The United States is where many students come to chase their dreams, leaving behind their home country, family, and friends. As an international student, I have lived this, experiencing many ups and downs. However, coming to the US was the best decision to make my dreams come true, even if it meant making great emotional and economic sacrifices and efforts. Having to adapt to a new culture while having a perfect academic performance and working to pay my tuition has been the most challenging issue I have had as an international student. Pursuing education in a foreign country involves substantial expenses, including tuition, accommodation, and living costs. Therefore, this scholarship will help me focus more on academics, become a better student, and relieve the economic struggles my family and I face. I have dealt with the extremely high costs of studying in the US as an international student. Coming from Colombia, financial constraints weigh heavily on educational pursuits. Therefore, my family and I have had to find additional sources of income to cover the expenses of my tuition. Moreover, my parents are becoming old and it saddens me, as well as worries me, to know they are taking extra shifts to be able to cope with the costs of helping me pursue my dreams. This posed a significant challenge to me because I am a student-athlete majoring in aerospace engineering, which are two things that already demand high amounts of time. However, I still found time to work a couple of hours to help pay my tuition. Nevertheless, I have been able to keep up with these duties while having a GPA of 4.0. As an international student majoring in aerospace engineering, I have had many doors closed due to my status as a non-citizen. Most of the companies in this field require security clearances, which greatly limits my opportunities to get internships or work experience. Moreover, I am not eligible for most of the scholarships available, reducing my chances of receiving any financial aid, even while having an outstanding academic performance. Regardless of all these limitations, I keep fighting every day to make my dreams come true. I wake up every day thinking I have the best at what I am doing and I will make the change I want to see in the world. While being an international student has taught me a lot about frustration, I have never let the obstacles and challenges bring me down. Getting this scholarship will serve as a gift for achieving my educational and professional aspirations. This is an opportunity, that I am willing to make the most of it, to relieve the economic burden on my family and me. I am confident I will make every penny worth it, and I will be the best at what I do.

There are several reasons why I love math and why I consider it the closest thing to perfection that we have. Math has been the most helpful tool for humans to understand how things work around us and solve the mysteries of nature. It is exact and will provide the precise answer for any problem it solves. As an engineering student, I have used math for many purposes, and I have found its beauty in its veracity and power to solve problems. Also, math has helped me improve my critical thinking and problem-solving skills. What makes me like math is that it is objective and will always give an exact answer without depending on interpretations or opinions. It will never be subjective. For this reason, math is a universal language that anyone can understand. Even people from different countries can exchange information just with math because it means the same everywhere in the universe. Moreover, I also like math because it is not ambiguous, and there is always a right or wrong answer. In other fields of study, there's room for subjectivity, and the answers might be correct depending on the perspective it is analyzed. Additionally, math constantly challenges us, and there is great satisfaction when one complex problem is solved. Moreover, it helps us become more critical thinkers and develop problem-solving skills. In conclusion, I like math because it is a beautiful study area with no room for ambiguity and subjectivity. Math is precise, and there will always be a right or wrong answer that does not depend on interpretations or perspectives. Math is the universal language everyone will understand and will never be outdated. Math is the path we use to access the truth of our nature that lies within the boundaries of our knowledge.

There are several reasons why I chose to pursue a STEM major. First, I think contributing to developing new technologies that can help humanity is my main reason. I like to put myself in service for humanity's well-being. Therefore, I know I can do great things for us by studying aerospace engineering. There are still many unknown things waiting to be discovered or created, and these uncertainties motivate me to be constantly curious and eager to find solutions to our problems. As an engineer, I can use science, math, and technology to research what is yet unknown to us and invent the tools to make it easier for further engineers and scientists. I feel that the possibility of pushing the limits of science, math, technology, and engineering motivates me to keep studying and researching solutions for our problems. Furthermore, I find it very important to innovate things to improve people's lives by improving the conditions in which they live, not only to provide for those who have a good life already but for those who live in marginal poverty, violence, or grubbiness. Since I was a child, I have always been curious about how things work, up to the point where I would disassemble most of the things I found in my house to see what's inside that makes that thing work. I would also perform experiments with stuff I found at home or outside because knowing how things work is very exciting and makes me want to learn more. This sense of curiosity has always been part of my life. Another factor that greatly influenced me to become an engineering student is the country where I was born, Colombia. While living in a third-world country, I have seen how many people face innumerable problems and lack of opportunities. This has made me more aware of the issues that exist in the world, which gives me another reason to rely on engineering to solve them. Overall, my sense of curiosity, the will to help humanity, and push beyond the limits of science is what makes me love Engineering. I want to make a change in the world, and I will do my best of me to make it happen.

The United States is a country where many students come to chase their dreams, leaving behind their home country, family, and friends. As an international student, I have had many ups and downs while living in this country. However, coming to the US was the best decision to make my dreams come true, even if it meant making great emotional and economic sacrifices and efforts. Having to adapt to a new culture while having a perfect academic performance and working to pay my tuition has been the most challenging issue I have had as an international student. Therefore, this scholarship will help me enormously to focus more on academic stuff, become a better student, and relieve the economic struggles my family and I face. I come from a third-world country, Colombia, whose culture is entirely different from the US. Therefore, getting used to new traditions was quite hard for me, especially while being alone. I first arrived at Snow College in Utah. This state is well known for having a strong and particular culture due to its significant influence by the Mormon church, so adapting to this new society was challenging. Moreover, this state is characterized by its harsh climate. I come from a tropical country where the weather is almost the same all year round, so I had a hard time getting used to sweltering summers and freezing winters with tons of snow. This was a challenge because I had to attend class early in the mornings despite a blizzard outside, which was something I had never seen before in Colombia. Something else I have to deal with as an international student is the extremely high costs of studying in the US. In perspective, what a year of tuition costs in the US is about the exact cost of full tuition in a university in Colombia. This means that my family would need to find additional sources of income. Therefore, I had to begin working while studying. This posed a significant challenge to me because I am a student-athlete majoring in aerospace engineer, which are two things that already demand high amounts of time. However, I still found time to work a couple of hours to help pay my tuition. Nevertheless, I have been able to keep up with these duties while having a GPA of 4.0. Getting this scholarship will help me focus more on my academic and athletic performance, which will then make me improve my grades and my play. I want to become a top student to become the best aerospace engineer later. This will bring me closer to achieving my dream of becoming an astronaut and being the first Colombian in space. In conclusion, studying far away from home in another country has challenged me in many aspects. Adapting to the harsh climate, working to pay my tuition, and fitting into another society have given me a hard time. However, I have still managed to keep focused on achieving my goals. Getting extra financial aid like this scholarship will undoubtedly bring me one step closer to making my dream come true.

My home country, Colombia, is a place where many changes need to be made to improve many aspects of it, like the education system and overall lifestyle. The best solution for improving education and lifestyle is through advanced research during the student's academic life. Research in Colombia is somewhat poor. However, it is not because we lack skilled people but because there's little support from the government and private companies. On the other hand, the United States has a unique education system that promotes research through funding and governmental programs. Therefore, after I finish my education in this country, I plan to go home and implement many of the research and teaching methods I learned to solve the problem that less privileged people face. I think that research can make my country a much better place. There are many problems that we face as a third-world country. Therefore, finding efficient solutions to these situations could give better opportunities in life for the less privileged ones. Science is the best way in which we can make the world a better place, allowing us to live in harmony among people and nature. As an international student in a highly advanced country, I have learned the importance of research for improving the quality of our lives and the benefits it comes with. First, students must be encouraged to engage in research programs early in their educational path. I will contact universities to help them develop programs that enhance research and investigative methods in their curriculum. It is crucial to stimulate students in their daily life to have investigative approaches to their learning. This will broaden the person's thoughts, making him capable of coming up with solutions to the problems that are present in everyday life. During my studies in the United States, I have always been encouraged to participate in research programs, and it is clear to me how it has made me a person with more critical thinking. Moreover, research program funding must be obtained through private or public donors. I have learned that companies must be presented with how research can benefit them to have their financial support. Therefore, I will show several companies how supporting research would interest them in the future. Like in the US, many companies provide universities with opportunities to participate in investigation programs that benefit students. In conclusion, I think what I have learned about research is something I want to use to generate a positive impact in my country. Through investigation, I feel that many of the problems that people face can be solved efficiently. To achieve this, I will encourage universities and companies to take research into consideration, as it will benefit them and the greater good.