I come from a world full of hardships and challenges. My family has always been poor but we still get through. And being Mexican-American does not help either because we are constantly regarded of having no potential. But I believe that I have an gargantuan amount of potential to be successful in the STEM field because of my history. My history in the world of science and technology. My history in science and technology began in the fourth grade when I received my first computer and ipod. The computer was a basic needs one. It did not have any particularly special pieces of hardware. The Ipod was not special either. Even though they were basic needs pieces of technology, I worshipped them. I came to become attached to the and protected them with my life. But one day, I broke my computer. Some liquid seemed to have found its way into the hardware and damaged it. So inturn, we took it to a computer repairment store but they said the damage was beyond repair. But I did not give up so easily. I saved money for months and purchased replacements for the damaged portions. I took apart the computer and replaced the hardware. Soon enough, the computer was up and running for a couple of years. …show more content…
The next chapter in my experiences begins in my freshman year of highschool.
I taught myself how to program computers over the summer. Throughout that school year I was experimenting on my parents computer. Experimenting such that I would alter the code in the computer and see how it would affect the way the system ran. I eventually ended up making the computer run quicker and smoother. I never quit programming computers as I ended up taking Ap Computer science my junior year and rewriting the class. My code was cleaner and better than my teachers. Because of this, my teacher would start using my code as an answer sheet and as good examples for the following year. As far as I know, I am the best programmer my teacher has ever had as a
student. Then came my real experience with engineering my junior year when I designed and programmed a hovercraft. It was a simple design; it had two propellers, six sensors, a sufficient power source, and an arduino board. It took me and a group of three other students a series of trial and error to make it work. My role was to write the code that would link the arduino board, propellers, and sensors and make it hover. My team members created a design but I completely redesigned it, describing to my classmates why it was more effective than their design, but it was still not perfect. Unfortunately, time had run out and I was unable to do so, I did, however, bombard my teacher with a series of questions asking how the design could have been better and even asked if I could take hovercraft home to perfect it - I could not. Building a hovercraft made me love science and technology even more so than I already did. I loved the entire experience of trial and error and trying to understand why the hovercraft worked or why it did not. Even though the design was not perfect, like I wanted it to be, I was proud of our work. I was proud of it because we made a piece of science and technology work how it was supposed to. It made me want to experiment more with science and technology. I’ve spent a majority of my life experiencing the world of science and technology and I believe those experiences lead me to become a scholar in the STEM field. But I may not be able to afford the advancing of my knowledge as my family financial position is not well. That is why I need this scholarship and I believe I have earned it.
Although I have the US citizenship, my origins are from Eastern Europe, and I acknowledge how my diversity helped me go through many academic challenges. Science needs people from different backgrounds to understand different perspectives, and combine them in one, clear solution. In addition, I am a mother of two, and have a full-time job; however, none of those challenges ever stopped me to do what I am trying to accomplish. I believe there is no obstacle anyone cannot conquer. There is only passion, commitment, and desire to to do what we love the
Growing up, my parents stressed and lecture hard work and the importance to become a respected person in the STEM field. To be a doctor, lawyer, or pharmacist was the most important for them, to be able to glorify
Growing up, the biggest challenge I faced was being a first generation Latina student. My family came from an extremely rural neighborhood in Guanajuato, Mexico called La Sandia. Both my parents achieved up to 5th-grade education in their hometowns. They decided to sacrifice their lives in Mexico to provide a better life for their family and then decided to migrate to the U.S to achieve what many people consider the American dream.
Usually, when I’m not doing school work or hanging out with friends, I find myself curiously watching videos discussing technology. While watching a video on the disassembly of a computer, I was inspired to try it myself. Not looking to destroy my mom’s work laptop, I figured I would try to take apart something simple. I remembered I had an old, broken calculator sitting in my room collecting dust. There was no risk in tinkering with it, so I grabbed it, ran to the garage and went straight to work. This seemingly insignificant experiment eventually led to greater aspirations.
During my senior year. I applied for an internship at NASA Goddard Space Center. I was one of three awarded the internship from my school out of many applicants who applied county and statewide. The program was called NASA Goddard Space Flight Center STEM Academic Research Experience. I am currently working on scientific projects and technological research with some of this industry top scientist and specialist. My fascination surrounding Space Elevators, cables and producing carbon nanotubes that are strong enough to hold any enclosure while in space intrigues me. I want to find inexpensive solutions to space travel for all. So, this hands-on environment in a field I am passionate about is an experience of a lifetime. Having this intern position
For this semester's field practicum I had the opportunity to complete my internship at C&C Advocacy which is a non-profit organization that has been operating since 2013. According to the text, a non-profit is “essentially bureaucratic in structure, governed by an elected volunteer board of directors, employing professional or volunteer staff to provide a continuing service to a clientele in the community” (Lupe Alle-Corliss, 2006, p. 46) . In speaking to the owner, Mr. Cathlyn Clarke, he states that this program started out as a vision. He then began gathering youth together for free at various locations to instill values and to mentor them. He then began to get funding and was able to formally start this organization.
At an early age, I gravitated towards electronics as a means of distraction. However, my distraction transformed into curiosity when I understood that technology had the potential
The main student-centered learning environment I was placed in was a science lab dominated by marine science. There were many precautions used in the lab with goggles, student pairing, and lab procedures. The lab was organized so it is centered toward the teacher so when instruction and labs are taking place there is full attention on the teacher. All assignments are organized and labeled in the back for an efficient way to turn in work. The inclusion efforts placed into the class I observed way that they were all magnet students, so it allowed the teacher to perform critical thinking tasks and projects that were advanced. An example of this would be the dissection the students do yearly when they are a magnet student. In the environment collaboration, there was an instance between the teacher inside the department and with the students. The departmental teachers helped the teacher I observed perform the dissection because he couldn’t handle the chemicals being used. They helped solved the problem by switching the classes so my teacher could teach the other departmental teachers students while she was with his students to do the dissection. Collaboration took place with the students where they were asked what they should put into place that interested them such as; activities, field trips, and projects. This provides the students with knowledge they are learning that is fun and exciting while they are still in a learning environment.
I pestered my parents for months, before school and after dinner, until I convinced them to let me buy the essential components to start building my own computer for my twelfth birthday. They didn’t understand why I wanted to invest time and money into something that had a possibility of failing. They wanted to take me to store and have me pick out one of the many fancy factory-built computers. Building a computer was about more than the final product. It allowed me to delve into technology and take a closer look
My passion for computers started in high school, when my father bought a home pc. Then I got the opportunity to explore my practical knowledge with a young and an enthusiastic teacher. At first I started learning about the hardware...
Today there are many technological advancement to enhance our daily activities, whether it be as simple as an Ipod for entertainment purposes or as vital as an artificial heart for the survival of a human live, science and technology is the reason for its existence.
When I was growing up in Indonesia, computers were very expensive and it was very hard to get personal access to them. However, this all changed in the United States and I was lucky enough to get one. At first, my dad got one for work and that is where my passion started. I was fascinated about how it turned on or how it stored files. My curiosity only expanded and I wanted to figure out how everything works. Finally in fifth grade, I got my dad’s old computer, which I dismantled in a few days. At first, he was angry because the computer would not work anymore but he then realized how much time I spent working on it. Soon after, my parents realized my passion for computers and they bought me a new computer. I began to work on it the first day and a few days later, I discovered how video games were created. In middle school, my friends and I created a game based on Pokemon, something that we all remembered from our childhood. After school, we would meet up at my friend’s garage and we would work until the sun came down. We wanted this game to work and we did all we could to make it a success. We sacrificed our parents’ money and valuable time but after 14 months of working, the hard work had paid off and the game was finally done. I work very well with people and it shows in the game we published, I may have had some disagreements but I did not let that stop myself
Computers have interested me ever since I was a child. I got my first Computer when I was seven years old. It was a cheap Dell and I was so excited to finally have my own computer. Before I got my own, I was using my mom's computer which was one of the best you could get at the time. I would either play Club Penguin or look around the internet. However, I was always curious how computers worked and functioned. I was always interested with what was happening on the inside. So when I finished setting up my new Computer and after using it for a couple days, I couldn't stop thinking about opening the computer to look at the internals.So, with a screwdriver I "borrowed" from my dad's tool box, I unscrewed some screws, slid off the case, and gasped in the computers glory.
Like Steve Jobs, I have been fascinated with technology and specifically with how computers work. When I discovered that Steve Jobs had developed a strong interest in electronics before he was even ten years old (although his adoptive parents were not highly educated, many engineers lived in his Silicon Valley neighborhood and helped introduce him to how different electronic devices were put together), I instantly related to this aspect of his life. As a small child, when I found out what computers were, I immediately wanted to learn more about how they worked and how I could make them do different things. This interest in technology dates back to when I was four
In sixth grade I moved from a poor public elementary school to a wealthy middle school. This meant I went from sharing fifteen computers with the whole school of five different grades, to having my very own computer in each individual class, teachers in the classes learned my name and my strengths and weaknesses when it came to these machines. I was terrible at typing but was awesome at just about any game you could put in front of me. I believe this also helped me gain experience. Having more access to these computers and I didn't have to bother waiting in line anymore, I wanted to participate because I had more of an opportunity to do so. I began to play around with games like "The Oregon Trail" and programs like "Microsoft Word" which helped me learn the proper technique to typing. I got my first computer from a friend of my mom's.