When I first joined Scientific Adventures for Girls, I didn't realize how much of myself I saw in the girls I mentored. Growing up in a low-income and underrepresented community, I lacked access to STEM education and female role models, making it difficult to imagine myself in science. I wanted other girls from underprivileged areas to have the chance of experiencing science, even if they lacked access to that. As a mentor for over a year, I have the privilege of building long-lasting memories with over 30 elementary girls of color through weekly classes, hands-on activities, and one-on-one support. We explore STEM topics through experiments such as the connection between engineering and building gears through Legos, which is our spring 2026 focus. Many of the girls arrived unsure of their abilities, but with guidance, I watched them grow into confident learners who lead experiments with their friends, ask educational questions, and approach STEM challenges with curiosity. I realized how much having a helping hand for STEM education can inspire girls to see themselves in science. Last summer, I worked as a SAfG summer teaching assistant in Richmond, allowing me to provide STEM lessons to children and their families. I was able to educate over 20 families, engaging even the parents, who continued attending our weekly lessons after the first. My role at SAfG has allowed me to contribute to my family’s expenses, helping my mom with rent and groceries. My passion for STEM education comes down to my experiences of not having enough STEM teachers, female role models, and opportunities to grow in science. I continue every day knowing I get to have the privilege of fixing the STEM gender stigma, one student at a time. After transferring schools, I joined the ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) mentor program. Through ACE, I’ve engaged weekly with professionals in the engineering industry, learning technical skills, and taking on roles such as an inspector, giving me hands-on insight into the STEM field. Combined with my love of calculus and physics, these experiences have inspired me to pursue an education that challenges me to apply STEM concepts to real-world problems, such as astrophysics. From my experiences, I wanted to engage more deeply with my community through advocacy and empowerment. This inspired me to join the YWCA team as a spring intern on the admin and development team, where I am collaborating with students from UC Berkeley to engage with advocacy across Oakland and Berkeley. YWCA is an advocacy organization that works to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote justice through programs such as in-person events to encourage voter engagement. Starting in February 2026, I look forward to organizing programs that address social injustice in underrepresented communities. At YWCA, I am eager to learn how I can help support events and outreach to create meaningful and systemic change in my community. Similarly to my advocacy work, I take Saturdays every week at my local church’s food bank to sort out groceries to over 100 families. Through this work, I have learned the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and community-building by giving back to my community.

Time stopped as I stepped into my physics class, and everyone’s eyes seemed fixed on the large label on my face. It wasn’t as if I could remove this label; it was permanently affixed to me. I could feel everyone’s judgment toward my label, though it was all in my head. Without looking, I knew exactly what it said. When transferring to a new high school, I didn’t realize how much of my identity was tied to being Latina, as my previous high school consisted of more than half of the students sharing the same label as me. However, at my new school, no more than two people in all of my classes shared it. As a first-generation Latina, access to education has always been a barrier to exploring career paths. I originally wanted to be a surgeon in kindergarten after undergoing three cosmetic surgeries, but it wasn’t until 10th grade that I realized healthcare wasn’t in my future. Not only was I unable to afford over fifteen years of schooling, but I also strongly disliked biology. During 11th grade, I realized that the problem-solving and critical-thinking skills in math were what attracted me to pursue engineering and physics, after self-teaching myself calculus. From that point on, I knew math was in my future. However, I was still unsure whether I should pursue science until my senior physics class at a new high school. As the only Latina in both my Calculus and AP Physics C: Mechanics classes, I learned that a label does not represent me. As a Latina and a low-income, future college student, I have faced the struggle of limited access to STEM education due to the area I live in. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I enrolled in a career-pathway school as an engineering student after my previous school closed. Understanding the struggles of being a first-generation student, I didn’t want others to experience the same academic difficulties I had faced. This realization led me to serve as a mentor for low-income elementary school girls who aspire to pursue STEM. Through the organization Scientific Adventures for Girls, I provide year-round, one-on-one support for girls in underprivileged schools in Oakland. I serve as someone close to their age who is well-educated in STEM subjects such as physics and math. One meaningful example of my mentorship was my work with a student named Alejandra. Two things we shared were our Latino heritage and our vocal lisps. Through her, I found comfort in speaking publicly without shame, even though my lisp can be distracting and often causes me to mispronounce words like “realize.” With her, I helped build confidence in asking questions ranging from aerodynamics to simple explanations of engineering and nutrition. I continued this work as a summer teacher’s assistant, where I was able to inspire more children over a longer period of time. Through my struggles with this label, I refuse to let it stop me from pursuing higher education after high school. Although I haven’t been privileged enough to receive a strong STEM education myself, I am privileged enough to give back to my community and provide essential education, an effort I aim to continue statewide in college while majoring in a STEM field.