For many, expressing good character and positive quality seems relative Creativity, I use creativity to express my thoughts and to build my personality in a way that shows others the thoughts and perspectives I have towards life. I show others that I have a lot to offer by building and creating new ideas and things that benefit others. Perspective- Leading to perspective, I hear others out in my life and make sure that their point is getting across fully even when I do not agree with their statement or form of opinion. It is so significant because to be able to hear others out and amplify people's voices and I am confident I do just that! Open-mindedness- I use my willingness to learn and be comfortable to make space for new ideas and pair it up with my creativity to learn from others and to create for others a space for them to be comfortable. I am also able to try to show others that their way of thinking can be challenged. Humility- I humble myself in authority and try to learn what I have to do to become a better person as a young adult to my peers as well elders. I realize the place I take in this world and try to work my way up to one day be on top to continue to positively impact others as my inspirations do. Zest- I use this trait to brighten up people's days in my community and to also make my presence fun and adventurous for others. I also do the same thing to others who need the support! Although I love all of theses characteristics about myself, the one that will always stand out to me is creativity and how I will sue it in my field of study. For example, I find it astounding how many products can be created by using simple things many people own such as legos, scraps of wood, plastic, and metal, and other material. With the idea of developing more complex solutions to modern-day problems, I think by taking a step back and seeing what you have, you can realize that the concept of design is rooted in many ways that one can approach a mechanical problem in their life. This is why I would like to pursue mechanical engineering; to challenge myself to invent and innovate creations to contribute to the bettering of our world.

Another school day would start at my small, private grade school. I was smiling and exuberant, playing with friends at recess, and paying attention in class as I should have. I was overall very content when it came to class. It was the only emotion I could feel until I had to think about it. My brown skin. My box braids. Me, and where I came from. If only all of it could have remained a blurred image in that classroom. I could only wish this. When the teacher mentioned the word “slavery” and “black” in one phrase, my body froze. I realized my classmates could see me now for who I was. I was not like them. For I was the only black student. There was no hiding behind the plaid jumper and white blouse. As my classmates stared, I felt alone and misunderstood. I waited for the subject to change, hoping my friends would forget the conversation. They did that day, but I never did. No matter how ignorant I acted, the awareness of race followed me and grew: third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade through middle school, and my private high school, I reminded myself who I was. A black, young, woman. Microaggressions about my hair and “whitewashed” personality would be placed on me like a crown to wear. It was the same crown that shined like the token I felt like for a lot of the white people around me. It felt like I was one of the “good” black girls; the one that was quiet and not loud. The one that did what she was told without giving an interrogation. The one that did not listen to rap music primarily and talked “proper”. The acceptable one. Because of this, starting junior year, I started to lose connection slowly with my friends and academics. I developed social anxiety and it increased throughout the school year, causing me to start losing track of who I was, or so I thought. Friday, March 13, 2020, was the last day I would be in school physically for the school year because of coronavirus. On that day, I unknowingly began a journey of what I thought would be a recovery of myself, but to this day, it is showing to be a discovery. The seclusion of quarantine brought a declining motivation for my academics and hobbies, and a greater feeling of distance from my friends. However, by making me wrestle with my actions, these events forced me to reflect on how far I have come with my identity as a person of color and a woman. I went back to the day in second grade when I first realized how skin-deep race was, and the anxiety that came with learning that. Following that, I reminisced on freshman year and how different microaggressions and stereotypes of being a black woman became more familiar to me. I ended my reflection with my junior year and all of the extra steps I took to avoid expressing myself. In those five months of reflection before I started my senior year, I discovered that I needed to take those experiences and use them to strengthen my identity going on. I am currently growing with this mindset, and it has changed the way I look at the future. With the personal challenges life gives me now, I can push through knowing that a girl more self-aware will be the continuing outcome. I find it astounding how many products can be created by using simple things many people own such as legos, scraps of wood, plastic, and metal, and other material. With the idea of developing more complex solutions to modern-day problems, I think by taking a step back and seeing what you have, you can realize that the concept of design is rooted in many ways that one can approach a mechanical problem in their life. This is why I would like to pursue mechanical engineering; to challenge myself to invent and innovate creations to contribute to the bettering of our world. As a black, queer woman wanting to go into this field, the importance of community immediately reminds me of representation and impact. It is important to me is to show other girls, including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ girls that it is so possible to be bright, bold, and to accomplish their goals and aspirations through their careers and hobbies! When it comes to being inspired through my education, I look into what my field is ultimately teaching me and how I can make a difference through it. All around me, I see potential in my future career and possibly what I can do with it. I hope my hard work will eventually lead to a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. I will also strongly consider a master's degree as well in the same field as my major. Leading to my other goal, I would like to start organizing my outreach to my community through my degree and favorite activities. This includes music, film, robotics, design, and engineering. I want to show people, especially other youth that even with struggles that are present in your life, they can use me as an example of how to overcome those challenges and find a purpose to keep going. This leads to my third goal, which is to create my inventions to help the medical field, and/or also to simply create tools for simpler tasking. Although this seems long-term, I would like to start preparing for this goal now, and with a proper college degree and financial comfort in that, I will successfully be able to do so.

My name is Rachel Meniboon and I am a freshman mechanical engineering major. I like to describe myself as very creative, observant, easy-going, and open-minded. Despite this, I still have the skills to be technical and critical when the environment around me is out of the ordinary. I also have a strong interest in music. I love music because I can be creative and expressive through my work and also provide my own composition to the work I do. It also teaches me, like engineering to stay committed. Other activities I am involved with on my campus are the athletic band, in which I am a clarinet player, and I am also in the Multicultural Community. I enjoy every minute of my involvement around my campus and I personally feel like it enriches my perspective when participating in STEM inclusive spaces. Now when it comes to engineering, I find it astounding how many products can be created by using simple things many people own such as legos, scraps of wood, plastic, and metal, and other material. With the idea of developing more complex solutions to modern-day problems, I think by taking a step back and seeing what you have, you can realize that the concept of design is rooted in many ways that one can approach a mechanical problem in their life. This is why I chose mechanical engineering; to challenge myself to invent and innovate creations to contribute to the bettering of our world. As a black, queer woman wanting to go into this field, the importance of community immediately reminds me of representation and impact. It is important to me is to show other girls, including BIPOC and LGBTQ+ girls that it is so possible to be bright, bold, and to accomplish their goals and aspirations through their careers and hobbies! When it comes to being inspired through my education, I look into what my field is ultimately teaching me and how I can make a difference through it. I would also to start organizing my own outreach to my community through my degree and favorite activities. This includes music, film, robotics, design, and engineering. I want to show people, especially other youth that even with struggles that are present in your life, they can use me as an example of how to overcome those challenges and find a purpose to keep going. This leads to another ambition of mine, which is to create my own inventions to help the medical field, and/or also to simply create tools for simpler tasking.