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Alexandria Lyden

2x

Finalist

1x

Winner

General information

US Citizenship
US Citizen

Hobbies & Interests

  • Dance
  • Writing
  • Art
  • Tutoring
  • Studying
  • STEM
  • Shopping And Thrifting
  • Reading
  • Mythology
  • Acting And Theater
  • Ballet
  • Biology
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Biotechnology
  • Candle Making
  • Coffee
  • Clarinet
  • Health Sciences
  • JROTC
  • Karaoke
  • Poetry
  • Self Care
  • Sleeping
  • Yoga
  • digital art
  • American Sign Language (ASL)
  • Astrology

Reading

  • Drama
  • Novels
  • Young Adult
  • Education
  • Fantasy
  • Humor
  • Magical Realism
  • Realistic Fiction
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction
  • Action
  • Thriller
  • Women's Fiction

I read books daily.

Bio

My name is Alexandria Lyden and I am a 22 year old first generation college student. I have recently graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor's degree in Genetics and a minor in psychology. Human genetics has interested me since my freshman year in high school. I find it fascinating that we can look at our genetic make up, predict diseases, and trace traits through a family tree. I feel as though genetics will help shape the future, and that is something I want to be a part of. My career goal is to become a genetic counselor. My mom told me about her experience with a genetic counselor when she was pregnant with my younger sibling and how that experience affected the rest of her pregnancy. I want to be able to help people and offer support and guidance to those who need it, and provide a good experience to patients. I also love reading and writing. One of my favorite things to do is write poetry, as it makes me very happy and allows for an outlet of my thoughts and feelings. Reading allows me to escape when I'm feeling sad or stressed, and I love being able to see the story play out in my head.

Education

University of New Hampshire-Main Campus

Bachelor's degree program

2022 – 2026

Majors:
  • Genetics
Minors:
  • Psychology, General

Quabbin Regional High School

High School

2018 – 2022

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Bachelor's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
University of South Carolina-Columbia, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Boston University School of Public Health, MGH Institute of Health Professions
Majors of interest:
Genetics
Medical school interest:
No

Career

  • Office Assistant

    Consumer Services · T.K. Lyden Electric & Generator

    Jan 2023 – Present

  • Server

    Restaurants · Friendly's

    Jan 2025 – Jan 2025

  • Student Representative

    Hospitality · UNH Admissions

    Jan 2023 – Jan 2026

  • Tutor

    Education · Knack Tutoring

    Jan 2023 – Jan 2026

  • Housekeeper

    Hospitality · Pine Acres

    Jan 2022 – Jan 2022

  • Dishwasher/Cashier/Server

    Restaurants · Becki's Bistro

    Jan 2019 – Jan 2021

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Genetics
Dream career goals:
Genetic Counselor
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Volunteering
Dickinson L. Howell Memorial Scholarship
Winner
As an upcoming senior genetics major, I have many different pathways that I could take once I graduate. However, my heart has been set on one career since I was a junior in high school. After graduation, my plan is to pursue a career as a genetic counselor. I have always had a love for genetics and a desire to help others, and I believe this career is the perfect opportunity to do both.
Bright Lights Scholarship
My future plans consist of earning my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees within the next 3 years. I am currently a genetics major with a psychology minor, and an incoming senior at the University of New Hampshire. This year, I will be completing my BS degree as well as applying to graduate school. My senior year will be a stressful year as I complete my degree, send in grad school applications, while also trying to line up a job for post graduation just in case I am not accepted into a grad program. There are a lot of big tasks ahead of me, but I feel prepared and ready to take them on. I plan on going to graduate school to earn a Masters in Genetic Counseling. My career goal is to be a genetic counselor, and this Masters program is going to be the next step in completing this goal. At this point, I have already chosen the 4 grad programs that I am going to apply to and I have started preparing my application materials. Once I am accepted into a program, I will be moving to that city and starting a new chapter of my life. After graduating with my Masters, I will go on to become a certified genetic counselor and join a practice. I want to help others when they are going through what usually is a difficult time in their lives. Having a family member who had a negative experience with a genetic counselor fueled my career goals. I want to make sure that patients don’t have the same experience that my mother did. Genetic counseling will be a fulfilling career for me and one that I know I will enjoy immensely. Winning this scholarship will help me attain my academic and career goals by allowing me to be able to pay for college and lessen the stress of trying to pay for school. I would be able to spend more time focusing on my academics and extracurriculars instead of trying to find ways to pay my school bill. I would be relieved of some of that stress and would be able to spend my time expanding my education instead of trying to find ways to pay for school. I also would not have to go into as much debt, as debt is the factor that is causing me the most amount of stress and hesitation when it comes to achieving my future plans.
Carla M. Champagne Memorial Scholarship
Volunteering in my community has been something I’ve done all throughout my high school experience, and is something I knew I wanted to continue doing throughout college. Volunteering in my small town in Massachusetts was more difficult than I anticipated and I felt like what I was doing wasn’t making a huge impact, even though I knew I was still helping the community. Now that I am in college, I have found a volunteer activity that has been very rewarding. I volunteer as a SHARPP Peer Advocate for the SHARPP Center for Interpersonal Violence Awareness, Prevention, and Advocacy on my campus. I staff a 24/hour hotline and provide advocacy and crisis intervention for survivors of recent, past, or attempted interpersonal violence (IPV). This includes offering information, tools, resources, and support to survivors. My new volunteer role has been so much more rewarding to me than anything I volunteered for in high school. I feel like I’m making a difference in people’s lives and like I am able to help them when they are going through the hardest (or one of the hardest) times in their lives. It brings me comfort knowing that even though bad things happen to people, that there are people like me who they can go to when they want to get help. I have learned many skills while in this role, such as QPR and suicide prevent. I have also developed skills too, such as communication, body language, and intent when speaking. These skills will continue to develop as I continue in my role as a Peer Advocate. I plan on staying in this role until I graduate college in 2026 as it is something that I really enjoy doing. I want to continue to help as many survivors as I can while I volunteer here. This upcoming summer, I plan to keep volunteering with the SHARPP Center, but I also plan on volunteering at another crisis center that is more local to my hometown. I will be able to continue to help people who need it, and this time it will be more than just survivors of interpersonal violence. This will allow me to develop and use new skills that will assist a brand new group of people. My goal through volunteering with these centers is to help people and to make a positive impact on their lives. One day when I am in my desired career, I will know that I have already made a difference and will have the confidence to continue doing so as a genetic counselor.
Wicked Fan Scholarship
When I was in the Fourth Grade, my mom took my younger sibling and I to go see Wicked on Broadway in New York City. Wicked became my obsession. I was on YouTube watching clips of the musical and listening to the soundtrack on repeat. As I got older, that obsession lessened but I have always had a spot in my heart for this show. Years later, I was seventeen and at my dance studio when my dance teacher told me we would be dancing to "One Short Day" from Wicked and that I would be dancing as Glinda and my best friend would be Elphaba. I was so excited to be taking on this role as Glinda is my favorite character and I knew that I could embody her in my dancing. My friends and I learned the dance but my dance teacher decided that something was missing from the number. She ended up deciding to add on a little bit of the song "For Good" and let my best friend and I have a small duet at the end of the dance. This meant a lot to me because my friend was graduating high school and would no longer be dancing with me anymore. Wicked has been a part of my life that has brought me both joy and sadness as the musical was a way I grew closer with my friends and family, but it was also a way that I got to say goodbye to my best friend. I am excited to see this beautiful musical take on a movie format and I can't wait to share this piece of myself with my friends and family again.
Bright Lights Scholarship
I am currently a genetics major at the University of New Hampshire and my ultimate career goal is to become a Genetic Counselor. I have always wanted to do something with the sciences because they fascinated me and comprehension comes easily. There’s always something new being discovered, new projects being worked on, and new technologies being made, and this excites me! Growing up, I was always trying to learn something. I would be outside inspecting dirt, playing with science kits to perform little experiments, and looking at slides on my older brother’s microscope. I fell in love with science because there were so many different things and aspects that it involved, but I wasn’t clear on what I wanted to do professionally until my Mom told me a story. When my Mom was pregnant with my younger sister, she went to see a genetic counselor because the doctors suspected that my sister had Down Syndrome. She had a terrible experience with them and it has had an impact on her entire life, especially when she was pregnant. I don’t want parents to have the experience that she did, I want them to have a good experience and receive the best care that is possible. I want to give those parents the support that they need and make sure that they have all of the information that I can give. My Mom’s experience along with my love for science made me realize that this STEM major, genetics, was something that I wanted to go to school for. I would be getting the best of both worlds, where I get to learn many different types of sciences as well as eventually get to help people with their own lives. I’m eager to not only discover and learn more about the world but also to be a part of helping to create the future of STEM and healthcare. Winning this scholarship will help me attain my academic and career goals by allowing me to be able to pay for college and lessen the stress of trying to pay for school. I would be able to spend more time focusing on my academics and extracurriculars instead of trying to find ways to pay my school bills. I would be relieved of some of that stress and would be able to spend my time expanding my education instead of trying to find ways to pay for school.
Bold.org x Forever 21 Scholarship + Giveaway
@lexielyden
Bold Speak Your Mind Scholarship
Speaking your mind is a hard thing to do, but it comes naturally to me. I am the kind of person who is not afraid to say what I am thinking. There is a fear that comes with it though; the fear that what you say is going to upset someone or result in trouble for yourself. This fear, while perfectly understandable, is what silences people from speaking their minds, just like it used to silence me. To keep myself from succumbing to this fear again, I remind myself of what it was like when my voice was not heard. Other people chose my path for me and I couldn't change anything in my life. This reminder sits in the back of my mind whenever I go to say something that might not want to be heard by others. Of course this does not include being rude or mean to others, but instead it is honesty and constructive criticism. The fear of being silenced once again helps me stay committed to speaking my mind.
Bold Financial Freedom Scholarship
When you get a weekly paycheck, save your hundreds, and stretch your tens throughout the week.
Alexandria Lyden Student Profile | Bold.org