Next school year, I plan to attend UCLA and major in aerospace engineering. I chose this major because I am amazed by the space industry, and I don't think there is anything cooler than working to expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity. UCLA's proximity to NASA JPL and big aerospace companies, like SpaceX, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin, make it a great choice for this major. It also has a really cool club called Rocket Project, where students have the opportunity to build 5 meter tall rockets from scratch and launch them in the desert. I also love UCLA because of the weather and optimistic culture; it really does seem like the happiest place on Earth. In terms of future career plans, I think becoming an aerospace engineer is a great choice because the space industry is burgeoning right now, whether it's NASA's Artemis or SpaceX's Starship. I have no doubts that my generation will be the one to colonize Mars, and I want to be a part of it!
In my PLTW career, I am most proud of the work we did during the Invention Challenge in first semester. Initially, we all had radically different design proposals, so we had to rationally discuss all of our options and come to a conclusion about the best idea. We then took on the daunting task of actualizing our creative vision. I like how each of our ten group members split up into smaller sub teams based on our strengths. I did a lot of the physics and math, whereas other group members focused more on the building and testing of the device. And in the end, we succeeded when we ended up earning fourth at the finals! For incoming seniors, I would advise them to be as simple as possible for the invention challenge. If there is one thing I noticed from seeing all the different teams' designs during the regionals and finals, it's that Occam's Razor is incredibly true: simpler is better. Arguably, we had one of the simplest designs at JPL, which is why we did so well. Our device was reliable and accurate; there was no need to design something fancy. For the Capstone project, I would advise incoming seniors to pick their group members wisely. Make sure everyone in your group is willing and capable of contributing to the project. Don't just team up with your friends.
