About Me
I was born and raised in Downey, California, where I attended elementary school and part of middle school until I moved to Las Vegas in 2009 during the seventh grade. I have always had a passion for structural buildings and design, as I used to play with Lincoln Logs and Mega Bloks for recreation all the time during my childhood. During middle school, I remember sketching houses and cities on paper during my free time after class, drawing inspiration from both historical and contemporary architecture I observed during family trips.
For high school, I attended West Career and Technical Academy, where I had the opportunity to be involved in a civil engineering program led by Project Lead the Way for four years. In this program, I gained familiarity with the Autodesk design software suite, which includes AutoCAD, Revit, and Inventor. At the same time, the program involved several hands-on projects, ranging from creating bridges out of balsa wood to houses depicting a specific architectural style.
During high school, I also engaged myself in leadership clubs, the most of memorable of which was WCTA DECA. DECA is a career and technical organization (CTSO) dedicated to preparing "emerging leaders and entrepreneurs...in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in high schools and colleges around the globe" (deca.org). I was voted Member of the Year in 2012 by my chapter's executive board, and after being a member for three consecutive years, during my senior year, I was elected as the VP of Digital Archives for the 2014-2015 academic year. I had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing officer team, and we created a legacy for both our local chapter and our school.
After high school, I embarked on an entirely new chapter at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where I am currently a sophomore studying civil engineering. I have also declared a minor in mathematics for engineers, as well as a specialty in structural engineering. On campus, I am involved in three professional development organizations, including the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and last, but not least, UNLV Collegiate DECA. I am currently serving as the external vice president for my SHPE chapter, and I have attended both the Regional Leadership and Development Conference as well as the SHPE National Conference in 2016. This year, I am involved in the UNLV ASCE Concrete Canoe Team, and will compete at the Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC) at UC Irvine in April 2017!