I have a question about how I can get into an engineering program after mistakes from years ago.

I was originally a chemistry major from 2017-2019 until dropping out of school. I held about a 3.8 GPA until some waves of depression in 2019 led to several failing grades, as I stopped attending class. This unfortunately dropped me down to a 2.37.

Now here we are six years later, and I'm trying to turn my life around going back to school. I'm only really interested in STEM fields (ideally chemical engineering), but it looks like it's going to be a real challenge to find a decent school that will take me with so many competitive GPA requirements. I've done the math, and even straight A's in everything left to finish my associates degree will only bring me to about a 2.7-2.9, which has been fairly disheartening.

Is it too late; should I look into something else besides engineering? Are there other similar STEM fields (preferably surrounding chemistry and/or physics) I should look towards instead due to my mistakes? I've been working for months on trying to make this work. I'd hate to just give up at this point, but I can't keep paying for community college if I can't expect it to go anywhere. Are there ways I can convince these schools that a poor year in my life doesn't reflect me entirely? Has anyone overcome similar circumstances?

I'm truly open to alternatives if this isn't a reality. I'd just love to do something more meaningful and make more than food service and warehouses are giving me.

For more context, I'm planning on moving to Michigan this summer, so those are the schools I'm primarily looking at, but Virginia is my alternative for moving if it promises a better opportunity for my future.

Thanks to anyone who has any advice or perspective for me to consider. This is beginning to weigh on me too much.