To me legacy means carrying on a vision and a way of life into generations after. The way Dr. Samuel Attoh lived his life is special, and keeping it alive is really important for generations to come. Whether it is his passion for academia or his philosophy to always keep pushing forward, passing it down to people who believe in it can provide us with opportunities and courage. From what I read about Samuel he is a very inspiring person. People like him will continue to inspire us all to keep growing as individuals and I hope that I can leave behind a legacy as impactful as Samuel did. Being raised by a single parent in a small town delayed the discovery of my passion for learning and higher education. My mother passed away when I was one years old and it really impacted our family. I struggled through grade school and I am embarrassed to admit I wasn’t introduced to engineering until my early twenties. However, what I lacked in punctuality, I made up for with passion. I quickly became infatuated with art and engineering. When I moved to Portland I heard of these places for creative people called makerspaces. A makerspace is a collaborative workshop that supplies equipment and technology, such as 3d printers, laser-cutters, soldering tools, and industrial machines for creative projects. I wanted to expand my creativity so I became a member of a company called Hedron Makerspace. Eventually they offered me a job teaching 7th Graders how to weld with a program called the 7th Grade Career Tech Exploration through Portland Public Schools. A couple years later I got a job at The Museum of Science and Industry(OMSI) with the same program but instead we taught 7th Graders engineering techniques. I absolutely love it and these jobs have increased my desire to dive deeper into engineering. When I discovered STEM I became enthralled by the stories of successful women engineers. Eventually I got hired on with the Exhibits Department at OMSI. We set up and tear down traveling exhibits that come from around the world. Working with them has made it possible to become friends with the artists and engineers who design and build exhibits. My academic focus is engineering sustainable, innovative, educational devices that benefit the planet and humans' quality of life. I am currently in my second year majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Portland State University. I’m really interested in starting my own community science exhibit but if I was able to go to Graduate school, I would love to join the Mediated Matter Research Group. I find all that they do intriguing. I am interested in working with companies similar to NASA, X-Moonshot Factory and Tesla that are designing and building sustainable innovative technologies. I am also interested in working with underserved women studying STEAM. As I mentioned earlier I didn’t get introduced to engineering until my early twenties, because of this I believe it is imperative to get girls involved with STEAM at a young age. Women in STEAM are doing incredible things and I want to do the same thing by inspiring others and with this scholarship this can become more possible. I have come to a point in my life where I can see an opportunity to become an innovative person. I believe getting an education is the first step towards that. I know if I put all my effort into it and get the help I need from resources available, I can become successful like Dr. Samuel Attoh and leave a legacy behind after I’m gone.

Being raised by a single parent in a small town delayed the discovery of my passion for learning and higher education. I am embarrassed to admit I wasn’t introduced to engineering until my early twenties. However, what I lacked in punctuality, I made up for with passion. I quickly became infatuated with art and engineering and, until COVID-19 struck, frequented schools and makerspaces to teach and learn from others. A makerspace is a collaborative workshop that supplies equipment and technology, such as 3d printers, laser-cutters, soldering tools, and industrial machines for creative projects. When I was young my father showed me how to wood burn my designs onto wood with a soldering iron but when I moved to Portland I heard of these machines called laser-cutters that would produce the same effect but faster. I gave it a chance and became a member of a company called Hedron Makerspace. Eventually they offered me a job teaching 7th Graders how to weld with a program called the 7th Grade Career Tech Exploration through Portland Public Schools. A couple years later I worked at The Museum of Science and Industry(OMSI) with the same program but instead we taught 7th Graders engineering techniques. I absolutely love it and these jobs have increased my desire to dive deeper into engineering and combine it with my art. I have always been an artist since I was young and I have always searched for ways to better my art and make it more interesting. When I discovered STEM I became enthralled by the stories of successful women engineers and decided I wanted to combine art and science together. Eventually I got hired on with the Exhibits Department at OMSI. We set up and tear down traveling exhibits that come from around the world. Working with them has made it possible to become friends with the artists and engineers who design and build these exhibits. My academic focus is engineering sustainable, innovative, educational devices that benefit the planet and humans' quality of life. I am currently in my second year majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Portland State University. I’m really interested in starting my own community science exhibit but if I was able to go to Graduate school, I would love to join the Mediated Matter Research Group. I find all that they do intriguing. I am interested in working with companies similar to NASA, X-Moonshot Factory and Tesla that are designing and building sustainable innovative technologies. I am also interested in working with underserved women studying STEAM. As I mentioned earlier I didn’t get introduced to engineering until my early twenties, because of this I believe it is imperative to get girls involved with STEAM at a young age. I want to do the same thing by inspiring others and with this scholarship this can become more possible. I have come to a point in my life where I can see an opportunity to become an innovative artist. I believe getting an education is the first step towards that. I know if I put all my effort into it and get the help I need from resources available, I can become successful like many other women that are shaping this world today.

Being raised by a single parent in a small town delayed the discovery of my passion for learning and higher education. However, what I lacked in punctuality, I made up for with passion and quickly became infatuated with art and engineering. When I was young my father showed me how to wood burn my designs onto wood with a soldering iron but when I moved to Portland I heard of these machines called laser-cutters that would produce the same effect but faster. I decided to become a member of a makerspace called Hedron Hackerspace. Eventually they offered me a job teaching 7th Graders how to weld with a program through Portland Public Schools. A couple years later I got a job at The Museum of Science and Industry(OMSI) with the same program but instead we taught 7th Graders engineering techniques. When I discovered STEM I became enthralled by the stories of successful women artists and engineers and decided I wanted to combine art and science together to make interactive and educational exhibits. I started working with the Exhibits Department at OMSI setting up and tearing down traveling exhibits. My academic focus is engineering sustainable, innovative, educational devices and exhibits that benefit the planet and humans' quality of life. I am currently in my second year majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Portland State University. I’m really interested in starting my own community science exhibit. With this scholarship it can become more possible for me to continue my education and inspire others. I believe getting an education is the first step. I know if I put all my effort into it and get the help I need from resources available, I can become successful like many other women that are shaping this world today.

Amplify Women in STEM Scholarship Essay 12/14/2020 Samantha Bechtel Being raised by a single parent in a rural town delayed the discovery of my passion for learning and higher education. I am embarrassed to admit I wasn’t introduced to engineering until my early twenties; an age when many Americans have already completed their undergraduate degrees. However, what I lacked in punctuality, I made up for with passion. I quickly became infatuated with math and engineering and, until COVID-19 struck, frequented schools and makerspaces to teach and learn from others. A makerspace is a collaborative workshop that supplies equipment and technology, as 3d printers, soldering tools, and industrial machines for creative projects. In 2017, I was lucky enough to go on a road trip across the country with a friend and when we arrived in Boston, Massachusetts we went to the Museum of Science. At the museum I saw an exhibition of 3D printed glass, I had some experience with modern 3D printing, so this really fascinated me. On the information panel there was a picture of this beautiful woman named Neri Oxman. “Neri Oxman is an American- Israeli designer and professor at MIT Media Lab, where she leads the Mediated Matter Research Group. She is known for art and architecture that combine design, biology, computing and materials engineering.” I admired Neri because she looks at designing from another perspective. She understands that we must design sustainably and be inspired by nature. “Founded in 1985, the MIT Media Lab is one of the world’s leading research and academic organizations. Unconstrained by traditional disciplines, Media Lab designers, engineers, artists, and scientists strive to create technologies and experiences that enable people to understand and transform their lives, communities, and environments.” My academic focus is engineering sustainable, innovative living spaces and devices that benefit the planet and humans' quality of life. I am currently majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Portland State University. If I was able to go to Graduate school I would love to join the Mediated Matter Research Group, I find all that they do intriguing. I am also interested in working with NASA or companies like space X that are designing and building innovative technologies. I hope to continue to inspire young women to study STEM. I currently work at The Museum of Science and Industry(OMSI) teaching 7th Graders engineering techniques. I used to teach them welding with a company called Hedron Hackerspace before I worked at OMSI. These programs are possible through the 7th Grade Career Tech Exploration at Portland Public Schools. As I mentioned earlier I did not get introduced to engineering until my early twenties because of this I believe it is imperative to get girls involved with STEM. I have this book called the Women Lead and I read about these women in STEM that are doing incredible things and I want to do the same thing as these women by inspiring others and with this scholarship this can become more possible. Material Referenced from: www.media.mit.edu