Throughout my engineering course in high school, I have constantly been the only African American person in my classes. When professionals from companies come to visit my school, they are always taken aback when I get up and present the project topics that I do. How I overcome the stars is by showing people that anyone can become anything that they put their minds to. Achieving good grades and being involved in the community shows that I am one of many that are destroying the stereotypes of African American people in the world. My experience with adversity has been people not expecting me to be interested in the things that I am because of the color of my skin. Something that I hope to achieve after completing my degree and becoming a permanent employee at an Engineering company is to encourage and support younger African American girls that are interested in the STEM Academy. Once a person reaches a higher place in society, the right thing to do is reach back down and offer a hand to those that also want to climb the ladder as well. As an African American female interested in Engineering, I am one of not many which is a problem. I aim to provide educational programs and opportunities to underprivileged African American children who hope to one day become engineers or people in the STEM field. I would go to multiple schools, just like how firefighters used to in elementary school, to encourage and show that there is always someone out there to support them through their trying journey of breaking stereotypes that African American females are not engineers. Things like the Black Professionals Day at Omaha North has also shown me that I need to come back and show younger generations that if I could make it, so could they. All of my years at North, and I have yet to come across an African American female in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering at Black Professionals Day. For me, that was a let down because those are the people that I would want to have connections with, and if they are not there, then where does that get the upcoming generation. This scholarship investment would grant me the opportunity to break stereotypes and become someone that people do not think is normal. I have been admitted into the Nebraska Honors Program, and I am continuously striving to go above and beyond to become who I have wanted to be since I was age 10. Thank you for taking the time out to read and consider my application for this esteemed scholarship opportunity.

Throughout my engineering course in high school, I have constantly been the only African American LGBTQ+ person in my classes. When professionals from companies come to visit my school, they are always taken aback when I get up and present the project topics that I do. I dress more masculine that other females which automatically earns me glances from people and being an African American in the STEM field just makes it more awkward. How I overcome the stares is by showing people that anyone can become anything that they put their minds to. Achieving good grades and being involved in the community shows that I am one of many that are destroying the stereotypes of African American LGBTQ+ people in the world. My experience with adversity has been people not expecting me to be interested in the things that I am because of the color of my skin and how I dress. Throughout my engineering course in high school, I have constantly been the only African American LGBTQ+ person in my classes. When professionals from companies come to visit my school, they are always taken aback when I get up and present the project topics that I do. I dress more masculine that other females which automatically earns me glances from people and being an African American in the STEM field just makes it more awkward. How I overcome the stares is by showing people that anyone can become anything that they put their minds to. Achieving good grades and being involved in the community shows that I am one of many that are destroying the stereotypes of African American LGBTQ+ people in the world. Being a part of Black Student Leadership Council has allowed me to actively engage with the African American community in my city. I contributed to Black Student Leadership Council an African American in the U.S. that is striving to excel in the STEM field and encourage other young black women too. Something we did was visit and support black owned businesses. This shows the community that there are young African American girls that strive to become engineers. During the summer of 2019, I also had the pleasure to volunteer at an event called AfroCon. AfroCon is an opportunity to support an ethnically diverse range of independent artists and businesses with an emphasis on businesses and artists of African and African American descent. Most importantly, AfroCon, is a safe space for the celebration of black culture. I want to accomplish breaking the stereotype that African American women are not engineers throughout my career. Hopefully, after obtaining my engineering degree, I intend to provide educational programs and opportunities to underprivileged young African American children who hope to one day become engineers themselves. I would go to multiple schools, just like how firefighters used to in elementary school, to encourage and show that there is always someone out there to support them through their trying journey of breaking stereotypes.

I never knew what I wanted to do with my life until I stumbled upon a robot in the library window of my elementary school in the fourth grade. I then realized that engineering is something that I could do for a lifetime, so ever since then, I have set my heart out for engineering. My upcoming goal is to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and major in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Aeronautical Design. Because of my advanced placement classes in high school, I already have some college credits, which will put me ahead of the game. While I am in college as a Sophomore or Junior, my goal is to obtain paid internships at Engineering companies. If achieved, the internships will act as experience in the Engineering field, which will give me a foot in the door to become a permanent employee once I graduate. With an internship in Engineering, I hope to make connections in the Engineering field because connections will get you places. With the connections I hope to have made as a Sophomore or Junior in college, I will hopefully have a greater chance at securing a position at an Engineering firm. A future goal of mine is to complete my bachelor’s in engineering, and to work at a large company known for engineering, such as a Boeing, Kiewit, or Northrop Grumman, and make a difference as an African American young adult. I hope to encourage and support younger African American girls that are interested in the STEM Academy. Once a person reaches a higher place in society, the right thing to do is reach back down and offer a hand to those that also want to climb the ladder as well. As an African American female interested in Engineering, I am one of not many which is a problem. The underrepresentation of African American women in engineering is something that is a constant reminder to me that I need to work hard to help overcome. This is evident to me because as I focused on engineering during school, I was usually the only woman of color in my classes. During the summer of 2019, I volunteered in a community event called AfroCon. AfroCon is an opportunity to support an ethnically diverse range of independent artists and businesses with an emphasis on businesses and artists of African and African American descent. Most importantly, AfroCon, is a safe space for the celebration of black culture. Because I come from a small community of African American young women who strive for engineering degrees, I want to help show young black girls that if they put their mind to it, they can achieve anything. Throughout my engineering course in high school, I have constantly been the only African American LGBTQ+ person in my classes. When professionals from companies come to visit my school, they are always taken aback when I get up and present the project topics that I do. I dress more masculine that other females which automatically earns me glances from people and being an African American in the STEM field just makes it more awkward. How I overcome the stares is by showing people that anyone can become anything that they put their minds to. Achieving good grades and being involved in the community shows that I am one of many that are destroying the stereotypes of African American LGBTQ+ people in the world.

When I was in the fourth grade, I saw a robot in the library window and I immediately thought to myself that I wanted to build things like that, and that moment helped to jump start my dream of becoming an engineer. A future goal of mine is to complete my bachelor’s in engineering, and to work at a large company known for engineering, such as a Boeing, Kiewit, or Northrop Grumman, and make a difference as an African American young adult. I hope to encourage and support younger African American girls that are interested in the STEM Academy. Once a person reaches a higher place in society, the right thing to do is reach back down and offer a hand to those that also want to climb the ladder as well. As an African American female interested in Engineering, I am one of not many which is a problem. Throughout my engineering course in high school, I have constantly been the only African American LGBTQ+ person in my classes. When professionals from companies come to visit my school, they are always taken aback when I get up and present the project topics that I do. I dress more masculine that other females which automatically earns me glances from people and being an African American in the STEM field just makes it more awkward. How I overcome the stares is by showing people that anyone can become anything that they put their minds to. Achieving good grades and being involved in the community shows that I am one of many that are destroying the stereotypes of African American LGBTQ+ people in the world. I aim to provide educational programs and opportunities to underprivileged African American children who hope to one day become engineers or people in the STEM field. I would go to multiple schools, just like how firefighters used to in elementary school, to encourage and show that there is always someone out there to support them through their trying journey of breaking stereotypes that African American females are not engineers. Things like the Black Professionals Day at Omaha North has also shown me that I need to come back and show younger generations that if I could make it, so could they. All of my years at North, and I have yet to come across an African American female in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering at Black Professionals Day. For me, that was a let down because those are the people that I would want to have connections with, and if they are not there, then where does that get the upcoming generation.