This year I learned even more about engineering and design through this project. I gave the initial idea for this project then with my partner Uriel, continued to shape and redevelop it. My contribution to the project include construction of the website. I made the initial pages and then continued to develop and update them. I wrote most of the logs for the Building Progress page. Then I did research fr hardware and software that would me most beneficial for our purposes. I found MIT App Inventor and Thunkable to be the most compatible ones. Then I did a lot of programming to create the algorithms and abstractions that our barcode scanner would use. I tweaked the app interface a little as well. I learned a lot about programming on Thunkable. I was very new to MIT App Inventor and Thunkable and started out knowing nothing about either one. But I learned about the logic and found it to be very similar to Code.org programming which is something I was familiar with. Integrating mathematical and logic statements proved to be a challenge but eventually I figured it out. Using arrays and lists was something I knew little about but had not practiced very much so I also gained the opportunity to do that with this project.

The STEM Program has been such a big part of my high school. I have been in it all 4 years and gained so much from it. I always loved creating my own solution or finding better and easier ways to do things. So I knew that I would love engineering because it is a very innovative field that heavily relies on creativity. I joined knowing nothing about engineering or designing. Since freshmen year I have done many projects and learned how much planning and management goes into each. The engineering process requires you to be very specific with your goals, deadlines, and resources. Practicing this for four years has improved my time-management for anything I do not just STEM projects. I have also learned to look from a different perspective. I developed an engineer's mindset of problem solving. Where one may only see a problem, I now see potential solutions. STEM has also taught me that inspiration is everywhere. For example, my senior design project is based on an idea that I got from a common problem I observed at my school everyday. I have also developed technical skills such as programming, building models, Solidworks, and many more. I have many great memories from being in the program too. I have met many like-minded individuals and collaborated with them. I remember having a lot of fun in Advanced Robotics with my teammates. We discussed ideas and made them into a reality. We were all very enthusiastic about competing with our robot and ended up winning 1st place too! It was an unforgettable day for everyone. To conclude I have gained many skills and memories from STEM and am very glad I chose to be a part of it.