My local library was my second home, but I noticed the children’s section was often empty. The existing summer reading program was outdated and failed to compete with tablets and video games. I felt that the "present" state of youth literacy in my town was something that needed to be challenged. I proposed a new program to the head librarian: a "Reading Rewards" system that went beyond stickers. I designed a system where kids could earn points for every book read, which could be redeemed for small prizes I sourced from local businesses. To "enrich the future," I also organized weekly interactive story hours, where I and other high school volunteers would act out scenes from popular children's books. The program was a success, tripling the number of participants from the previous summer. This experience taught me that leadership isn't about authority; it's about identifying a need and taking the initiative to fill it. At Michigan, I want to bring this same energy to organizations like the Ann Arbor Youth Book Club, creating programs that connect students with the wider community. I am prepared to be a citizen who doesn't just attend, but actively builds the community around me.

My passion for engineering began with a broken drone. Instead of throwing it away, I spent a week taking it apart, diagnosing the problem (a faulty motor), and soldering it back to life. That experience of hands-on problem-solving is what attracts me to the University of Michigan's College of Engineering. The unique quality of Michigan Engineering that stands out to me is its emphasis on collaborative, project-based learning. The Wilson Student Team Project Center is not just a building; it is the heart of a culture that encourages students to build, test, and create. I can see myself spending countless hours there, working with the M-Fly team to design and build an autonomous aircraft. My experience in high school robotics has prepared me for the challenges of working in a team to solve a complex problem, and I am excited to bring that experience to Michigan. The curriculum in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department would directly support my interests. I am particularly interested in courses like EECS 280: Programming and Introductory Data Structures, which would provide the foundation for my interest in autonomous systems. I am also drawn to the research of Professor Jessy Grizzle, whose work on bipedal locomotion is at the forefront of robotics. At the University of Michigan, I will not just be learning about engineering; I will be doing it.

In the fall of my sophomore year, I suffered a concussion during a soccer game that forced me to miss nearly two months of school. The constant headaches and sensitivity to light made it impossible to read, look at a screen, or even sit in a brightly lit classroom. My academic progress came to a halt. The biggest challenge was the feeling of being left behind. I watched my friends move on to new topics in class while I struggled to simply read a single page of a textbook. The steps I took to overcome this challenge were slow and frustrating. I worked with a tutor to catch up on my coursework, and I learned to use audiobooks and other non-visual learning tools. This experience, however, had an unexpected silver lining. It gave me a new appreciation for the complexity of the human brain and sparked an interest in neuroscience. The challenge of my recovery has directly influenced my academic aspirations, and I now hope to pursue a major in Neuroscience at Michigan. This experience has not only made me a more resilient student, but it has also given me a clear direction for my future.