My desire to pursue a STEM career came later than most, I would say. Growing up, I was a curious child interested in everything; I wanted to understand why things were the way they were. I sought answers, but no one seemed able to provide them—I was surrounded by a field of unanswered curiosities. To satisfy my curiosity, I immersed myself in various creative outlets like Legos, puzzles, sewing, and painting. I loved how there were no limits. Legos were my favorite because I could build anything; I could do anything. The word engineering wasn't the first one spoken to me; it was architecture when relatives commented on my interests and creativity. As I grew, I just knew I would become an architect. My sophomore year of high school arrived, marked by the peak of COVID-19, a new school, and a new state. It was time to choose electives; since I wasn't an upperclassman, I couldn't select architecture. Scanning the list, nothing caught my eye until I saw 'robotics.' That single word set me on a three-year-long journey of VEX tournaments, engineering, and newfound curiosity. Engineering became my focus; I entered a whole new realm—coding, building, designing, failing, and succeeding. Failure was significant for me; I was always the overachiever—the A+ kid, earning every academic award possible. So, for a robot to fail or malfunction was hard to accept. However, it nurtured a new part of me: the desire to keep going, the motivation not just to fix issues but also to enhance everything. I wanted to be the best. Being one of three girls in a robotics class felt isolating; I was often sidelined, discouraged, and underestimated. But curiosity fueled me and propelled me forward. The need to learn and acquire knowledge outweighed my feelings of being treated unequally. I refused to let anyone bring me down. During my senior year of high school, with college applications looming, I asked myself: what did I want to do? I wanted to be an engineer. But which field? What specialization? So many pathways lay ahead. Robotics had set me on the engineering track, but did I want to pursue that? After many hours of research, I settled on Mechanical Engineering, a synthesis of everything that made engineering incredible. You could go anywhere with that field. I had chosen my path. As a current Mechanical Engineering major and full-time student working two jobs in my sophomore year of college, I am now halfway through my studies and embracing every challenge with joy. I love every aspect of what I am learning. I take pride in being a woman in STEM, walking down a path that so many women before me would have never dreamed possible. I navigate this journey, where classes have 100 males to 20 girls, where professors are predominantly male, and mentors are also male. This challenging path is my dream, my hope to create a better future with improved opportunities for the girls who come after me. I want to be that mentor, that figure. I want all the women who follow me to remember that they can do it. I aspire to be an impactful force within the engineering field, a voice of change and progression—a voice for women to find motivation and their own place within the STEM field, just as I did in that robotics class.

Motorsport and all things automotive runs in my blood. Relatives would buy old cars and repair them and love them overtime. I enjoy the chaos and speed of the automotive industry. I wish to work within the Motorsport industry or work as a design engineer for a known car manufacturer. I want to provide change and help with the progression of eco-friendly and sustainable cars. Everyday I see the leaps and bounds the automotive industry has made with electric cars and hydrogen fuel. Making hybrid cars more accessible and friendly to all types of people. I want to be a part of that impact, whether it be small or big. I want to see a persons life be changed for the better because they were able to have a car perfect and attainable for them. I saw how joyful people would become when advancements were made in the industry. That spark of creation and the confirmation that a sustainable future for cars is ahead. The need to achieve more and do better, knowing no bounds, no idea ever impossible. That was my inspiration to never give up. Being a woman in STEM has proved challenging. Receiving rude comments and belittling statements to try and push me away only furthered my motivation to pursue a career in the automotive industry. I want to be someone that future generations of women can look up to and see that it is possible. Nothing is ever impossible as long as a person has the motivation and inspiration. The automotive industry in my opinion is a form of art, a puzzle that fits perfectly in so many ways; ever evolving. I look at cars the same way I look at a beautiful painting. Every curve and material works to create an efficient and powerful car, nothing overlooked. Porsche and Audi inspired me to never look back, only forward. Keep going and keep working until greatness is achieved. The unknown being achieved to reach another unknown pushes me to continue on my journey within the automotive industry. No two things the same, never the same problem or idea. Creativity never in short supply, only growing as we advance technology and question how cars are powered. The automotive industry is my canvas and I wish to be the artist that works to create cars that push the industry to work harder and think bigger. I want to be a creator of something that provides transportation while working in harmony with nature, not harming it. I want to be the reason that someone can see more and do more with a car that is helpful to someone and provides more than just transportation. Cars are first and foremost transportation but they are also art, that when carefully looked over can change the world.

My idea of the most impactful way to combat climate change is to spread awareness to people about what they can do and how they contribute. I believe it is extremely important for people to learn and be educated about how they can help the environment and do their part. Learning how to properly recycle and the importance of it is one way for someone to easily help the environment. Another way to combat climate change is help with the progressiveness of clean emissions cars. Electric cars are the new future of the automobile industry and are the key to cutting carbon emissions. cars can be hydrogen powered or fully electric providing a way for person to directly impact climate change by helping the earth. In my own personal life right now I continue to recycle and encourage my friends and family to do the same. My home also has solar power and I remind me family to try not to utilize all the electricity at night when the solar panels are at low capacity due to no sun. In the near future I am going to earn my degree in mechanical engineering and I have a plan and goal to do my best to encourage helping the environment. I want to help with the progression of zero emission or friendly cars. I also want to help find sustainable renewable energy resources so we can move away form the use of coal and oil. The damage from the overuse of coal and oil is hurting the earth and the environment, we also are running out of both of these resources due to them being finite. I want to be a part of the change and be an impact in positive climate change. I have personal experience of seeing the negative effects of climate change. In Alaska I saw glaciers fall into the ocean and slowly deteriorate due to global warming. Not only is climate change effecting global warming, it also harms the habitats of wildlife and plants. The forest are dying due to mass forest fires, where fires can be helpful in some capacity, but man made fires are severely destroying large amounts of forests and cutting down the natural resource of carbon dioxide. In turn helping preserve forests we can help combat the excessive carbon footprint from vehicles as we find a solution to a renewable energy source and take another step to an eco-friendly form of energy.

The effects of DIU's can help a person realize that they have a problem with drinking. A DUI is hopefully a wake up call for many people. They are a consequence and a punishment, so people can't get away with dangerous behavior. They are a way of protecting others from someone's poor choice. However DUI's are not always effective. Sometimes people can get away without one or maybe even receiving three does not stop a person'd behavior. There are always a few that slip through. Those few either learn from their mistakes without the consequences, which is unfortunately rare. Whereas the majority continue on the path they are on continuing to put others in harms way. Drunk driving is a scarily common reason for car accidents and usually the person driving responsibly is the one who suffers the most. DUI's are the opportunity for a drunk driver to receive some sort of punishment, since statistically car crashes rarely harm them. A way to prevent the large amount of DUI's drunk driving needs to at least lessen, since stopping completely seems to be too hard of an ask. A good strategy that has come into place is driving services such as Uber, and Lyft. Many people use these services as an alternative to them driving after drinking which is very smart and has prevented a large amount of possible crashes. Another strategy could be the technological advancement of cars and self driving. As cars continue to be upgraded with self-driving systems they can be used as a way for people to be transported safely without causing accidents. That way the person that is drunk isn't harming others and other drivers are safe from irresponsible driving decisions. Overall I believe as technology continues to advance that there will be more and more options to preventing drunk driving. I believe that a solution to lessening the problem is available in the near future. I would love to be a part of that as I work to become a mechanical engineer specializing in automotive areas.