I will be the owner of an engineering company that allows their employees to have a work life balance, so I will be on vacation in Europe seeing the beautiful world.

In my last year of high school my long term relationship ended, and that made me depressed. I did not know I was depressed until someone told me because I knew nothing about it. I was depressed for a couple years, and during that time, I got into relationships that were worse for my mental health than being alone was. I had not noticed what I was doing at the time. Once those relationships ended, a friend helped me realize what was happening, and I decided I did not want to create a worse life for myself. From that point on, I started to surround myself with people who made me feel good and supported me as who I am. That would be how mental health has effected my relationships. My view of the world and the people in it also started to change. I learned that everyone was not happy and that was okay. By understanding that, I could understand better why people did certain things. For example, those people treated me badly because they had their own issues. Understaning my issues made me realize I was not being perfect in those relationships either because when I was depressed, I prioritized myself ninety percent of the time. It is important to consider yourself and others in all interactions, and taking care of your mental health is important.

Usually, this is the type of question I would have to think about for a while, but I immediately thought of my answer. I would like everyone in the world to read "The Myth of Race" by Robert Sussman. I read this book last year for a class in college called "The Origins of Racism." That is what I would say this book is about. Your read about people deciding that others were inferior because of their skin color, and the timeline through history of events related to racism. I am a white woman, I have no idea what it is like to be a person of color and experience racism, and that is why I think taking that class was so good for me. I went through the public school system, which discusses slavery in America, but I was shocked at how much I did not know. The reason I think everyone needs to read this book is because racism was invented about three hundred years ago, and it is still happening. The entire time I read the book, I had a hard time wrapping my head around why white people thought any of the things they did to others was okay, and I think that is a thought that others need to explore. Racism is a horrible, discriminative social construct and there needs to be a stop to it. I think reading this book would give everyone that is white a peek into the horrors that other races of people went through, while empowering and inspiring all people, no matter the race, to continue the fight for equality. In the end, we are all just humans and I believe we deserve equal respect and opportunities from each other.

First I’d like to say to Rich’s family, I am sorry for your loss, and I love to see you extending his legacy. I am an engineering student at the University of Michigan Flint. When I was eleven, my brother was on the high school robotics team, and my family went to watch at a competition. I met some of the team, and watching the robots was extremely cool. I immediately begged my dad to take me. Luckily for me, the mentors of the team were okay with little Sydney helping. For the first year or two I would just do whatever they told me to do, bolting things together and such. It was awesome to watch this idea blossom into something that moved and did what we wanted it to do. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to have an idea and make it come to life. It helped that I loved to tinker. My brother was a machinist on the team and when he graduated I started doing machining too. I eventually became the head machinist on the team and I was the robot operator. I worked together with the driver to move the robot in a way that completed our objective. I learned how to do computer aided design, which is so much fun, and helped getting those ideas going. Robotics was such an integral part in my life and leading to my future career. I have been in college for five years now. My parents do not have much money so they have not been able to help with costs, so I rely on FAFSA and scholarships, as well as working part time while going to school. I have to take around 12 credits to fulfill FAFSA requirements. It is really hard to go to school while working so much. Finding time for yourself and family is hard. If I had a scholarship like this, I would be able to worry less about the financials for a while and get through a semester without working. I have three semesters left until I am finished with my degree, which means the courses are getting harder to schedule work around. This semester I will have to cut back my working hours just to make it to school, which will make it hard to make school payments, but I will make it through because I want to be an engineer. I want to make a difference through new technology. When I am done with my degree and can work as an engineer, my family will be able to worry less about our finances and I hope that we are able to take trips abroad to places we have always wanted to go. Thank you for your consideration.

I love Taylor Swift. She is genuinely a good person, she is nice, pays her employees well, and her songs are so very relatable. I have been a swiftie for a long time, since 2006 when she released her first album, and by far my favorite thing that I have seen her do, is stop caring what people think. During the 1989 era, Taylor changed the subject of her music from relationships to friendships and living life. Through this, she started to care less what people thought about her. That is the reason “Bad Blood” is my favorite song on 1989. I know that the lyrics of Bad Blood may sound like they are about a relationship ending badly, but they are truly about another artist, Katy Perry. In the song she sings about someone treating her in a bad way, and her not putting up with it, ending their friendship. I believe that people should live their lives for themselves, and try to work towards being happy. The worst thing to do for yourself is stay around people that make you unhappy. There are a lot of other great songs in her 1989 album, speaking about other things she has been through, and they were more popular on the radio. I do love those songs, Style is probably my second favorite just because it’s catchy. But a reason why I love her music as much as I do is that I relate to her experiences, and that is why Bad Blood wins. I had a falling out with someone in high school who talked bad about my sister, who I am very close with. So I relate this song to that, but also to “the man” and how society treats women in general. Or at least how women have to see society in order to be safe in this world. Taylor Swift’s music is really from the heart and we experience her feelings with her through the songs. That is why I, and so many others find it so easy to connect with everything she has to say. We also got very emotional over a breakup when we were teenagers. We also have someone that we look up to. We also know that our favorite time is the time we spend with our friends. We also know that life would be easier if we were men. We also fell in love. So yes, from a Swiftie to a, hopefully swiftie, scholarship board, we love Taylor and we will support her through everything.

I think you can do anything you put your mind to, and that is why I think keeping good mental health is so important to living a long, healthy life. I struggled with my mental health for a couple years at the end of high school and into college. It impacted every part of my life; my activities, my friendships, and my decisions for my future. When I was finally able to see what I was doing to myself and understand that I deserved better, I turned things around. I ate better, reached out to my closest friends, and started putting my health first. This included taking mental health days from work if I needed to and getting control of my anxiety. I still have anxiety, I am still the same person, but I am a happier, healthier version of me. I take mental health hikes when I need a day to reset. I found a wonderful person to start a life with that truly cares about me, boosts me up, and knows what to do when I feel off. Most of all, I want a future and I make sure I am doing my best to be here when it comes.

My strongest lifelong interest is robotics and automation. I was on a high school robotics team for 7 years and volunteered with them for two years after. There was no middle school team when I started so I worked with the high schoolers starting in sixth grade at age eleven. I grew up being told that I am the future of engineering, so what is the future of engineering? Electric and automated vehicles. The largest industry in engineering and technology that impacts every person’s life is transportation. Most mentors I had while on the robotics team worked in the vehicle industry. Most of the sponsors had something to do with vehicles. With my background, it makes sense I would be drawn to vehicles. I am twenty-one years old, I love the planet I live on, and I would like to do my part to take care of it. When we put all of this together we get electric vehicles. Since I am still in school, I do not have any experience designing vehicles. I have no idea how they work, but I know they are better for the planet and I would like to learn about them. I may or may not be in the vehicle industry all of my life, but I know it will always be interesting. What makes me so excited about electric vehicles is the benefit the planet gets, and that we will not have to pay for gas forever! When people ask if I think robots will take over the world, I always say no, but I also say I think they could do more. I want to create a robot that does household chores, lawn work, and most of all the jobs people hate doing. This is another reason I am excited about electric cars. Their future is to be automated, they will be able to take us anywhere and be much safer for humans. I would like to take a second to thank you for considering me for this scholarship. School has been a long, grueling, yet exciting process and I can’t wait to get into designing the exciting technology of the future.

To explain how I hope to make a positive impact to the world, I first need to explain my career goals. I knew when I was twelve years old that I wanted to become an engineer. This is a profession that does not have many women in it… yet. I was inspired to pursue this career because I was on a robotics team where we built a robot to complete a task that was given. We then competed against other teams in a competition. I was always interested in how things were put together and on robotics I found the mechanics of everything keeping me interested. I watched people that were engineers work with students to teach them their ways. I also watched people older than me go into the same field that I plan to pursue. The robotics program got me started on my dreams and taught me that it was truly possible. It also gave me basic knowledge of how technology is created, which in my opinion is really cool. I am currently in my fourth year of school to get my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. My goal once I get my degree and get the lay of the land, is to start my own company with an idea that inspires me. I know people from my robotics days that could help with every aspect of the business, especially if it is tech related. The company I hope to start would hire young people and give them experience while they are going to school. Experience is half the battle when trying to become successful, it has been a hard thing for me to come by. Once the company is established, I hope to use extra money to create scholarships for people in college like me. People whose parents can not help them pay for college, that do not get much financial aid. I do not wish to start a company that does not make a positive impact. I also believe that hiring people in school would help and creating scholarships would make a positive impact in the world. Scholarships make me hopeful that more people can pursue their dreams without going into an insane amount of debt. The question of what is your legacy is always asked, or at least that is what I see in movies and motivational speeches. To answer that question is much like this one. My legacy is to make a positive impact in peoples lives and to be remembered for doing so.

I used to have issues with my mental health until I learned how to help myself through it. I do a few different things to relax, depending on the day and how much time I have and how creative I’m feeling. When I am feeling sad, I watch my comfort show, Gilmore Girls. When I am stressed, I love to have a cup of tea and take a relaxing bath. If I am trying to have a relaxing day, I will add a nice face mask and maybe painting my nails and doing my hair after the bath. If I am feeling especially creative, I paint. I am not very talented, but it helps relax my mind. I also like to take a walk outside if it’s nice out because I love nature, have a talk with a friend to get things off my chest, and I am also a stress baker. I make cookies mostly, but baking relaxes me. Most of these are classic answers, but that is what works for me.

I have been told many different study strategies over the years, but I have found that certain ways work for certain classes. I am an engineering major, so I will start with math based classes. Most of these classes, the best way to study is do the obvious, do all of the practice problems that are given. I always write down every equation that I have, especially before a big test, and write what the equation is used for. This can also be used as an equation sheet. I also find it easier for myself to work on practice problems on white boards. I can go back and erase as much as I need to if I get something wrong. With English classes and history classes the best way for me to study is use my handwritten notes and type them all out. This makes me re-read everything and take in the information better. If there are vocabulary words to do, I hand write all of the definitions first, then type it out like the notes. For art based classes, since I am not the most artistic, videos are the best way for me to understand things. I do my own research on the art pieces and if it is an art history class, do the same with notes as I would for English.

I am mainly motivated by my goals and where I am in life right now. I’ve had the same goal since I was on a robotics team when I was 12, and that was to become an engineer. I have a view of where I want to end up. When I get down, or am struggling with school or my job, I tell myself I will not be doing the same thing for the rest of my life. I am doing all this work to get myself to where I want to be. Keeping this mindset motivates me to keep working as hard as I can. It makes me get all of my assignments turned in and keeps me waking up for classes and work. It helps me apply for scholarships be more productive overall. Everything I do leads to my future, so I will continue to work until I get there.

Many things and people make me happy and it is impossible to pick just one, so here are the ones that come to mind immediately. One thing is nature, I smile immediately when I see a beautiful view. It does not matter if it is a mountain, river, lake, woods, or anything pretty, I love being outside in the fresh air. Another thing is conversation with a person I love. When you have a good friend, you can sit and talk for hours not knowing how much time goes by. I love catching up and enjoying the company of the people closest to me. There are many more but I will leave it with just three. Seeing someone talk about a tv show, movie, or book that they love is such an enjoyable experience. Most times when I speak to a person about their favorite things, I know I am going to get a long winded, heart filled talk about everything they know in the realm. It is when people are happy, and seeing people happy makes me happy.

Exciting Blues By: Squidney Late To The Party - Emei Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift Face Off - Tech N9ne, Dwayne Johnson 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton I Should Probably Go To Bed - Dan + Shay I can relate these songs to my college experience, but most of all I connect to Late to the Party. Its about a 21 year old girl who has yet to get her first degree and she feels behind from everyone else.

My happiest memory to date is when my robotics team won our first competition since I was on drive team. All through middle and high school I put all of my time into our robotics program. I met amazing people and discovered my love for engineering. In 2018 I was a senior in high school, on the drive team and we worked so very hard. The moment we found that we won, all of us were crying and hugging each other. There is a video of it and every time I watch it I cry.

My dreams for my future might be a little bit out there, but they are my dreams. I am in school for mechanical engineering, so that is what I want to do, at my own company. I’d like to start a company from an invention of mine, work with people I know that can help me with marketing, the business side, and hire young people who also want to be engineers. I was on a robotics team through middle and high school, so a combination of those people with the skills they have can do anything. I also know that as a young person, it is hard to get a job that will give you experience without requiring experience and I would like to be that for people. With my success I want to make scholarships for young people like me that can’t afford to go to school and their parents can’t help them. I want to help people with my inventions and my scholarships. I hope to make the world a better place by making an impact in every way I can.

I hope to make impact on the world through a technological invention. Even more so, I hope to leave an impact on young women that want to pursue a career in engineering and technology. I was on a robotics team through middle school and high school. I met people who were good at every aspect of creating using technology. I would like to start a business from an invention of mine, working with the people I know to create something for the world. If I end up being successful, I can use my voice to motivate and inspire young women to follow their dreams. I hope to be able to contribute to scholarships some day for people who grew up like me. My parents make enough money that I do not get much from federal financial aid, but they are working on paying their own debts so they can not help me. I have never gotten much help from scholarships in the past, so I would like to help people that need help like I do.

I am passionate about continuously learning. Whether I am learning through school, at work, through friends or watching youtube videos, I love to learn. I can not go a week without doing something that challenges my brain. Recently, I have been learning about art in a college class, and that inspired me to start learning to paint. I am not any good yet, but it stretches my creative muscles. Another activity to stretch those muscles is crochet. I needed something mindless to do while I was watching videos for school or television. In the summer when I am not in school, I read books, do CAD, learn new games, or search for new places to travel. I watched scientific youtube channels that show various experiments or inventions and how they work. I love museums, especially when they are about local culture wherever I am traveling. I always wondered what I would do when I finish college and can not learn anymore, but now I know how many different ways there are to learn.

I have been told by many people that I am a person that is easy to talk to, which makes them come to me when they have a problem. I do not mind because I love listening and I do my best to help as much as I can. At work, I am the only inspector on second shift so I have the room to myself. A few times a week, different people come in to talk to me about struggling with the time of the shift, struggles at home or at work. My job thankfully does not require much thought through most of the process so I am able to listen and work at the same time. I have quite a few friends that got used to being able to talk about everything while we saw each other often before the pandemic. They still call me or text me and I help them talk through their issues. As long as I am in a good place myself, I enjoy my ability to help the people around me. As a person that everyone comes to, sometimes things weigh on me and I need someone to talk to that can listen. My boyfriend is the best listener and he proves how helpful listening is. Listening means letting someone get out their frustrations, sadness, or feelings to help them feel better.

I have two large goals in life, one career related, and one personal. My ultimate dream job is to own a business that is started by an invention of mine. I have a robotics background so I know if I have a good enough idea, I know people that can work with me on every aspect of the idea whether software, electronic or hardware. I would love to work with all of them again and maybe even be business partners. I know this is a big dream but if there was ever a time for a young woman from a small town to create something and become successful from it, that time is now. My other goal is to get or build a house in a mountain, where I do not live that close to other people, but I am not too far from a city. I would like to have animals there and a garden. I would also like to be able to travel and see the world. From the big cities like Paris and London to the best views in nature. I would give some examples but the list is too long.

Growing up in America, girls are taught to go to college, get a job, get married, and have kids. Based on the facts we learned from our own research, not the history books, this is a large improvement from what women have dealt with in the past, but we all know we can and need to do so much better. So what can we do? The biggest thing that I think needs to happen all over the world is that women need to be paid what they are worth. I would say equally but if a company has a man and a woman doing the same job, and she is better, she should get paid more. If it was made a law that women could not get paid a lower rate than men, I know I would feel relief and I bet every other woman out there would too. I would be able to trust that there is someone out there looking out for us. I know that people are working towards taking away the tampon tax and the pink tax, and I am happy to say that Michigan, where I live, has taken away the tampon tax thanks to our female governor. The feeling I had when I found that out was that we are headed in the right direction. The reason I believe that equal pay would be most effective at empowering women is because we have been fighting for it for years now. When I get thinking about this and how women do not get treated correctly no matter where they are, my mind wants to place blame. The truth is, the blame is on the people that began the world like this so many years ago and assumed women were only made to give birth and care for children. The blame is then on people that do not see how incorrect that is, the people that refuse to look at the world how it is now. To ensure women get what they deserve, we need to make sure that none of the people that believe the old ways are better are in a place of power. Fill their spots with people who care about what happens to women and minorities. The only way to make a difference is make our voices be heard. What is a better way than having one of the voices be somewhere that people have to listen. There is nothing more empowering than knowing that you voice has been heard.

Growing up, I always thought that I was below everyone else because I only had a few friends. I was never one of the “popular” kids. Into middle school and especially high school, I began to realize that my small group of friends and I were closer than the big groups I was always jealous of. I stopped being jealous and treasured my own loving friends. Friends are the family that you choose. I have been through everything with my friends and I don’t think I could survive without them. They gave me a reason to wake up in the morning when it got hard. My friends and I have parties when one gets a new job they really wanted. We get together for every holiday, even if it’s a month late. We all learned to make time for the things we loved, each other. Friendship is one of the most important things I’m the world that brings happiness to everyone, and I value it more than anything.

This quality, while found in a lot of people, I value most because it has lead me in the right direction for my future. I am a caring, compassionate person. I know how different life can be without caring people near you. A person who cares can be a friend that is there for you when you go through a breakup, a coworker that notices you aren’t doing well and asks if they can help, a person at the store who pays for groceries because the person before them could not afford what they had. They could even be a significant other who makes an excuse for you to sneak to your room because they know you have anxiety. Care can be shown in such a wide variety of ways, but how much of a difference can it make? I am a young woman pursuing my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. I knew in sixth grade that this is what I wanted to do. I joined my local high school robotics team because I saw how cool robots were and wanted to learn how to make them. I had two mentors that left an impact on me. From the very beginning they were always kind to me, taught me everything I needed to know, and eventually they became like family. I was on the team for seven years and they cared, they never led me astray, they set me up for success. They sent me into the world believing in me, that I would be whatever I wanted to be and do whatever I wanted to do. To this day I still think about them when I am having trouble with some class work or trying to find a new job. Them caring about me so much motivates me to be who they see me to be. For you to understand how I care for people around me, you have to know how I grew up. I am the youngest of three children. My brother is the oldest, then my sister, then me. As a youngest daughter, there is always the feeling that I would have loved to be a big sister. Big sisters take care of their younger siblings by taking care of them. Whether that is feeding them, or being their therapist when times get hard. Since I have been able, I have tried to do that for all of my friends because in my brain, friends are family. I will get people out of bad situations if that means they have to stay at my house for a week. I will listen to stories if friends need to rant. I will pick them up from their house and get them dinner if they have not eaten that day or provide coffee for late night study sessions. I will be their big sister. Caring about people, any people, makes the world a better place. That is why I think this characteristic will help me in my life journey. If I am kind and caring, and have the qualifications my future degree will give me, I can reach my goals and live the life I’ve wanted since I was eleven.

In the last couple of years, I have learned how much enjoying the simple things can make a difference in my happiness. Since then, I have started to pay attention and note those things. Sometimes I write them down as a note in my phone so if I am ever in a sour mood, I can help myself to feel better. One of the simple things that I have always loved oh so much is rain. I love the sound of rain on the car roof or the tent when I am camping. I love the smell of rain on the grass. I love the simple happy feeling the rain gives me when I walk in it without an umbrella. I am at my happiest when I am warm and cozy, so I love hot cocoa, blankets, sweaters, fuzzy socks, and snuggling with my dogs. I love hiking so I can see amazing views, when I can find the perfect hiking partner and just hike as long as I want to. I love that every Saturday and Sunday morning, my boyfriend and I make breakfast and sit down to watch the Great British Baking Show. I love that look that people give me when I baked some good cookies and they get their first taste.

My name is Sydney Barker and I grew up on a small farm with my parents and older siblings. When I was in elementary school, I was very good at math. Quick to learn, so much so that I had a special class or a special teacher to teach me faster than a usual class would. This happened all the way from second to fifth grade. In sixth grade I was taking an eight grade math class. As a younger sister, I always followed my siblings around wanting to be like them. When my brother was in high school he was on a robotics team. My dad took me to one of the competitions and I still remember that day. That is the day that started my interest in STEAM. I wanted to know how the robots worked, I wanted to build them. From the sixth grade when I started robotics, I knew I wanted to become an engineer. People might think that is too early to know what you want to do in life, but another eight years learning, experiencing, and teaching solidified that as my dream. What I hope to do with my education is start my own company that engineers, produces and sells products that I or my team invented. Since robotics in high school, I have worked well in a team and I hope that if I do start a business I can call on my old teammates to help me. If I am able to be successful, I would love to mentor young women that want pursue a career in STEAM. I think someday, we can get the percentage of women working in this field to be equal to the percentage of men. I also want to be able to contribute to scholarships for students like me. People that grew up with less money than everyone else. This all might seem a bit ambitious but I have been raised to know that I can do anything I put my mind to. A recent interest of mine is art. I have never seen myself as an artistic person but I started taking an art class. The class relates the arts and the sciences, showing how much science has contributed to the most famous art pieces. It is amazing to see how much influence science has on everything in the world. I have also started to paint, and started to learn about color theory. I am no good yet, but it is a great creative outlet and the more I learn the more interested I get.

My name is Sydney Barker and I grew up on a small farm with my parents and older brother and sister. In sixth grade I got introduced to robotics. Oh, how my life changed. I was always trying to find how I fit into the world and I finally did it, that is when I knew I wanted to be an engineer. Any normal person would think sixth grade is too early to know what you want to do, but another eight years on my town's robotics team only made me want it more. I have always been motivated by the people that believed in me. Tony and Jon, my robotics mentors, always believed I would become an engineer. They pushed me to be better and taught me almost everything I know. Another motivation in my life is to be a role model for girls that want to be in STEM. In my last year on the robotics team, I caught of glimpse of what that felt like. I was teaching younger students everything I knew and I found that a few of the girls looked up to me. They wanted to do what I did on the team or they wanted to be an engineer, and I hope that they follow their dreams, so maybe one day, we can be coworkers. I am very determined to fulfill my dreams. My ultimate dream is to own my own company that produces and sells products I have invented. I have talked over ideas with old coworkers and family members, and I am always working on new ideas so one day, I can make it come true. I never knew a time where I was not interested how things work. As a kid, I loved to take things apart and try to put them back together to see if I could make it work again. I always did well in math class and even had a special math teacher in elementary school that would go through subjects faster just for me. In fifth grade, we went through three grades of math alone. Then I got into robotics and found an amazing, community in STEM, that was welcoming and excited to have more girls participate. This is the world I have known since I was eleven and I have ever-growing love and interest towards making the world a better place with science. STEM is growing so quickly in our world. Everything in our time has something to do with technology. I would like to own a business that creates things that do the jobs people do not want to do so they have more time to enjoy life. We already have vacuum robots, why not create robots for other chores as well. I think that a world with happier people is a better world. Another thing I would like my company to do is create a product to reduce the work that people have, especially in physically straining jobs. One of the ideas I worked on was automating part of a deli workers job. I worked in a deli for two years and my manager at the time helped me brainstorm while we were working. My greatest challenge was mental. I was a senior in high school and I became depressed. I am embarrassed to say it was because of a breakup. I could not get past it. I stopped eating well and lost weight. After I graduated, I got a job and would sleep the rest of the day that I was not at work or school. Going to school was one of two things that helped because it took my mind off of things. The other being a newfound passion for rock climbing. It took me about a year and a half to realize that I was no longer sad about the breakup and I was the one making myself feel bad every single day. I told myself if I wanted to be happy, I have to start trying to make myself happy. I studied up on things that make depression worse and incorporated solutions as much as I could in my daily life. I fixed my awful sleep schedule, I tried to make a better diet, and I made extra time to spend time with the people I love. After a few months of working on myself, I no longer felt depressed. One of my greatest achievements is helping myself out of that depression. I know that my solution is not the solution for everyone, so when one of my friends needs help, I make sure I am there for them and give them all the advice I can.