PROMPT: Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
It was during spring break of my freshman year in high school. After a quarter of too many all-nighters and a week crammed with tests, I was looking forward to sleeping-in, but my dad had other plans. I was to go see my brother's robotics team compete at the Purdue Boilermaker Regional. To no one's surprise, I was not thrilled. Little did I know I would be thoroughly surprised:
Walking up to the Purdue Armory, I remember vividly the black bold outline of its industrious figure, the distinct smell of metal, burnt rubber, and sweat, and the unforgettable muffled cheers of the thousands in the crowd like that in the Ancient Greek arenas in Olympia where millennia ago, chariots raced and laurels were won. These "mere high schoolers" were champions; from a pile of metal tubes, plastic, and wires, they were able to craft a functional and complex robot. As the surrounding students cheered their teams' quirky and iconic chants, I gazed down in awe from the top of bleachers at the fierce competition that took place below. It was not the "fierce" that anybody expects for there was no malice on the field, but fierce in each team's drive to achieve their own best and to help others regardless of competition. In this regard, they were even better than those ancient Greek heroes. It was then and there, when I reached over and tapped my father on the shoulder and through a whisper of excitement and frenzy, I said, "I want to be a part of this."
This is when it all started. This was the very moment I became immersed in the world of engineering.
After that tipping point in my life, I went on to participate in robotics and engineering club for the rest of my high school career. And my burning passion for engineering only grew from there. Even now getting ready for the next build season all I can think about are learning how to CAD with Autodesk and trying to teach myself the C language. I have fallen in love with and fallen hard for the thrill of discovering something and applying everything I learn. It never matters how many hours and sleepless nights I spent working on robotics; I am always surrounded by a group of just as determined peers to find the answers to our demanding but never elusive problems. And it is because of this, this camaraderie of working in a team and this application of the engineering process; why there is and still is nothing else I could see myself doing.
