True Engineering

I’ve learned and grown more this summer than I ever have in my entire life, and
that’s no exaggeration. I’ve increased my mental and physical capabilities for my school
work, as well as being able to say that I’ve connected what I learn in the classroom to
the real world. Which is not something most people in high school can say in our current
time. Over this summer, I worked outside with my dad in our garage and repaired small
engines and such equipment. We worked together to fix anything from lawn mowers to
pressure washers to 4 wheelers. Having my dad as a partner in a business allowed me
to truly be myself and contributed to my growth. We would get up and get ready in the
morning everyday, and head outside into the garage, and from there, we would decide
what the day was going to be about. At the beginning of summer, in fact, even before
school was out junior year, my dad and I agreed that we were going to become partners
and work together on small engines. Every chance I got during the year, I went to go
outside and help.
I’ve been helping my dad work outside doing pretty much anything ever since I
was 8, I’ve always gone outside and asked how I could help him. He would do
carpentry, when I was younger, he would build bunk/loft beds that he would sell, deliver,
and construct on Craigslist. He would work on small engines even when I was younger,
and would put an ad out so that people would hire him for handyman work, and he
could do anything they asked, constructing furniture, plumbing, house remodeling, even
reconstructing entire rooms from their bare bones. Anything that he would do, we would
always work his very hardest to make the outcome of the project the best that it can
possibly be, no matter who it was that hired him, he would always do his very best work.
Many times, when I was older, I would go with him to jobs and help him with whatever
he needed. So I’ve learned a lot about many different things over the years of helping
my dad. He’s always taught me to do my best work, even and especially if it’s hard, and
you will no doubt be rewarded for it, in some way.
When I first started working, I had a very vague idea of how engines worked. I
had parts of the story, I had the input and the output, I just didn’t know the process in
between. Everything felt like it was so complex, I thought there was no way that I could
learn all of the components in the duration of the summer. But it didn’t take me long to
make connections for problems and what causes them, and once I was able to fix a
lawn mower by myself, I realized that all small engines are very very similar, and if I
understand how one kind works, I can understand how they all work.
By the end of the summer, I felt like I was a completely different person, I felt
confident, not just in what I was doing, but that I knew what I was doing. It was solidified
even further when I visited ERAU Campus at Prescott because the feeling I got just
from walking around was different than anything that I’ve ever experienced, and I knew
that this was the place for me. The place that would help me learn and discover and
create in ways that I’ve always dreamed of, and that working this summer has gotten
me one step closer to. I never felt more at home than I did over the visit, and my
summer only made that feeling more intense. The whole experience has allowed me to
grow, and expand my knowledge of math, science, and the world, and added to my love
and passion for engineering and mechanics.