After many years of struggling to find a career that would keep my interest I finally landed on engineering. A complex combination of math and creativity, engineering is the perfect blend of subjects for people like me, who enjoy creating but also knowing how things work. I decided to go into this field because my father fostered in me a love for designing and creating things, as well as finding out how they work. He taught me how to do basic code, how to put things together, and how to think critically. He inspired a love for the intricacies of engineering that I carry to this day.  I decided on mechanical engineering being my chosen field of study in the summer after my junior year, when I was working with test mechanics at my internship with Power and Propulsion Engineering (a part of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, better known as NAWCAD), and found that what I was doing did not feel like work, rather, it felt enjoyable and something I could see myself continuing to do. It was the first time in my life that I  felt entirely confident in my decision to pursue engineering.

In the past few years I have taken advanced math classes such as Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, and AP Statistics, and I am currently taking dual enrollment Calculus.  On top of that, I have also taken AP Physics 1, so as to have a stronger understanding of how objects are affected by each other and the world around them.  Furthermore, as an Engineering student here at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, I have and will be continuing to gain hands-on experience and certifications that will be beneficial when pursuing a career in engineering. My high school classes have given me the chance to advance my science and math skills, which has given me a stronger base understanding of the principles of engineering.

For most of my life, I spent my time away from school in various dance classes. Those classes taught me the importance of teamwork, as on stage dancers are meant to move as one, each individual dancer a cog in a well-oiled machine. At my same dance studio, I spent a year employed as an assistant teacher, which taught me how to communicate with my superiors and the importance of showing up each day and giving it my all no matter what. As well as the skills I have learned from my years of dance, I have also have basic coding skills, gained through a virtual coding camp where I learned to program a Raspberry Pi, and the creation of my project, the HowRUFeeling? app. HowRUFeeling? uses the python language to create an online journal that will return a response to a journal entry through the use of artificial intelligence. 

After high school I plan to attend a 4-year college to major in mechanical engineering and do a minor in dance or theatre arts. It is also possible that I will go to College of Southern Maryland and get my general credits and then transfer to University of Maryland for the more focused credits. I hope to continue learning through my internship and seeing different jobs in the field and how they interact with one another. After college, my goal is to be an engineer with a strong understanding of the mechanics' job, so as to minimize the amount of troubleshooting that needs to be when an engineers knowledge is only limited to the hypothetical. In addition to that, I also hope to inspire young girls to feel empowered to join male-dominated fields and pursue a career in STEM areas such as engineering.