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Fatou Kourouma

3x

Finalist

1x

Winner

General information

Age
21
Gender
Female

Hobbies & Interests

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Art
  • Piano
  • Dance
  • Guitar
  • Poetry
  • Travel And Tourism
  • Exercise And Fitness
  • Business And Entrepreneurship
  • Learning
  • Coding And Computer Science
  • Boxing
  • Foreign Languages
  • Coding and Computer Science
  • Rowing
  • Muay Thai
  • Martial Arts

Reading

  • Literary Fiction
  • Young Adult
  • Academic
  • Short Stories
  • African Literature

I read books daily.

Bio

I love three things: music, martial arts, and literature. These are my greatest passions that guide my daily objectives and future dreams. Martial Arts gives me the unshakable discipline and "warrior mindset" I need to overcome any obstacle that comes my way. Music effortlessly fills me with joy and appreciation for the world around me. Literature fulfills to my need to tell stories, following in the the footsteps of my storytelling heritage. My passions guide me to be the most motivated, fulfilled, and driven person I can be in my work. My love for music inspired Seventh, my mobile app that uses music to help teens with their mental wellness. My love for martial arts led to Jarabi Fitness, my activewear brand that uses traditional African Prints to encourage confidence in women working out. Embodying my storytelling heritage crafted The Farafina Tales, a middle-grade novel that follows a young girl as she saves her school with the help of a secret society of West African heroes to promote gender equality amongst young West Africans. Once I finish the rest of my high school experience at THINK Global School, a traveling high school with a completely project-based curriculum, I hope to use the drive instilled in me from my passions to break barriers as a black woman in biomedical engineering.

Education

Think Global School

High School

2020 – 2023

GPA4.0 GPA

Miscellaneous

Majors of interest:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other, Business/Managerial Economics
Medical school interest:
No

Career

  • Physician Shadowing Intern

    Medicine · Polyclinique Internationale Sainte Anne-Marie (PISAM)

    Jan 2021 – Jan 2021

  • Youth Advisory Board Member

    Mental Health Care · National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide

    Jan 2021 – Present

  • Executive Director & Lead Developer

    Technology · Seventh App

    Jan 2021 – Present

  • Executive Website Developer

    Computer Software · Justice For Society Magazine

    Jan 2021 – Present

  • CEO/Founder

    Apparel & Fashion · Jarabi Fitness

    Jan 2020 – Present

  • Editor

    Editor · Teen Health 101

    Jan 2021 – Present

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
Dream career goals:
Biomedical Engineer
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Advocacy
  • Politics
  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
  • Entrepreneurship
Gabriella Carter Music and Me Scholarship
“One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain,”. These are the first lyrics that sing through my mind whenever I’m asked why I love music. Trenchtown Rock was a song I discovered a bit later in my journey of listening, analyzing, and utterly enjoying Bob Marley’s music. The song stumbled upon one of my Spotify playlists a couple of years ago while jogging along tree-lined streets covered with fallen Autumn leaves. As soon as the first snare hit rang, the punchy reggae bassline, Bob Marley’s conviction as he sang the lyrics, and smooth harmonies of the backup singers enveloped my soul with a feeling of warmth. I had to stop jogging to let myself fully experience the feeling the song was giving me. I never felt anything quite like it, it was as if I needed to hear that exact song at that exact moment. In just a couple of sentences, Bob Marley explained my lifelong love for music. As I composed myself enough to jog again, it was as if the sun got a little brighter, the sky turned an even deeper blue, and the fallen leaves sparkled. Trenchtown Rock is so special to me because it helped me recognize the transformative qualities of music and inspired me to make music one of my greatest passions. Soon after listening to Trenchtown Rock, I started self-teaching the keyboard and guitar, self-studying AP Music Theory, and practicing songwriting almost every day. My dream is to one day have someone feel like my music has soothed their soul, the same way Trenchtown Rock did mine.
Future Leaders in Technology Scholarship - High School Award
Albeit the gender gap in STEM fields across the world is alarmingly high, the gap in Africa is particularly pronounced due to bias and discrimination, socio-environmental issues, negative attitudes towards STEM, and lack of opportunities. On the whole continent, women account for only 30% of researchers in all subject areas. According to UNESCO, even though an estimated 2.5 million new engineers and technicians are needed in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve key Millennium Development Goals, women account for only 7 to 12% of all engineering students. As a 16-year-old growing up between the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, I can see the contributing factors for the lack of African women in STEM all around me through ideologies of traditional gender roles and lack of spaces for women to learn about STEM fields. But that doesn’t deter me from my passion for programming. I’ve always loved critical thinking, problem-solving, and being creative. Programming allows me to combine all those key skills in an engaging way. My passion for programming is the reason why I hope to pursue a career in Computer Science and eventually create a non-profit to help African girls in my community learn how to program to help close the STEM gender gap in Africa. As the Director-General of UNESCO, Irian Bokova once said, "No country today can afford to leave aside 50 % of its creative genius, 50 % of its innovation, 50 % of its economic drivers. This is why gender equality in [STEM] is so important”. By creating a dedicated space for girls to learn programming and providing access to career opportunities, I hope I can make an actionable change within my community to eventually make all of Africa more technologically creative, innovative, and economically stable. Using my drive for programming and change, I truly believe that I can accomplish this ambitious dream and create an everlasting impact on my community.
Fatou Kourouma Student Profile | Bold.org