There was No Cheering in Engineering by Riva

There was No Cheering in Engineering by Riva - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

One afternoon in eighth grade, I sat in the gym as a representative from the Engineering Academy of Dos Pueblos high school displayed the kinetic LED sculptures his students had created. As I stared at the piece of machinery, distracted by flashing fluorescent lights, I decided it would be an exciting opportunity to apply. Although the word “engineering” was foreign to a girl who spent most of her time in the performing arts room, I was intrigued by the unknown. I was admitted into the DPEA and was whisked away to the land of science!

It didn’t take long to come to learn that science does not come easily to me. Throughout my three years in the engineering academy, I have faced many challenges learning physics equations, remaking countless parts in the machine shop, and learning how to code in the computer lab. These skills have been hard to master, but I’ve persevered. I know my teachers very well because of all of my extra time spent at the academy at lunch and after school. When it came time to finish my own light sculpture, they were the ones who would hear me whimper in frustration, discovering that my final piece was sized incorrectly and that I would have to remake it.

Although I’m not interested in pursuing engineering, I would be proud to tell my thirteen-year-old self that I can now operate a mill, a lathe, a drill press, and navigate through CAD and Arduino software. I would be thrilled to tell her that on my shelf I have my own kinetic LED sculpture that I crafted entirely by myself. I'm so proud of this piece of machinery- every single detail was made by me. I programmed, machined, designed, soldered, and anodized it. My time spent in the DPEA was extremely challenging, but in the end I came out of it knowing skills I would not have learned otherwise, making me a more well-rounded student, and a much more patient human being.