I am a senior mechanical engineer at the University of Colorado, Boulder. I am originally from Aurora, Colorado. I grew up in a Mexican household with two sisters and four brothers. I have a twin brother who sometimes finishes my sentences and always finishes my sandwiches, without my permission.

What inspired you to explore STEM when you were young?

I grew up going to a lot of doctor appointments for my little sister with my mom. During those visits there were a lot of medical devices that they used to treat her. I was curious how some tools were used to know that she was healthy, needed hearing aids, etc. From there I was interested in learning more about the technology and medical relations.

What do you enjoy most about what you do in your STEM career?

I enjoy the hands-on projects that I get. Making virtual prototypes and live prototypes for demonstrations is fun. I get to use what I have learned so far to show that the ideas my teams and I have will work for the problem we are trying to solve.

What is an interesting fact you would like to share with students about your STEM field?

Ralph Teetor, a blind mechanical engineer, invented cruise control.