Derek Hernandez-Toro ePortfolio

Hello, my name is Derek Hernandez-Toro, and I want to be an aerospace engineer once I’m done with schooling. I want to be an engineer because I love the physics behind things. We humans were once restricted only to the land and water on the surface of the Earth, but with physics and math, we have also conquered the skies. Flight has always been interesting to me, but what I really loved was the math behind it. There are so many forces you have to overcome just to get an object off the ground, so not only getting it off the ground, but keeping it in the air is insane. After I took physics my sophomore year, I knew that I wanted to be an aerospace engineer. I’ve always been interested in aerospace engineering, but that year in physics class I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living. 

Some of the classes I’ve taken that would help me reach this goal are AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, and AP Calculus A/B. The program of studies that I have taken to help achieve this dream career is that I have loaded up on a lot of higher-level math courses, such as an Algebra 2/Pre-Calculus class and an AP Calculus class. I have also taken two AP Physics classes, AP Physics 1 and AP Physics 2.  These classes will help build a foundation for the harder, more in-depth explanations of the physics and mathematics that I will need for my job. In my years of schooling, I’ve learned how to handle difficult labs and record my experiments, both the process and the results. I’ve also learned how to argue effectively in my writing. These skills will help me manage experiments in the workplace, record the conclusions of the experiments, and argue theories with peers in the workplace. 

The extracurricular that takes up all of my time is ice hockey. On my ice hockey team, I was voted assistant captain for one year and captain another year.  Those two years taught me that camaraderie and teamwork are incredibly important to a team’s success. When teammates don’t trust each other, they will never work well together, and if you can’t work with the people on your team, all sense of teamwork is lost. When you work together, though, you can achieve great things. I also learned of the burdens that leaders carry; you have to show everyone that you are trustworthy, but also that your teammates are. I believe that those lessons will help me in my career because teamwork and camaraderie is very important in the workplace to achieve more and more as a team, and if I ever become a leader in said workplace, I will be prepared to face the challenges of being a leader. I have not currently been employed, however, so I can not prove the usefulness of those skills. 

After high school, I want to attend a four-year college. I want to attend college because the better educated you are, the better candidate you are. When you have a degree to show your potential employers, you look smart and competent; you seem prepared to work. Through your schooling, you have learned many of the necessary skills and knowledge that you will need to work efficiently and quickly, and in a workplace where your job can have incredibly vast effects on other people, you need to be ready to work hard and with urgency.  I am very set on going to college, and I do believe after college I will try to attend graduate school to further my education. 

After becoming an aerospace engineer, I will give back to my community by supporting as many businesses and investors as possible to open more ice rinks. Many kids are unable to play ice hockey because they can’t skate, or there is no ice rink near them. Making more ice rinks in more areas will help these kids find a spot on a team. I think this will help the kids deal with conflict in healthy ways and maybe find friends that will stick with them for the rest of their lives, and that creates a stronger community and a healthier society. I know that opening up a few ice rinks here and there won't change the whole world, but maybe one of those kids will; inspiring the next generation of children is always worth it. I think that my efforts will be a positive force in the world and maybe give the next generation a chance at a better future.