to help me pay for my schooling. Getting this scholarship money would help me pay for my tuition without having to worry about taking out so many loans. 3) For my career goal, I hope to be offered a full time engineering position with this company once I graduate where I will continue to grow and learn, doing what I love and making a difference. When I get the time, I’d like to go for my Master’s at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. I strive to remain a dedicated and hardworking student and achieve the knowledge that will power me through my work at my job. 4) I am a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha at my school and we participate in community service. I participated in the American Red Cross Sound The Alarm event where we went around the Flint community and offered to install smoke detectors in people's homes. I have grown up caring for my grandparents in their old age and sitting with elderly people in need. I have also participated in Open Door Ministry volunteering events. At these events, we boxed up different food and drinks to hand out to people who need them. I have also helped a friend make plarn (plastic yarn) mats to pass out to homeless people living in Detroit. While in high school, I was a member of the Career Related Program and one of the sections was service learning. During this class I created a podcast about fast fashions’ impact on the environment, I worked with my classmates to persuade our principal to change the dress code to be more fair, I did park and school clean-ups, and I helped out with a Trashion show that was held in my school’s auditorium. 5) In high school, I was a straight A student. Once I got to college, things had changed. My first ever college test, I got a 33%. This hurt me, but I learned from my mistakes. In high school, I was able to pass a test with minimal studying. Going into my first college test, I thought the same. This came back to hurt me. After that, I studied longer and harder and it paid off. I now get passing grades on my tests. 6) I would say my greatest strengths are determination, empathy, and teamwork. I strive to be as polite and hardworking as I can be, which help me to be the best worker I can be.

I have known that I wanted to be an engineer since middle school. I grew up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. My dad and step-mom are both engineers at General Motors. I have been attending activities involving engineering since I can remember. These include: FIRST Lego robotics, FIRST robotics, the GET WISE program through General Motors, the PLTW program and others. I have also been a part of the build of my dad’s current home, which he built from the ground up without the help of contractors or builders. Having these experiences in my life have pushed me to work towards becoming an engineer as well. Considering this lifestyle I have been brought up in, the global issue I am passionate about is the fast fashion industry. I have always been in love with the environment and everything it has to offer for us. Based on how we live our lives, the environment will never be the same and will continue to be impacted negatively. One main contributor to the harm on our environment is factories; especially the fast fashion and clothing industry. Everything that happens in the factories when the clothes are made eventually reaches the ecosystems around the world. Every day thousands of clothes are made and thousands are thrown away in the landfill. Fast fashion not only contributes to the landfills, it also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The products are made with harmful dyes that are bad for the environment and the person wearing them. There is a high amount of excess waste when the clothes are made in the factories. The packaging used is all plastic, and the majority of the products are single wrapped which contributes to so much unnecessary plastic use. After the items are packaged, they need to be shipped across the world which uses gallons and gallons of fuel a day. This cause has my dedication because many people around the world don’t think about these effects. They’re out of sight, out of mind. We need more people who care about how bad the fast fashion industry is. The manufacturing of the products is so harmful to the environment which is harmful to us humans and the animals living in the ecosystems that are affected. Not to mention, the clothes aren’t even made out of good quality material. Everything is poorly designed, with very thin fabric, and cheap threading at the seams. These companies also steal designs from small business owners and use the designs as their own without any credit to the original designer. While all of this happens, behind the scenes the workers are working horrible hours in unsafe conditions and get below average pay. Overall this industry is so harmful and has no positive qualities. That is why I heavily researched everything about the industry and wrote a fourteen page reflection paper on my observations, three different perspectives (the buyer’s, the company’s and the environment’s), and solutions that can be made. I have also worked with a friend to create and publish a podcast about how harmful fast fashion is and steps we can take to improve our impact. I want everyone to read my document and listen to my podcast to learn about what is important. Everyone needs to be educated on this topic even if it doesn’t apply to their lives. Eventually our effects on the environment will catch up to us and one day, there will be no turning back.

I am studying Industrial Engineering at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. I have wanted to be an engineer since I was a young child. I grew up in an engineering household where my dad and stepmom are both engineers at General Motors. The school I am going to is very vigorous with only 10 out of 11 weeks that consist of learning instead of the usual 15 week semesters. My school is amazing, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It has a program where students attend school for 3 months, then for 3 months we work in a real world job that gives us experience in our chosen field. This process repeats until graduation. I am a B-section student, so I work January-March, attend school April-June, work July-September, and school October-December. I don’t get a summer break like I used to, instead I am applying my learning to the real world in different labs and plants across my company, which is Adient. Having these experiences in the labs and plants have helped me develop skills that I wouldn't have if I didn't strive for the best education I could get at my University. I have worked in the Materials Lab, Warranty Lab, a JIT Plant, and travelled to Plants outside my state. Every time I am in a plant, I have learned something new. Going to a plant, asking questions, and observing how everything works has helped me be a better employee and student by expanding my knowledge on various topics in the engineering world. I am also a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha at my school. This membership gives me the opportunity to be an avid worker in the community service world and exposes me to many different people of all socioeconomic status. I have grown up caring for my grandparents in their old age and sitting with elderly people in need. I have also participated in Open Door Ministry volunteering events. At these events, we boxed up different food and drinks to hand out to people who need them. I have also helped a friend in making plarn (plastic yarn) mats to pass out to homeless people living in Detroit. While in high school, I was a member of the Career Related Program and one of the sections was service learning. During this class I created a podcast talking about fast fashions’ impact on the environment, I worked with my classmates to persuade our principal to change the dress code so it was more fair, I did park and school clean ups, and I helped out with a Trashion show that was held in my school’s auditorium. I have enjoyed all of my journeys and hope to experience more like these in the near future. With my knowledge in service giving, I strive to help people in my community help as well. I bring friends with me on my service adventures, I don't expect anything in return, and I love the joy it brings people. My passion for helping others is a gift that I am trying to spread around to my friends and family so they can make a positive impact as well.

I have known that I wanted to be an engineer since middle school. I grew up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. My dad and step-mom are both engineers at General Motors. I have been attending activities involving engineering since I can remember. These include: FIRST Lego robotics, FIRST robotics, the GET WISE program through General Motors, the PLTW program and others. I have also been a part of the build of my dad’s current home, which he built from the ground up without the help of contractors or builders. Having these experiences in my life have pushed me to work towards becoming an engineer as well. My near career goal is to obtain an Industrial Engineering degree through Kettering University and work my co-op position along this journey. For my long term 10 year goal, I hope to be offered a full time engineering position with this company once I graduate where I will continue to grow and learn, doing what I love and making a difference. Before I turn 30, I see myself married in a loving family with two, maybe three children. I have always wanted to be a mom, and seeing how well my brother and I have turned out, I think my mom’s wisdom and skills will pass down to me. I will also have the support of all my family, who all want grandchildren, so I have no doubt that my dreams will be fulfilled. During all of this, I will continue my work within the engineering field with my degree that I achieved from Kettering University. When I get the time, I’d like to go for my Master’s at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. My educational goals also tie into my career goals since my University’s program allows me to work half of the year in my career related study and attend school the other half of the year. I strive to remain a dedicated and hardworking student and achieve the knowledge that will power me through my work at my job. As I venture though college, my financial plans will change. For the first two years, my parents will fully pay for me, as they did for my older siblings. For the last two years, and any that follow for a Master’s degree, I will be paying myself. Throughout my co-op jobs, I hope to obtain enough money to be able to pay it all without the help of student loans. In addition to my co-op money, any scholarship money will help me a great deal. Having this scholarship money would influence my educational journey because it would help reduce the money that I owe towards my tuition. My university is a private institution, so my tuition is higher priced than normal colleges. I feel that my education at this university is worth it, but with the help of scholarships, it would make it more worth it.

I have known that I wanted to be an engineer since middle school. I grew up learning about various engineering concepts my whole life. My dad and step-mom are both engineers at GM. I have been attending activities involving engineering since I can remember. These include: FIRST Lego robotics, FIRST robotics, GET WISE program, PLTW program and others. I have also been a part of the build of my dad’s current home, which he built from the ground up without the help of contractors or builders. Having these experiences in my life have pushed me to work towards becoming an engineer as well. My near career goal is to obtain an Industrial Engineering degree through Kettering University and work my co-op position along this journey. For my long term goal, I hope to be offered a full time engineering position with this company once I graduate where I will continue to grow and learn, doing what I love and making a difference. My educational goals also tie into my career goals since my University’s program allows me to work half of the year in my career related study and attend school the other half of the year. I strive to remain a dedicated and hardworking student and achieve the knowledge that will power me through my work at my job. As I venture though college, my financial plans will change. For the first two years, my parents will fully pay for me, as they did for my older siblings. For the last two years, and any that follow for a Master’s degree, I will be paying myself. Throughout my co-op jobs, I hope to obtain enough money to be able to pay it all without the help of student loans. Being a student has offered me many opportunities to serve my community and partake in many activities that diversify my knowledge in many ways. Some of these include being involved in the PLTW Program and IB Career Related Program at my high school. The PLTW Program offered four different core classes: Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Engineering Design and Development. These classes each taught me something different and set me up for life as an engineering college student. My sophomore year, my group and I won first place in an Expo Project competition. We completed rounds of interviews and ended up winning for our innovative design. The IB Program was a class which helped students build professional life skills. We worked with professionals, built speaking skills, created a resume and LinkedIn profile, and many more. This class had five core sections: personal and professional skills, learner profile (expanded students' knowledge on becoming internationally minded people), reflective project (an in-depth project for students to research an ethical dilemma related to our career), language development, and service learning. All of these components expanded our knowledge as professional and valuable members of society. It also gave me an opportunity to give back to my community through different acts of service. With the help of this scholarship, I can allocate more of my time to my community without worrying about money for the resources I need.