STEM is a big part of who I am. I think it’s important for people to understand the mechanics of the world around them. When I was a kid, I loved robots. WALL-E? My favorite movie. I drew them, and I built popsicle stick versions. I even begged my parents for my own set of Little Bits circuits and would spend hours turning them on and off in awe. I would watch videos from Boston Dynamics vigilantly. But overall, I had a very vague understanding on how they worked. The concept of taking inherently stationary materials and making them move on their own was foreign and magical. I never thought I would be able to build one myself, that was for the geniuses. But my sophomore year, I had a wonderful teacher who helped me dig deep into the technicalities and I learned that they actually weren’t that hard. From then on, I have loved learning all about mechanics, and then to teach others what I know. I have been involved in FIRST Robotics Competitions (FRC), where I teach other high schoolers how to wire, manufacture, and build machines of their making. This past year, I was elected the Captain of my high school robotics team, and you could not pull me away. Throughout my senior year of high school, I’ve dedicated my time to teaching other students about STEM, and how to build complex mechanisms. I averaged about 50 hours a week at robotics throughout our season to ensure our team's success. I used to spend my summer teaching our incoming freshman how to design electrical layouts for the robot, and how to learn the basics of prototyping and getting good data. Then, during the robotics season, they could use those skills to help the team. I am incredibly passionate about providing these opportunities, and teaching young kids about STEM. I just want to share these fascinating machines with others. It’s in my blood to never stop moving, and that has definitely resulted in a diverse and bountiful list of activities I have participated and helped in, other than just my robotics team. For the past two years, I have helped our middle school robotics teams. Our robotics team will manufacture parts for them on our CNC. And at the elementary level, I volunteer yearly at the LEGO robotics competitions. For the past three years, I have volunteered at our yearly elementary school toolbox building, where 2nd graders have the opportunity to learn how to use drills, wood glue, and screws to build their very own toolboxes. I also helped host a LEGO robotics open house in 2025 with two other FRC teams to teach parents about robotics opportunities for their kids, and to create new elementary school LEGO teams in the area. Between the time that school ends and robotics starts, I would help tutor other robotics students in math and physics, or coach them through TIG and stick welding. I helped out at Alaska Airlines Aviation day, where we showed our robot to boy scouts, middle schoolers, and STEM clubs, along with some really cool airplanes. I want to be a memory in these kid’s minds that continues to tell them that STEM is all around us, and a possibility for everyone. One of my biggest inspirations is that teacher from my sophomore year, who reached out and showed me the possibilities, and all I want to do is to pass it on and do the same for other students.

I love to create. For the past four years I have spent all my time creating, and I hope to carry this on into my future. In my freshman year of high school, I found myself on the team for set design in theater. I loved it so much but I didn’t know why. Sophomore year I was building catapults and cameras, and then I was finally making robots in my junior and senior year. All this, and I was tutoring my friends in Geometry, Precalc, and Calculus AB. And even further, while doing all this, I even competed in a SKILLSUSA 2D animation competition in 2024-2025 with my friend. Though it was just for fun, we ended up taking 1st place in the state competition for our short film, Showstopper! I'll admit, I can't keep still when I could be doing something. For my future, I want to continue to create things, and create things that other people can benefit from. My senior year I acted as the 2471 robotics team captain; And while I have learned many technical skills from this, I’ve also learned how to implement grit into my projects and see them through to the end. I also spent a long time learning how to lead with authority, while still involving myself with my team. Not only did I design two subsystems for our robot, I also managed our team, made sure we met deadlines, and that we ended with a functional, working robot. I know one of my biggest difficulties in my future will be funding my endeavors. I have the skills I need to realize my goals and the drive to get what I want out of them, I just need to find a steady platform to get to a point in which I am able to explore creating what I want to. There's just one thing I’ve found that I don’t enjoy about the professional industry is the competition. Corporate espionage and hiding any innovation from your competitors for money’s sake. What’s the point of making something useful if you can’t share it with the world? I love places like Boston Dynamics, where their primary goal is to push forward the boundaries of robotics as a whole. They sell their designs to branch out further, but they create the base line for more to build off of. That’s what I want, collaborative innovation. To work together with everyone to produce something for the world. My college, Portland State University, has a robotics lab focused on biomimicry, a research lab that hopes to further push the boundaries of robotics, and that's everything I want to learn. I have four older siblings, and as the baby of the family, there's no college fund for me. This last year, FAFSA made a revision to their sibling discount, meaning I received even less aid than I might have in previous years. I have to cover nearly $40,000 a year in tuition and housing, and FAFSA offers me $5,500. I don't have a college fund, meaning by the end of my four year degree, I have to find a way to pay more than $130,000 by myself. This scholarship is such an opportunity for me, and would not only enable me to focus more on my education, and not have to divide my attention between finances and exploring what inspires me; But it would also provide me with the ability to get a degree at all. With this financial help, I can dig further into my studies, and dig further into my love for design!