My early childhood was defined by the hard labor of my mother. After my father left us, things were hard, although I believe in the long run, my mom and I were better for it. I would spend my days after school on the job site with her, watching her excel in construction, a traditionally male dominated field, yet receive far too little credit for her work; I watched her try her hardest to provide for me. Even though my mom, due to financial reasons, had to drop out of college, she always instilled in me the value of a good education. From a young age, she taught me that if I worked hard, no academic goal was out of my reach, and that despite her own failure to complete college, I was fully capable. I was 10, and with little better to do, I went down a rabbit hole of videos and eventually stumbled upon a video on the concept of a Matrioshka brain. A Matrioshka brain is a computer built around an array of solar panels in orbit around the sun that functionally takes all of the sun's resources to generate a massive amount of computational power. It's extremely unrealistic, but it made me interested in computer engineering. Eventually, I learned about quantum computing, a far more real computer innovation. That early exposure to computer engineering concepts would go on to inspire me to pursue Computer engineering. Computer engineering is not only interesting but deeply important. To me, advancements in computer engineering are indicative of human progress as a whole. A computer engineer's job is to apply a complex understanding of physical laws to solve massive problems, and I can't think of a career more compelling than that. My intended major, computer engineering, may not seem to be particularly altruistic at first glance; however, with the right applications and intention, computer engineering can be used as a powerful tool for good. Computers are all about efficiency, and inefficient use of resources is the primary cause of food insecurity. Due to logistical distribution issues and economic barriers, food is distributed extremely unequally. Advanced computer engineering techniques have a variety of applications that could be used to solve food insecurity. Supply chain breakdowns and inefficiencies mean that in the US, roughly 30-40% of the food product produced is left to waste. Advanced computer infrastructure is vastly more efficient at predicting the required food needs for areas, which can vastly cut down on the amount of food left to rot rather than be consumed, allowing for more food to be given to food-insecure communities. Additionally, it’s algorithms would be able to flag merchandise to be donated to shelters on a scheduled basis, making donations an almost automatic process for grocery providers. With my degree, I hope to make my mother proud, engage with my childhood obsession, and do tangible good in the world. This Scholarship would go a long way towards making my dreams come true.