I sat there, a smile plastered on my face appearing calm and collected, but my insides were screaming, dreading the tiny blue box and Mr. Aldana’s cursor over it, a single click could forever seal months of effort. Maybe there’s a mistake, maybe I made it I thought to myself, just trying to delay the inevitable submission.

A few months prior I had received an email from my mentor, Mr. Aldana; I had been selected as one of the 35 teams across the country to create a grant proposal to be judged by a panel of experts sponsored by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If they found our proposal adequate, 15 out of the 35 teams of ten people could receive a total funding of 10,000 dollars to support their idea; they then must create a prototype to be presented at the yearly Eurekafest, a festival used to celebrate young inventors on campus. The idea, a self disinfecting disease checkpoint that stemmed due to the challenges of SARS-2. 

When the news arrived, I was completely bewildered like a child on Christmas, excited and giddy for the opportunity, but after a few minutes, a realization set it. I was deeply underqualified. How do I manage a team? How do I set up deadlines? How do I create budget analysis? How do I reach out to local officials? How do I research the market? How will I even do this? Should I even try? I thought to myself, understanding the magnitude of my decisions, fearing a wrong choice could send my life down an unending spiral. All of my previous skills of Python, C++, SQL data basing, and Arduino circuitry felt useless. It was like the weight of the world rested on my shoulders.  

However, I knew. I understood that this was my passion, writing code and creating products that could hopefully benefit someone in the future, and I was not about to let something of this magnitude escape my grasp. So, I did the only thing I knew. I worked. I enlisted a group of students with different skill sets -business, databasing, sciences, and outreach- to fill my faults. I managed them. I set up deadlines. I created a budget analysis. I reached out to local officials and corporate CEOs. I researched the market. They estimated that the project would take a total of 80 hours, we did 140. I did not try. I succeeded. The prototyped piece, a 10 pound 3D printed compartment outfitted with the latest sensors that could instantly analyze your body in a non-invasive way. The backend was created using C++, an SQL database, connected through a wifi module and Bluetooth connection. All calibrated by a machine learning library to determine the health of the tested individual. The system protected by a UV-C 310nm LED to instantly disinfect the build. With its 34-pages glory, size 11 text, and Times New Roman font. I was proud of my work. I knew that I put forth my best effort and no matter the result on October 27, 2021, I knew I worked the hardest, not for the prize but for myself.

I sat on zoom call, my group member with me. Each of us knowing the effort within the 3 MB file. We stared at the zoom screen silently until a single phrase was heard, uttered by me “Hit it”. After the project came to a close, I came to the realization that this task I completed over the span of 2 months and taking a total planning of 1.5 years was the most amount of effort I had ever placed into anything and I did not regret a second of it. My diligence, while by no means perfect -especially when I lack passion for the topic- had allowed me to succeed within the areas of Computer Science and Engineering. With enough passion any challenge can be overcome.