Age: 13. Assignment: Make a PowerPoint presentation on Greek gods. Turn on five-year old eMachine computer. Open PowerPoint. Crash. Restart. Second attempt. Crash. Restart. Third attempt. PowerPoint opens. Type one slide. Save. Crash. Restart. Windows fatal error: cannot boot. Frustration. Anger. Failure. The year was 2003, the beginning of a new millennium, and I was trying to do 21st century work on a 20th parents refused to get a new computer, I was stuck. So, I did what I knew best: ask...

To me, engineering is taking knowledge gained in the classroom – in physics, in calculus, in chemistry – and using it to create. It is the “Wow!” exclaimed after closing a circuit to find an LED light blinking at the calculated rate, the amazement when making a transmission in robotics that switches perfectly between desired speeds, the joy when a complex computer science algorithm simply works. It is taking curiosity to another level; not only asking and answering questions but using those...

Additionally, in 10th ambition and dedication. At the end of a long day of AP classes, building robots, going to the gym, and studying/doing homework, I love to pick up the instrument...