Less is More by Emily

Less is More by Emily - December 2023 Scholarship Essay

I plan on pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and obtaining my master's in business. Math has always been a passion of mine and I have always loved finding out how objects work. When I was little my dad had given my brothers and I a rube Goldberg structure. Its only goal was to bring a marble we placed at the top to the bottom. I would spend hours sitting in front of this toy, cranking the handles over and over again, I would study each of the gears to figure out how they would drop the marble from one slide to the next. This was the moment where I found my love for puzzles and more importantly my passion for building objects that moved.
With my degree I want to make complex technology such as computers or generators more affordable. By finding a way to minimize resources used on this type of technology, while also maintaining a high quality of function, we would be able to reduce the cost of essential items such as air conditioning, thus allowing for lower income households to have access to these devices. The lowering of these prices would allow for more people to develop access to the internet, as well as what we view as basic necessities such as air conditioning, heating, etc. Improvements to these now cheaper products could also ensure a longer lifespan for the products, in turn allowing for lower income households to use their money on necessities such as groceries and rent instead of worrying about fixing their cheap broken air conditioning.
In movies and books the “American Dream” is idolized. But many people living in America do not make enough to afford to live. I believe that although money makes a difference, better quality products for lower pieces, would also greatly improve many people’s quality of life in America. And eventually many other people outside of America’s quality of life. By obtaining my mechanical engineering degree I will be able to better understand how these machines function, as well as being able to figure out what we can do to improve these items. After obtaining my degree I plan on going back for my master's in business so I will be able to understand the business side of what I am trying to accomplish. I understand that companies creating these forms of technology will not want to lose out on profit, so my goal will be to create cheaper appliances and improve their quality, while still making a profit for the companies selling them.