There are over sixty students in McBride’s senior engineering class. Only eleven of us identify as women. As I pursued my interest in engineering, I realized it wasn’t “normal” for a girl to love STEM. In middle school, I was the only girl in my VEX robotics team and the only girl in McBride’s Ham Radio club. Even though I felt out of place, I never gave up on my dream of becoming an engineer. I was happiest when I was playing with LEGOs and designing robots. I wasn’t going to let sexist societal standards get in the way of my academic career, and neither should my fellow women in STEM. In order to tackle the gendered stance in the engineering field at McBride, my friends and I established the Women's Woodworking Club. The Women's Woodworking Club is a supportive community of future engineers. Together, we learn new engineering skills, plan our future, and build camaraderie among women-in-stem. I use my expertise from working in the engineering lab to instruct members in machines like the bandsaw, drill press, and laser engraver. I love watching club members master these machines and develop their own enthusiasm for STEM. We have made wooden ornaments, chalkboards, and mailboxes. In addition to this, we planned a trip to CSULB to explore engineering possibilities in college. I'm proud to have helped normalize women in STEM at our school, but I won’t stop here. In my future, I want to continue to encourage underrepresented groups to defy societal standards and pursue their interest in STEM. I want to prove to the next generation of engineering that their identity shouldn’t impede them from following their dreams and achieving their goals. The engineering field is evolving for the better, and I want to be a part of that change. As I pursue my own career, I will continue to involve perspectives from more under-represented groups. My unique perspective as a Mexican-American woman gives me special insight on the effect my work has on my community. With this scholarship, I will be able to fund my education so I can acquire new skills that will allow me to become a successful engineer and inspire other under-represented groups into pursuing a career in engineering. As an engineer, I hope to design technology that will help humanity explore outer space. My dream job is to work at NASA and help build space shuttle technology that will allow scientists to gain a better understanding of our universe. With this position, I want to inspire other future engineers to pursue their career goals, regardless of their identity and unique backgrounds so we can diversify the engineering workforce. With a diverse collection of perspectives, engineers can work together to consider more factors and create a solution that addresses as many viewpoints as possible. With more hands on deck, we can work together to have a positive impact on our community.

There are over sixty students in my high school’s senior engineering class. Only eleven of us identify as women. As I pursued my interest in engineering, I realized it wasn’t “normal” for a girl to love STEM. In middle school, I was the only girl in my Robotics Club. In high School, I was the only girl in the Ham Radio club. Even though I felt out of place, I never gave up on my dream of becoming an engineer. I was happiest when I was playing with LEGOs and designing robots. I wasn’t going to let sexist societal standards get in the way of my academic career, and neither should my fellow women in STEM. In order to tackle the gendered stance in the engineering field at my school, I rallied my friends and established the Women's Woodworking Club: a supportive community of future engineers. Together, we learn new engineering skills, plan our future, and build camaraderie among women-in-stem. I use my expertise from volunteering in the school’s engineering lab over the summer to instruct members in machines like the bandsaw, drill press, and laser engraver. I love watching club members master these machines and develop their own enthusiasm for STEM. In addition to making wooden ornaments, chalkboards, mailboxes, and a variety of other projects, we planned a trip to CSULB to explore engineering possibilities in college. This way, club members can envision themselves pursuing a higher education in a field they have a passion for. I'm proud to have helped normalize women in STEM at our school, but I won’t stop here. In my future, I want to continue to encourage underrepresented groups to defy societal standards and pursue their interest in STEM. I’m sure that as I reach my career goals, I will continue to face discrimination based on my identity, but I want to prove to the next generation of engineers that their identity shouldn’t impede them from following their dreams and achieving their goals. The engineering field is evolving for the better, and I want to be a part of that change. As I pursue my own career, I will continue to involve perspectives from more under-represented groups. My unique perspective as a Mexican-American woman gives me special insight on the effect my work has on my community. With this scholarship, I will be able to fund my education at Stanford so I can acquire new skills that will allow me to become a successful engineer and lead other under-represented groups into pursuing a career in engineering. I am a leader because I guide others into succeeding, despite the risks. I follow the examples of other revolutionary leaders like Sojourner Truth and Katherine Johnson, who set an example of grit and perseverance in the face of systemic gender and racial discrimination. Just like these powerful women knew that they were being watched by the next generation of women, I want to set a good example for future women-in-stem. I hope to continue establishing support systems like Women’s Woodworking Club to give underrepresented groups a home in the charged workplace and help them feel comfortable in their skin. As a leader, my goal is to continue to inspire other leaders that will pioneer the revolution of engineering’s demographic. Together, we are stronger.

There are over sixty students in McBride’s senior engineering class. Only eleven of us identify as women. As I pursued my interest in engineering, I realized it wasn’t “normal” for a girl to love STEM. In middle school, I was the only girl in my VEX robotics team and the only girl in McBride’s Ham Radio club. Even though I felt out of place, I never gave up on my dream of becoming an engineer. I was happiest when I was playing with LEGOs and designing robots. I wasn’t going to let sexist societal standards get in the way of my academic career, and neither should my fellow women in STEM. In order to tackle the gendered stance in the engineering field at McBride, my friends and I established the Women's Woodworking Club. The Women's Woodworking Club is a supportive community of future engineers. Together, we learn new engineering skills, plan our future, and build camaraderie among women-in-stem. I use my expertise from working in the engineering lab to instruct members in machines like the bandsaw, drill press, and laser engraver. I love watching club members master these machines and develop their own enthusiasm for STEM. We have made wooden ornaments, chalkboards, and mailboxes. In addition to this, we planned a trip to CSULB to explore engineering possibilities in college. I'm proud to have helped normalize women in STEM at our school, but I won’t stop here. In my future, I want to continue to encourage underrepresented groups to defy societal standards and pursue their interest in STEM. I want to prove to the next generation of engineering that their identity shouldn’t impede them from following their dreams and achieving their goals. The engineering field is evolving for the better, and I want to be a part of that change. As I pursue my own career, I will continue to involve perspectives from more under-represented groups. My unique perspective as a Mexican-American woman gives me special insight on the effect my work has on my community. With this scholarship, I will be able to fund my education so I can acquire new skills that will allow me to become a successful engineer and inspire other under-represented groups into pursuing a career in engineering. As an engineer, I hope to design technology that will help humanity explore outer space. My dream job is to work at NASA and help build space shuttle technology that will allow scientists to gain a better understanding of our universe. With this position, I want to inspire other future engineers to pursue their career goals, regardless of their identity and unique backgrounds so we can diversify the engineering workforce. With a diverse collection of perspectives, engineers can work together to consider more factors and create a solution that addresses as many viewpoints as possible. With more hands on deck, we can work together to have a positive impact on our community.

I was not in the foster care system. There are over sixty students in McBride’s senior engineering class. Only eleven of us identify as women. As I pursued my interest in engineering, I realized it wasn’t “normal” for a girl to love STEM. In middle school, I was the only girl in my VEX robotics team and the only girl in McBride’s Ham Radio club. Even though I felt out of place, I never gave up on my dream of becoming an engineer. I was happiest when I was playing with LEGOs and designing robots. I wasn’t going to let sexist societal standards get in the way of my academic career, and neither should my fellow women in STEM. In order to tackle the gendered stance in the engineering field at McBride, my friends and I established the Women's Woodworking Club. The Women's Woodworking Club is a supportive community of future engineers. Together, we learn new engineering skills, plan our future, and build camaraderie among women-in-stem. I use my expertise from working in the engineering lab to instruct members in machines like the bandsaw, drill press, and laser engraver. I love watching club members master these machines and develop their own enthusiasm for STEM. We have made wooden ornaments, chalkboards, and mailboxes. In addition to this, we planned a trip to CSULB to explore engineering possibilities in college. I'm proud to have helped normalize women in STEM at our school, but I won’t stop here. In my future, I want to continue to encourage underrepresented groups to defy societal standards and pursue their interest in STEM. I want to prove to the next generation of engineering that their identity shouldn’t impede them from following their dreams and achieving their goals. The engineering field is evolving for the better, and I want to be a part of that change. As I pursue my own career, I will continue to involve perspectives from more under-represented groups. My unique perspective as a Mexican-American woman gives me special insight on the effect my work has on my community. With this scholarship, I will be able to fund my education so I can acquire new skills that will allow me to become a successful engineer and inspire other under-represented groups into pursuing a career in engineering. As an engineer, I hope to design technology that will help humanity explore outer space. My dream job is to work at NASA and help build space shuttle technology that will allow scientists to gain a better understanding of our universe. With this position, I want to inspire other future engineers to pursue their career goals, regardless of their identity and unique backgrounds so we can diversify the engineering workforce. With a diverse collection of perspectives, engineers can work together to consider more factors and create a solution that addresses as many viewpoints as possible. With more hands on deck, we can work together to have a positive impact on our community.

“Whose terrible idea was this!” I complain lightheartedly. My feet ache and the sun burns my face; we’d been walking for hours. I glare at my brother, who appears perfectly fine. “It was your idea,” he responds, grinning. With a mischievous look in his eyes, he begins walking faster: a challenge. Suddenly, I forget that I’m exhausted and have over five miles before we reach the beach. I accelerate to a jog, he starts running, and we build up to a sprint, racing down the river. Last year, my little brother, Joaquin, decided he wanted to join cross country, so I helped him train. Since then, we’ve gone on hundreds of adventures, exploring the city. My favorite of these: a fourteen mile round trip to the beach. It took us over five hours, but we made it. And after a few months of training, we began running with his cross country team. Together, we motivate each other to never give up; we always reach the finish line. As a kid, I didn’t interact with peers nearly as much as I did with Joaquin. So when he was diagnosed with Autism at the age of three, I didn’t understand what was “different” about my brother. Sure, he always needed extra help with homework and explicit explanations of unspoken social rules. But to me, these were standard jobs for an older sister. My idea of “normal” was based on Joaquin. Just like he inspires me to be a better runner, Joaquin inspires me to be comfortable being “different”. As I pursued my interest in engineering, I realized it wasn’t “normal” for a girl to love STEM. I was the only girl in my robotics team and the only girl in my school’s Ham Radio club. Even though I felt out of place, I never gave up on my dream of becoming an engineer. Following Joaquin’s example, I learned to embrace my uniqueness and motivate others to do the same. Just like Joaquin inspires me, I want to inspire other underrepresented groups to pursue their passions, regardless of social norms. As a co-founder of Women’s Woodworking at school, I’ve brought together future engineers into a supportive community where we further our engineering skills, plan our future, and build camaraderie among women-in-stem. I use my expertise from working in the engineering lab to instruct members in machines like the bandsaw, drill press, and laser engraver: “translating” tedious instructions from manuals into easily-digestible explanations. I love watching them master these machines and develop their own enthusiasm for STEM. I'm proud to have normalized women in STEM at our school, but I won’t stop here. Joaquin has been the biggest driving force in my life. I want to utilize the supportive spirit I’ve developed as Joaquin’s sister to encourage underrepresented groups to defy societal standards and pursue their interest in STEM. I want to prove to the next generation of engineering that their identity shouldn’t impede them from following their dreams and achieving their goals. Together, we can all reach the finish line.

“Hey! Are you allowed to be here?” the school janitor exclaims. My pencil is being vaporized at five hundred points per inch, and toxic fumes infuse the air above as a high power laser engraves permanent marks on the soft wood. It’s a perfectly safe process. At the start of the school year, I became heavily involved in our school’s engineering lab: mastering the machines, cleaning, and even starting a store to raise money for the engineering club. Confused school staff often came in, wondering why a girl was laser engraving pencils at six in the afternoon. Over time however, they have realized I am not a menace; I’m simply an aspiring engineer, hoping to advance my skills. My back-to-school tip: take advantage of your school’s resources; they are there for you. Contact your teachers; they will be thrilled to see you taking the initiative to explore your interests. In this way, you are not only furthering your passions, but also networking with teachers and fellow students: an important skill. By starting off early, you also display time management and leadership. These are key characteristics of a hard worker that is ready to jumpstart their academic career. Social handle: @libra_rytoiletpaper