It is thanks to the environmental management classes in high school my interest in eco-biology and agriculture truly began to spark. I was able to work alongside professionals like Dr. Francisco Correia, head biologist of the Natural Heritage Conservation Institute (ICNF), whilst researching biodiversity in Sintra for a school project. I worked hands-on, collecting data and documenting specimens within the area. After graduating, I worked on a permaculture farm which further blossomed my passion for the environment. I worked on fields, gardens, and greenhouses with people from all over Europe, learned how to live sustainably, and think resourcefully. My academic goal is to study at UC Davis for the Sustainable Agriculture course. I would like to pursue an Agronomy Master’s degree as well. My career goal is to be a consultant and work alongside farmers to implement more sustainable ways to produce food while increasing yield and decreasing waste and chemical usage. My dream would be to work with schools to educate youth about food production and quality and create local food sources near schools or disadvantaged communities. In the future, I would like to be an agricultural educator. I want to popularize permaculture ideals in modern urban cities and rural areas. I want more people to have access to and support local farmer’s markets. I want cities to create more local gardens and greenhouses and use them to educate the youth on how to grow food. I believe I can make a bigger impact once I’ve attended the University of California, Davis. I want to make my family and my community proud by giving them the opportunity to always have access to better, more earth-friendly, and sustainable food━ because I believe, food is something that should unite us all.

Nowadays, few people truly understand how most of their food is produced, and even fewer comprehend how industrial agriculture is degrading our environment. Chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are draining the biodiversity from our soils. Harmful chemicals within our foods are harming our future generations. Fertilizers are destroying surrounding ecosystems. I could go on for hours with what's wrong with our food production system, which is why I am passionate about making a change in the manner in which we make food and the way we think about it. I believe it is important for people to connect with their planet through their food. It is important to me that people of all ages understand how our food is produced, where it comes from, and how it is sickening our planet. My goal is to become a sustainability consultant for major industrial farming companies and an agricultural educator for schools. I strive to learn more about sustainable agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis. I want to impact my environment by finding better ways to produce better food without the expense of endangering our delicate ecosystems and ourselves. I want to popularize permaculture ideals in modern urban cities and rural areas. I want farming to be seen as a possibility for everyone. I want to inspire change in the way people think about food and how it is produced. I want cities to create more gardens and greenhouses and use them for education. I want consumers to have a voice and shape their supermarkets. And most importantly, I want people to connect with their planet through their food.

There’s hidden magic within Sintra. You can feel it the moment you enter the thick mist blanketing the mountainside and inhale the scent of pine trees and rich earth. You can see it in every speck of color emerging from the damp forest floor and hear it in the songs of the birds. Sintra is a forested mountain terrain in Portugal with fairytale-like castles planted on its peaks. It faces the harsh Atlantic ocean and harbors unique biodiversity. Growing up in Portugal, I had the privilege of being raised near Sintra where I developed my fascination for nature and interest in environmental science. It is thanks to my environmental management classes in secondary school my interests truly began to spark. I was able to work alongside professionals whilst researching biodiversity in Sintra for a school project. I worked hands-on, collecting data, and documenting specimens within the area. After graduating, I worked on a permaculture farm which further blossomed my passion for the environment. I worked on fields, gardens, and greenhouses with people from all over Europe, learned how to live sustainably, and think resourcefully. After that, I continued my journey by traveling with a film editor for a wine magazine and learned about the process of producing wine industrially and biodynamically in the Iberian Peninsula. Since returning to California, I’ve continued to pursue this interest academically at Santa Monica College. I have earned my associate’s degree. In their SustainableWorks program I learned more about urban sustainable living and made connections with like-minded people. Even while volunteering for beach clean-ups and maintaining community gardens I was able to make friends. Nowadays, few people truly understand how most of their food is produced, and even fewer comprehend how industrial agriculture is degrading our environment. Chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are draining the biodiversity from our soils. Harmful chemicals within our foods are harming our future generations. Fertilizers are destroying surrounding ecosystems. I could go on for hours with what's wrong with our food production system, which is why I am passionate about making a change in the manner in which we make food and the way we think about it. I believe it is important for people to connect with their planet through their food. It is important to me that people of all ages understand how our food is produced, where it comes from, and how it is sickening our planet. My goal is to become a sustainability consultant for major industrial farming companies and an agricultural educator for schools. I strive to learn more about sustainable agriculture and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis. I want to impact my environment by finding better ways to produce better food without the expense of endangering our delicate ecosystems and ourselves. I want to popularize permaculture ideals in modern urban cities and rural areas. I want farming to be seen as a possibility for everyone. I want to inspire change in the way people think about food and how it is produced. I want cities to create more gardens and greenhouses and use them for education. I want consumers to have a voice and shape their supermarkets. And most importantly, I want people to connect with their planet through their food. My whole life, I have been surrounded by nature and I have tailored my life experiences so it remains this way. My passion for food and care for the environment has led me to pursue a course in sustainable agriculture. After so much traveling and experiencing, I am confident I am ready to take my courses head-on at UC Davis.

My whole life I have been involved and surrounded by Nature. Since I was a young girl, I was told that the planet was in danger and although it terrified me, it also sparked a fervent curiosity that fed my love for science. I have always been fond of science from a young age with a tremendous affinity towards biology and environmental sciences. My goal in life is to be a consultant and educator for sustainable agricultural practices. I believe the best way for people to learn is through food. If you can have someone understand where and how their food is produced, then they will come to care more about how their planet is being treated. I want farming to be seen as a possibility for everyone. I want to inspire change in the way people think about food and how it is produced. And most importantly, I want people to connect with their planet through their food. I believe I can make a bigger impact once I’ve attended the University of California, Davis. I want to make my family and my community proud by giving them the opportunity to always have access to better, more earth-friendly, and sustainable food━ because I believe, food is something that should unite us all.

I don't think my life would have been the same without having discovered two wonderful scientists: Barbara McClintock and Jennifer Doudna. It is thanks to McClintock's scientific feats I developed such an enormous fascination with genetics, which then lead me to learn about Doudna's discovery of CRISPR! Even though I am not pursuing genetic engineering as a major, these wonderful women lead me to learn about the beneficial influence science can have on our agriculture and food. I have them to thank for helping my find my own major: agriculture.

I never realized how many problems existed within our supermarkets growing up until I took an environmental science class in college. My teacher lit a spark of curiosity in her classroom that encouraged all of us to research what we buy and what we put in our bodies. I discovered that most staple brands on our supermarket shelves like Cheerios, Oreos, and even regular almonds, were chalk full of harmful chemicals. These unlabeled chemicals known as glyphosates not only damage our ecosystem but harm our own health as well. Further research led me to learn that most of our exotic fruits, such as bananas, pineapples, and mangos, are all imported from other countries miles away. This transportation not only consumes enormous amounts of fuel and energy, but a large portion of our produce gets thrown out from bruising or imperfections deemed unworthy to present to consumers. I was shocked to realize simple condiments like ketchup contain several unnatural ingredients in them when all it really should be is tomatoes, salt and vinegar. What astounded me the most is when I learned about palm oil. At least half of the products in our pantry contain palm oil. This ingredient directly affects endangered animals like the orangutan by promoting deforestation in tropical countries to make room for palm plantations. I cannot help but walk into my local supermarket and feel anxious, upset, and down right sad━ not only for our health, but our planet as well. I believe the guise of convenience is concealing a very corrupt and unjust food system, which has made most supermarket consumers unaware of the reality they are contributing to. The change I want to see is one where people are more educated on their food choices. I want people to be more knowledgeable on how our food is produced, where it comes from, and the importance of quality. I want consumers to have a voice and shape their supermarkets and not vice versa. I want to live in a future where community gardens are the norm and people have the capacity to grow their food and not rely solely on supermarkets. I strongly believe that more of our food should be sourced locally. My goal is to become a sustainability consultant and agricultural educator. I want to popularize permaculture ideals in modern urban cities and rural areas. I want more people to have access and support local farmer’s markets. I want cities to create more local gardens and greenhouses and use them to educate the youth on how to grow food. I act locally by sharing local gardens and talking to my community. In college, I enjoy spending my time at gardening clubs and taking part in our sustainability programs. Before COVID, I planned on becoming one of the educational speakers for the sustainability club. Throughout my academic journey, I have always tried my best to spread awareness through visual presentations. I have done presentations on pollinator decline and on glyphosate presence in food. I try to support my local farmer’s market by sourcing most of my produce there. And most importantly, I talk to my friends and family. I believe I can make a bigger impact once I’ve attended University of California, Davis. I want to make my family and my community proud by giving them the opportunity to always have access to better, more earth-friendly, and sustainable food━ because I believe, food is something that should unite us all.

Born from dried-out markers, crumpled newspaper, green glitter, and glue, I proudly presented my parents with my finest piece of work yet: a drawing of a flying horse. Regardless of its uncanny resemblance to a giant peanut with two dark voids for eyes, my parent’s feigned compliments on my masterpiece encouraged me to continue this creative endeavor. Thus, promoting my journey in honing my skills as an artist. I would say my most notable skill is my ability to draw and paint. It is something that has become ingrained with my identity as I have been teaching myself how to draw from a young age. My dedication and initiative have only increased my desire for improvement. To improve I have experimented with several different artistic mediums, such as clay sculpting, watercolors, acrylics, gouache, wood carving, 2D animation, and 3D modeling. Thus far, my favorite medium to create with is digital software like Photoshop. It brought out a more bold and experimental part of me. I learned Photoshop and other software in a matter of weeks. I began posting my work on social media to track my progress. In more recent time, I have been using Youtube as an educational platform to improve my artistic skills as it is free and several incredible industry artists teach there. When I feel I need more practice studying forms and anatomy, I like to take the time to sculpt it with oil-based clay. I always found it amusing when people would comment on my so-called talent. In reality, it is an accumulation of years of hard work and dedication. It has allowed me to carry an imaginative and curious mindset towards life. I have become someone who is self-motivated and takes initiative.

Growing up near the pastoral regions of Portugal, I procured an unusual fascination for chickens. Not only did they make loving pets, but they were the easiest and most efficient livestock to have in one’s household. Anyone could raise them! Who wouldn't want fresh eggs every day? For months, I tried to convince my parents to consider keeping some━ Until one day, whilst researching, I stumbled upon a certain video labeled permaculture chickens. “Permaculture?” I thought, “What a strange word.” I clicked the video and a whole new world was opened to me. I spent days on an educational marathon learning about the world of biodynamic sustainable living and agricultural coexistence with Nature. This prompted me to seek out volunteer work at a permaculture farm in Portugal. After spending two weeks there, my seventeen-year-old self decided this was going to be my career. A video about chickens has led me to what I want to do in life. From a young age, I was told that the planet was in peril. That humans needed to make changes to save their home. Although it was a terrifying message for a young girl to learn, it sparked a fervent curiosity that fed my love for science. I was always fond of science growing up with a tremendous affinity towards biology and environmental sciences. I enjoyed my classes and would go over and beyond to learn more. I even invited the head biologist of the Natural Heritage Conservation Institute to my school and would create presentations to raise awareness on pollinator decline. In loving science, I naturally adopted an interest in technology and built my own computer where I paint digitally. I had the privilege of living in three different countries throughout my life: Spain, Portugal, and the United States, my birthplace. I learned to appreciate their different cuisines and how integrated it was with their society, culture, and even religion. I found it intriguing how each one was well-influenced by their agricultural practices. I realized then that food not only affected our physical health but our mental health as well. I strive to learn more about sustainable agriculture and Environmental Sciences. I want to impact my planet by finding better ways to produce better food without the expense of endangering our delicate ecosystems and ourselves. My dream is to become a consultant for major industrial farming companies and incorporate more sustainable farming methods for the long run. I want to be an educator and demonstrate the importance of knowing where your food comes from. I want farming to be seen as a possibility for everyone. I want to inspire change in the way people think about food and how it is produced. And most importantly, I want people to connect with their planet through their food. STEAM fields interest me because they connect us to the world around us. These rapidly developing areas help humanity achieve greatness and give people hope for better futures. I want to be part of that future and I plan to do it through your food.