Prompt: How will you use your education to make a positive impact?
My younger brother uses a wheelchair. Watching him navigate our neighborhood—curb cuts that end abruptly, doorways too narrow, ramps steeper than code allows—taught me that inaccessibility isn't malicious. It's oversight. Someone simply didn't think about him.
I decided to become the person who thinks about him. In high school, I taught myself CAD software and redesigned our local library's entrance. The original ramp had a 1:8 slope (too steep) and no handrail. My design proposed a 1:12 slope with a level landing and contrasting edge detection for visually impaired users. The library board adopted three of my recommendations last year.
This experience shaped my academic goals. I plan to study civil engineering with a focus on universal design principles. I want to learn how to build not just for average bodies but for all bodies. The Americans with Disabilities Act sets minimum standards, but minimum standards are exactly that—minimum. Your scholarship would allow me to attend the university with the top accessibility engineering program in the country.
I'm not asking for charity. I'm asking for investment in a future engineer who will design playgrounds where every child can play, classrooms where every student can learn, and communities where no one has to ask "Can I get in there?" My brother will always need accessible design. I want to be the engineer who delivers it.
