Hello,

I was born and raised in a place where the sky shines Carolina Blue - Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I will admit, I did grow up a Tar Heel fan. My parents immigrated from Argentina and have raised my two older sisters and I with strong ties to our language and culture. We have built a close-knit group of Argentine families here in North Carolina and try to visit our relatives every year.

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Before coming to Duke, I decided to take a gap year. I did this for two reasons. The first was that I wanted to immerse myself with my family in Argentina. Although we visited every year, I never felt like my stay was long enough. My personal goal for this trip was to reach the point where I could read the local newspaper and understand the nuances and slang of the political cartoons. The second reason was that I wanted to travel. And so, I did both of those things. I spent three months traveling Europe, eight months in Argentina, and one month exploring South East Asia. This was a time where I could explore, spend time with family, and learn about myself and the world. The decision to take a gap year was probably the best decision of my life.

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Through self reflection, I learned that I truly love building things. Turning an idea into something tangible excites me to no end. For this reason, I am studying mechanical engineering and pursuing a certificate in innovation and entrepreneurship. I’ve been building things since the age of five and so this career path felt natural to me. From Legos to go-karts, my projects have always advanced with age.

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I came to Duke not knowing how to use CAD (computer-aided-design) and I learned these skills while working on my EGR101 project freshman year. This new ability dramatically expanded the realm of projects that I could conceive. Since then, my favorite project that I have worked on has been my electric skateboard project. 

This project started as an idea in my head and turned into something I could ride around the streets of San Francisco. I have been an avid skateboard my whole life, and one day I found myself riding with my phone in hand, resting my two fingers on the volume buttons. I thought to myself, “how cool would it be if I could control this board with these two buttons.” And that’s exactly what I did. I partnered with a fellow mechanical engineering friend of mine, and we prototyped this project throughout our sophomore year, running through many highs and lows. On May 15, 2020 we succeed. We had a custom iPhone app capable of controlling the speed of a motor wirelessly by simply pressing on the “+” or “-” volume buttons.

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I mentioned San Francisco specifically because that is where I lived for 6 months - June to November 2020. I was interning for Neuralink, Elon Musk’s startup company looking to produce brain machine interfaces between humans and computers. Here I was working for the robotics team manufacturing needle cartridges that were used in brain surgery. I learned what it was like to work in a high-paced environment and took advantage of the depth and breadth of knowledge held by the people at this company. I discovered which concepts in the classroom translated to real world applications and came back to school with a new perspective on learning. I felt like I had a tangible impact on the progress of the company, largely due to its start-up nature. 

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This experience increased my desire to start a company of my own. At Duke, I am constantly thinking of the next thing I am going to build, what problem it’s going to solve, and how I can turn it into a business. I spend my free time 3d printing, laser cutting and designing varions knick knacks and presents for people. I love to fly drones, do aerial cinematography, and play soccer. People should know I am a big Shawn Mendes fan, but no one seems to ask. If I had a goal for my Duke career, it would be to have an impact - an impact on the university and eventually the world.

 

I want to design and build things that solve real world problems. I believe that my love for engineering, in conjunction with my care for others, will be the perfect combination. My hope is to one day have a tangible impact on millions of lives and I truly believe one day I will do so.