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Hobbies and interests
Cars and Automotive Engineering
Electric Guitar
Natasha Silva Paz
1,185
Bold Points1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/17025217852397550276741404o145dd1299b46d4f8792f43396b8217e49.webp)
Natasha Silva Paz
1,185
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
My life goal is to become a successful automotive technician and eventually end up opening my own shop. I am extremely passionate about cars and enjoy working on cars. Anytime I am given the opportunity to work or look at a car, I immediately take up the offer.
Education
Westminster High School
High SchoolMiscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Bachelor's degree program
Majors of interest:
- Mechanical Engineering
Career
Dream career field:
Automotive
Dream career goals:
Sports
Soccer
Intramural2018 – 20202 years
Anthony McPherson Memorial Automotive Scholarship
Driving under the influence increases the dangers of driving because of how it affects the person's senses and can end up hurting innocent people and the person who is under the influence. A substance can affect your perception, attention, coordination, and understanding which are all needed when driving. Impair driving causes accidents whether it is just property damage or if it is a crash with another car. Either way, it can cause injuries that may last a lifetime or fatalities. Drunk driving causes slow reaction times, impaired hand-eye coordination, poor depth perception, and low concentration which all work together making it hard for one to drive fully aware of what is going on.
Strategies that can be used to prevent driving under the influence are by choosing someone to be a designated driver who will not drink anything even if offered. Sometimes people go out alone with plans to drink and take their car, so if there is someone else with them who isn't interested in drinking, it would be safer for the people drinking and the other drivers. Another tactic is calling an Uber, taxi, or Lyft that can take them home safely. This will prevent the person drinking from driving in the wrong mindset. If you were to be with a person who is drinking and they took their own car to the place, you could take their keys away, so they cannot get to their car and drive away. DUI checkpoints can also prevent impaired driving because getting caught could cost them a lot.
Tim Williams Automotive Student Scholarship
I want to the an automotive mechanic because working on cars brings me joy. Anytime I can correctly diagnose a car and fix it, it makes me feel successful and glad because the customer will soon be able to take their car home. The sole reason for my infatuation with the automotive industry started with a game that allowed me to solve the problems a car has which allowed me to learn about the parts and the types of engines. I spent an endless amount of hours on this game during the summer of sophomore year. This encouraged me to take an automotive class for my Junior year which I enjoyed. Anytime there was an opportunity to learn a new thing, I would immediately go for it and even started spending my own time researching. I ended up taking a college class in the automotive field during the spring term and then did an internship at a privately owned repair shop during the summer after my Junior year. I only had to do 60 hours for the internship, but I completed that within less than a month because I would stay there from 8 to 5. I enjoyed it so much that I asked them if I could keep coming and I did until the first day of school. I would wake up excited and ready for the day anytime I had to go to my internship because I loved the fact that I never knew what exactly I would get to work on that day. I got to learn many things and it made me feel knowledgable. I plan on working in that auto shop after my senior year, but only part-time, so I can finish some college classes.
I envision my role making an impact in the future within the automotive technician field by encouraging other women to pursue the automotive field. By seeing women work in the automotive industry, it will encourage and give other women more confidence and comfort knowing that they are not the only ones. For example, in my automotive class this year, I am the only girl, so I started a club for auto in hopes that more girls will be interested. This will hopefully increase the number of automotive technicians because it welcomes a different group of people who could provide their views and solutions. Then the wait times will be shorter and people will be able to do their day-to-day activities faster. I hope to show customers that automotive technicians and mechanics are not crooks and care for the safety of the customers. By building trust with the customers and showing concrete proof of the problems that their car has, I could change their views on mechanics which will further progress the field. If I show my honesty and concern for the customer, they will slowly spread the word that not all mechanics are crooks and their views will change.
Techs of Tomorrow Automotive Scholarship by ServiceUp
I was inspired to pursue a career in the automotive industry after playing a video game based on car mechanics during the summer. I was immediately hooked after getting the hang of the game and spent most of my day playing it and showing it off to my friends. Although it didn't go into too much depth, I learned the basic car parts of many engines, and suspensions, and how to do basic maintenance. It also allowed me to rebuild cars that were not able to move and needed major help. It gave me storylines that would give me hints about the problems that the cars have and I would have to diagnose it myself to figure out what happened. I added an auto class to my schedule for the following year and immediately loved being in the environment. The teacher for the automotive class taught us basics such as changing oils, how to take the tire off the rim, and how to balance. The teacher’s enthusiasm transferred to me every time I was in his class period. This encouraged me to look outside of school for other ways to include working on cars in my spare time. I took a class at a nearby community college during spring and did an internship the following summer. The people who are in my life constantly push me to pursue what I enjoy doing which is working on cars and finding out what the problem is.
I envision my role contributing to the progress in the automotive technician field by encouraging other women to pursue the automotive field. By seeing women work in the automotive industry, it will encourage and give other women more confidence and comfort knowing that they are not the only ones. This will hopefully increase the number of automotive technicians because it welcomes a different group of people who could provide their views and solutions. Then the wait times will be shorter and people will be able to do their day-to-day activities faster.
I hope to show customers that automotive technicians and mechanics are not crooks and care for the safety of the customers. By building trust with the customers and showing concrete proof of the problems that their car has, I could change their views on mechanics which will further progress the field. If I show my honesty and my concern for the customer, they will slowly spread the word that not all mechanics are crooks and their views will change.