I had always had an affinity for looking up at the sky. My father had taught me how to recognize Orion by his belt, and I still have never forgotten. In high school, I competed in the Astronomy event for my Science Olympiad team. At college, I immediately joined the Student Team of Astrophysics Researchers (STARS) for the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), analyzing reports of thousands of pulsar candidates, and then I joined the Hillsdale Advanced Laser and Optics (HALO) Lab under Dr. Michael Tripepi, where I learned fundamental procedures for working with lasers and light. My knowledge of the stars and how to observe them grew exponentially. Now as I look to the future, I am excited to apply my growing background in astrophysics, optics, and theoretical physics to solve real-world problems, particularly in optics or astrophysics.