Dear NACE International Los Angeles Section members,

I am writing to sincerely thank you for the scholarship award that has helped make it possible for me to stay in school and focus on my studies, research, and extracurricular activities!  I’m also writing to let you know a little about myself, my activities and achievements, my future plans, and some of the reasons that your award has meant so much to me.

I grew up in Auburn, Alabama, and began my undergraduate studies at Auburn University.  I had a wide variety of interests that I was passionate about, including engineering, computer hardware and software, philosophy, writing, dancing, singing, and activism.  I tried to do it all!  Unfortunately, this (along with perhaps unlucky genetics) took its toll.  Two years in, I became seriously ill, and spent five years mostly housebound with fibromyalgia and hypoglycemia.  During that time, I was unable to attend school, work, or participate in any activities.

I was offered the opportunity to come to California in 2001 to receive treatment from a talented fibromyalgia specialist in Los Angeles, and since then I have recovered tremendously.  I (nervously) applied to re-enter school in 2003, choosing UCR because of its groundbreaking research in the field of nanotechnology—an area that has intriguing and exciting possibilities and one that I would like to pursue research in as a career.

I only applied to UCR, and I was anxious that I might not be accepted and/or that I might not be able to handle school.  Fortunately, my anxieties proved to be unfounded!  I entered UCR in 2004 and, since then, have maintained a 4.0 GPA, participated in research in the lab of Dr. Nosang Myung in Chemical Engineering (which you read about in my scholarship application), taken on a leadership role in several College of Engineering student organizations, and participated in my "extracurricular passion," ballroom dancing!  One of the included photos is of my partner and me competing at the 2007 UCSD Dance by the Shores, and the other is of me being presented with a first place award in the Technical Presentation Competition by the national Society of Women Engineers president at the 2005 SWE convention.

I will be graduating in June with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.  I have applied to graduate school and hope to pursue a Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Caltech.  I am currently waiting (again, nervously) to hear back from Caltech, and if I do not get in I will most likely apply for a job at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I have interned in the past (and loved it!).  My ultimate goal is to work in nanotechnology research, particularly as it relates to space exploration and environmental applications.  The opportunities I have now would certainly not be available to me were it not for scholarships and financial aid, as I would have had to also take on an additional job to pay for school, living, and medical expenses.  Please know that your award has certainly made a tremendous difference for me!

Sincerely,

Megan B. Nix