I recently obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University. My father, a retired civil engineer, is the person who instilled in me a strong work ethic and a passion for all things mechanical. Tinkering with household objects and appliances has allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation for mechanical engineering. This hobby has also taught me to identify component failures and what could have been done to avoid them. A little over a year ago, I had no idea what specific mechanical engineering field I planned on pursuing after college. That is until, I started learning about the many interesting topics covered in Machine Design II (ME 4244), such as failure theories, fatigue, and fracture mechanics to name a few. Around this same time, a guest speaker by the name of Brent St. Blanc gave a lecture on his work in the area of Failure Analysis. I was immediately intrigued, and by the end of his lecture I thought this might be a potential career option for me. This feeling was further validated throughout the stress analysis course, where my then professor Dr. Michael Guillot taught me the basics of Ansys and expanded my knowledge in the area of advanced mechanics of materials. Dr. Guillot has become a mentor of mine over the past year. I credit him to my newfound passion for stress analysis and failure analysis. Despite not having gained any internship experience, I hope to continue expanding my theoretical knowledge so that I may one day apply what I have learned to real-world engineering problems. I am proud to have taken and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. This is my first step in becoming a professionally licensed engineer, in the area of Machine Design and Materials, and continuing a lifelong journey of learning and professionalism. I’d like to end with a quote by Rene Descartes,“To be possessed by a vigorous mind is not enough, the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.”