By Megan Tran

Co-Entertainment Editor

  Whether it be twirling a flag on the field or building robots, senior Britney Gallego is the girl to go to.

  Gallego has been in color guard since her sophomore year but her main interest lies in science, specifically engineering. Her love for engineering started from a young age.

  “I became interested in engineering because my dad has taught me everything about [it],” Gallego explained cheerfully. “Because of him I became passionate about going into engineering and learning more about science.”

  Engineering projects with her dad allowed Gallego’s passion for engineering to skyrocket.

  As a junior, Gallego took Advanced Placement (AP) Physics 1 and now is determined to conquer AP Physics C in her senior year, one of the hardest courses at Gabrielino High School.

  AP Physics teacher Kevin McClure expressed, “[Britney] is a great team worker who cares about those on her team and works towards helping them be their best self.”   

  In addition, Gallego has participated in Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, also known as MESA, for four years in her sophomore year, Gallego won first place in the egg drop competition and has placed multiple times, since then.

  Outside of school, Gallego also competes in a world wide robotics competition called For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, also known as FIRST. She started her robotics career in the fifth grade and still continues to be an integral part of her team.

  “It’s a rare opportunity to meet someone of Britney’s character,” junior Elizabeth Lau and robotics team member said admirably. “In the robot room she’s always equipped with a smile and humble knowledge beyond her years.”

  In her sophomore and junior year of high school Gallego was the Build Captain of her team, which meant she was in charge of overseeing all the mechanical build of the robot and making sure it is competition ready.

  “I can definitely see Britney going into aerospace engineering, she undoubtedly has a natural talent for it,” Jet Propulsion Laboratory Robotics Mentor, Phoebe Rhodes Wickett exclaimed.

  This past summer Gallego also started an internship at the California Institute of Technology where she is studying astrophysics alongside Caltech graduates.

  “There, we are making a model of radio galaxy clusters in the universe for graduate students to use for their studies,” Gallego said joyfully.

  Gallego expressed her interests in majoring and working in the field of aerospace engineering, a field of engineering that is concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft.