A candle is a simple thing, made out of wax and a wick. In order for a candle to light up, it needs a spark of heat. The heat radiating from the flame melts the surrounding wax, which travels up the wick via capillary action to continue fueling the flame. With enough energy, the process becomes self-sustaining. I’ve begun to realize that everyone can be thought of as a candle: once our passions have been ignited, we can use them to illuminate our surroundings and provide a spark to help other people find their own passions.

My fuel is engineering. Legos and Minecraft were a big part of my childhood, and I would often spend hours following Minecraft tutorials to learn how to use redstone, which is a form of electronic wiring, to build new worlds from scratch. Eventually, I became so good at building that I made a maze in a multiplayer server that successfully stumped about two hundred people. And last year, as a member of the Robotics Club, I built a robot out of aluminum, gears, rivets, chains and electrical wiring. I started out as a programmer, but when the engineering team needed help building the robot, I volunteered. Through that experience, I learned how to operate milling machines, drills and riveting tools, and I’ve realized that I love building in the real world just as much as I love building in the virtual world. 

I hope to one day use my passion for building worlds to pioneer new ways of using virtual reality. I’m particularly interested in ‘full dive’ technology, which is a virtual reality system that allows the user to experience every sensation they’d feel in the real world. There are so many ways this technology could be useful in our lives today: paraplegics or people with restricted movement would be able to experience movement again; aspiring surgeons could practice operations without the associated risks in reality; wars could be conducted in virtual reality, which would save lives; and jobs could be created by linking the virtual reality’s currency with a traditional currency. 

Of course, we’re still a long way off from making this reality. Developers still don’t have the technology to stimulate more than two senses at once. There are also important ethical and safety challenges that developers must consider: How would we handle data breaches? How would users extract themselves from the world if it malfunctions? And how will we define ‘reality’ if our virtual world is so similar to our real one? 

I’m excited about studying virtual technology because it will allow me to tackle some of the biggest technological questions facing us today. In college, I want to learn more about the workings of the brain and nervous system, the kinds of software and hardware that can best interface with the human body, and the ethical frameworks that govern how to develop technologies that truly benefit society. Eventually, I hope to add my candle’s flame to the torch of knowledge and help people create newer and safer realities for themselves.