For Myesha Rahman, a senior at the University of Central Florida, the path to becoming an engineer began long before stepping onto campus. As a first-generation American raised in Lake Worth Beach, Rahman grew up in a household where education was deeply valued. Her parents immigrated from Bangladesh and did not have the opportunity to attend college. But they always encouraged Rahman and her older sister to explore and excel in their education.
As valedictorian of her graduating class from Santaluces Community High School, her academic success ultimately led to her receiving the Bright Futures Scholarship. This scholarship enabled her to attend UCF and focus on her studies without incurring college debt.
"Bright Futures gave my family peace of mind," she says. "My parents didn't have to worry about how we were going to pay for college. That changed everything."
Without financial pressure, Rahman immersed herself in her electrical engineering studies, a field she first discovered through her high school's Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) program. The program introduced her to careers in architecture, construction and engineering, while deepening her curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.
Once at UCF, Rahman leaned into rigorous coursework, hands-on lab practice and research opportunities. Time spent in UCF's semiconductor cleanroom taught her how to use highly specialized tools designed for precision fabrication and contamination control.
Such experiences would later become the cornerstone of Rahman's professional development. Due to her academic success, she applied for and was selected as one of 30 UCF students for the school's Texas Instruments Undergraduate Fellows program. This honor allowed her to secure a competitive internship at the company's Dallas headquarters. During her internship, she worked with advanced equipment and tackled real-world engineering challenges. By August 2025, she had accepted a full-time position as a product marketing engineer with the company in Dallas.
"I knew during my internship that this is what I wanted to do," she says. "It made everything feel real."
In addition to her academic accomplishments, Rahman is just as passionate and dedicated to giving back. Rahman co-founded and served as public relations director of UCF's Women in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The club is dedicated to providing younger girls from underrepresented backgrounds access to STEM fields.
"I didn't always have someone to talk to about engineering growing up, so I wanted to be that person for someone else," she says. "Ultimately, the Bright Futures Scholarship didn't just pay for my education, but instead, it gave me the freedom to focus, to grow and to graduate ready for what's next."
About The Florida Lottery / Bright Futures Scholarship
The Florida Lottery puts education in the spotlight with the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery is committed to helping students shine inside and outside of the classroom so they can have brighter tomorrows. Since 1988, the Florida Lottery has contributed billions of dollars to education, sending over one million students to college on Bright Futures Scholarships. Plus, every time you play, you play it forward.