 Hispanic Heritage Month for me is a time to reflect upon the influence that our ancestors have had and how they are able to prepare not just me but others to be on this path towards getting a PhD. It's important to recognize how deep the cultural impact has been of Hispanic in the community, in Purdue, but also in the United States in general. And so for me it's a time to celebrate that and be happy that we are all here together and making an impact. Hispanic Heritage Month also makes me think about how Puerto Ricans have really represented the island at the national stage and not just the artists that we all know and love but revolutionary thinkers that have really shaped education in Puerto Rico and made a pathway to be able to have an impact here in the States. Revolutionary thinkers such as Pedro Alvizucampos and Ramon Emeterio Betances that really value the education. So I'm definitely proud of being Hispanic and Puerto Rican. I feel that I can reach out to the Hispanic community here and really connect with them through that. And as a Puerto Rican, I enjoy how we're able to really find each other in Purdue and still have these nice cooking parties or nice Latin parties as well. And we're all very social people so whenever we find each other it's good to have that type of connection. And of course we try to invite others and try to incorporate them into the mix. So I feel that I'm very proud of that type of connection that us Puerto Ricans have in terms of bringing people together and creating community. So growing up I really enjoyed building stuff and I really was fortunate that my dad was an engineer as well and he served as a great role model. So when I went into university I chose an engineering degree because I knew I could have this sort of knowledge that would be able to impact lives in the future. And as I went through my degree I noticed that I enjoyed teaching, I enjoyed the research aspect of it. So going to the PhD was a natural path for me.