As a Syrian-American, my interests have landed me with one foot in the sciences and one in international relations. Seeing some scientists sacrifice ethics in their career, I feel convicted that we must tie morals into all STEM fields. Through this insistence, I came to be set upon a dream career that does exactly that. I am currently a rising senior undergraduate student majoring in chemistry and minoring in pharmacology. I selected this combination specifically to learn applicable knowledge about medicinal chemistry and toxicology. Two years of research focused on synthesis has jumpstarted my skills in drug development. I have forged a strong connection to international affairs by becoming a leader in a club at my university, SJU for Refugees & Migrants. Motivated by my ethnic background, I am passionate about narrowing the gap in chemical weapons exposure research while boosting awareness and discussions of chemical agents. My career goal is to contribute to the research of the long-term health impacts of chemical weapons exposure, including in low doses. The skills I have developed thus far through coursework, research, and extracurriculars all apply to understanding the impacts of chemical weapons. My current focus is completing my bachelor's degree in chemistry by May 2027. My father will generously contribute towards this year's total tuition of $10k, while my mother kindly covers my housing expenses of around $830 per month. For spending outside of tuition and housing, I calculated my budget to be $350 per month. I will be relying on work-study and summer work savings to get me through senior year. I plan to follow my budget closely to ensure I can afford textbooks and application fees for graduate school as I apply for Fall 2027 entry. The goal of chemical warfare exposure research is, as it sounds, extremely specific. To achieve it, I first plan to obtain a master's degree in pharmacology within the next 2-3 years. As I curate my applications, I am pursuing programs that include faculty interests in neuropharmacology and chemical agents, such as those at Rutgers and Northeastern. I estimate the cost of applying, including exam and application fees, to be around $500 total. I can shoulder this cost myself. I will be relying on student loans and scholarships to pay the estimated tuition of $35-45k per year. There may possible contributions from family, but nothing is guaranteed. I plan to ease my financial load by living with a family member during graduate school. Leaning on my experience in education and laboratory chemistry, I will search for a job in either field that will support my expenses while I complete my master's. After graduation, I aspire to complete an optional 2-3 year fellowship or a shorter-term internship to specialize my skills in synthesis and neurotoxicology. I will emerge as a prepared professional after completing the training. I then hope to secure a lab-based position focused on drug development. I am content with temporarily working in a field adjacent to chemical agents, as long as I am honing relevant skills. My job will supply me with the experience and practice necessary to move me towards approaching such a serious research goal under a specialized university lab or organization. I intend to maintain my personal connection with humanitarian crises throughout my professional career by volunteering my time for local organizations that serve refugees. My goal may not begin to materialize until deep into my professional career, but its personal significance motivates me for the long journey ahead.

When I started out as a chemistry major, at Saint Joseph’s, I had no clear direction yet besides liking chemistry. My first-year service learning opportunity helped me shape how I viewed my goals and purpose. Consistently working with the same individuals, every week, all year, allowed me the opportunity to witness growth and struggles. Specifically, I volunteered for an after-school program to give students social experiences and creative projects that did not fit into the school day. I returned to informal education the following summer when I started work as an outreach educator for a non-profit science museum in my hometown of Allentown, PA. Answering students’ what-ifs with “give it a try” allowed me to clearly identify why science attracts me so strongly: the ability to answer your own questions and collaborate with others. Outreach work showed me that confining science to scientists limits its impact. Interdisciplinary study is at the core of my learning and interests. I love chemistry, but I also seek out opportunities to learn history, engage with international affairs, and learn about others’ cultures. Saint Joe’s gives me the opening to delve into those passions through service learning and our campus ministry. I dedicate the greatest amount of my time to one of our newer clubs, SJU for Refugees and Migrants. As service liaison, I have helped expand our scope both on campus and into the community by collaborating with other clubs for events and organizing our first volunteer event off-campus. I felt our dedication grow as we began to have first-hand experiences with the causes we cared deeply for. I knew I would be most productive in a career where I could apply my chemistry knowledge and skills in a non-isolated environment focused on serving others. As I worked through chemistry courses in college, I found that organic chemistry and biochemistry especially clicked. I focus on these branches through organic synthesis research and toxicology coursework. Pharmacology and toxicology incorporate the concepts in chemistry that I find most fascinating and apply them to a biological context for a productive cause. Guided by service, I aspire to pursue a career as a research toxicologist to serve my passions positively. Through a career as a toxicologist, I hope to prioritize equity and public health in the application of my scientific background. My public health interest stems from health science courses where I had the opportunity to hear about the effects of under-researched psychoactive drugs on the illicit drug market in Philadelphia. I am taking steps towards developing my neurotoxicology knowledge by taking specialized courses with professors in the field. I intend to achieve a PhD in toxicology to contribute to filling in research gaps that exist due to stigma.

I volunteered as part of a first-year service-learning course sequence in my freshman year at Saint Joseph’s University. As part of a fall political science course and spring philosophy course, first-year students are matched up with organizations where 2-3 students are partnered to volunteer weekly for 3 hours. I volunteered at Southwark School in South Philadelphia for an after-school program called Puentes de Salud as an education volunteer. Puentes is an after-school program that specifically serves K-8 Spanish-speaking students. The program serves as a way for students to grow their social skills and have a creative outlet after a long school day. It also allows Spanish-speaking students to communicate in whatever language they prefer with the other students and with us teachers. Each week, my partner and I came in soon before dismissal. We worked in a tight office packed with other after-school programs with the same goal as Puentes but for other demographics. We gathered the kids after dismissal, allowing them time to play and eat snacks, before shifting to a classroom setting. I worked with a group of about 7 students who were all in 1st grade and 2nd grade. Most of my students preferred Spanish, so I utilized my 5 years of Spanish throughout college and high school to get comfortable communicating with them. As teachers, we assisted students with their creative activities. Activities included building the tallest possible tower from sticks and marshmallows, making instruments from simple materials, using recycled material to build a model of their town, and coloring flags of where their family is from. The creative activities tended to have a theme of building community pride and pride in the kids’ Hispanic background. My role was to support the kids in building their confidence in social skills and giving the students the individualized attention that they could not get during the school day when one teacher was responsible for almost 30 students. The volunteer experience exposed me to both the challenges and benefits of serving a diverse student population. I also learned about issues involving underfunding in Philadelphia public schools. My experience at Puentes was my longest consistent service experience. It revealed the importance of physically showing up and being present in your community to serve and learn. Grassroots efforts contribute to change just as much as top-down efforts, and neither can be optimally effective if employed alone. Leadership through service inspires volunteers to fully dedicate themselves to the experience of learning from those they serve and understanding needs straight from the mouths of the people who experience struggles. It connects volunteers not only to one another and to the served but also builds confidence and empathy within oneself. Leading through service shows the importance of reaching out and offering assistance rather than expecting people to ask for help before acting. Solidarity and understanding are incredibly important attributes of any human in today’s world as struggling is amplified through the internet and media. We must have compassion for one another to act when we realize struggles going on within our community.