My name is Wyatt Getz and I was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley in a quaint town called Edinburg. I grew up on a farm consisting of goats, chickens, ducks, horses, llamas, bunnies, and pigs. I was a very industrious child because I was fascinated with trains, Bob the Builder, and construction toys (which feeds back into my obsession with Bob the Builder). Naturally, my fascination with industrious tools and machines stayed with me up to adulthood. Since I enjoyed building and creating things, I decided to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree. I initially went to community college so that I could receive my associates and then transfer to a 4-year university. After taking a year off from school, I pursued an apprenticeship as an electrician. I enjoyed doing electrical work and always was amazed at how electricity is like some sort of magic. I still yearned to be an engineer and knew that I would never be satisfied if I didn't complete an engineering degree. After going back to school and, specifically, taking a "University Physics II" class where you learn about electricity and its characteristics, I decided to pursue an Electrical Engineering degree. I realized that my fascination with electricity is the perfect attribute for an Electrical Engineering degree. I'm happy to say that I have, as of writing this, completed my associate's degree in engineering and will be transferring to Virginia Tech to complete my bachelor's in Electrical Engineering. I'm glad that I took a year off of school and spent some time as an apprentice because it showed me what I'm passionate about and enjoy learning about. I also built a computer in high school and I enjoyed the process of seeing a computer slowly come alive. Once I graduate, I plan on using my knowledge and experience to hopefully make the world a better place. I plan on making a difference in my career by providing my best work at all times. I've worked very hard to get to this point and the odds have not been in my favor of me receiving my degree. Taking my job and career for granted is not an option for me and I want to make a difference by showing people that I deserve to be where I am and that anyone can overcome the odds. Making a difference doesn't have to mean that you found or created a new invention to revolutionize the industry. Making a difference can simply be showing people that you are motivated and care about your job and your career. Making a difference, to me, is showing that you have what it takes to be an engineer and to strive for that confidence throughout your career.

Growing up with a single mother, along with having an older sister, can sometimes be pretty tumultuous but also very influential for your personality and character. For more than a decade it has just been me, my mother, and my sister. My parents got divorced when I was a very young age and it surely was not the prettiest divorce. My father constantly harassed me and my family which caused us to jump from home to home. In little to no time, my father was remarried to another woman that would eventually become a threat to me and my family. My stepmother intentionally got my mother fired from her job which provided a comfortable living. After my mother lost her job, we had no one to turn to or ask for help and we were left to fend for ourselves. Instead of my mother seeking help and raising the white flag, she sacrificed all of her belongings and worked full-time at a fast food restaurant to help provide for me and my sister. My mother was unable to find another job to replace the one she had held for so long, so she decided to go back to school. My mother worked day and night between making a living and going to school to ensure that she could give me and my sister a better life. Whilst we were struggling to stay afloat, my father continued to poke holes in our metaphorical life preserver by parading his anger at us in public and in private. Even though my mother got a restraining order against him, it still didn't stop him from speeding by our house and shouting derogatory terms at us while honking the horn. We eventually had to make ourselves invisible to society so that we wouldn't be found by our father so that he wouldn't harass us. I'm still not sure how my mother put up with the constant pressure and stress she endured. Growing up with a single mother had been a very rough and emotional time in my life, but it has shaped the person I am today. My mother's persistence to continue moving forward and never look back has influenced me to do the same. Having a single mother has shown me how to provide for myself and how to survive on my own. A lot of skills I have today are from me discovering them on my own because I never had a father figure or a parent to constantly be at home to teach me. Growing up with a single mother can be a very big undertaking and is certainly not easy, but it has taught me to never give up and it has taught me that there's always someone who loves you even at the hardest points in life.

My name is Wyatt Getz and I was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley in a quaint town called Edinburg. I grew up on a farm consisting of goats, chickens, ducks, horses, llamas, bunnies, and pigs. I was a very industrious child because I was fascinated with trains, Bob the Builder, and construction toys (which feeds back into my obsession with Bob the Builder). Throughout my academic career, I've always been a very good student and made sure to get good grades as well. I was never an applied student and never went above and beyond to be active in clubs or extracurricular groups/activities. The reason for this lack of involvement stems from my ambiguity about what I wanted to pursue as my career. After graduating high school, I enrolled in a local community college (Laurel Ridge Community College) and decided to pursue an engineering degree because I figured it would be a good option for someone who's always enjoyed building and creating things. After one semester of community college, I took about a year-long break from school and in that time away from school I pursued an electrician apprenticeship. During my apprenticeship, I believe I contributed to my community by being a part of the construction of a hospital. The hospital was a very large construction project which would eventually be a major hub for medical assistance for the community. Towards the end of my break from school, I found myself still yearning to be an engineer and upset with myself for the way I gave up. My realization of wanting to complete my engineering degree caused me to enroll once again in my previous community college. While completing my associate's degree in engineering, I worked part-time at a local vineyard being a laborer. I enjoyed working at the vineyard and learning about the wine-making process and the intricacies of the fermenting process. I am happy to say that, as of me writing this, I have completed my associate's degree in engineering in the Spring 2023 semester. I have been accepted as a transfer student at Virginia Tech and will complete my Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering there. Another very proud accomplishment of mine in my academic career is my first (Summer 2022) NASA Langley Research Center internship. I am also happy to say that I was invited to come back for another summer session in 2023 and that I am writing this application while sitting in a NASA laboratory. Once I complete my bachelor's degree I plan on finding a job that I am happy with and, of course, pays the bills. I don't necessarily have any specific career goals, I just want to be able to say that I am good at my job, I enjoy my job, and I can improve society in some way. This scholarship will make a difference for me because I don't come from a family of money and have had to work a job since high school to help support my family and my future academic goals and expenses. I'm hopeful that I can get enough scholarship opportunities so that I can focus on my academic career and ensure I graduate with a solid knowledge base and credentials.