Empowerly

Student profile

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

I have been to 12 science competitions and there is a troubling commonality among them: At most competitions, there is no sense of collaboration. In fact, they tend to resemble the Hunger Games. I remember asking someone for a piece of masking tape and, interestingly, he said, “We don’t have masking tape,” even though he was holding a roll in his hand! Although I understood that it was a competition, I still felt uncomfortable because ever since I was a kid, I have understood that science is all about collaboration.

When I entered a Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Day competition, the experience was a 180-degree flip from my expectations. I had never seen such an open, friendly, generous and helpful attitude in a science competition. When competing in the prosthetic arm challenge, I wanted to know more about a rival team’s design, so I asked them if I could take pictures of their work. To my surprise, they enthusiastically said yes. Based on my experience, this would be unimaginable in any other science or engineering competition.

MESA Day reminded me about the scientist’s pledge. Just like doctors pledge to do no harm, scientists and engineers are obligated to share their work with those who seek it. It is the foundation of the scientific method, because if it is open, people can check it, critique it and, most importantly, improve on it.

When I become an engineer, I will share my work with others as well as make it accessible to everyone. While this is not always financially viable,I know that openness benefits everyone because open-source websites and forums such as GitHub, Stackoverflow, Reddit, Khan Academy and others have transformed my coding capabilities. In the future, I will return the favor by contributing my knowledge to these open-source communities and forums, and that is worth the financial sacrifice.