“Since I was a child, I was always interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

My dad would bring me to the local Micro Center and we’d go to a football field to launch Hobby Lobby rockets. Regrettably, we’d make rocket fuel out of some stump remover and sugar that stained our driveway. 

Freshman year, I built my first computer. I became obsessed with the world of electronics and created two more by my junior year. To me, electronics are like adult LEGOs. Putting together over 15 components into a masterpiece of a machine, seeing all the colors interacting and noises whirring, I felt so accomplished.

My dream job is probably to build spacesuits. One time, I visited Axiom Space, who’s partners with NASA. At their warehouse, I saw that they were partnering with Prada to make spacesuits. I found that so interesting. Even though I don’t really show it, I love fashion. I love accessorizing and all that kind of stuff. I thought it was so cool that they integrated all of that together to make these amazing masterpieces.

This past summer, I participated in the My Introduction to Engineering (MITE) summer hackathon at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). I was assigned team captain for our group named “The Outliers,” which came with great responsibility. Questions ran through my head: “Does my role match my gender?” “Is a boy more apt to be the leader?” 

These moments of feeling out of place challenged how I navigated life, forcing me to suspect whether my identity truly belonged.  However, being surrounded by people who were just as passionate made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I led my group with pride, and we won second out of 15 teams.

Looking back, walking in the intimidating competition room and sitting down, I realized I don’t want to just be in the room — I want to change what the room looks like. Being the co-president of Invest In Girls Club, I aim to give financial literacy to female students who are scared to have careers in male dominated fields like finance. Seeing other girls grow more confident in their own interests reminded me why representation matters. I wish that I could have told myself earlier to embrace my interest no matter what gender I am.

Invest in Girls was founded by my senior friend Megan Wang, so I went there a lot and eventually gained a leadership position. When Audrey Fersten, a financial advisor who spoke at our club about being in a male dominated field, I was so impressed. It really touched me and helped me understand that women have to go through a lot to be in male dominated fields like finance, engineering and architecture. 

At the time, I didn’t even know what a 401(K) was or what a savings account was. Going to the club, researching these things and seeing other girls be more confident in monetary based research showed me that those girls wanted to learn more about finance and pursue it in the future. I felt like I contributed to their interests because I made them more comfortable in this environment of learning about it.

I was admitted to mechanical engineering at UT Austin. I really want to join the student engineering council there because I want to be a leader in the engineering school and make it more inclusive to all types of people.

Success to me isn’t entirely building computers, getting internships or participating in hackathons. It’s creating an inclusive environment, where girls like me can appreciate their interests without prejudice.”