This mug is representative of my Girl Scout Gold Award project, which I completed last November. My project addressed the lack of girls in STEM electives in my high school by creating a club that introduced middle school students to the basic principles of engineering and biomedical science. I pursued this project because I wanted to challenge myself to make an impact on the world around me in a way that was meaningful to me. I have always had a passion for STEM areas of study, so I thought that addressing the astounding lack of girls enrolled in the STEM electives at my high school would be a good place to start making my impact. By writing the curriculum and coordinating all aspects of the project myself, I learned that I am a hands on learner. The process of actually writing and planning the project was not as enjoyable as when I actually got to lead the seminars for the club and to demonstrate concepts and experiments in front of the students. I also found that I enjoy teaching others about topics that I enjoy, and that process also helps me to better understand the concepts and topics. My project also taught me that planning is the hardest part of a project, because once all the planning is done, the execution is easy. Planning has to account for everything that could go wrong, and being in charge of 20 middle school students can cause many unforeseeable problems. This mug sits on my desk so I see it everyday, and it reminds me that I impacted at least 20 different students just from my project, and I consider it to be one of my biggest achievements. The project required over 80 hours of work over the course of a year and a half, so it also made me learn how to focus on the long term goal of the project rather than just getting it done and being over with it. Overall, this project changed how I thought about planning, STEM careers, teaching, and myself.