My outdoor experience is not based in the forest wilderness, or even a desert wasteland, but rather in the most unexplored area of our planet, the ocean. The ocean is a mighty force that is mostly unexplored and untouched by human hands, yet people like myself get to see a glimpse into its hidden wonders. As a certified scuba diver, each trip beneath the surface lets me see this breathtaking natural beauty, as well as the damage that human hands have done to it. On one of my most recent dives, I witnessed forgotten lobster traps turned into beautiful reef structures and a sunken sailboat being inhabited by a school of colorful fish. Yet despite this beauty, there was also ruin. Fishing lines had snagged on coral heads and broken them and careless boaters had scared masses of near ancient polyp formations. This sight hovered my mind for weeks, as it was all preventable. Human carelessness and error have been detrimental to our marine environments to no end. Not only on a small scale like what I witnessed beneath the waves, but also on global scales through oil spill disasters and the epidemic of overfishing. Not to mention the new issue that has arisen in the last several months, disposable masks are predicted to crowds our globe's seas for years to come. Much like other forms of unexplored wilderness, the ocean is harmed by everyday human actions. This realization has inspired my career goals. By choosing to study Marine Engineering at Texas A&M Galveston, I have chosen to make a commitment to revolutionizing the field with environmental health in mind. I hope to work to design structures and systems that are intended to reduce impacts on the environment. Not only this, but I hope to use my experience as a scuba diver and fisherman to educate all those willing to listen on the importance of our marine environment on the globe as a whole. Without it, every other ecosystem will struggle to sustain itself as human food source focus shifts from the seas to the land. The effects of a collapsing marine ecosystem are already being felt by so many, the tourism industry, fishing industry, offshore oil industry, and shipping industry, just to name a few. My hopes are to help ensure that our unexplored and wild seas stay that way for generations to come, a watery wilderness that without it, life as we all know it would collapse indefinetely.

A woman in STEM who I will always admire and looks up to was a former coworker at Caterpillar Inc, Mrs. Maria. While I do not know her last name as the office ran on a strictly first name basis, the woman never ceased to amaze me. She was always kind when I needed help and would never hesitate to give me advice or a much needed pep talk when I was working on something I was unfamiliar with as the only high school intern in the building. She had designed countless electrical racks for marine and aerospace applications, all while being a working mom of two young children. Mrs. Maria always encouraged me to shape the world through my work, which isn’t easy as a first year electrical engineering intern. She often inquired about my ambitions and what I hoped to achieve majoring in Marine Engineering. My story was always the same, I wanted to use marine engineering to modernize and revolutionize human effects on the ocean. Specifically, I was interested in how man made vessels and structures polluted our oceans simply due to lack of a better way to do things. Mrs. Maria constantly questioned me about how I planned to do this and what I thought would be the best first step. While I didn’t have the answer then, and still don’t fully, her words and knowledge inspires me every day to work towards my goals, even if I don’t completely know how to accomplish them. Without this influence during my time in Caterpillar’s Marine Electronics Division, I likely would not have learned nearly as many skills as I did there. This woman will forever be in the back of my mind with her friendly questioning and frequent encouragement when times get rough. One day, I hope to be in a position much like hers, in which I can act as an unofficial mentor to a young woman pursuing the difficult and daunting career of STEM.