“It’s only through the collective perspective we can make sense of the world around us” When I first heard this I didn’t quite understand all the pieces of this statement that needed to be unpacked. Initially I just thought it meant that everyone’s opinion mattered and that was it, but there was so much more wisdom in that sentence then I could imagine. For example, say there is an apple sitting on a table🍎, if I were to ask one person to describe the apple using one word I could receive an assortment of adjectives. Of those words there could be a description of the apple’s color, shape, size, etc and they would all be true but missing something. But if those words from others were compiled into a list then we could hope to get an accurate description of the scene at hand. Similarly to the apple, reality appears to be different to each and ever one of us, in searching for the very essence of reality we can find the truth by compiling the experiences and opinions of everyone living through it. This statement has truly taught me the significance of listening to those around me and valuing everyone’s opinion and viewpoint. Furthermore, it has truly sparked my curiosity and desire to meet new people with different experiences from my own to see if I can patch together the very thread that is the reality we live in.

I believe that the meaning of life is to learn, experience, and adjust. For example, the only way that I can define my existence, is through the collection of the perspectives of those around me. To some, I could appear quiet, to some loud, to some wise, and to others brash, but only when you consider everyone's perspective then you can glimpse at what the truth might be. Throughout life, we are changing, but somewhere in that passage of time, the true version of yourself existed and still does. In my opinion, the best way to seek out that version of yourself is to review and learn from all the different variations of yourself and adjust for the better. The meaning of life can be defined similarly, as compiling the knowledge of others and adjusting. It can be compared to an ensemble, we each have our expertise and place whether it be in the brass section, woodwind section, etc. Although it might not seem so, the 3rd chair is just as valuable as the 1st chair because we each come with our own purpose and talents. The meaning of life would be reading our music and performing it. We each come with our own individual stories and pages which would give the impression that we are isolated. But in playing our parts together we can then find a sense of meaning and personally I achieve it by playing my part in the piece. Even though at times I might feel out of place or alone, I know there is someone out there struggling alongside me. And on the off chance that they might faintly hear my counterpart and continue on playing along with me, I know I must continue on trying my best for the both of us.

To put it simply it is my passion, but it's much more complicated than that. Whether it be programming a fun little game or sitting behind the screen for over 5 hours for robotics, I enjoy every second. Whether it be the frustration I felt in 6th grade trying to understand it when everyone else at the summer camp thought it was easy. Or the time I didn’t back up the code and the computer crashed two days before a big competition. Through my triumphs and my failures, I have learned valuable information. When it comes to programming my personality shifts to confident and enthusiastic. It has shown me that failing is just as valuable as winning. I would try to integrate that passion into my involvement around campus along with pursuing computer science as a second major. Whether it be through tutoring, participating in a programming based club, Hackathons, or any other science-based clubs. Computer Programming has played a big role in my life for the past 6+ years. And will continue to play a large role in my life as I hope to be able to share my passion and further it in my quest for heightened knowledge and experience in the STEM field. I aspire to inspire others by becoming an example of what happens when you do not give up on things and when you dream big, to be able to show them failure is not the final stage. When I first started I was slower than my peers and didn't think I would ever be any good at programming or science in general. I remember the embarrassment I felt when every time we learned something new my screen would light up red with errors. I felt so out of place, but my mentor at the time looked at me and smiled. Six years later, as the head programmer for my school team, I still see him at robotics competitions, and I always pull my programming students aside. Gesturing over to my mentor, I whisper, "Look, that's the guy who made this all possible". I always wonder if he knows the huge impact he had on me, just from that kind gesture. This is what I would try to integrate I hope one day to be able to change someone's life just as my mentor did for me. I hope to inspire someone else and to have a lasting effect on their lives. Because that is what made me figure out what truly makes me feel alive. I can only hope to do the same and inspire others.

There is an ancient proverb that goes something like this,“Empty vessels make the most noise”. And it’s stuck with me to the point where I live by it. In the world of academics unfortunately there is a lot of unnecessary competition and boasting. As a way to keep my sanity and not hurt anyone’s pride, I simply repeat this phrase to myself, chuckle, and continue on. This phrase has helped me to remain grounded and humble in a world of ever changing and increasing knowledge. Humility is extremely important in moments like these because there is so much knowledge left to learn and if we assume we know it all because we know a small bit about a specific subject we will never move forward. Additionally the true meaning in my interpretation of the quote is similar to the quote about fools broadcasting their intelligence. This is mainly because they do not understand the true scope of things and believe themselves to be all knowing. But as I mentioned earlier we live in an ever changing world with new knowledge coming into view every day. So we might have relative intelligence but in comparison to whats left to learn we are all at a rudimentary level. In conclusion, I use this phrase as a guide to humility and to stay calm around the overly boastful. It helps me not to burst anyone’s bubble and allows me to keep myself in check. These simple 6 words perfectly incapsulate humility and the true scope of knowledge in our world, thus this quote is extremely powerful.

I plan to double major in computer science and biomedical engineering at washU. After getting my bachelors I plan to pursue a PhD/MD in biomedical engineering so I can continue to use expand my knowledge through STEM by conducting research along with treating for people as a doctor. The main goal as an engineer is to improve the quality of life by use of technology and this aligns perfectly with the goal of a doctor is sustaining, protecting, and improving the lives of their patients. I believe there is a powerful distiction and crossover between STEM and the medical field and for my future I plan to nurture that connection and improve the lives of others. My plan for achieving this dream starts with taking everything as training that goes towards a final goal. I will work both hard and smart and will try to make as straight shot a path as I can towards my goal. My main preparation is building perseverance and determination as that will carry me through this along with my passion for technology and life.

Technology and faith go hand in hand for me. It is a way to feel closer to the father in having just a glance at creating things. When I start on new projects I begin to feel more appreciation for the creator because just as projects seem to fail sometimes so do people and as easy as it would be to give up. He continues on and does not abandon us. Tech+ faith provides another perspective into the eyes of the father for me it also allows me to grasp a little more at how amazing and gracious he really is. It also shows the true unconditional love that a creator would have for their creation. Additionally, it proves that there must be a God out there because of how much work goes into something simple like making a number simulator or a game. We did not happen by chance and to be able to create things on a digital perspective provides just a taste of the brilliant the father must have to create the world. In conclusion, tech + faith work together for me to help expand my perspective of God and the world around us. It exemplifies the brilliance of the father and the love he holds for us as his creation.

Hello, my name is Brianna Duhart. I am an incoming freshman at Washington University in st. Louis. I plan to double major in biomedical engineering and computer science with the ultimate plan to pursue a Ph.D./MD so that I can conduct research along with being a member of the medical community. I am preparing myself to achieve this goal by challenging myself in both the little and big things. I try to take the hardest classes I can and put full force into everything I do so that I can continue to find my limits and expand from there. Whether it be something small like pushing myself to do something I don't want to do but I know will be beneficial, to something big like deciding where I want to spend the next 4 years of my life. I do it all keeping in mind whether it will help me towards positive progress or negative progress and from there I decide which choice to make. Another important thing that has helped me to prepare is slowly breaking down barriers. I'm used to people looking at me and assuming or deciding who I am based on my race and gender. But I have had to learn how to master the art of surprise. Even growing up I had people question my tests and one teacher even tried to fail me on a research report under the idea that I had to have cheated because "this work is too advanced". Coming into high school I had a couple of similar problems but I learned to overcome them and continue pushing. The best preparation for completing my goals is learning how to roll with the punches and master the art of surprise. In learning how to roll with the punches I changed my mentality from why me to what should I learn from this. Thus giving me the chance to observe more rather than react to the situation at hand. One thing specifically good about me is that I am a fighter. I took the ACT 5 times before scoring the 31 average I wanted. I never gave up because I knew it was something that I wanted to have and no matter how much I had to work I knew it would go towards my cause. Despite having a learning disability and being told to settle for a lower score I continued to push until I was able to achieve what I knew I was meant to get. Similarly, when I came in to join my high school's robotics team the mentor took one look at me and told me to join the marketing team (where all the other girls were), but I knew I wanted to program. I stuck it out with the programmers, fought through several incidents of “teammates” trying to take credit for my work and continued to push myself. Flash forward two years and I served as head programmer my junior and senior year. I now trust that mentor enough to do my college recommendations along with holding him as a good friend. In pushing myself to my limits and then pushing even more I have been able and will continue to prepare myself for my future. I hope that in my lifetime I not only help people but also inspire others to push themselves and ignore those who place limits on others as a means of control. I will continue to break barriers and change the thought process of those around me simply by trying my best and competing with myself. Thank you for your time.

Hello, my name is Brianna Duhart. I am an incoming freshman at Washington University in st. Louis. I plan to double major in biomedical engineering and computer science with the ultimate plan to pursue a Ph.D./MD so that I can conduct research along with being a member of the medical community. I am preparing myself to achieve this goal by challenging myself in both the little and big things. I try to take the hardest classes I can and put full force into everything I do so that I can continue to find my limits and expand from there. Whether it be something small like pushing myself to do something I don't want to do but I know will be beneficial, to something big like deciding where I want to spend the next 4 years of my life. I do it all keeping in mind whether it will help me towards positive progress or negative progress and from there I decide which choice to make. Another important thing that has helped me to prepare is slowly breaking down barriers. I'm used to people looking at me and assuming or deciding who I am based on my race and gender. But I have had to learn how to master the art of surprise. Even growing up I had people question my tests and one teacher even tried to fail me on a research report under the idea that I had to have cheated because "this work is too advanced". Coming into high school I had a couple of similar problems but I learned to overcome them and continue pushing. The best preparation for completing my goals is learning how to roll with the punches and master the art of surprise. In learning how to roll with the punches I changed my mentality from why me to what should I learn from this. Thus giving me the chance to observe more rather than react to the situation at hand. One thing specifically good about me is that I am a fighter. I took the ACT 5 times before scoring the 31 average I wanted. I never gave up because I knew it was something that I wanted to have and no matter how much I had to work I knew it would go towards my cause. When I came in to join my high school's robotics team the mentor took one look at me and told me to join the marketing team (where all the other girls were), but I knew I wanted to program. I stuck it out with the programmers and flash forward two years and I served as head programmer my junior and senior year. And I trust that mentor enough to do my college recommendations along with holding him as a good friend. In pushing myself to my limits and then pushing even more I have been able and will continue to prepare myself for my future. I hope that in my lifetime I not only help people but also inspire others to push themselves and ignore those who place limits on others as a means of control. I will continue to break barriers and change the thought process of those around me simply by trying my best and competing with myself. Thank you for your time.

Some ways I can address challenges that arise because of intersectionality in the workforce is by observing rather than reacting and then concocting a plan to spread awareness and act. The first step towards solving a problem is to observe the problem by asking certain targeted questions. Why is this a problem? Where does it come from? And what might be holding it in place? In finding the answers to these problems we can trace back the origin of a certain issue. In tracing back the origin we can figure out how it works and from there we can work on spreading awareness. Finally after spreading enough awareness then and only then will we have enough support to fully dismantle the problem not just as those affected by the problem but as a society. Things as small as posting information on social media with a petition linked could be a way of addressing those challenges. Providing a place of safety for women in the workforce where they can be taught coping skills and more useful information could also help turn the tide against the work gap. But overall the first step towards addressing such a challenge is acknowledging that it does exist and that we as a society need to do a better job at fixing it. Support groups, petitions, etc are all helpful but they don't help enough if enough awareness isn't spread. In mobilizing the support of many women from across the board we would have enough skills and information to be shared to form a community of women supporting women. As a teenager, something I can do is continue to be a helping hand to my peers along with using my social media platforms to raise awareness and rally support. I can also offer guidance to those younger than me by once again offering a helping hand or a listening ear. The hope is that the support will build up and rub off on others so we as women can decide to stick together and help each other out. These barriers can only be broken down one step at a time and it's really the little things that sometimes help the most. If I can offer words of encouragement or serve as a role model for someone then I would do so. We can address these challenges by continuing on and showing the world what girls are made of and that we are not to be underestimated. Along with supporting the philosophy that real women build up other women and from their we can only progress forward.

Hello, my name is Brianna Duhart. I am an incoming freshman at Washington University in st. Louis. I plan to double major in biomedical engineering and computer science with the ultimate plan to pursue a Ph.D./MD so that I can conduct research along with being a member of the medical community. I am preparing myself to achieve this goal by challenging myself in both the little and big things. I try to take the hardest classes I can and put full force into everything I do so that I can continue to find my limits and expand from there. Whether it be something small like pushing myself to do something I don't want to do but I know will be beneficial, to something big like deciding where I want to spend the next 4 years of my life. I do it all keeping in mind whether it will help me towards positive progress or negative progress and from there I decide which choice to make. Another important thing that has helped me to prepare is slowly breaking down barriers. I'm used to people looking at me and assuming or deciding who I am based on my race and gender. But I have had to learn how to master the art of surprise. Even growing up I had people question my tests and one teacher even tried to fail me on a research report under the idea that I had to have cheated because "this work is too advanced". Coming into high school I had a couple of similar problems but I learned to overcome them and continue pushing. The best preparation for completing my goals is learning how to roll with the punches and master the art of surprise. In learning how to roll with the punches I changed my mentality from why me to what should I learn from this. Thus giving me the chance to observe more rather than react to the situation at hand. One thing specifically good about me is that I am a fighter. I took the ACT 5 times before scoring the 31 average I wanted. I never gave up because I knew it was something that I wanted to have and no matter how much I had to work I knew it would go towards my cause. When I came in to join my high school's robotics team the mentor took one look at me and told me to join the marketing team (where all the other girls were), but I knew I wanted to program. I stuck it out with the programmers and flash forward two years and I served as head programmer my junior and senior year. And I trust that mentor enough to do my college recommendations along with holding him as a good friend. In pushing myself to my limits and then pushing even more I have been able and will continue to prepare myself for my future. I hope that in my lifetime I not only help people but also inspire others to push themselves and ignore those who place limits on others as a means of control. I will continue to break barriers and change the thought process of those around me simply by trying my best and competing with myself. Thank you for your time.

Hello, my name is Brianna Duhart. I am an incoming freshman at Washington University in st. Louis. I plan to double major in biomedical engineering and computer science with the ultimate plan to pursue a Ph.D./MD so that I can conduct research along with being a member of the medical community. I am preparing myself to achieve this goal by challenging myself in both the little and big things. I try to take the hardest classes I can and put full force into everything I do so that I can continue to find my limits and expand from there. Whether it be something small like pushing myself to do something I don't want to do but I know will be beneficial, to something big like deciding where I want to spend the next 4 years of my life. I do it all keeping in mind whether it will help me towards positive progress or negative progress and from there I decide which choice to make. Another important thing that has helped me to prepare is slowly breaking down barriers. I'm used to people looking at me and assuming or deciding who I am based on my race and gender. But I have had to learn how to master the art of surprise. Even growing up I had people question my tests and one teacher even tried to fail me on a research report under the idea that I had to have cheated because "this work is too advanced". Coming into high school I had a couple of similar problems but I learned to overcome them and continue pushing. The best preparation for completing my goals is learning how to roll with the punches and master the art of surprise. In learning how to roll with the punches I changed my mentality from why me to what should I learn from this. Thus giving me the chance to observe more rather than react to the situation at hand. One thing specifically good about me is that I am a fighter. I took the ACT 5 times before scoring the 31 average I wanted. I never gave up because I knew it was something that I wanted to have and no matter how much I had to work I knew it would go towards my cause. When I came in to join my high school's robotics team the mentor took one look at me and told me to join the marketing team (where all the other girls were), but I knew I wanted to program. I stuck it out with the programmers and flash forward two years and I served as head programmer my junior and senior year. And I trust that mentor enough to do my college recommendations along with holding him as a good friend. In pushing myself to my limits and then pushing even more I have been able and will continue to prepare myself for my future. I hope that in my lifetime I not only help people but also inspire others to push themselves and ignore those who place limits on others as a means of control. I will continue to break barriers and change the thought process of those around me simply by trying my best and competing with myself. Thank you for your time.

Something that drives me is my interest and curiosity towards programming. To put it simply it is my passion, but it's much more complicated than that. Whether it be programming a fun little game or sitting behind the screen for over 5 hours for robotics, I enjoy every second. Whether it be the frustration I felt in 6th grade trying to understand it when everyone else at the summer camp thought it was easy. Or the time I didn’t back up the code and the computer crashed two days before a big competition. Through my triumphs and my failures, I have learned valuable information. When it comes to programming my personality shifts to confident and enthusiastic. It has shown me that failing is just as valuable as winning. Computer Programming has played a big role in my life for the past 6+ years. And will continue to play a large role in my life as I hope to be able to share my passion and further it in my quest for heightened knowledge and experience. I aspire to inspire others by becoming an example of what happens when you do not give up on things and when you dream big, to be able to show them failure is not the final stage. When I first started I was slower than my peers and didn't think I would ever be any good at programming. I remember the embarrassment I felt when every time we learned something new my screen would light up red with errors. I felt so out of place, but my mentor at the time looked at me and smiled. Six years later, as the head programmer for my school team, I still see him at robotics competitions, and I always pull my programming students aside. Gesturing over to my mentor, I whisper, "Look, that's the guy who made this all possible". I always wonder if he knows the huge impact he had on me, just from that kind gesture. This is what inspires me, the hope one day to be able to change someone's life just as my mentor did for me. I hope to inspire someone else and to have a lasting effect on their lives. Because that is what made me figure out what truly makes me feel alive. I can only hope to do the same for others.