My great-grandfather was a farmer from a rural town who was just barely able to make ends meet. His son, my grandfather, was able to make enough money to support his family by joining the navy until he died overseas. My dad was the first person in his entire family to be able to attend college. He diligently studied throughout high school and college and graduated with a degree in computer science. Watching him be able to succeed due to that experience has taught me just how valuable an education really is. This, as well as my love of learning, has motivated me to work hard in school and in my extracurricular activities. I’m lucky to say my family’s hard work has both made it possible for me to pursue my passions in college and inspired me to push for any opportunities presented to me. To me, a legacy does not have to be the work of just one person. The legacy of a family is equally valuable. It is also continuously evolving, for better or for worse. I hope to honor the work that my family has done and continue building on the legacy that they began. In the future, I want to pursue a career in pharmaceutical biochemistry, developing new clinical drugs to help cure diseases. I want to leave a legacy that will have a positive impact on future generations. I want to leave a legacy that my great-grandfather would be proud of; one that would make all of my family’s hard work worth it. However, as this pandemic and my family history have taught me, it’s important to expect the unexpected. I realize that my plans may change and that I may fail. But the great thing about a family legacy, unlike personal legacies, is that it isn’t set in stone. We can keep building off of the successes of our ancestors, and can always be prepared to try again. I’d like to think that we, as a family, are slowly climbing up the ladder and leaving a legacy of dedicated, kind, and adaptable people.

The pandemic will likely have long-lasting effects, long after the virus is contained and we can live life relatively normally. These effects will be seen across different areas of life, professional fields, and social classes. However, I believe that the area that it will most impact is the public’s perception of healthcare and preventative measures. This may seem like an obvious answer, but I believe we will see really significant changes in how people think about the treatment and prevention of illnesses post-pandemic. Before the pandemic, on a visit to my family in Japan, I was surprised to find out that it was common courtesy to wear a mask there when you were sick. I didn’t give it much thought at the time, but now looking back I realize that the sick people wearing those masks likely prevented a lot of other people from getting sick, and could have also prevented outbreaks in small communities like schools. I think that a similar culture will evolve in the United States and other major countries as well. Now that we’ve seen the good that preventative measures like masks and staying home can do, I think that people are more likely to take sickness seriously and do their part to keep the community as a whole healthy. Overall, I believe that people will shift their perception of health as a concept; rather than being something strictly personal, it will become a community effort to keep everyone alive and well.

STEM occupations will be incredibly important in helping people adjust to a post-pandemic world. Biologists and virus experts will be able to tell us what we know about the virus and inform leaders on what precautions are still necessary as vaccines roll out and we transition back to a non-socially-distanced world. Mathematicians, particularly statisticians, will be helpful in examining data around coronavirus cases in order to give us a better picture of what is working and what isn’t. After vaccines are properly distributed, we’ll still likely look to medical professionals in STEM to guide us on disease protocols and help us adapt to our changed lives. Between the job losses, deaths, and isolation that people experienced, this pandemic has been traumatic for many people. Psychologists and psychiatrists will be useful in helping people process this trauma so that they can thrive in the newly-changed world. In conclusion, people working in STEM fields of all kinds will not only be helpful, but more necessary than ever in a post-pandemic society.

This fall, I'm planning to pursue a degree in biochemistry. I’ve always loved biology, from the time I colored my first cell diagram in elementary school to dissections in AP Biology, but during my time in high school, I’ve developed a deep passion for chemistry as well. I enjoy learning about the complex chemical reactions that go into phenomena that we barely even think about, like breathing or feeling pain, as well as the creativity that goes into research and experiment projects. Although I love biochemistry, there are not very many research opportunities or people who share my interests in the rural communities I’ve grown up in. This is part of the reason why studying biochemistry in college would mean so much to me. I would get to learn from and work with students and professors who share my interest in science. This degree will allow me to develop my skills in research and biochemical testing, as well as enhance my knowledge of the field of biochemistry. After graduating, I hope to use my degree to pursue a career in pharmaceuticals as a biochemist. I've always been fascinated by the way medicine interacts with our bodies, so I’d love to be able to research new medicines or study genetic mutations that could be helpful in curing diseases.