How College Is Going So Far

Where I Am Now

I'm currently a freshman at Tyler Junior College, about a year into the full-time college student life, studying computer engineering. I've been trying to learn as much as I can — both in the classroom and on my own time. I recently joined the STEAM club, and honestly, it's been awesome so far. I've met a ton of people working in STEAM, and I'm even heading to a physics conference in November. Career-wise, I'm still hunting for that first job or internship, which has been a bit of a struggle, but I'm determined to find something that sticks.

Where I Was

When I first graduated high school, I was going through a rough patch. A lot was happening in my life, and worst of all, my plans for after graduation didn't turn out the way I'd expected. Luckily, I was able to move back home to Texas for a while to get back on my feet. I started college while working full-time at my uncle's sheet metal company doing design and engineering work — but juggling both meant my grades took a hit, and I wasn't doing nearly as well in school as I wanted. After I left that job, I started working at MOD Pizza in Terrell and switched to in-person classes. That was the turning point: for the first time, I finally felt like I was in the right place. My grades climbed, and I was still making money on the side.

Where I Will Be

The honest version of the job search is that it isn't going well yet. I'm cold-applying, and I'm getting a lot of no callbacks — including from basic part-time jobs like waiting tables, which is humbling. I've been told more than once that most companies just don't hire second-year students, and I believe it. That's less a reflection of me and more a reflection of how the process works right now. So for the moment I'm treating school as the priority and letting the job search keep moving without taking over everything else.

Transferring is where I want to put my energy. I've been thinking hard about where I go next, and these are my top three:

• MIT — the one I'd honestly call a dream school. What tips it for me is that I actually worked with professors at MIT while I was still in high school. It was brief, but it's the reason MIT sits at the top of my list.
• Texas A&M — honestly the best fit for me. I love engineering — the idea of building something, innovating, and being part of whatever comes next. If I'm being real about it, this is the one I'd most want to end up at.
• UTD — and I'd be genuinely happy to end up here. I grew up in the Dallas area, my mom went to UTD, and I was pretty much hooked. It's an amazing school for science and engineering, and it's close to home.

The physics conference in November is the next thing on the calendar. I'm going to learn as much as I can there, meet more people working in STEAM, and come back with more direction than I have right now. Past that it's simple: keep the grades up, keep applying, keep showing up. I don't have all the answers yet, but I know which way I'm pointed, and I don't stop when it gets hard.