My fascination with airplanes began when I was two years old, during a 15-hour flight to Dubai. I spent most of the flight walking the aisles, asking my sleep deprived dad questions like, “what do the flaps in the wings do?” That flight sparked my love of aviation. As a Cub Scout, I built and launched model rockets and convinced my dad to launch larger rockets each year. My passion for aeronautics continued through my extracurriculars of competitive indoor skydiving, flying model airplanes as part of the local R/C flying club, and throwing the discus.

Since 9th grade, I have participated in my high school’s engineering curriculum, and it was there where I fully began to flesh out my future aspirations. I got to work on projects such as a solar powered plane and a ducted fan jet, and through those experiences I became deadset on becoming an aerospace engineer. I loved being able to apply my engineering mind to solving problems such as poluttion in the aviation industry; for which I designed a solar powered aircraft and an electric plane meant to compete with jets. For the past two summers, I was a Wright Scholar at the Air Force Research Laboratory working on classified projects involving aircraft system failures. During this time, I found my love for skydiving. I loved the plane ride up and the feeling of falling through the air on the way back down. I went on to get my skyiving A license, as well as to compete nationally in indoor skydiving.

I love everything about flight, from designing aircraft, to solving large-scale problems, and even flying myself. I see no other world where I would be doing anything but Aerospace engineering. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be at UT, studying what I love, at a program as great as the Forty Acres Scholarship program.

Major
Aerospace Engineering

Extracurricular Activities
Interned at the Air Force Research Lab

What drew you to the Forty Acres Scholars Program?
The Forty Acres Scholars Program is such an amazing opportunity and I'm so glad I get to be a part of it. It was mainly the people in the program that drew me to it. There are so many amazing people who do such amazing things and that made the program really hard to resist. I think the best part about it is having a community of people who you can really rely on, trust, and make memories with. Also, all of the events that the program has gives scholars so many opportunities to meet new people, learn new things, and bond with each other.