Jack Terry has led a life full of incredible challenges and an extraordinary rise from the ashes of the holocaust to a symbol of hope for all facing great challenges. Reading through his biography, I was not only horrified reading his horrific loss of parents, and siblings to the racist hatred of the nazi holocaust. Despite this, his life story is similar to a “phoenix” rising in glory from the ashes as he manages to not only develop a successful career but also pave the path of success for many more. It is this resilience and determination that makes him a manifestation of the American dream and an inspiration to me as I am starting the next stage of my life. Growing up under autocratic rule, the painful damage inflicted upon the citizens by a megalomaniac dictator felt too familiar. I saw my family members being constantly harassed and sometimes even imprisoned without due judicial process for illogical suspicion. My parents faced this depressing situation and immigrated to the US leaving behind a decades-long successful banking career, hard-earned, and the place we knew as home. Restarting from scratch, we all started working in menial jobs with my parents’ degrees assumed worthless in the US. Despite all that, the hope to achieve the American dream emancipated from the bleak past was always in our hearts inspiring us for a better future. While this adversity still affects our daily lives, it taught me to be grateful for what I have and to always keep my hopes up for a better tomorrow. In my journey, I believe my studies would be the most crucial in turning around my fate. After all, education is the great equalizer of our society. Moving to America last year, I realized the true value of proper education as I selected from a wide range of high school courses compared to the standardized education I was used to. Growing up, I was fascinated by the extraordinary precision and capabilities of F1 racing cars. I spent hours watching the F1, NASCAR, and airshows packed with the finest creations of mechanical engineering. I learned about the factors involved in the design of every single part: aerodynamics, thermal expansion, stress-strain curves, and density developed my passion for mechanical engineering. As an aspiring mechanical engineer, I am excited to start my college journey next year. I hope to polish my skills and develop the knowledge to design the automobiles of the future. In my educational journey, I plan on prioritizing developing work experience and skills before Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minster of World War 2 once l said,” We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”. I plan for my education to not only fulfill my dreams but also hold out my hand to help others just like the American serviceman who protected Jack Terry.