I grew up on a small farm where duct tape wasn't a temporary fix; it was a permanent solution. Every morning was a new puzzle. A leaky hydraulic line on the tractor, a broken fence letting the chickens escape, or a sudden frost threatening the crops. We didn't have money for new parts, so I learned to be creative. I learned to build what we needed from what we had. This background taught me to see every problem not as a crisis, but as a system that needed a clever, practical solution.

This is the mindset I will bring to Northwestern. At the McCormick School of Engineering, I want to join the Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) chapter. My experience building irrigation systems from scrap metal and old hoses has prepared me to design practical, low-cost solutions for real communities. I see a direct line from fixing our farm’s water pump to ESW’s projects abroad.

Socially, I will bring this resourcefulness to campus life. Whether it’s helping a club build a set for a show or organizing a campus-wide food drive, I know how to get things done with limited resources. I am not just a thinker. I am a doer, ready to find the duct tape and solve the problem in front of me.

I would paint The Rock to look like a piece of Kintsugi pottery.

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with golden lacquer. Instead of hiding the cracks, this method highlights them. It treats the breaks as a beautiful and important part of the object's history.

My painting would show deep, jagged cracks running across The Rock, all filled with shimmering gold paint. The message is that our imperfections and our failures are not things to be ashamed of. They are what make us stronger and more interesting.

This is the community I want to be a part of at Northwestern. A place where students support each other through struggles and celebrate the resilience it takes to heal. My painting would be a reminder to everyone on campus. It would say that it is okay to be broken, because that is how we become golden.

I would create a research project called "The Archeology of a Ghost Town."

My project would focus on the abandoned mining towns of the American West. It would combine three different fields to tell a complete story.

First, I need a collaborator from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences majoring in History. They would uncover the town's story through old maps, letters, and newspaper articles.

Second, I need a student from the McCormick School of Engineering. They would use modern tools like ground-penetrating radar to map the town's hidden foundations and lost structures. They would help us understand the physical world the historical documents describe.

Finally, I would want a student from the Medill School of Journalism. Their job would be to turn our data and research into a compelling narrative, maybe a documentary or a podcast series.

Our home base would be the Northwestern University Library, home to a massive collection of historical maps. This project would bring a dead town back to life and show how history, science, and storytelling can create something new together.

First, I see myself finding a home with Boomshaka, Northwestern's percussion and dance group. I built my own drum kit in my garage out of buckets, traffic cones, and sheet metal. I love the idea of creating rhythm from unconventional objects. I am excited to bring my creative energy to Boomshaka's high-energy performances and collaborate with a team that finds music in unexpected places.

I also want to connect with the Northwestern University Community for Human Rights (NUCHR). In high school, I organized a "drive-by donation" event that collected over 500 household items for a local refugee resettlement agency. I want to bring my practical, community-organizing skills to NUCHR. I am eager to work on their annual conference and contribute to projects that create real change, both on campus and in the wider world.

For me, the most compelling aspect of Northwestern’s location is its connection to the Chicago media market. As an aspiring journalist, I have followed the investigative reporting of the Chicago Tribune for years. The Medill School of Journalism's residency program, which places students in professional newsrooms, is a huge draw. The ability to learn from working journalists in a major city like Chicago is an opportunity I cannot get anywhere else. It turns the city into a living classroom.

Evanston itself offers the perfect balance. I am an avid distance runner, and I use long runs to clear my head and process my thoughts. The idea of running along the Lake Michigan shoreline is incredible. It provides a peaceful, natural escape right next to a busy campus. This combination of a major city for my career and a quiet lakeside town for my well-being is exactly what I am looking for.

I spent my last two summers working the front desk at my local public library. My main job became helping recent immigrant families. I did not just help them find books. I helped them fill out job applications, navigate the school enrollment website, and set up email accounts for the first time. I became a bridge between them and a community that they were still learning to understand.

This experience taught me a deep sense of empathy. I saw firsthand how a simple language barrier could create huge obstacles.

At Northwestern, I will bring this perspective to every classroom and conversation. In a sociology class discussing social inequality, I can share specific, real-world stories about the challenges people face. In a student group planning a campus event, I will be the person who asks: is this event accessible to everyone, including students who may be new to the country or the culture? My background has trained me to see the invisible barriers and to work to tear them down.