COVID-19 caused some major disruptions in my mental and physical health this past spring. Junior year was when I took the bulk of my challenging classes and quarantine meant I had to do most of my studying for Advanced Placement exams off a computer. Studying for a new type of test changed everything I thought I knew about preparing thoroughly for an exam. Being separated from loved ones and spending countless hours reviewing for the two months leading up to the anticipated May dates took a major toll on both my mental and physical health. Losing my job as a volleyball referee and being restricted to limited digital contact with my friends led me to focus all my energy into AP tests. Although my questionable methods led to my desired results, my immune system couldn’t keep up with my rigorous study schedule long term. As determined as I had been to be completely healthy for the exam, the aftermath showed how I had to be conscious of how important balancing my needs is for long term success. Viewing my results didn’t give me the satisfaction I expected because of the toll taken on my health. Going forward I plan to measure my happiness not only by my academic success, but also my well being.

After hearing a career presentation from biomedical engineers in fifth grade, I decided I wanted to be involved indirectly in the medical field. I was mesmerized by bionic ears and a prosthetic leg as well as how drastically these devices improved the lives of the patients that utilized the tools. Even as an elementary school student, I dreamed of how I could make a difference on the world around me and solve some o the world's largest medical problems. Despite my passion for medical technology, my love of physics and calculus could never overcome my paralyzing fear of blood. Exploring the way numbers and the rules of science worked together fascinated me and I took every opportunity to expand my knowledge, but I knew being a doctor was not a career in my future. Biomedical engineering is intriguing to me because of the opportunity to help patients with medical obstacles find a way to live without a disadvantage. My career goal is to develop prosthetics and medical technology to assist people with a physical handicap. Being able to help people has always been a passion in my extracurricular activities and work experiences. Through working with children and senior citizens, I saw how a medical handicap could be a major obstacle in a person's life. Biomedical engineering would allow me to find creative solutions to improve the condition of life of people with medical disabilities while utilizing my passion for science and math daily. To be successful in my career, I hope not only to be happy, but to contribute to the happiness of others and leave a positive impact on the world.

Growing up, almost every scientist in my textbook had one thing in common. Every accredited researcher displayed in presentation with a white lab coat was a male. I became confused why no STEM professionals looked like me as I began to take higher level science classes and learned about more technology professionals. In my Advanced Placement Biology class, my teacher went out of their way to define a woman in STEM who was erased from the history books. Rosalind Franklin was responsible for capturing the image of DNA that first led to the confirmation that the genetic code was shaped in a double helix. Franklin inspires me because she worked hard towards the pursuit of knowledge rather than recognition, that she didn't end up receiving until much later after her death. Rosalind's work was trailblazing for women as she was one of the first to make a major impact on the field of biology. The work of Franklin inspires me to work hard despite any criticism I may face in the STEM field as a woman and proves that women have always been capable enough to succeed. My career goal is to work as a biomedical engineer that designs medical technology and prosthetics to help patients overcome medical challenges. I believe that every person deserves an equal chance to succeed, and my experiences working with children has shown me that our medical field can be improved. As a summer camp counselor and youth volleyball referee, I have seen children sidelined numerous times due to medical limitations. My own desire to be involved in the medical field combined with my deathly fear of needles led me to biomedical engineering. I hope to innovate in the engineering field in a way that makes an impact on the world and helps patients face their medical challenges. I know that working and learning in a male dominated STEM field may be difficult at times. My determination to succeed and reach my career goals will not allow me to be stopped my gender norms. I'm inspired my Rosalind Franklin and women like her who pioneered STEM fields. Trailblazing women have given me the opportunity to work in engineering and I plan to take full advantage of the chance to have a career in STEM.

Medical technology has always grabbed my attention. From a young age, I always wanted to find ways to help children negatively impacted by medical issues. Donating my hair to cancer patients and making cards for kids in the hospital led to my want to work in a career where I could help people. A presentation to my middle school math class changed every idea I had about a career and directed me towards a career in technology. Two former students gave a presentation to my class about biomedical engineering. The presenters discussed ways their work impacted children and veterans with disabilities and how their patients were able to overcome daily obstacles. I continued my passions for helping people and working with children through my high school jobs. My odd jobs consisted of summer camp counselor, youth volleyball referee, and nanny. Throughout all my work experiences, I saw children be sidelined due to medical limitations. I became determined to have a future career where I could trailblaze technology to make a difference in the medical world. My own experiences with needles and fear of blood ensured I would not be working directly in the medical field. I remembered the engineering presentation that had captivated me years ago as I vowed to have an indirect involvement in the medical field. Engineering was the perfect career for me to problem solve and make a difference while avoiding the gore of the medical field. Through my high school experience, I became more invested in my STEM classes and drawn towards technology. Despite being one of the few girls in each class, I refused to let gender norms impact me as I signed up for every math and physics class my school has to offer. I fell in love with the problem solving and innovation that came with working in technology and grew in knowledge and leadership through my classes. Working as a project manager for the company ABB through my engineering class allowed me to have real world experience in working with technology and improving my engineering skills. My career goals in technology are to help children overcome medical obstacles and avoid being sidelined due to these challenges. I hope to work in medical technology to create devices and prosthetics that will allow children with disabilities to live their lives to the fullest. Applying my passions to help engineer a change in the world is my ultimate goal, and I know I will face many challenges on my journey. I expect to be one of few women in my undergraduate technology courses, just as I have been for many of my high school classes. Being part of an underrepresented group in technology will provide challenges that I believe I can overcome through hard work and determination. I am so excited to pursue a career in technology for a multitude of reasons. A career related to engineering medical devices allows be to fulfill my passions for STEM as well as making a difference in the world. Innovation and problem solving are ideals that are important to be as I venture into a career in technology.

LAUNCH is an immersive experience that lasts all year and provides me with credits from three different classes. This course includes the sections Engineering Design and Development, Writing for Research, and Mentorship. Through these classes I've been able to work on several engineering projects with groups. The yearlong project my group is working on demonstrates my ability as an engineer and has taught me so much about how much research goes into designing solutions. The research portion of our product expanded my knowledge of the engineering career and aspects other than design and development. My group spent weeks developing a problem statement to focus on a topic we were all passionate about. Our original statements fell short, but we kept trying rally around our common passion for the environment. After being too broad and too specific, our group narrowed down our environmental focus. The final problem statement we developed aimed to solve the issue of a lack of green spaces in New York City. We focused specifically on how this issue affected the mental and physical health of NYC residents, especially in areas of lower income. After settling on a focus for our engineering project, we had to expand our research to experts and consumers directly impacted by the issue. In our expert interviews we were able to talk to a psychologist, city planner, an environmental engineer, and a park director from New York City. Through these discussions, we learned how severe the issue of disparity of green spaces could be in cities, specifically in New York City. From these same sources, our group was able to hear about solutions that already exist for the problem we aimed to solve. After the expert interviews, we moved onto consumer interviews and talked to former New York City residents. The consensus among the former NYC residents was that all of them had moved due to a lack of green space and would have appreciated a small scale solution, which validated my group's further exploration of the problem. Information from research and interviews sent our group in the general direction of a portable garden solution. While our idea seemed ideal, we knew that similar products most likely already existed in the marketplace. Research of patents and existing products revealed to out group that some indoor green space solutions already existed. We were able to begin our development of a product with an idea of what products already existed in the market and how we could improve upon current options. Common issues with products our group found was that they were often too big for an apartment, too large to maintain, or extremely costly. This research sent our direction to create a solution that would work for all New York City residents, not just citizens with a large budget and apartment space. In an effort to make the garden less work, our group began designing a solution that could use solar energy and a self watering system. This would eliminate the problem of creating extra work in the already busy lives of New Yorkers. The issue of size was the largest shortcoming our group discovered in existing products. Large carts or massive greenhouses were extremely innovative solutions, but would not be helpful to a large amount of New York City residents in close quarters. Our group opted to begin design on a solution that could be hung or rest in a window, as to not take away floor space in apartments that are already low on square footage. Finally for the issue of cost, our group has been researching cheap and sustainable materials. Our final goal is to construct a product that is created out of recycled materials in an effort to reduce cost as well as the carbon footprint created by our product. While our project is not done yet, I believe that my work creating a green space solution for New York City residents has refined my abilities as an engineer. While I already have some knowledge of design and development, my LAUNCH class has provided so many opportunities to improve my researching and planning abilities.

Duke is a nine year old cockapoo that is always up for an adventure! Whether it's dressing up for birthdays and soccer games, or "helping" me with yoga, he is always there for me. On land or even on a boat he is never misses a chance to be involved in whatever my family is doing. Instagram: @alex.zamansky

Taking the position on the student advisory board of Guatemalan Service Projects required me to step outside of my comfort zone. I had the opportunity to advocate for an amazing fundraiser at my school that provided chickens for deserving families in poverty from local farmers. Giving speeches in front of my own school was something I had been terrified of, but being bold ended up leading to a massive success. My school alone raised enough money to provide 30 chickens to families in need and I saw how important taking initiative could be for success.