What sets me apart from other students is the breadth of experiences I have taken advantage of

while here at Texas A&M. I want to one day work on materials research and development for the space
program, and to that end I have been heavily involved in the AggieSat Lab, most recently leading a team
in the design of the physical structure and assembly mechanisms for a CubeSat that will be the first to
be 3D printed and assembled in space aboard the International Space Station. In the past year I also
worked on a research project with an interdisciplinary team developing an autonomous rail vehicle
designed to run in front of a train at distances proportional to the trains speed to detect obstacles or
track defects and increase rail safety. While these activities have helped to supplement my engineering
education, I have also fostered a number of other interests. I have had the opportunity to study abroad
in Spain and Italy, and through those experiences have gained a deeper appreciation for other cultures,
governments, and lifestyles. I have been able to apply a more global perspective to my engineering
classes and projects by thinking about, for example, how train systems are run in other countries or how
product users might interpret designs differently. During my year as a sophomore advisor for the Honors
Housing Community, I was able to share some of my experiences with incoming freshman and I learned
a lot about leadership and communicating with different people who have different learning styles
through running weekly family meetings. All of these experiences have made me a better person and
a better engineer than I would have been had I only focused on my engineering classes and projects.