Growing up, I always knew I wanted to impact the world. As a child, I often felt isolated from my peers, who were hanging out at their friends' houses and birthday parties. At the same time, I was under the constant supervision of my parents due to my condition and the underlying fear of what could happen to me if I wasn't carefully monitored at all times. Due to this, I quickly found ways to occupy my time, one of which early on was sewing. I began to formulate business plans and ideas for my hobbies and interests at a young age. And so, my very first entrepreneurial endeavor was a sewing and clothing business I started when I was around nine years old. I began to take more risks and put myself "out in the world." While I realized that my autoimmune issues made me different from my peers, I eventually began to recognize that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing that I was different. As the years passed, I progressively got worse and got diagnosed with over 20-30 food allergies (in addition to asthma), many of which are anaphylactic and life-threatening. Recently, I also became diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria. While I have had many close calls with death, it has only made me realize how precious and limited our time is here on earth and the importance of fulfilling our purpose and full potential. Not only did I decide that I needed to make my time here on earth meaningful, but I also wanted to pursue my passions and do what I love. Instead of pondering my illnesses and why they don't have a cure, I decided that starting a photography business would fulfill my passions of art and entrepreneurship. So, at the beginning of high school, I started this endeavor to provide people in my community with timeless family heirlooms to remember people in a moment in time, even after everything has faded away. Now, as a senior in high school, I have been photographing weddings. While it may sound cheesy, this philosophy I have associated with my business about preserving a moment in time for when everything else fades has motivated me more than ever. Every day I wake up excited for what I've built and for what is to come in the future. Furthermore, I will be attending Texas A&M as a freshman in the fall of 2022 as an engineering major. I hope to combine my passions for being resilient, problem-solving, persistent, and hard-working to achieve my goals of working for NASA one day or starting my own engineering company in the future. While having an autoimmune disease creates a rocky and less traveled path, it does not mean it is the wrong path. Having an autoimmune disease has equipped me and many others worldwide with qualities and life values that will be carried throughout lifetimes and careers.

What comes to mind when you think of life in Texas? Maybe sweet tea, Bluebell ice cream, bluebonnets, or the beautiful hill country landscapes with endless springs and rivers. Being a Texan begins on a deeper level extends. All Texans are connected through warm hospitality, state spirit, and state-wide connectedness. Being a Texan means standing up for others, lending a helping hand to our neighbors, showing kindness to those we oppose while standing firm in what we believe in. Being a Texan begins with the traditions and ends with the friendships, family, and family-friends made along the way. There's a popular saying in Texas: You were either born here or got here as fast as you could. Texas has a diverse history and continues to expand its diversity and blend of many cultures and languages. Whether you're a seventh-generation Texan or a first-generation Texan, being a Texan still means the same thing, and if you're Texan, you're family.

From a young age, dance has not only been a form of self-discovery and expression, but it has also contributed positively to my academics. I specifically remember an experience in eighth grade that shaped my future and fostered qualities in myself that I carry with me today into expanding my mind as a creative individual and ultimately excelling in college. As a young girl heavily interested in the art and STEM field, I was torn between pursuing an artistic career and a STEM career. Dance and ballet had been my passion my entire life, and I was not ready to give them up quickly. I decided to continue with ballet for as long as possible and see what the future holds. So that year, I participated in the dance program through my school and decided to be in The Nutcracker through my ballet studio. I decided I also wanted to be challenged academically and signed up for my first rigorous math class as an eighth-grader, algebra. My days consisted of attending school from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, sewing pointe shoes at lunch, going straight to Nutcracker rehearsals afterward, doing my homework, and studying between rehearsals. I had done ballet for my entire life, and while this lifestyle was not easy for a 13-year-old, I was incredibly content and grateful to be doing what I loved every day and quickly adapted. Soon, I was introduced to contemporary style dancing through my school dance program, which I quickly fell in love with and even began choreographing my own contemporary pieces at home, each dance reflecting my emotions and situation at the time. Dance became my outlet even more than before after experiencing family issues and hardships at home. Due to my circumstances at home, I began to struggle mentally and in school and desperately needed a solution or a form of help. Dance has been there for me when no one else has. Dance ultimately kept my mind sharp so that I could also adequately focus on academics rather than my situation at home. At times when I could not receive emotional support from those around me, dance never failed me. Dance creates a beautiful community of creative and supporting individuals, and I will never forget those who impacted my life at the time, one of which was my dance teacher. The community of dancers and the emotional outlet provided me with an atmosphere in which I could thrive despite my unfavorable circumstances at the time. In addition to the wonderful dance community, dance, of course, helped my personal journey of self-discovery as a young girl facing confusing things. Through dance, I was able to continue to enroll in academically challenging classes in the following years and still keep my head above water. I rediscovered myself and my passions through dance, one of which was math. Throughout high school, I even became a dance teacher in hopes of giving back to the community that had served me for so long, and I wanted to make an impact in young dancers' lives. I participated in my local studio's Nutcracker performance for three years and will never forget the fantastic opportunities that have come out of it. Now, I am a senior in high school, dancing in my free time. I have also pursued my passion for math and am currently taking AP calculus. I recently got accepted into the Texas A&M Engineering program and am eager to attend. I hope to one day be an aerospace engineer to use both my artistic and mathematic capabilities to change the world.

After my first paycheck from my very first minimum wage job at, I pondered what I should spend my hard earned money on. Maybe Whataburger, Chick-Fil-A, or a new outfit from Target? "Be patient Tori," my dad urged me. "Did you know, you could double that money?" At that point in time, I was unsure of what my dad meant. How could I double my minimum wage paycheck? "Invest it in stocks." I was clueless about stocks and how they could be relevant to a young pre-teen like me... But, taking my father's advice, I began to research the stock market, keeping a close eye on every twist and turn, every high and low, and when the opportunity arose, I struck. I bought a measly twenty dollars worth of Tesla stock. The next day, I checked to see how much money I made and was disappointed it hadn't changed very much. "Be patient Tori," echoed in my mind again. Little did I know, the patience of leaving the money invested would cause it to triple. The sudden epiphany of a new and exciting way to make money was all that I could think about. After more research, I began to buy stocks in several other companies. If there's one thing my father has taught me is that action and patience can go a long way, and it doesn't hurt to have multiple streams of income. He also presented the necessity of researching the market to understand its patterns of unpredictability. Through investing, I have been able to quit my minimum wage job to focus on academics, while my invested money is working for me.