How Rockets Inspired Me by Daniel

How Rockets Inspired Me by Daniel - August 2023 Scholarship Essay

I have an immense appreciation for space and the technology humans have developed to get there. This admiration started from my years as a child, but grew substantially my freshman year of high school.

My first year in high school, I took an earth science course. This course covered all major topics of the science behind our planet, but also branched off into the science of other planets in our solar system. These topics sparked my interest in space even further, inspiring me to undertake a project which I would now consider my biggest achievement during my education in high school.

The project entailed designing and building my own model rocket using mostly household materials. It was a long and rigorous process which included much trial and error. This process taught me about adversity and how to overcome it; not by frustration and giving up, but by analyzing a failure and making the necessary improvements to ensure the next opportunity will result in success.

After this process was repeated several times, each subsequent flight attempt displaying improvement, I had successfully made a model rocket that had the ability to fly to 1000+ feet, deploy its parachute, and return to the ground safely.

This entire experience was a valuable one that taught me important skills and further inspired me over my time in high school to pursue the major of Aerospace Engineering (Astronautics), which I will begin obtaining in a few weeks.