I grew up in my hometown Sirjan in the south of Iran․ My parents did not have the opportunity to receive formal literacy education. However, they deeply believed in the power of knowledge. They always encouraged me and my siblings to study, to think beyond our circumstances, and to believe that every successful path passes through learning. Even without formal education, they gave us one of the most valuable lessons of my life: there should be no limitation on belief, effort, or imagination. In high school‚ I was particularly interested in math and engineering․ I loved the idea that engineers took an idea from the mind and turned it into something real that made a difference‚ that made people's lives better․To me, engineering was not only about formulas; it was about creativity, innovation, and responsibility. I also believe that true creativity comes from a deeper source. Rumi writes in the Mathnavi, “For those brickbats were made solid by the brick-maker, the rock was hardened by Divine art.” This verse reminds me that human creativity can shape the world, but it should also be used with purpose. In Iran‚ I saw how much life‚ time‚ money‚ and environmental quality could be lost every day because of transportation problems․ So my interest became focused more and more on transportation after my undergraduate degree in civil engineering․ The crashes‚ congestion‚ unsafe roads‚ delayed response‚ and inefficient systems not only affect drivers‚ but also families‚ workers‚ and entire communities․ At the same time, I was strongly interested in technology and computer science. The possibility of combining transportation engineering with modern technology motivated me to continue in this field. Today‚ I am a PhD student in Transportation Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)‚ and my dissertation is in the field of smart transportation systems․ My dissertation focuses on improving traffic incident response through a system called IRIS, the Incident Response Intelligence System. The goal of this work is simple but meaningful: to help transportation operators make faster and better decisions when crashes or incidents happen on freeways. If incident response can become faster and more informed, it can help reduce delays, prevent secondary crashes, support emergency response, save money, reduce fuel waste, and potentially save lives. Other projects that have been connected to this mission include crash safety analysis‚ truck parking prediction‚ bicycle travel demand modeling‚ speed camera safety analysis‚ and traffic operations research․ While grounded in data and technology‚ the goal is to improve safety‚ mobility‚ sustainability and reliability of transportation systems for the benefit of the traveling public․ While I write my dissertation‚ I continue to work half time as a research assistant․ I hope to defend my dissertation proposal this summer and submit a couple papers to the Transportation Research Board․ This scholarship would help support my graduate education, research progress, conference participation, and the cost of presenting my work to the transportation community. Attending and presenting at conferences such as TRB would allow me to learn from experts, receive feedback, and share research that can contribute to safer and smarter transportation systems. Dr․ Hassan Homami inspires me because he represents education‚ perseverance‚ engineering‚ mentorship‚ and the courage to build a meaningful life as an immigrant․ I believe higher education should not only be a platform for individual advancement but also an opportunity to create value in others' lives- like Dr․ Homami has in mine․ I aspire to improve the responsiveness‚ safety‚ and life-saving nature of transportation systems through engineering‚ technology‚ and research‚ and help others on their paths to education․