When choosing my major, the only thing that came to mind was, does it make me happy? And do I see myself doing it for the rest of my life? With those two critical questions, the simple answer was yes, it does, but why? Michelle Obama once said, “I think that to be successful, women have to figure out what they’re passionate about first. No matter what you aspire to, you’ve got to love what you do to be successful at it.”. For me, selecting my intended major was a journey of self-discovery fueled by a deep-seated passion and a series of life-changing inspirations. I knew I wanted to help others from the early age of thirteen, but I didn’t know how. Growing up from the ages six to thirteen, I volunteered at an event called Warmth in Winter, where different homeless shelters and organizations came together and celebrated the holiday season with brunch, a party, and gifts. In 2018, when serving people, an eight-year-old girl approached my table and asked for assistance getting her meal. After I helped her get everything she wanted, she said, “Thank you for the food, and I hope I can help at this event like you, too.” From there, I was exposed to a world of wanting to give back, no matter its shape or form. Since then, service to others has been my life's core value and passion. I've always sought opportunities to contribute to my community and make a positive difference. I thought about creating a non-profit organization to build one-story homes for those needing shelter. In addition to creating an organization that provided job opportunities and refuge for homeless people until they got back on their feet. During the summer of 2020, I worked during the pandemic to fundraise and find ways to help the community stay safe outside their homes. Now, I’m President of a non-profit club (Youth Inspiration, YIP) at my school. However, not only has service been my life’s core value and passion, but so has design. As a kid, when baking in the kitchen with my uncle, design played a huge part in what our treats would look like. Along with that, it played a massive influence on my small business (Simone’s Sweets and Treats) and impacted whether I could make a sale or not. Furthermore, in 2018, when I began attending STEM school for middle school; design was essential to my everyday curriculum, especially in my Engineering class and Intro to Computer Design. When building bridges, coding robots, and editing videos, my passion for design started to emerge. From there, I attended STEM leadership academies, where I was able to show my interest and talent when designing my team's product to help fight climate change. In addition, I joined WRT ACE Design and Build team, where my talent showed even more when designing sports-related trash enclosures. Moreover, civil engineering offered a unique platform to combine my passions for service and design. The ability to work on projects that have a direct and lasting impact on people's lives, such as improving access to clean water, building safe structures, and creating sustainable transportation networks, deeply resonated with my desire to serve and make a meaningful contribution to society. Along with being able to design a grand structure and being able to share it with the person beside me, my family, or even my future children. I am driven by the belief that civil engineering is not merely a career choice but a powerful means to leave a lasting impact on my community and possibly the world.

When choosing my major, the only thing that came to mind was, does it make me happy? And do I see myself doing it for the rest of my life? With those two critical questions, the simple answer was yes, it does, but why? Michelle Obama once said, “I think that to be successful, women have to figure out what they’re passionate about first. No matter what you aspire to, you’ve got to love what you do to be successful at it.”. For me, selecting my intended major was a journey of self-discovery fueled by a deep-seated passion and a series of life-changing inspirations. I knew I wanted to help others from the early age of thirteen, but I didn’t know how. Growing up from the ages six to thirteen, I volunteered at an event called Warmth in Winter, where different homeless shelters and organizations came together and celebrated the holiday season with brunch, a party, and gifts. In 2018, when serving people, an eight-year-old girl approached my table and asked for assistance getting her meal. After I helped her get everything she wanted, she said, “Thank you for the food, and I hope I can help at this event like you, too.” From there, I was exposed to a world of wanting to give back, no matter its shape or form. Since then, service to others has been my life's core value and passion. I've always sought opportunities to contribute to my community and make a positive difference. I thought about creating a non-profit organization to build one-story homes for those needing shelter. In addition to creating an organization that provided job opportunities and refuge for homeless people until they got back on their feet. During the summer of 2020, I worked during the pandemic to fundraise and find ways to help the community stay safe outside their homes. Now, I’m President of a non-profit club (Youth Inspiration, YIP) at my school. However, not only has service been my life’s core value and passion, but so has design. As a kid, when baking in the kitchen with my uncle, design played a huge part in what our treats would look like. Along with that, it played a massive influence on my small business (Simone’s Sweets and Treats) and impacted whether I could make a sale or not. Furthermore, in 2018, when I began attending STEM school for middle school; design was essential to my everyday curriculum, especially in my Engineering class and Intro to Computer Design. When building bridges, coding robots, and editing videos, my passion for design started to emerge. From there, I attended STEM leadership academies, where I was able to show my interest and talent when designing my team's product to help fight climate change. In addition, I joined WRT ACE Design and Build team, where my talent showed even more when designing sports-related trash enclosures. Moreover, civil engineering offered a unique platform to combine my passions for service and design. The ability to work on projects that have a direct and lasting impact on people's lives, such as improving access to clean water, building safe structures, and creating sustainable transportation networks, deeply resonated with my desire to serve and make a meaningful contribution to society. Along with being able to design a grand structure and being able to share it with the person beside me, my family, or even my future children. I am driven by the belief that civil engineering is not merely a career choice but a powerful means to leave a lasting impact on my community and possibly the world.

Every year, from the ages of six to thirteen years old, I volunteered at an event called Warmth in Winter, where different homeless shelters and organizations came together and celebrated the holiday season with brunch, a party, and gifts. While serving people in 2018, an eight-year-old girl approached my table and asked for assistance getting her meal. After I helped her get everything she wanted, she said, “Thank you for the food, and I hope I can help at this event like you, too.” At that moment, the biggest smile appeared on my face, and my heart was filled with love. From there, I knew I wanted to continue helping others no matter what shape or form or how big or small. Not having a complete idea of how I could help, my mind bounced around. I thought about creating a non-profit organization to build one-story homes for those needing shelter. In addition to creating an organization that provided job opportunities and refuge for homeless people until they got back on their feet. But even with that, the ideas still were not set. During the summer of 2020, I worked during the pandemic to fundraise and find ways to help assist the community in staying safe outside of their homes. But even with fundraising and dreaming of ideas, I wanted to do more. Then, in 2021, my parents signed me up for a local university's engineering day camp to learn about engineering. Guest speakers throughout the week, each presented about different types of engineering, none stuck out besides two people. They talked about a kind of engineering where they were able to help people in their community but in a much bigger way: cleaning up oil spills, fixing contaminated grounds, building affordable housing, and creating underground parking garages. They sparked an interest in me: civil engineering. As soon as I got home, I googled “What is civil engineering?” I learned that civil engineering is about maintaining the quality of life within our cities, designing, constructing, and building structures that are necessary to our everyday lives. I did not know this type of work existed, and seeing how it combined one of two of my passions into something advanced was surreal. I knew with this kind of engineering, I could make a huge difference not just in someone else's life but in mine. I began envisioning my design as a grand structure, and the thought of being able to share with the person beside me, my family, or even my future children that I played a part in constructing it filled me with great joy. I imagined the amazement on their faces as I answered any questions and inside details about the structure that other people might not have known. As a result of imagining something I designed coming to life, I got an internship with a global engineering company (JACOBS) in the summer of my ninth-grade year. After working there, I was not completely sold yet on civil engineering; I needed more information. So, I got another internship (AECOM) in the summer of my tenth-grade year. When working, at first, I was utterly nervous since I was the youngest intern they ever hired. I was worried about the work I would be given, but that feeling did not last long. I was welcomed with kind, open arms to a community filled with loving and diverse people who were excited to assist me in gaining a deeper understanding of civil engineering. Over two months, I learned that the various branches of civil engineering weren't solely focused on constructing buildings. Instead, there were specialized departments dedicated to areas such as transportation, environmental concerns, stormwater management, and many other areas. As I stand in this new chapter of my life, I am now driven by the belief that civil engineering is not merely a career choice; it is a powerful means to leave a lasting impact not only on my community but possibly the world. I now know my two passions, service and design, are not separate but connected. With my steady dedication to service, the pursuit of my passion, and the knowledge I have gained through my internships, I am ready to embark on this path that I believe can bring about positive change, innovation, and solutions to some of our most pressing challenges. I am committed to using my skills and knowledge to contribute to a brighter future for all, knowing that it will lead me to a fulfilling and impactful career.