The Rocket Scientist by Marco

The Rocket Scientist by Marco - March 2020 Scholarship Essay

Throughout my life, I have always planned for the future. Whether I’m planning out an outline for a project or a study plan for the SAT, I have a plan. My 10 year career plan is no different. Although there are details that I have not wringed out completely, I have the basic outline of Marco Pevia’s life in 2030.
Beginning in the fall of 2020, I will attend the University of Texas at Austin to study mechanical engineering. At the university, I will build the essential knowledge I will need to make this ten year plan possible. UT offers a new makerspace for engineering students to work on projects they have in mind. This allows students to spark their creativity to create a better society, and they will also be able to explore a more hands-on approach to engineering rather than just learning the theory behind the many lessons. The application of what I learn at UT is essential because life requires people to use applied knowledge.
After I graduate with my Bachelor’s in 2024, I plan on working at a company for two years. Though I currently do not have a specific place in mind on where to work, some places that interest me are M&M Mars and Texas Instruments. TI has always had a special place in my heart because it is the company that makes the calculators I have used since my childhood. Working for this company will give me a sense of nostalgia and happiness because I will have the opportunity to contribute to a staple in the education of many people. M&M Mars is an option for me too because it is close to my family in Waco. Though it is not ideal, I could move back in with my dad until I get my life stable enough to move on with my plans for the future.
In 2026, I want to attend Graduate school at either the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech). I would study aerospace engineering rather than seek another degree in mechanical engineering. Though I am considered a first generation college student, I have distant family that have graduated with their Bachelor’s degree. If I do graduate with my Master’s, I will be the first in my nuclear and extended family.
With my higher degree, I will be set up to work in the place I have always wanted to since my childhood: NASA. I have always had a love for rockets and space ever since I was a child. My love for the cosmos began when my dad took me to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. When our tour guide explained that these huge rockets were in outer space, it completely blew my 8 year-old mind and from that moment on I decided to commit my life to eventually work on those rockets. My dad and I went into the gift shop and I saw this shirt that I still have to this day. On the front it has the NASA logo and right under it, it says “Future rocket scientist.” I will be a rocket scientist in 2030 for that little boy with the big smile on his face that believed he would see rockets launch.