I was born in Stockton California and was constantly met with the reality of how harsh Stockton can be to its population. Stockton lacked many resources to make daily life easy or convenient. Specifically, my mother required immediate medical care, but we had to drive to the next city to find a medical facility that could provide the services she needed. This sparked my interest in being able to help someone's life by being able to provide the necessary resources to enable them to tackle any of life's curveballs. However, I couldn't see myself being a nurse or doctor. Yet, I had a strong passion for CAD and device development through a single engineering course I took in high school. This interest made me realize that bioengineering was the ideal career for me because it enabled me to design innovative medical technology that can make saving lives easier.I've been able to dive into medical devices through UCLA's resources. Initially, I joined the Biomedical Engineering Society to work on a pulse oximeter. This project allowed me to work in a group of 5 to develop our pulse oximeter through CAD, PCB design, and Arduino. I continued to expand my familiarity with medical devices by joining the Di Carlo Lab. In the Di Carlo Lab, I've been able to work on an Autoimmune assay vertical flow assay kit and a Type 1 diabetes assay kit. These projects have allowed me to develop my previous skills from the pulse oximeter project and allowed me to see how product development and assay development are conducted. From here I'm always determined to learn more of what the biotech industry has to offer and how I can utilize my experience to better people's lives.Outside of my interest in bioengineering, I also enjoy building and helping communities. Throughout my college life, I've always wanted to provide a safe place for people to make friends in college. I've been able to do this through UCLA's Pilipino's in Engineering and Science (PIES).In PIES, I've been able to provide amazing opportunities for new UCLA students to socialize by being the PIES activities coordinator. As the activities coordinator, I constantly aim to facilitate social and academic events to enable socialization amongst new students, returning students, and even alumni to make every student feel as if they belong at UCLA. While PIES is a Filipino-oriented club we allow anyone interested to join to promote an environment that is welcoming for everyone. I aim to bring these skills to any environment I work in to ensure the best environment at any event or organization I'm a part of!