A huge issue that I see affecting my country that I want to change, especially after seeing Black History Month wrap up and Women's History Month begin, is black female representation in the STEM fields. This may seem like a very specific issue, that doesn't affect many people, but it has been a real and constant issue that I have dealt with since I became interested in STEM as a young elementary school student. Worse yet, I have noticed that as I venture into the STEM community, the more involved and committed I get, I experience more and more discrimination and isolation. When I began high school I already knew that I wanted to be an engineer so I decided to join the engineering pathway that my high school offered. At this time only 25% of my engineering class were girls, with me being the only black girl in the entire class of 24 students. For the next 2 years, I was the only girl in my entire engineering classes, which were still comprised of about 24 students each year. This year, I was lucky enough to be in an engineering class along with one of my close friends, who is also a young black woman, but we are the only two girls in the class. I mention all of this to say that even though I have been 100% sure that I want to be an engineer and work in the STEM field for years, being this isolated in all of these classes that directly relate to my future career has often left me to seriously question if I would even want to continue down this career field. I would say to myself "I have had to put forth my best effort while being constantly discriminated against for being a black girl in a male-dominated field for years; do I want to do this to myself for the rest of my life?". After having to deal with the feeling that following my aspirations meant that I would be constantly putting myself in situations where I would always be initially judged by my race and my gender, I decided to try to put an end to this. A few months ago, I contacted my AP Calculus teacher in an effort of creating a 'Women in STEM' club. Though we are both very busy, we have both been trying to get this club up and running, even if it has to begin next year. After having to deal with constant judgment, discrimination, and isolation based on 2 factors I have no control of and can't change, it has become very important to me to try to help others in this situation (all women, but black women more specifically) and for them to know that they are not alone. I don't want anyone else to deal with the self-loathing and self-doubt that comes from thinking that they are less-than because of their race or gender.

A huge issue that I see affecting my country that I want to change, especially after seeing Black History Month wrap up and Women's History Month begin, is black female representation in the STEM fields. This may seem like a very specific issue, that doesn't affect many people, but it has been a real and constant issue that I have dealt with since I became interested in STEM as a young elementary school student. Worse yet, I have noticed that as I venture into the STEM community, the more involved and committed I get, I experience more and more discrimination and isolation. When I began high school I already knew that I wanted to be an engineer so I decided to join the engineering pathway that my high school offered. At this time only 25% of my engineering class were girls, with me being the only black girl in the entire class of 24 students. For the next 2 years, I was the only girl in my entire engineering classes, which were still comprised of about 24 students each year. This year, I was lucky enough to be in an engineering class along with one of my close friends, who is also a young black woman, but we are the only two girls in the class. I mention all of this to say that even though I have been 100% sure that I want to be an engineer and work in the STEM field for years, being this isolated in all of these classes that directly relate to my future career has often left me to seriously question if I would even want to continue down this career field. I would say to myself "I have had to put forth my best effort while being constantly discriminated against for being a black girl in a male-dominated field for years; do I want to do this to myself for the rest of my life?". After having to deal with the feeling that following my aspirations meant that I would be constantly putting myself in situations where I would always be initially judged by my race and my gender, I decided to try to put an end to this. A few months ago, I contacted my AP Calculus teacher in an effort of creating a 'Women in STEM' club. Though we are both very busy, we have both been trying to get this club up and running, even if it has to begin next year. After having to deal with constant judgment, discrimination, and isolation based on 2 factors I have no control of and can't change, it has become very important to me to try to help others in this situation (all women, but black women more specifically) and for them to know that they are not alone. I don't want anyone else to deal with the self-loathing and self-doubt that comes from thinking that they are less-than because of their race or gender.

Saying things that are not as though they are has completely changed my life. When I first began high school I was an anxious fourteen-year-old girl who was afraid to be herself. My self-worth was determined by how I compared to my peers; this drove me to work hard, yet left me feeling unfulfilled, as I could never live up to my own standards. Fortunately, the extracurriculars that I became a part of and the people I met in these activities created a sort of ‘light in the darkness’ for me. Pushing myself every day to be the best that I can be, all while being a part of a larger assemblage, gave me happiness and satisfaction and was my first step to improving my mental health. Having this new aspect of my life that allowed me to experience a new sense of purpose inspired me to adopt a new way of approaching my schoolwork. Instead of spending my time in school trying to be the perfect student just for a temporary boost in my self-worth, I began putting a stronger focus on actually learning the course material, which I have always delighted in. By doing this I had thought that I was sacrificing my academic status to understand the information taught in my classes, when instead I was only improving my grades and my self-esteem. I had finally gotten to a point where I was somewhat comfortable with myself and I enjoyed going to school. During my sophomore year, I hit a bump in the road as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic itself was unnerving enough for my family and I, especially because my father has a history of serious respiratory issues and I have asthma. There was one when I came home from school to learn that my dad was in the hospital and had almost passed away due to respiratory complications. This caused me to backpedal any progress I had made on myself and my psyche. My mental health worsened, the stress was so bad it made me physically sick, and insomnia kept me up at night with constant nightmares. That's when I decided that I didn't want to be afraid, worried or feel like I wasn't enough anymore. I had learned from a seminar at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship by Dr. Caroline Leaf, that the way to change the way you think was to take control of your thoughts. I began analyzing every thought that popped into my head; anything that was negative, in any capacity, I would stop thinking about. The process was acutely tedious and for a couple of months, I thought it was a waste of time. After about six months, I noticed that eliminating my negative thoughts had made me into a happier person and left me feeling more fulfilled. I was making new friends and I was genuinely confident in myself. Looking back on who I was at the beginning of freshman year and who I was at the beginning of junior year, and seeing the huge changes in my emotional and mental health that happened as a direct result of my taking control of my thoughts is astonishing. I am no longer afraid to be myself and can say with all honesty that I am proud of who I am and enjoy being the person I have become. Everything that I have accomplished this far in my life has been a direct result of God's grace. In the span of three years, God completely changed who I am and I couldn't be more grateful.

I have been interested in the STEM field since I was in 2nd grade; since then I have been in STEM clubs and camps, engineering classes, and advanced, AP, and dual-enrollment classes catered towards being an engineer in the future. The one pattern that I continue to see, sadly, is the lack of women in STEM fields. In every class where I attempt to get a better understanding of the future concepts that I will explore more deeply in my future education, I am constantly under-represented (both as a young woman and as an Afriacan-American) and am left feeling uncomfortable and essentially alone. I can't even begin to recount all the times I have been spoken to as if I am mentally inferior or have had a concept explained to me simply because the guys in the class assume that I don't understand. I can say with all honesty that I have a love for engineering that lives within me but being so outnumbered and underrepresented has made me question whether I should even study engineering. Earlier this year, I decided that I didn't want any other girls at my school to be discouraged or feel alone in the STEM field like me and so many other girls I know had been. I decided that I wanted to start a Women in Engineering club with my high school AP Calculus teacher, Mrs. Peters. I wanted to create a place where girls can talk freely about different STEM topics without feeling judged and uncomfortable. I reached out to Mrs. Peters about creating this club and she was extremely excited about it and thought it would be a great idea, especially since she had been through this same experience. I had even told the girls who I knew were either interested in the STEM field and/or taking STEM classes and gave them information about the possible meeting times for the club and what would be discussed. Sadly, we have not been able to launch the club yet despite communicating with the school administration, but I have registered for the Texas A&M University Women in STEM High School Conference. While I'm there, I plan on talking to the college students who are members of the Texas A&M Women in STEM club about how they manage the club, what activities they do, and how they connect with the community. Since starting this project, I have talked to a lot of girls who were interested in the STEM field but decided that the environment was so uncomfortable because of the lack of female presence that they would rather not be involved in it at all. If there is one thing I can do, it would be to foster an environment where girls are welcome to engage in their interests even if it's just laying the framework for girls in the future.

When it comes to my academic goals, the learning environment is key for me. This is the reason why I chose to attend Texas A&M University this upcoming fall. I strive to not only learn the material taught in class but also to recognize how these concepts can be applied in the real world. Engineering is an incredibly intense major that requires a lot of hard work. While touring the Texas A&M Campus I was introduced to the state-of-the-art equipment and professors available at the University. Most importantly, however, I discovered the immense network of student support designed to make students as successful as possible. From the thousands of study groups on campus to the Living Learning Communities fostered by the university, they try in every way to make sure that each and every student can understand the material and excel in their education. The first time I was able to see Texas A&M wasn’t when I toured the campus, it was when I saw the spirit of the university that simply resides on the campus. Now I am ecstatic to say that I have applied and been accepted into Texas A&M University, its engineering program, and its engineering Living and Learning Community. Recently I was able to attend the Society of Women Engineers High School Conference (held on the TAMU campus), which inspired me to become even more involved by becoming a member of the Society of Women Engineers. I am even planning on helping with next year’s High School Conference because I had such an amazing time this year! As far as my career is concerned, I hope to use my degree in mechatronics engineering to work on innovative projects that can solve considerable problems and make a difference in the world; I aspire to be a part of a team that helps move society forward. Working at NASA has always been appealing to me, not only because it’s where Katherine Johnson worked, but because of their scientific achievement and innovations. After learning about different focus classes at Texas A&M, I have also started considering working in the field of thermodynamics or fluids. These concepts have always been interesting to me and I hope to be able to create solutions to various problems in these fields, for example reducing the constant flash flooding in Texas. For me to accomplish these goals and to advance this far in my desired career I have to have some sort of college degree. Engineering is a highly competitive and rigorous field, and as someone who is a black girl, I have already and will continue to, fight an uphill battle so that I can accomplish what I have dreamed about for years.

Saying things that are not as though they are has completely changed my life. When I first began high school I was an anxious fourteen-year-old girl who was afraid to be herself. My self-worth was determined by how I compared to my peers; this drove me to work hard, yet left me feeling unfulfilled, as I could never live up to my own standards. Fortunately, the extracurriculars that I became a part of, such as marching band and student council, and the people I met in these activities created a sort of ‘light in the darkness’ for me. Pushing myself every day to be the best that I could be, all while being a part of a larger assemblage, began to give me happiness and satisfaction and was my first step to improving my mental health. Having this new aspect of my life that allowed me to experience a new sense of purpose inspired me to adopt a new way of approaching my schoolwork. Instead of spending my time in school trying to be the perfect student for a temporary boost in my self-worth, I began putting a stronger focus on actually learning the course material, which I have always delighted in. By doing this I had thought that I was sacrificing my academic status to understand the information taught in my classes when instead I was only improving my grades and my self-esteem. I'd finally gotten to a point where I was somewhat comfortable with myself and I enjoyed going to school. During my sophomore year, I hit a bump in the road as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic itself was unnerving enough for my family and me, especially because my father has a history of serious respiratory issues and I have asthma. There was one day when I came home from school to learn that my dad was in the hospital and had almost passed away due to respiratory complications. This caused me to backpedal all the progress I had made on myself and my psyche. My mental health worsened, the stress was so bad it made me physically sick, and insomnia kept me up at night with constant nightmares. That's when I decided that I didn't want to be afraid, worried or feel like I wasn't enough anymore. I learned from a seminar at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship by Dr. Caroline Leaf, that the way to change the way you think was to take control of your thoughts. I began analyzing every thought that popped into my head; anything that was negative, in any capacity, I'd stop thinking about. The process was acutely tedious and for a couple of months, I thought it was a waste of time. After about six months, I noticed that eliminating my negative thoughts had made me into a happier person and left me feeling more fulfilled. I was making new friends and I was genuinely confident in myself. Looking back on who I was at the beginning of freshman year and who I was at the beginning of junior year, and seeing the huge changes in my emotional and mental health that happened as a direct result of m taking control of my thoughts is astonishing. I'm no longer afraid to be myself and can say with all honesty that I'm proud of who I am and enjoy being the person I've become. Everything that I've accomplished this far in my life has been a direct result of God's grace. In the span of three years, God completely changed who I am and I couldn't be more grateful.

When I first started volunteering, it was at my church. One of my close friends, Elizabeth, and her mother had been volunteering in the preschool ministry for years. Elizabeth had been asking me to stay for a 2nd church service to volunteer for about a month at that point, but I had always refused. Why would I want to stay at church for an extra hour and a half? Definitely not to babysit random people's kids for free. Then one day I was walking out of the church with my family and Elizabeth's family when she asked if I wanted to volunteer. I had planned to use my family as an excuse to get out of it, but they loved the idea of me helping out Elizabeth and her mom. That day I was helping to watch children who were 2-3 years old and it made me extremely uncomfortable; I had no idea what to do. Those 90 minutes seemed to stretch on forever as I cautiously walked around the room handing kids snacks and helping them with their crafts for the day. When it was over, I got in my mom's car and told her how it had gone. "I had so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!" Now, after 6 years, I can say that volunteering at my church has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I was recently asked what I love about volunteering in the preschool ministry and what I love about it seeing all the children we serve grow up over the years. Knowing that I helped to create in them a foundation of loving God and the church is probably what I'm most proud of. I also love thinking about how my time as a volunteer has helped me grow and mature over the years. Looking back on my 11-year-old self and looking at me now, these children I have worked with over the years have given me such a greater understanding of life and of Christ. Now, as I am about to graduate high school and move away to college, I can't say exactly what my next steps are when it comes to volunteering. I have been very interested in going on mission trips with my church in the future; I grew up seeing my grandmother go on a mission trip every year for a decade. Volunteering has given back so much to me over the years, if one thing is certain it's that I'm definitely not finished.

My father has always told me that I could accomplish anything with hard work. For him, this mindset developed when he joined the Army. At that point in my father's life, he was a young man who had found himself with a lot of responsibilities that he didn't have the skills to handle. That's when he turned to the Army which gave him the tools to be successful in his life. When my brother and I were born, my father began instilling in us the same principles that he had learned in the Army to be successful. We learned to stay organized, keep our rooms neat and clean, and how to work as a team. Most importantly, our father taught us that success comes with effort. For most of my childhood, I couldn't understand why my dad cared so much about these things. Why did it matter that I clean my room every week, it certainly wasn't bothering me. Why does he care so much? Thoughts like these lingered in my mind for years as I would reluctantly follow his rules. Despite how much I didn't like my dad's rules, all of this changed when I started high school and began taking classes to prepare myself for my future career: mechatronics engineering (an integrated field of mechanical, electrical, and software engineering). In every single class I was a minority. My science, math, and engineering classes were always the worst as I was one of the few African Americans and even sometimes where I was the only girl. I spent years dealing with constant discrimination and having to prove my worth in classes where I was more dedicated than the people I had to prove wrong. This is when the words my dad would always say, the words that I used to hate, became a torch that lit the path. I realized that there are always going to be people who are going to doubt and question me, and my job will always be to prove them wrong. My dad taught me that success comes with effort and if that means that the only thing standing in the way of my dream career is people that don't think that I can do it, then they can be wrong. I've been giving it my all for the past four years, and I won't stop until I walk across the stage with my mechatronics engineering degree in my hand.

When I first started volunteering, it was at my church. One of my close friends, Elizabeth, and her mother had been volunteering in the preschool ministry for years. Elizabeth had been asking me to stay for a 2nd church service to volunteer for about a month at that point, but I had always refused. Why would I want to stay at church for an extra hour and a half? Definitely not to babysit random people's kids for free. Then one day I was walking out of church with my family and Elizabeth's family when she asked if I wanted to volunteer. I had planned to use my family as an excuse to get out of it, but they loved the idea of me helping out Elizabeth and her mom. That day I was helping to watch children who were 2-3 years old and it made me extremely uncomfortable; I had no idea what to do. Those 90 minutes seemed to stretch on forever as I cautiously walked around the room handing kids snacks and helping them with their craft for the day. When it was over, I got in my mom's car and told her how it had gone. "I had so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!" Now, 6 years later, I can say that volunteering at my church has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. I was recently asked what I love about volunteering in the preschool ministry and what I love about it seeing all the children we serve grow up over the years. Knowing that I helped to create in them a foundation of loving God and the church is probably what I'm most proud of. I also love thinking about how my time as a volunteer has helped me grow and mature over the years. Looking back on my 11-year-old self and looking at me now, these children I have worked with over the years have given me such a greater understanding of life and of Chirst. Now, as I am about to graduate high school and move away to college, I can't say exactly what my next steps are when it comes to volunteering. I have been very interested in going on mission trips with my church in the future; I grew up seeing my grandmother go on a mission trip every year for a decade. Volunteering has given back so much to me over the years, if one thing is certain it's that I'm definitely not finished.

A huge issue that I see affecting my country that I want to change, especially after seeing Black History Month wrap up and Women's History Month begin, is black female representation in the STEM fields. This may seem like a very specific issue, that doesn't affect many people, but it has been a real and constant issue that I have dealt with since I became interested in STEM as a young elementary school student. Worse yet, I have noticed that as I venture into the STEM community, the more involved and committed I get, I experience more and more discrimination and isolation. When I began high school I already knew that I wanted to be an engineer so I decided to join the engineering pathway that my high school offered. At this time only 25% of my engineering class were girls, with me being the only black girl in the entire class of 24 students. For the next 2 years, I was the only girl in my entire engineering classes, which were still comprised of about 24 students each year. This year, I was lucky enough to be in an engineering class along with one of my close friends, who is also a young black woman, but we are the only two girls in the class. I mention all of this to say that even though I have been 100% sure that I want to be an engineer and work in the STEM field for years, being this isolated in all of these classes that directly relate to my future career has often left me to seriously question if I would even want to continue down this career field. I would say to myself "I have had to put forth my best effort while being constantly discriminated against for being a black girl in a male-dominated field for years; do I want to do this to myself for the rest of my life?". After having to deal with the feeling that following my aspirations meant that I would be constantly putting myself in situations where I would always be initially judged by my race and my gender, I decided to try to put an end to this. A few months ago, I contacted my AP Calculus teacher in an effort of creating a 'Women in STEM' club. Though we are both very busy, we have both been trying to get this club up and running, even if it has to begin next year. After having to deal with constant judgment, discrimination, and isolation based on 2 factors I have no control of and can't change, it has become very important to me to try to help others in this situation (all women, but black women more specifically) and for them to know that they are not alone. I don't want anyone else to deal with the self-loathing and self-doubt that comes from thinking that they are less-than because of their race or gender.

When I try By Magan Loving I work hard I shed blood, sweat, and tears Metaphorically, of course Still I try Not my hardest but with great effort I started this year with a goal I know it would make me feel good, for I would be able to prove something But no All my hard work 6 months of it Gone, of no use, pointless, meaningless, failed But hey, I tried. I’m fine with not making the cut- that's part of life I’m gonna be upset, but I’ll get over it soon enough What bothers me is someone else, let’s call them SE. SE doesn’t do their homework, Doesn’t have responsibility, Doesn’t have maturity. SE needs someone else to remind them of their work. And do you know what happens? SE accomplishes what I have wanted to accomplish for two and a half years 30 months 10,950 days 262,800 hours 15,768,000 minutes And it’s been wasted I tried for so long to get this And I mean, I guess I just didn’t try hard enough Or perhaps, I tried too hard. I don’t know I really, honestly, just don’t know I don’t want to sound conceited, selfish, foolish, stuck-up, arrogant, prideful I just feel like I truly deserved to get this To own this I meet every criterion I knew them personally, Could have hour-long conversations with every one of them without stopping to take a breath. I just don’t understand I tried I actually put forth the effort And SE made it How? This isn’t the first time this has happened But why does this keep happening? Please tell me How come I try, but never succeed? I mean I just don’t understand SE did nothing but got my achievements I did everything and got nothing I had major goals And every time I was devastated Not because I didn’t get it, But because SE got it See SE isn’t one person SE is many people Anyone, everyone So if anyone and everyone is SE, Why can’t SE be me Just once Let me earn something I worked for This leads me to another thought: If I never earn the things I work towards for months- years even, Why should I try? I know the obvious answer but I’ve been on a losing streak for almost my whole life So If I have this ambition that will possibly never be fulfilled, Why can't I use it for something else? Like poetry Writing Art Music Or anything else besides academics. Because for me nothing good happens when I try. Well that may be true, but it doesn't mean I can’t try I might never succeed, but it doesn't mean I can’t try That I won’t try That I don't try See cause even though SE gets most of the glory Recognition Awards Achievements There is still a chance that my hard work will pay off I will not be SE No, I will be something better I will be me I will try and try and try As hard as I can until I can accomplish my goal There will be no foul play Or cheating Or bribery Just my blood, sweat, and tears Because even though it isn’t likely Improbable Doubtful It just might happen when I try.

When I was nine years old I went to my first STEM camp. It was a First Lego League practice camp that was held on the campus of Southern Methodist University. This camp was the first time I had ever been exposed to coding and since taking part in that First Lego League camp, I have been fascinated by coding and programming. After being a part of this camp, I decided that I wanted to be a mechatronics engineer so that I could be a part of the design process of the physical machinery along with the programming of machinery. I realized that it was not only the coding that I was fascinated with but the entire process of robotics. This fascination led me to commit myself to my future study of robotics as a whole. Since my freshman year of high school, I have been taking advanced, AP or dual enrollment math and science classes. In addition, I have enrolled in the STEM pathway at my high school and have been taking engineering classes since my freshman year of high school. I have enjoyed all of the STEM classes I have taken in my high school career, however, each class seems to have the same pressing issue: a lack of female presence. Out of all of the STEM classes that I have taken in person, roughly 40% has been the highest percentage of girls in the class(advanced precalculus being the class.) The lowest percentage of girls in one of my STEM classes has been less than 1%, in which I was the only girl in my third-year engineering class of almost 20 students. Having to deal with proving myself as a minority in such math and science-based classes is burdensome enough as it is, but being one of the few girls in a class, if there are any other girls at all, means that I have to prove myself all over again. Not many people understand the feeling of having people of your same race, who have gone through the same struggle, second-guess you solely because of your gender. That's why this year I decided to found the Women in STEM club at my high school with the help of my AP Calculus teacher, Mrs. Peters. The purpose of this club is to provide a place where girls who are a part of or want to be a part of the STEM fields can congregate to discuss ideas and topics. In the future, I hope that girls won't have to be isolated and can even be comfortable in STEM classes because they won't be a minority in the class.

The song that has the most important message to me is "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury. This song is about the reckless love that God has for every single person on Earth. My favorite line from this song is 'leaves the 99', which means that God will target you specifically so that you might open yourself to his love. I know this might sound a little bit crazy, but when I first heard this song I was in an incredibly dark time in my life. I already believed in God, but I was extremely depressed with terrible anxiety and had considered taking my own life multiple times. After being in this dark place and hearing this song about someone who loved and cared for me enough to go after and fight for me was almost unbelievable to me even though I had been taught this for years in the church. When I think back to the worst time in my life, I think of this song and how it saved me.

When I started high school I was getting tutored by a close family friend, Michelle; my brother and I were both in our high school's marching band with both of her daughters: Alexa, who was 16 years old, and Natasha, who was 17. Since we were all in the band, we would all see each other every day and spend hours together working on our marching show. I was always intimidated by Alexa and Natasha because they were both incredibly smart, talented musicians, and were loved by everyone they knew. That summer on July 8th, 2020 (only a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic started) Alexa and Natasha were both spending the night at their father's house when he shot them both, then took his own life. The next morning, Michelle told my mother, who then told me and my brother what had happened. I heard about it and not knowing whether or not to believe it; it was and is so disgustingly vile and gruesome that I didn't know how to process it and if I'm being honest I still don't. Alexa and Natasha were such amazing and beautiful people that could have never done anything bad enough to have endured that and I have thought about them every day for the past 2 and half years. A few weeks after they passed, people stopped talking about what happened and it was as if they were forgotten. In an effort for me to cope with their loss, I decided to keep their memory alive by doing the best that I could in school and in the band so that people could look at me and be reminded of them. Everything I've done up to this point from getting accepted into college to being 1st chair in my band section has been for them. Alexa and Natasha deserve to be remembered as the happy and brilliant people they were and would have been if they weren't taken from this world.

I have been interested in the STEM field since I was in 2nd grade; since then I have been in STEM clubs and camps, engineering classes, and advanced, AP, and dual-enrollment classes catered towards being an engineer in the future. The one pattern that I continue to see, sadly, is the lack of women in STEM fields. In every class where I attempt to get a better understanding of the future concepts that I will explore more deeply in my future education, I am constantly under-represented (both as a young woman and as an Afriacan-American) and am left feeling uncomfortable and essentially alone. I can't even begin to recount all the times I have been spoken to as if I am mentally inferior or have had a concept explained to me simply because the guys in the class assume that I don't understand. I can say with all honesty that I have a love for engineering that lives within me but being so outnumbered and underrepresented has made me question whether I should even study engineering. Earlier this year, I decided that I didn't want any other girls at my school to be discouraged or feel alone in the STEM field like me and so many other girls I know had been. I decided that I wanted to start a Women in Engineering club with my high school AP Calculus teacher, Mrs. Peters. I wanted to create a place where girls can talk freely about different STEM topics without feeling judged and uncomfortable. I reached out to Mrs. Peters about creating this club and she was extremely excited about it and thought it would be a great idea, especially since she had been through this same experience. I had even told the girls who I knew were either interested in the STEM field and/or taking STEM classes and gave them information about the possible meeting times for the club and what would be discussed. Sadly, we have not been able to launch the club yet despite communicating with the school administration, but I have registered for the Texas A&M University Women in STEM High School Conference. While I'm there, I plan on talking to the college students who are members of the Texas A&M Women in STEM club about how they manage the club, what activities they do, and how they connect with the community. Since starting this project, I have talked to a lot of girls who were interested in the STEM field but decided that the environment was so uncomfortable because of the lack of female presence that they would rather not be involved in it at all. If there is one thing I can do before graduating, it would be foster an environment where girls are welcome to engage in their interests even if it's just laying the framework for girls in the future.