SHORT ESSAYS

Break Through Tech AI Program Application (2025-26)

Please provide responses to the following short essay questions. Your submissions should represent your original thought and reflection. We want to hear about the interests, experiences, and goals that make you YOU, not what AI tools think we want to hear!

What interests you about ai, machine learning and data science, and how will participating in our program support your goals for the future? (250 word limit)

Pushing the boundaries of technical challenges with unstructured data such as speech recognition, image recognition, context understanding has intrigued my interest. Rule-based systems have a limited capacity to understand, and it’s through ML that the ideas flourish and instinct sharpens because it’s these kinds of problems that need creative solutions. I've always been interested in allowing people with disabilities to communicate with everyone. For them, it has always been a struggle to flow ideas, and software such as Google’s Live Transcribe and Microsoft Seeing AI aim to shift perspective to help navigate the world easily. I am inspired to perfect the convenience of transportation systems, to support navigation requirements for handicapped people. For example, AI can assist with making travel easier, giving directions in forms of audio and alerts. It's taking common problems which need refinement and making a social impact in the long-term.

Now, looking into the program, I can’t help but be intrigued by access to resources and wisdom of people whose passions are always going, and be able to give back to the community one day. Access to the Institute’s renowned CSAIL will allow me to gain the skills necessary for deep learning and drive forth the pathway of AI. I aim to expand my knowledge in what I know and what I am yet to discover.

Describe a time when you worked on a team to accomplish a shared goal. What was the goal of your team? What role did you play? What did your team accomplish? (150 word limit)

Last year, I participated in the SECME Engineering Design Competition, where I led a small team of three people. We didn't receive a placement at all, and it only generated 0.38V. This gave my team and me a wake-up call, where we became determined to place first and break the SECME record of 6.7V. So, we began building our skills in May, a year before the next competition, and started learning SolidWorks and AutoFusion 360. My physics professor was able to advocate for us, leading us to get our own individual 3D printers. We eventually achieved 400 spins per minute, resulting in 9.8V and getting 1st place. We continued to believe in something greater. We failed many times during experiments, but we kept bouncing back, fixing mistakes. It was no longer a dream and hope, but a completed goal of making something actually happen.

With my software engineering degree, I would combine my passion for electronics and computer science with the robotics and computational methods implemented by others, such as Margaret Hamilton and Dina Katabi. I envision taking artificial intelligence to the next level by going beyond the traditional and evolving how we receive and utilize our resources. I want to return to the communities that sacrificed so much for me by using technology to improve living conditions and allow people to escape poverty.

• I have worked on some projects that have begun to form my vision. One of them is my latest project, an app that detects and generates information on a person's internal and external symptoms using computer vision software and text generation. This is why my software engineering degree is vital to gaining the knowledge and experience to accomplish said aspirations and more.

Please describe a project completed or achievement that you have received and why you are proud of this accomplishment. (150 word limit)

In HS, The only things standing in my way of joining the AAPT United States Physics Team were a sheet of white paper and a black pen. I had studied for 10 months, enjoying every “aha!” moment and “OH, now I get it!” sensation from solving complex problems. The exam was filled with curious problems. I had head-scratching moments as I turned the page to the last few problems.

I had scored a 12. My physics mentor exclaimed, “It’s been 20 years since any student in this school scored this high!” I could tell he was proud.

I stood puzzled, believing that this was unimaginable. Though 6 points from qualifying, I had gone on a formidable learning journey to get to that point. I had become a student capable of getting a kick out of  thinking. This notion fueled my desire to stay on the course of becoming an engineer.

Our program intentionally fosters a safe and inclusive community that empowers women and students of all identities to break into tech. What about your lived experience motivates you to learn in this environment? (250 word limit)

Jose Cruz

I would think about the people that I had gotten to know, and their voices always played in my head. There's one that always comes back. I met a mathematician once and told him I wanted to be like him as none of my parents had finished a high school degree. I believed the mathematician knew because he told me, “Numbers are the little fragments that have no beginning and no end..” I’ve always remembered that and believed him, which ignited my curiosity. I smile because I took the leap into the unknown and looked up to the stars to keep that burning fire inside me. Now in college, I was able to attend my first 3 hackathons, at MIT and Harvard, where the “coding aura” was phenomenal. I felt like a kid in a candy store, I realized that there was so much to explore, everyone shouting: AI, ML, LLM. Like secret codes and I knew that this was it, like reaching the mountain peak. I got to meet so many talented individuals and this privilege goes without a day of forgetting. I must not let go of my dreams and push forward to seize every opportunity I would have otherwise not known of. It's difficult finding a breakthrough as a minority and first-gen, but as I continue to persist, there will always be an open door out there. There are many mysteries to be solved and I want to continue breaking down barriers by making lasting friendships.

Breakthrough Tech has 4 core values - empowerment, inclusivity, community, and leadership. Which value resonates with you the most? How have you upheld this value in past communities that you have been a part of, and how do you see yourself upholding this value in our program and beyond? (250 word limit)