Attending the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech 2026 Conference was the most influential self-designed honors experience of my past year, profoundly shaping my future career trajectory. As the most prestigious conference for aerospace academics and industry professionals, it provided an incredible opportunity for me, as a student researcher, to explore cutting-edge advancements by peers from other universities and industry leaders in space robotics. While I had already decided to pursue a PhD in robotics after graduating from UC, SciTech significantly broadened my horizons. It exposed me to endless opportunities across different institutions, helping me strategically map out my options for graduate school.

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As the 2026–2027 academic year will be my final year as a UC undergraduate, I am channeling this momentum into specific areas of academic and professional growth. My primary objective is to familiarize myself with the world of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, a domain I found to be the most challenging during my time working as a Student Associate at UC's Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems (IRAS) Lab. While my core strengths lie in designing, prototyping, and optimizing physical systems and testbeds, I am eager to learn more about intelligent robotics and automation to elevate myself into a well-rounded robotics engineer. To achieve this, I plan to collaborate with my professor at the lab to identify upcoming projects that apply AI and machine learning, allowing me to align my personal development directly with our lab’s broader progress.

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In tandem with expanding my technical foundations, I am dedicated to enhancing my public speaking skills as I transition from a conference attendee to a presenter. I will be presenting one of my papers at AIAA SciTech 2027, which will be an entirely new challenge. Through leading a presentation, I look forward to refining my communication skills while connecting deeply with fellow presenters and industry professionals. To ensure I am fully prepared, I intend to put my presentation skills into regular practice during our lab’s weekly meetings. Actively seeking and incorporating feedback from my professor, seniors, and peers will allow me to build confidence and become a highly effective presenter ahead of the conference stage.

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Finally, I recognize that true professional impact relies heavily on strong teamwork, leadership, and interpersonal communication. Because most of my prior research projects have been individual endeavors, I am focused on mastering collaborative dynamics where a team’s success hinges on open communication. In the past, I have occasionally held myself back due to a fear of disagreements and pressure for perfection; however, I am growing to understand that the team's ultimate success is the top priority and that the process does not have to be completely perfect every single time. To intentionally test and develop these leadership skills in a high-stress environment, I am currently captaining a team in a competitive volleyball league. Additionally, while I have recently stepped down as the president of the UC Counter-Strike club to pass on the torch, I remain actively involved to assist the new executives, allowing me to practice leadership from a collaborative, supportive perspective to ensure our club continues to be guided the right way.