As a child, I was constantly building—whether it was intricate LEGO creations or crafting with construction paper and tape. Even then, I knew I wanted to be an engineer, driven by the joy of turning ideas into reality—a passion that still fuels me today.

In middle school, I discovered the magic of special effects after getting my first computer from Circuit City! Experimenting with code in editing applications made me realize the raw power abstracted lines of code could have, sparking a lifelong fascination with computers and technology.

At Troy High School in Fullerton, CA, I had my first exposure to highly technical classes through the Troy Tech program. From math and physics to circuits and computer science, I had the time of my life while learning and playing water polo!

At Fullerton College, I continued playing water polo at the intercollegiate level while honing my engineering skills and completing prerequisite classes. This time provided me with a strong and broad scientific background for the rest of my academic journey and solidified my passion for problem-solving.

After transferring, I studied Mechanical Engineering at UC San Diego—joining clubs like Engineering World Health and Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. In these communities I met like-minded innovators and expanded my horizons by learning more about designing affordable prosthetics and space exploration.

Halfway through my Mechanical Engineering degree at UC San Diego, I realized my true passion was in computer science. I eagerly took on programming assignments for my group of friends and sought every opportunity to write code, primarily using MATLAB and Python. This drive carried me through to graduating top of my class in 2020 (virtually because of COVID-19).

After graduating from UC San Diego, I embarked on a journey to sharpen my computer science skills, eagerly tackling coding challenges right away. At HP Inc., I was able to build upon work I did in the Medically Advanced Devices Lab at UC San Diego—developing a computer vision program with Java and Python to help analyze microfluidic research videos much more accurately than engineers were doing before.

While working as a Space Vehicle Dynamics Simulation Engineer at Northrop Grumman, I honed my expertise in Linux scripting and MATLAB programming. Most of the work I did here involved complex physics calculations and simulations for space vehicles—one of which being the James Webb Space Telescope.

Driven by a passion for problem-solving and continuous learning, I transitioned fully into software engineering. Despite not having a traditional computer science degree, I leveraged online resources to bridge the gap and accelerate my growth. At Boeing I primarily developed communication satellite flight software in C++, managed and configured Linux scripts and environments, and created Python tools to automate different processes.My journey so far reflects a lifelong passion for building, innovating, and transforming abstract ideas into tangible solutions—one line of code at a time.