My name is Makenna Noel. I am a junior computer science and computer systems engineering student from the Bronx, NY. I aspire to become a software engineer specializing in machine learning. I desire to be able to move my family into a more secure living situation, both financially and physically. A single mother raised me. For most of my life, I have seen the stress of finances take a toll on her mentally and physically. I don't want to feel trapped in an unsafe situation; more than anything, I want us to have freedom of choice. One where we can travel to where we want and live the life we choose. I want to give back to her, my sister, and the community I was raised. I am heavily involved with the National Society of Black Engineers to give back to students in similar positions. I have been in NSBE for the past three years. Last year I was appointed the role of conference planning chair. I had the opportunity to arrange a trip across the country for students at my college to attend NSBE 's annual national convention. I arranged flight details, transportation, hotels, advertising for the trip, and professionally prepared attendees. At the end of our trip, my peers from all walks of life were accepted for internships. This year, I am a NSBE senator for my college. With this role, I am the voice for my chapter, and I can vote during elections that shape how the organization is run on a regional and national level. One of my major accomplishments was having the opportunity to create an app for employees at an internship I worked at this past fall during my away semester. It was the perfect opportunity to apply my computer programming skills and take on new ones. This was my first time doing full-stack development, and learning the fundamentals to develop my own app was surreal. For the past few semesters, I have had one to two jobs that occupy a lot of my time to fulfill my payment requirements. Trying to pay for my education has shifted my focus away from my studies and has been the source of my anxiety. If accepted, I plan to use the money I save for my student housing rent, groceries, tutoring, and driving lessons. As a Bronx native, I have always been blessed with New York City public transportation, but upon receiving new work opportunities, I realized how much money can be eaten up by not having a car. For example, during my internship this past fall, I had to compromise my mental health by commuting 2 hours daily to my internship. I vowed to myself that I would save up to enroll in driving school as driving has proved a valuable skill when trying to enter the work market. I will also be given more time to focus on my academics and improve my grades with tutoring sessions. Thank you for the opportunity to apply for your scholarship.