The Allen key: the tool I’ve used in more projects than I can count, the technology which I rely on. While not a traditional form of technology, the Allen key represents technological advancements in fastening systems. My first hands-on project was with my dad, Alan, who helped me fix my rusted Cinderella bike. When I used the Allen key to unlock stuck nuts I felt the breeze of an engineering and technological focus in my futures path. Through my years in robotics, where I used the key to unfasten tricky lock nuts - or as a manufacturing intern at Boeing where I used the tool to remove a bit from a tool I had never used before, the ninety degree drill motor. Even in my physics labs when I find myself doing maintenance on outdated forms of technology. The Allen key has followed me through each walk of my life. Its the ol’ reliable, and it sparks creativity even in the most STEM dense areas of my brain. Hoping to be able to create or be a part of a new technology, one so versatile it is always there to help you. This idea of a do it all form of technology or software would allow ease in experiments, studies, research, and have real world applications in the workplace. The design, manufacturing, sales, logistics, and financing of this will create many jobs. Even if there is this do it all tool, people find joy in pursuing such projects and up and coming markets. The Allen key reminds me of the ways in which humanity has passion. Working on my bike with my dad for example, this technology which inspires me reminds me of him, even years after his passing, whenever I pick it up and I feel a jolt of innovation. This can be applied to parts of society as a whole; people gain drive and feel the impact of their work in return inspiring them to think outside the box, create new software and machinery just because of the joy they find in the process.

Naturally, babies cry. Typical soothing tactics failed on my little sister who passed at a month and a half old. My solution? Sticky notes. When my little sister would cry I would find a stack of sticky notes and let them fall into their stuck together at the top configuration, hold both ends, and move them in and out like an accordion. For some mysterious reason this action had her entranced and calmed her down. This is why I would start a business with her making extra sticky - sticky notes. She would pick out the name, with her playful personality she would pick a silly title for our business like Shhhhhticky. A play on quieting her tears in relation to the sticky note accordion. They’d come with little patterns on them depicting pink monkeys - her favorite stuffed animal, or those little blue or pink stripes found on the hats they put on your baby right after its born. We’d make our debut as a brand on Mothers day, the day I learned she passed away and we’d cater towards mothers who have lost a child, are a single parent, are estranged from their children, or are fighting custody battles. My little sister would appreciate this gesture as its in her honor. Even at only a month and a half old she had a determined and joyous spirit. In this scenario I imagine my little sister to be more grown up. In the office I’d share this anecdote of the accordion tear yielding sticky notes, we’d laugh and I’d tease her. Shhhhhticky wouldn't be a global corporation because not everyone has experienced the pain of losing a sibling. We’d set up shop in a quaint town filled with playgrounds and families and sell our extra sticky - sticky notes at the Saturday market alongside our storefront. My sister would be forever memorialized through our business and the durability and strength of these sticky notes would illuminate the process of grieving a sibling.

My area is booming with science and technology businesses but has always lacked opportunities for interested youth to get involved such as myself. I began my journey my sophomore year of high school where I joined my school's robotics team. At the time, I lived in a low income area and many peers expressed their interest in robotics to me but were unable to pay the registration fee which was required to join. I knew then and there I wanted to work towards making STEM opportunities accessible for low income students of all ages. Even with the entrance fee to this club we still lacked materials and resources which came as a shock to me. The next year, I moved states and schools and caught wind of a free robotics organization separate from any school or nearby business. When I joined the non profit there were about a dozen students involved though many more interested. I joined as part of an engineering team and later became the director of administration for this student led non profit organization. My main mission was to reach out to as many interested students as possible and expand in order to give opportunities to those who may not have been presented with one due to financial adversity. My team and I frequently visited elementary and middle schools and presented our robots at STEM nights or field days, parents and students alike were interested. Secondly, at my former high school I would put application fliers up in the halls and give a quick presentation on the goals of the robotics organization and what we do in science and math courses. This brought our numbers up from a dozen students to over forty ranging from ages eight to eighteen. Students educated each other on their academic background and skills such as coding, design and engineering which all students learned from. The most enriching part was, it was all free! It fueled my spirit seeing my hard work in outreach pay off and my mission to provide education and competitive teams was working, thus taking a step forward in bridging the gap of low income students and STEM education at a penniless cost. Although I have graduated the age limit of the teams in this organization I am still making efforts to close this class gap. During winter break I come home from university and volunteer as a STEM camp leader at my local children's science museum, teaching elementary age students the science behind everyday things in a digestible manner. I began doing this as a junior in high school, it's rewarding seeing the same students come back each year. There is still a long way to go to solve the issue at hand, but I feel the impact of each step forward I take creating a ripple in the unjust system of class in correlation to education. I plan on moving forward with this goal throughout my education as I study astrophysics and mathematics. Education should be a right, not a privilege and I am passionate about creating opportunities for minorities and safe spaces for students to learn and explore their STEM related interests.

My area is booming with science and technology businesses but has always lacked opportunities for interested youth to get involved such as myself. I began my journey my sophomore year of high school where I joined my school's robotics team. At the time, I lived in a low income area and many peers expressed their interest in robotics to me but were unable to pay the registration fee which was required to join. I knew then and there I wanted to work towards making STEM opportunities accessible for low income students of all ages. Even with the entrance fee to this club we still lacked materials and resources which came as a shock to me. The next year, I moved states and schools and caught wind of a free robotics organization separate from any school or nearby business. When I joined the non profit there were about a dozen students involved though many more interested. I joined as part of an engineering team and later became the director of administration for this student led non profit organization. My main mission was to reach out to as many interested students as possible and expand in order to give opportunities to those who may not have been presented with one due to financial adversity. My team and I frequently visited elementary and middle schools and presented our robots at STEM nights or field days, parents and students alike were interested. Secondly, at my former high school I would put application fliers up in the halls and give a quick presentation on the goals of the robotics organization and what we do in science and math courses. This brought our numbers up from a dozen students to over forty ranging from ages eight to eighteen. Students educated each other on their academic background and skills such as coding, design and engineering which all students learned from. The most enriching part was, it was all free! It fueled my spirit seeing my hard work in outreach pay off and my mission to provide education and competitive teams was working, thus taking a step forward in bridging the gap of low income students and STEM education at a penniless cost. Although I have graduated the age limit of the teams in this organization I am still making efforts to close this class gap. During winter break I come home from university and volunteer as a STEM camp leader at my local children's science museum, teaching elementary age students the science behind everyday things in a digestible manner. I began doing this as a junior in high school, it's rewarding seeing the same students come back each year. There is still a long way to go to solve the issue at hand, but I feel the impact of each step forward I take creating a ripple in the unjust system of class in correlation to education. I plan on moving forward with this goal throughout my education as I study astrophysics and mathematics. Education should be a right, not a privilege and I am passionate about creating opportunities for minorities and safe spaces for students to learn and explore their STEM related interests.

My grandmother woke me up for school one morning when I was in the third grade, my mom was nowhere to be found. Confused and tired, I didn't ask questions as I piled in next to my siblings and began the silent forty minute drive to my close knit private school. During soccer practice that day a storm broke out and parents were called to get us early, my grandma again showed up. I asked where my mom was, “Well… you have a little sister” my grandma answered. I had never been so puzzled. How didn't I know my mom was pregnant? The thing is, nobody knew. Not my dad, not my grandparents, only part of my mother knew. I grew concerned because my mothers habits of smoking and drinking had been persistent. Why? Intentionally. In the month and a half of my sister's life she was a joy to be around, I was perplexed by her beauty that came unexpectedly. On the eve of mothers day, the night of my sister's passing, my mother was drunk, passed out over the hearth, my sister's crib next to her, screaming and crying. She woke me. I picked her up out of the crib and tried to soothe her the best I knew how, the crying didn't cease and I put her back down. On mothers day, my mother told me that my sister had died. For the next eight years, panic attacks met me every night, as I feared one of us would go next. I felt a guilt that weighed me down like a ball and chain. Maybe if I could only make her stop crying the night before she would still be here. The next day at school I had my head down on my desk before the bell rang, my teacher called me over and I told her the news. She gave me the most comforting hug of my life and sent me to the counselor. When I returned to class I felt ashamed as I walked in on my teacher telling all of my peers what had happened. That day they all pitied me, they gave me special privileges then never spoke of it again. I felt ashamed because I believed they thought it was my fault. I don't know how to answer when someone asks me how many siblings I have. When I am comfortable enough to share the truth with someone it is followed up by the question of how it happened. Years later, when I was sixteen I heard my mother confess to accidentally taking the life of my little sister. Suddenly, my nightly panic attacks stopped. I hate to admit that some of this guilt I carried was released off of me. However I had always had a gut feeling that is what happened. I'm now a hypochondriac, frightened that an illness may take me as suddenly as my sister was here then gone again. I miss her, Constance Azalea. When I have a daughter that will be her name.

I was seven years old when I first observed the Persaid meteor shower camping out in my backyard with my three little brothers. The moment I saw my first shooting star that night I gained a profound interest in the universe. I carry that interest and love of the universe with me every day and it can be found in my studies, as an astrophysics major also pursuing a minor in mathematics. My analytical problem solving skills first arose as I would break up foolish spats between my brothers, as the sister I was perceived as the mediator, however the most difficult problem I had to navigate was leaving my mothers household when I was sixteen. Growing up in an environment filled with addiction and poverty I dreamed of creating a better life for myself and my initial hypothesis was to wait it out until university, a test that failed. This dream of mine came unexpectedly when my mother in a fit of intoxicated rage asked me to leave, with a deceased father I had to think fast and practically on my next steps, where I packed up and came to the state of Washington on my own. As a young girl this was scary to navigate although I was self assured and knew I could lean on my passions. Previously, I have participated in two internships with Boeing where I gained hands-on aerospace engineering and manufacturing skills while collaborating with engineers for projects on the 777X and Starliner, this summer I will be returning to the company. I would like to note that I was the only female intern at Boeing, and the only woman in the rocketry club. Climbing these ladders was not easy, as a woman I had to prove myself in ways others did not. This experience alongside my four years of robotics - holding the position of director of administration for Mukilteo Robotics- and my role as treasurer and engineer in the rocketry club at my university has honed in and allowed me insight into what I want to contribute to the field of astrophysics and mathematics. My career aspirations follow this familiarity with engineering. My wish is to contribute to the design and data analytics of a new space telescope which will collect high energy data from pulsars and gamma rays with the use of radio, x-ray, and gamma ray detection tools. I also intend to apply more of astrophysics in the detection of low frequency gravitational waves which can be detected using high energy detection telescopes such as the pulsar/gamma ray hypothetical telescope I wish to be a part of creating. This autumn semester I am being trained in the planetarium to create and present shows for alumni and students alike, which provides me a better understanding on the map of space and the projected orbit of telescopes or satellites I may contribute to. I am excited and actively looking for ways to pursue this goal and practice my passions both in and outside of university.

I settled on the study of astrophysics in a rather silly way. I distinctly remember it being two weeks after the initial lockdown in 2019, I was in my garage with a new haircut and thirteen years old when I looked up “how to become a renaissance man”. The glow of google informed me that I must master science, art and philosophy. Already having enjoyed art and avoiding the topic of philosophy I then turned to the browser once again to inquire what the hardest science to master is where it gave me the answer of physics. I first became interested in astronomy the first time I saw the Perseid meteor shower, camped out on my deck sharing a sleeping bag with my brother. It was astonishing. This was far before my personal renaissance revolution though I sought to combine the two topics. Pushing myself to study hard and take all the physics classes that were available, I became passionate about the topic and removed from the prior thought of simply wanting to achieve the hardest thing I thought of. I used to want a career in aviation and aerospace. I strived to break into that world until I finally did, and partook in two internships at Boeing. It was then I realized that the world of physics goes so far beyond large corporations and sitting at a desk making CAD designs for eight hours a day. My focus then shifted to aeronautics, the same realm though different experience, once I caught wind of Boeing’s Starliner mission, still feeling relatively safe in the arms of a big company. While I enjoy engineering to a degree, my passion lays amongst the mysteries of the universe. These career based experiences while practical taught me that the easiest answer is not always the best one. I am intensely interested in deep space astrophysics alongside the mysteries of space. After I acquire a PhD after my undergrad, I would love to work at a place like Laigo, where gravitational waves were first detected, or even on the Lux Zeplin project, where dark matter is detected under vacuum and applied to astronomy and astrophysics. I adore the field of research, especially breakthrough research or experimental research attempting to prove a theory of space. Secondly, I wish to combine my career in astrophysics research with education, whether it be as a professor or simply as a community educator; I believe my background in STEM education and leadership will assist me in this goal. Finally, my dream job is one where I may turn to my peers for collaboration. One physicist may change the world but as a team the chances and rewards are greater.

I am a woman who does not feign away from being herself for the sake of conforming to societal ideals of what I ‘should’ be like. I have taken my passion for astrophysics and aerospace related sciences and paved pathways of opportunity for myself and the youth in my community who are interested in STEM. The pastime which brings me the most joy is robotics, where I act as an engineer on my team and wield the title of Director of Administration of my private student run non-profit organization for the 2023-2024 season. The most influential part of my role inside of my club was fostering a community of engagement and education by creating lessons in coding and CAD alongside the board for students who have the desire to learn; focused on students who come from a background of economic hardship which may lack the resources for free STEM based education. I practiced robotics for 3 years, winning four judges awards and receiving two invites to state level competitions. I have taken this love of robotics and applied it to my work at Boeing in machine data analysis, electrical systems troubleshooting, and ultrasonic composite tests. Outside of the class room I may be found crowd surfing in a mosh pit at a local show, exploring a new area of town, or taking a risk by picking up a book by an author I’m not all too familiar with. I highly value one's ability to be confident in who they authentically are, this is a trait that took me a fair while to obtain. I have found that experiencing all that I may in a responsible way has provided me with practice in pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Typically at shows that I attend, the majority of fellow attendees are not women or other types of minority. In order to get comfortable, I in a way had to prove myself in the scene. I would befriend other girls and we would push into the tallest boy we could find in the mosh pit, all in good fun of course, to prove that we can throw some elbows too. The aerospace field has presented me with a place where I may express my passion for mathematics, physics, and space in a productive manner. I am currently in my second internship at Boeing. For my first internship I wrote standardized step details for engineers on the floor which described the steps in the processes in composite wing manufacturing alongside writing testing procedures in radius filler production system failure data analysis. The steps I created are still on the floor to this day and are used in quality inspections and training of new hires, secondly, the test I conducted was successful and the machining problem has been solved. This year I have created a thermostat system from scratch, fabricated wires and installed components, did lean manufacturing, and physics based tests to detect poor quality in engineered composite parts. Looking ahead, I plan to apply this knowledge as I move on from aerospace to aeronautics, I aspire to work on rocket propulsions, fueling, or leadership in rocket ship manufacturing and engineering. I feel the value of the work I did and how its being used every day when I commute home from work. I am excited to take the next steps into my future which will allow me to feel this fulfilled ten times over.