Do you remember the moment you became a metalhead? For me, the experience that acted as a catalyst and started my path to becoming a lifelong headbanging metal head was the first time I heard Master of Puppets. I had never heard anything like it before. The blazingly fast down-picked riffs, the aggressive verses and choruses, the soft, melodic interlude with amazing guitar harmonies, followed by one of my favorite guitar solos ever recorded, and straight back into the aggressive, hard-hitting, down-picked riffs. Even now, I still get goosebumps when I listen to Master of Puppets, thinking back to when I unknowingly joined the “metal militia”. Likewise, my passion for chemistry began when I got to the organic chemistry portion of my high school chemistry class. Chemistry is a challenging subject, but for me, I enjoyed the challenge, as well as all the fascinating aspects of chemistry. Once I began college, I knew immediately that I wanted to major in chemistry. After completion of my bachelor’s degree, I felt there was still so much more I could learn, so I decided to apply for a master’s program. During my master’s program, I learned more advanced chemistry topics, and began working on my thesis project. After my master’s, I still had an unending desire to learn more, which brought me to applying for PhD programs. I began at Texas Tech University in 2019, and by the end of 2020, I had realized my passion for X-ray diffraction and crystallography. Because of this, I had an amazing, one-of-a-kind experience managing the chemistry department’s X-ray diffraction facility while they were searching for a new full-time staff crystallographer. During this time, I was able to work with multiple research groups and help them obtain X-ray crystal structures of their compounds, all while working on my own research involving functional crystalline materials. Going through my undergraduate program, I needed several student loans to be able to afford my education, which I am still working on paying off today. Fortunately, when I started graduate school, I was able to make it through my master’s program, and so far my PhD program, without needing loans, as I was employed by the university, and they provided tuition waivers and a monthly stipend, although there was still some out-of-pocket cost to me. My goal before I finish my PhD program is to be able to pay off my current student loans and be debt free, and winning this scholarship would allow me to do just that. While going through my studies, I was also blessed to be able to participate in my hobbies and passions, such as listening to heavy metal, going to live shows, playing electric guitar, and even playing in a heavy metal band. I started learning “the art of shredding” in my mid teen years and carry that passion with me still. By the time I was working on my master’s degree, I had taken my playing skills to “a new level” and was able to join a band. We practiced and worked hard, and before long we were playing shows around the Dallas metroplex, at venues such as the Curtain Club, The Rail Club, The Door, Tomcat’s West, O’Riley’s Pub, and others. My now-former band, Plague of Athens, was blessed to be able to play shows alongside some incredible local bands, and even some nationally known bands, such as All Hail the Yeti, Dead to Fall, BROJOB, and The Last Ten Seconds of Life. Despite these accomplishments, I don’t think anything can compare to the fact that I was chosen to appear in Pantera’s music video for their song “Piss”. Playing in a band was one of my favorite and most rewarding experiences, but alas, I had to leave the band to follow my true calling of being a PhD chemist. With the skills and knowledge that I have obtained during my PhD program, my plan is to find a job as an X-ray crystallographer and continue doing what I love.