My dad possesses a kind of magic. He juggles the demands of raising four kids while tackling my notoriously picky eating habits with the skill of a sorcerer. His enchanting abilities have led me to embrace a dish that many find unconventional: dinuguan. My father cleverly dubbed it “chocolate soup,” a name that immediately piqued my interest and coaxed me into trying it. In truth, dinuguan is a rich, dark brown soup resembling melted chocolate, but it’s made from pig’s blood combined with tender morsels of pork. To me, dinuguan feels akin to aerospace engineering. I used to be terrified of heights, dreading anything taller than three floors or an escalator. This fear was vanquished the first time I flew on an airplane. The smooth takeoff was so reassuring that it dispelled my anxieties. This transformative experience sparked a fascination with how such aircraft could alleviate my fears. I spent countless nights delving into the careers of aerospace engineers, drawn to the interplay of physics and mathematics that define their work. The idea of creating something as complex as an airplane, capable of transforming human experience, was intoxicating. It was like discovering a “sweet” career path that I could savor daily. However, I soon realized that engineering involves substantial trial and error. Developing safe, efficient aircraft requires immense effort, perseverance, and a lot of problem-solving. This effort is similar to understanding the essence of dinuguan: beneath its unique appearance lies a process requiring dedication and precision. My goal is to ensure that passengers on the planes I design feel as at ease as I did on my first flight. My passion for aerospace innovation drives me to turn these dreams into reality, just as my father’s inventive spirit led me to appreciate dinuguan. Dinuguan is delightful on its own, but it reaches its full potential when served over a steaming mound of white jasmine rice. The rice forms a perfect base, allowing the dish to meld together harmoniously and make each bite irresistible. This combination mirrors my love for music. I have always enjoyed playing the piano and violin, focusing on the nuances of dynamics and key changes that can profoundly affect the mood of a piece. This sensitivity to musical details has heightened my awareness of others’ experiences and emotions. Understanding these subtleties has significant implications for my future in aerospace engineering. Just as a small adjustment in music can shift the emotional atmosphere, minor modifications in aircraft design can significantly impact passenger comfort. My attention to detail, honed through music, will help me create environments where passengers feel comfortable and cared for, enhancing their overall experience. Now, back to the food. Dinuguan (“chocolate soup”) may seem like an interesting dish, until you hear of its contents, but once you mix it with the steaming foundation of white jasmine rice I find that this clashing of both worlds that I have come to love has only made me more interested in both of them separately, but also their intersections. I have been able to discover this during my time interning. While interning, I was able to view the design process from the view of an engineer, but also think in the way of a consumer who may want to buy an aircraft, as well as the point of view of a potential passenger. Not only trying to be cost-effective and pristine with the design, but also ensuring that the aircraft is visually appealing inside and out. There is an art behind all of the science, and I think I just cracked it with some dinuguan!

Calculus is an integral aspect of every STEM discipline due to its versatile application and critical role in modeling complex and dynamic systems. Many foundational concepts in STEM fields are built upon calculus, such as the laws of motion or thermodynamics, proving it as core to STEM. Furthermore, it should be noted that calculus was created out of necessity to progress STEM as a whole. Calculus provides the language and tools to describe change and motion in a precise mathematical framework. This is calculus’s role across all STEM fields. In physics, calculus is essential for describing the motion of objects, the flow of fluids, and the behavior of waves and electromagnetic fields. Without calculus, the foundational theories of modern physics would lack the mathematical basis needed for accurate prediction and experimental validation. Engineers use calculus in a practical manner to analyze stresses in materials and model the behavior of electrical and mechanical systems. Whether designing a bridge, creating new technology, or optimizing processes, engineers rely on calculus to ensure the reliability, efficiency, and safety of their creations. In biology and chemistry, calculus enables scientists to model dynamic processes at various scales. Biologists use calculus to study population dynamics, model disease spread, and understand interactions within ecosystems. In molecular biology, calculus models genetic inheritance patterns and simulates interactions between molecules within cells. Meanwhile, chemists apply calculus to describe the rates of chemical reactions and optimize reaction. To further highlight why calculus is important in the STEM field, the history of the invention of calculus must be discussed. Isaac Newton invented calculus because he needed to create a mathematical framework to describe how things change over time. During his era, traditional math could not handle situations where things must change smoothly and continuously. Thus, it led to his creation of Newtonian Calculus, being able to create rates of change of one thing in relation to another. Only via calculus was he able to develop the laws of motion and the theory of gravity, foundational to Physics as a whole. In parallel and independently of Newton, a German mathematician named Gottfried Leibniz also developed a form of calculus. Whereas Newton needed to describe rates of change, Leibniz was concerned with developing a way to work with shapes and curves in equations. Thus, to do so, he created symbols and notation that made it easy to create and then solve equations that involve variables that continuously change, with this becoming the version of calculus used in modern day. Even in the recent past, there have been inventions of calculus from those who did not learn it. In 1994, a medical researcher named Dr. Tai created a paper discovering a way to estimate an area under a graph, calling it Tai’s Model. Unfortunately, the paper was just a rediscovery of the trapezoidal rule, a method to estimate area under a curve discovered by calculus centuries before. The fact that someone found calculus so necessary as to reinvent it, so much so that the paper now has 553 citations per Google Scholar, only cements the importance of calculus in STEM fields. Calculus is not only a tool to measure dynamics but also a fundamental pillar that supports all of STEM. Its applications range from understanding the fundamental laws of nature to driving technological advancements. As STEM continues to evolve, calculus remains core to its growth, assisting in human knowledge broadening as a whole.

Upon hearing the doorbell at approximately eight in the morning, I rushed downstairs as I did after every night that my mom worked. My reason for rushing was to bombard my mom with questions about her long nights in the hospital. Hearing about the various patients my mom helped and met never ceased to spark my interest. Through the frequent story times and taking various courses from anatomy and physiology to biotechnology, my fascination for the medical field heightened, more specifically neuroscience. With my interests in neuroscience growing each second, I reached out to anyone who could give me any information or advice in the various jobs of neuroscience. Listening to their journeys inspires me to later on take part in this road to discovery, as soon as I receive the needed education and experience of course. After speaking with all of these highly experienced individuals and my trials and errors of my STEM-related endeavors, I realized that to truly flourish in my intended career I need to learn how to truly communicate with a patient to help them with the best of my abilities. Misdiagnosis is, sadly, a common occurrence in the medical field, partially due to gaps in the data-gathering processes from the patient. To fill in this gap, individuals should strive to become more experienced in interviewing patients to receive a better understanding of a patient’s medical history, which is why I decided to volunteer at hospitals such as Emory Hospital - Decatur, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, and Our Lady of the Lakes in Baton Rouge. Through these volunteering experiences, I have had the pleasure of speaking with various people that both contribute to providing care to patients, as well as the patients themselves. I have had the chance to get a perspective from both sides of the healthcare field, helping me become more adept in patient communication and care. The experience that I have gained through volunteering has helped me attain the skills and basic knowledge that is related to my interests and future career goals. I strive to become a neurologist who sparks a change in my future patients' lives, helping those with various neurological diseases and disorders. While I know these achievements will not come easily, the experience I have received through my past volunteering experiences, as well as my current and upcoming experiences will be indispensable on the road to gaining my achievements. Completing various duties such as speaking to patients about their condition and physical health, crocheting and sewing stuffed animals for children battling cancer, going on rounds with the doctors and healthcare professionals, and even greeting patients and family members at the Welcome Center, has helped to solidify this passion that I hold dear in my heart. The guidance that the remarkable mentors that I have had the blessing to meet and talk to have made me even more motivated to experience the trials and tribulations that may come throughout the duration of my education and training to becoming a neurologist. I have been able to gain indispensable insight that will help me in the years to come. Through my continuous love for volunteering, I will be able to hone the skills, lessons, and passion that I have, to be able to contribute to the STEM community in my own fashion. In the future, I will be able to support patients, families, and communities through my various volunteering experiences and my future endeavors in the medical field.

The rumbling of my stomach acted as a blowhorn, signaling my body to get up from my friend’s bed and walk over to her pantry in hopes of finding a snack that could fill my stomach. I hoped to find foods that were common staples of a Filipino household. Instead of having the navy blue container of Sky Flakes, they had the light blue box of Premium's Original Saltine Crackers. I then searched for the barbeque or cheese flavors of Clover Chips, but instead they had both the cool ranch and nacho cheese flavors of Doritos. This was a common occurrence during the sleepovers I went to when I lived in the small Greenwood County of South Carolina, where there was a tight-knit community of Filipino Americans that I grew to call my pamilya. While I had all of these friends whose families came from the same country, it felt as though I was the only one with a firm grasp on my culture. It felt as though the biggest barrier for Filipinos in America, was the assimilation that came with immigrating. It was almost Christmas time and I wanted to bring back the culture that my friends never knew. I didn't want Filipino traditions to die out just because of assimilation. I told all of their parents that I wanted to present our culture and traditions in the annual Christmas parade and they realized how little their children were exposed to Filipino culture. In attempts, to make up for the lost time, they were happy to help me. For the parade float, we decided that it should be the exterior of a Filipino home during Christmas. The wooden exterior was decorated with paróls, which are star-shaped lamps composed of bamboo strips and a candle or artificial light, and were used to help light the dark path that Filipinos would walk coming from late night masses. While the parents were building the float, I took it upon myself to immerse my friends in traditional Filipino dances. After watching multiple videos, we ultimately decided to dance the Tinikling. After many trips and falls, we were finally able to jump and dance to the tapping and sliding of the bamboo poles on the floor, perfectly in sync with the rondalla music booming in our ears as we laughed. While we didn't end up winning the parade, this experience led to my friends taking back parts of the culture that they lost, which is more than I could ever ask for. From this experience, I aim to bring back what was lost among the many Filipino women who immigrated to the United States, their culture. Not only will this strengthen the bond and culture among Filipinos, but also bring more light into many other issues that Filipino women face in the Philippines. Filipino women are not able have the same access to proper menstrual products and healthcare due to not having the means to travel or pay for a hospital visit. As of right now, I am helping with this issue through my internship with ABC's for Global Health, an organization that is aiming to help marginalized communities in the Philippines receive adequate healthcare. I hope that my involvement and other future plans will continue to help the community of Filipino women flourish, since after all, they are my pamilya at heart.

In art there is a technique called underpainting, a layer of paint that serves as a base for artists to depict their art on top of. It is the foundation of an artist’s masterpiece, a layer that makes it whole. While an underpainting is monochromatic, it contains essential contrasting shades that allow the visible layers of the painting to have more depth and dimension, shaping the painting to what it will ultimately become. Contrast is the juxtaposition of art and inadvertently, life. It is the light and the dark. The beauty and the chaos. The contrast in my personal experiences compared to what others know about me is what fabricates the various dimensions of my painting. However, only a few people know about my origins and strife. To those few, I am the rock that my family leans on. From the minute I stepped onto U.S. soil after a long flight from the Philippines, I was given the job of caring for my future siblings and grandparents who would later immigrate to the U.S. With all of these responsibilities, I have had to grow up fast to be able to manage the weight. I had to quickly learn how to communicate in this new foreign language to help my parents build a foundation, onto which we could stand on our own. The pressure of being depended on by the people I love the most has led me to be convinced that showing no weakness and only the accomplished parts of me is the only option. However, choosing this option has ultimately led me to appear as some robot-like persona that spits out high test scores and achievements. I believed that only presenting these efforts that brightened my painting was far more impressive than those made in my underpainting. In my underpainting I am also a devoted Christian, whose faith has acted as a shoulder for me to lean on during the many ups and downs of life. I am an artist, who fabricates paintings of acrylic paint and colored pencils to use them as catharsis. I am a giver, who gives my all to help my family and others around me. I am a pianist, who enjoys portraying her emotions into the famous nocturnes of Frédéric Chopin. I am an endless learner, who has an infinite appetite for knowledge. I hold the passion for helping others through my future work in the field of neuroscience. The thought of bringing current technology, treatments, and research a step further, to have more accessible, efficient, and safe treatments for neurological diseases and disorders, for those of multiple backgrounds is my drive that pushes me to consistently improve. Beyond all of the seriousness about school and my future, I have various passions and beliefs that transform my seemingly two-dimensional painting, to a three-dimensional painting. A painting that truly encapsulates everything that has made me who I am now to who I want to be. While I have these accomplishments, I had to start from scratch. I remember what it was like to struggle, and ultimately these struggles have built me up to where I am now. Through this, I have come to realize that this indispensable beauty and glimmering light can be found in the middle of the seemingly endless darkness and never-ending chaos. These contrasting experiences and components are what make my painting inexplicably me, Gicel. I will proudly show my painting for all the world to see, even as I continue to add various brush strokes, both dark and light.

My heart squeezed each time I laid my eyes upon my grandmother. Gaunt cheeks. Painful eyes. Droopy wrinkles. When I closed my eyes, I could picture the woman she once was. A woman who had a cheery smile and joy in her soul. A woman who wore happy wrinkles and lived with a carefree nature. When I opened my eyes, her beautiful image disappeared. The woman before me was replaced with a prisoner of pain, loneliness, and cancer. Ever since that day, curiosity overcame my senses. It started with one thought: How do you cure cancer? For the next three years, a series of questions about the mysteries of science filled my head. What does the fourth dimension look like? Are there more elements out there? How far does the universe go? How much potential do stem cells have? These burning thoughts grew as I absorbed astronomy documentaries, science fiction novels, and educational YouTube videos. One truth about science that blew my mind is that no matter how much research, engineering, and innovation I did, I would never have all the answers. Since then, my curiosity has broadened towards other disciplines. I’m intrigued by the ideas of philosophy, the theories of economics, the structure of music, and the beauty of writing. Although different, I can see how they’re connected through the lens of science. In college, I picture myself researching, innovating, and traveling the world to find solutions. I want to continue learning about the possibilities of immunotherapy and continue researching microbes for drug discovery. I want to unlock the secrets of gene editing, discover the next world-changing medicine, and engineer new ways to map out each individual neuron. At the same time, I see myself writing about science and sharing the importance of understanding scientific literature. My knowledge of the universe makes me feel incredible and wonderful. When a friend or someone I’m tutoring asks me to explain a chemistry concept and I can give them an answer, I feel confident. When my family asks me what I learned in my Harvard immunology class and I can explain how COVID-19 compromises the immune system, I feel capable. When I log in to my physics class on Zoom and realize I’m one of the few girls in the course, I don’t feel insecure, I feel proud about how I’ve overcome boundaries to follow my passions. But above all, when I look up at the sky as a bright comet streaks by, I imagine myself holding on to that comet, flying through stars, feeling the emptiness of space, and reaching the limits of infinity. Dreaming about the universe fills me with inspiration. Everything—from a microscopic cell to a towering elephant, from one word to a whole book, from a single gear to an entire machine—is connected with the bonds of science. Instead of bringing confusion and chaos, the complexities of the universe gives me comfort and adds fuel to my soul. While brainstorming for this essay, I told my mom about how my grandmother, now deceased, sparked this journey of discovery all those years ago. “Today’s her birthday,” my mom reminded me, “maybe she wants you to write about this.” I took it as a sign from her spirit. Even though she’s gone, she encourages me to dream, inspires me to innovate, and motivates me to wake up each day with a brighter curiosity for the world. As I write this essay, I feel her presence in my heart, guiding me to make this one revelation: science is my strength, my passion, and I cannot wait to make it my future.

Whether it be in my Medical Science, Honors Biology, or Research II class, I have come in contact with many topics and discussions about biology and the many interconnecting bits and pieces that fabricate life. In Medical Science, we delved deep into the topic of neurobiology. This is was the spark that ignited my interest in the mind and how tiny interactions of cellular molecules can affect biological systems in a variety of ways, whether it be at a minor or major scale. As a representative of my school’s Academy of Medical Sciences and Research, I can conduct research and experiments to gain a better understanding of these powerful interactions, although they may not seem that powerful at first glance. With these profound interests in neurobiology, I hope to be contributing to meaningful research about either neuroscience or genetic diseases throughout my senior year. I hope to be looking forward to attending a top college in the United States, majoring in biomedical engineering and pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience. Through more exposure to other like-minded students and help from professionals, I can utilize these interactions and experiences to become apt in my future career in biomedical engineering. I want to be able to give back to my community through biomedical research and innovations. The experience that I will receive through college will help me attain the skills and biomedical engineering knowledge that is related to my interests. I have always had an interest in neuroscience and the kinds of technology that have been created to detect various neurological diseases, such as MRI and Multiple Sclerosis. I would use the attained skills and knowledge to help bring the current technology and treatments a step further, to possibly have more efficient and safe treatment for those with neurological diseases and disorders. While I know these achievements will not come easily, the experience I will receive throughout my undergraduate and medical school years will be indispensable on the road to gaining these achievements. After receiving the needed education, I will be able to hone the skills, lessons, and passion that I have received, to be able to contribute to the STEM community in my own fashion. I hope to become a neurologist while also conducting meaningful research to the neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience community. Ultimately, this will help me achieve my main goal, which is helping patients, families, and communities through my accomplishments in neuroscience.

I have started to think of life as a painting. Most paintings are composed of various people, places, and things. On the surface, I am just a two-dimensional collage of academic and extracurricular achievements. While these accomplishments are part of me, I have a different side of me that makes this collage evolve into a multidimensional painting with various layers and components. In art, there is a technique called underpainting, a layer of paint that serves as a base for artists to depict their art on top of it. It is the foundation of an artist’s masterpiece, a layer that makes it whole. Contrast is the juxtaposition of art and inadvertently, life. The contrast between my personal experiences compared to what others know about me is what fabricates the various dimensions of my painting. However, only a few people know about my origins and strife. To those few, I am the rock that my family leans on. From the minute I stepped onto U.S. soil after a long flight from the Philippines, I was given the job of caring for my future siblings and grandparents who would later immigrate to the U.S. With all of these responsibilities, I have had to grow up fast to be able to manage the weight. I had to quickly learn how to communicate in this new foreign language to help my parents build a foundation, on which we could stand on our own. The pressure of being depended on by the people I love the most has led me to be convinced that showing no weakness and only the accomplished parts of me is the only option. However, choosing this option has ultimately led me to appear as some robot-like persona that spits out high test scores and achievements. I believed that only presenting these efforts that brightened my painting was far more impressive than those made in my underpainting. I hold a passion for helping others through my future work in the field of neuroscience. The thought of bringing current technology, treatments, and research a step further, to have more accessible, efficient, and safe treatments for neurological diseases and disorders, for those of multiple backgrounds is my drive that pushes me to consistently improve. Beyond all of the seriousness about school and my future, I have various passions and beliefs that transform my seemingly two-dimensional painting, into a three-dimensional painting. A painting that truly encapsulates everything that has made me who I am now to who I want to be. While I have these accomplishments, I had to start from scratch. I remember what it was like to struggle, and ultimately these struggles have built me up to where I am now. These contrasting experiences and components are what make my painting inexplicably me, Gicel. I will proudly show my painting for all the world to see, even as I continue to add various brush strokes, both dark and light.

The rumbling of my stomach acted as a blowhorn, signaling my body to get up from my friend’s bed and walk over to her pantry in hopes of finding a snack that could fill my stomach. I hoped to find foods that were common staples of a Filipino household. Instead of having the navy blue container of Sky Flakes, they had the light blue box of Premium's Original Saltine Crackers. I then searched for the barbeque or cheese flavors of Clover Chips, but instead they had both the cool ranch and nacho cheese flavors of Doritos. This was a common occurrence during the sleepovers I went to when I lived in the small Greenwood County of South Carolina, where there was a tight-knit community of Filipino Americans that I grew to call my pamilya. While I had all of these friends whose families came from the same country, it felt as though I was the only one with a firm grasp on my culture. It was almost Christmas time and I wanted to bring back the culture that my friends never knew. I didn't want Filipino traditions to die out just because of assimilation. I told all of their parents that I wanted to present our culture and traditions in the annual Christmas parade and they realized how little their children were exposed to Filipino culture. In attempts, to make up for the lost time, they were happy to help me. For the parade float, we decided that it should be the exterior of a Filipino home during Christmas. The wooden exterior was decorated with paróls, which are star-shaped lamps composed of bamboo strips and a candle or artificial light, and were used to help light the dark path that Filipinos would walk coming from late night masses. While the parents were building the float, I took it upon myself to immerse my friends in traditional Filipino dances. After watching multiple videos, we ultimately decided to dance the Tinikling. After many trips and falls, we were finally able to jump and dance to the tapping and sliding of the bamboo poles on the floor, perfectly in sync with the rondalla music booming in our ears as we laughed. While we didn't end up winning the parade, this experience led to my friends taking back parts of the culture that they lost, which is more than I could ever ask for.