When I first got to high school, I didn't have the slightest idea of where I wanted to attend college or what I wanted to major in once I got there. All I knew was that I really liked science and math because I excelled in both subjects. I participated in varsity baseball and was an avid member of the national honor society. I also made sure to do plenty of volunteer work at a homeless shelter in downtown Houston feeding and donating clothes as well as shoes that I couldn't fit. My freshman and sophomore year consisted of these activities nearly every day. It was when I got to my junior year that my teachers and peers informed me of what I would need to be preparing for as far as college and life after high school. Some of the mentors from the college center would come in to classrooms and give us small lectures about college majors and how you should manage your time in college. They would also have us meet in computer labs during class to take small surveys to determine what would be the best major to select in case any students were still unsure of what they wanted to do. I took the surveys a few times and narrowed it down to mechanical, computer and chemical engineering, since all of them included the study of STEM. At my school, we had something called "career day" where staff from numerous colleges would come and talk to the students about what their school offers and why they should attend. I spoke to a man there who asked me the question, "what do you want to do", followed by, "why do you want to do it?". I answered chemical engineering, but I was not fully sure why I wanted to do it. When I realized how serious it was that I was unable to answer why, I decided to do some research. I took the same survey from before and found out what it is that chemical engineers do and how they benefit society. I remembered that the man I spoke with mentioned that Prairie View was the best school to attend for a student majoring in chemical engineering and that I would have to work hard to stand out in its program. Around February of 2020 was when I had my college choices narrowed down and I had retook the SAT and ACT. I got higher scores on both tests and decided to apply to Prairie View to continue my education. A few weeks later I received an email saying that I was accepted and that I had an opportunity to enroll in the summer bridge program to get a head start on my classes. Since COVID had just hit around this time, the program was reduced to free of charge so I decided to take the chance to see how classes would be. Upon completion of my classes, I got better adjusted to how college would be.

What makes me resilient is the motivation to succeed, and make a living for myself upon graduating college. My name is Myles Johnson, and I am a second-year student at Prairie View A&M University. Over my freshman year, I partially got to see college for what it was. When you get there, there isn't anyone who forces you to do your work or stays on top of you to get things done, so it's on you to fulfill all of your responsibilities. It's a lot of freedom that if taken for granted, can lead to your downfall and maybe dropping out of school. With that said, I experienced first hand what not taking care of your job as a student can do. In person classes were not allowed my freshman year due to COVID and the rapidly increasing number of cases each day. All students whether on campus or not had to attend class via zoom to be counted present and submit work through canvas. I thought at first that since everything was online it would be simple, but I learned quickly that not paying attention during the zooms or missing even one could throw off how much I had gained from the class. Though the classes were very difficult, I did my best to submit all of my work to get a good enough grade. When summer classes started, students were allowed to stay on campus and go to in person classes or stay at home and attend over zoom meetings. I chose to stay home and avoid paying extra for housing while still doing my work. Since I knew exactly what to expect, I did a whole lot better and did not struggle with any of the classes that I took. With my experiences here at Prairie View, I've adjusted how I want to use my degree once I attain it. Once I have earned my degree, I plan on going into the field as a manufacturing production technician. I have peers who have switched to the same major as me because I have informed them of the many jobs that chemical engineers may pursue and what it is that they contribute to society. I just hope that when I do graduate alongside them that they have the same motivation that I do to keep going further to benefit society and excel in the field of their choice.

As a graduate of the class of 2020, I went through some tough times. I was very involved in high school with National Honor Society, Varsity Baseball, both cut short due to COVID. During the baseball season, the majority of my teammates were all seniors and we were having a good season. At the time, we were undefeated, hoping to go as far as we could that year. Although we were off to a good start, that was when COVID hit and everything took a turn. All sports were suspended for the remainder of the seasons, classes were stopped in person and were switched to zoom at home for all students across the U.S. Luckily, I still had a graduation and was able to walk across the stage to receive my diploma. The key thing was, I stayed working hard and finished strong to make sure I could make my parents proud.