From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college junior double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors over the past two summers. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. As a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected twice as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During the first summer research experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. I am now beginning my junior year, am a physics tutor on campus, and taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor last fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in an easily understandable way. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues intelligently and clearly. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself. As the child of a single mother, making ends meet has always been a struggle for my family, and being able to pay for college is no exception - this scholarship will help me finish college with less stress, and bring me one step closer to fulfilling my dream career.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college junior double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors over the past two summers. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. As a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected twice as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During the first summer research experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. I am now beginning my junior year, am a physics tutor on campus, and taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor last fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in an easily understandable way. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues intelligently and clearly. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself. As the child of a single mother, making ends meet has always been a struggle for my family, and being able to pay for college is no exception - this scholarship will help me finish college with less stress, and bring me one step closer to fulfilling my dream career.

My mom is the strongest woman I know. Some people say she may even wear a cape. I know she’s always been my hero. I was 12 when I found out my mom had previously had cancer. I really wasn’t even sure what it meant at that age, at least not what the possibilities had meant for her at the time. I now know that she could have been gone even before I came to be – and I wouldn’t be here to write this essay. She is a survivor in every sense of the word. She has battled two types of cancer and won –physically, mentally and spiritually. She takes on life with undertones of joie de vivre, seeing the beauty and good in the world around her. She has subtly tried to instill this in me, enriching my life from my earliest recollection with music, dance, theatre, art, flowers and fun – weaving culture and beauty into my soul to where they have become a necessity for me to function. Our story almost stems from her cancer diagnoses, specifically Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Thyroid cancer which are both primary cancers, and which for her were diagnosed at the same time just as she was embarking on a new career. After she finished treatments – a year long ordeal with two primary cancers, multiple hospitalizations, drug reactions, and infections – she took some time to recuperate and then made the courageous decision to have a child, with no spouse or significant other. Yes, she did it alone via sperm donor and I am the result. The uncertainty of what chemotherapy may have done to her reproductive system along with her age drove her to this decision, no longer content to wait for for prince charming to find her, sweep her off her feet and have children. Her desire to have a child was so strong she felt compelled to pursue the endeavor on her own. She says I am her gift from God after going through what she went through, a true blessing and I have lit up her life. Now, almost 20 years later I am in college and she continues to work hard to support me as I pursue my dreams of becoming an astrophysicist. She never complains and always makes sure my needs are met. It will be a long road to my Ph.D. but I am not afraid. She helped instill in me the attributes of hard work, perseverance, and never giving up on your dreams - even if you have to attain them in an un-traditional way. She was the epitome of independence, and instilled enough self-confidence that I am right now studying abroad halfway around the world in Australia. My senior year of high school, I had a solo in the high school musical “The Theory of Relativity” which was titled “Promise Me This”. The first half of the song completely mirrored my life with my mother and spoke so strongly to me that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to perform it without breaking down. The second half spoke of the character losing her mother - which honestly is my biggest fear in life – and I tried to tell myself that this is what we went through, but in reverse. I made it through my performances, albeit very emotionally and realized this strong, independent woman – my mom – has passed along those traits to me, along with a love of the arts, and the ability to recognize beauty in life, believe in miracles, and to not waste a single day.

My mom is the strongest woman I know. Some people say she may even wear a cape. I know she’s always been my hero. I was 12 when I found out my mom had previously had cancer. I really wasn’t even sure what it meant at that age, at least not what the possibilities had meant for her at the time. I now know that she could have been gone even before I came to be – and I wouldn’t be here to write this essay. She is a survivor in every sense of the word. She has battled two types of cancer and won –physically, mentally and spiritually. She takes on life with undertones of joie de vivre, seeing the beauty and good in the world around her. She has subtly tried to instill this in me, enriching my life from my earliest recollection with music, dance, theatre, art, flowers and fun – weaving culture and beauty into my soul to where they have become a necessity for me to function. Our story almost stems from her cancer diagnoses, specifically Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Thyroid cancer which are both primary cancers, and which for her were diagnosed at the same time just as she was embarking on a new career. After she finished treatments – a year long ordeal with two primary cancers, multiple hospitalizations, drug reactions, and infections – she took some time to recuperate and then made the courageous decision to have a child, with no spouse or significant other. Yes, she did it alone via sperm donor and I am the result. The uncertainty of what chemotherapy may have done to her reproductive system along with her age drove her to this decision, no longer content to wait for for prince charming to find her, sweep her off her feet and have children. Her desire to have a child was so strong she felt compelled to pursue the endeavor on her own. She says I am her gift from God after going through what she went through, a true blessing and I have lit up her life. Now, almost 20 years later I am in college and she continues to work hard to support me as I pursue my dreams of becoming an astrophysicist. She never complains and always makes sure my needs are met. It will be a long road to my Ph.D. but I am not afraid. She helped instill in me the attributes of hard work, perseverance, and never giving up on your dreams - even if you have to attain them in an un-traditional way. She was the epitome of independence, and instilled enough self-confidence that I am right now studying abroad halfway around the world in Australia. My senior year of high school, I had a solo in the high school musical “The Theory of Relativity” which was titled “Promise Me This”. The first half of the song completely mirrored my life with my mother and spoke so strongly to me that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to perform it without breaking down. The second half spoke of the character losing her mother - which honestly is my biggest fear in life – and I tried to tell myself that this is what we went through, but in reverse. I made it through my performances, albeit very emotionally and realized this strong, independent woman – my mom – has passed along those traits to me, along with a love of the arts, and the ability to recognize beauty in life, believe in miracles, and to not waste a single day.

At the start of my Spring semester during my freshman year at college, I decided to go through the rush process in hopes of joining a sorority. During the philanthropy round of my formal recruitment, my future sisters of Alpha Phi asked how many of us knew a woman personally affected by heart-related health problems. Many of the people on the Zoom call raised their hands, but I didn’t. I felt lucky to say that no woman I knew suffered cardiac problems. My bid to join Alpha Phi was accepted, and I had no idea this past January how much this connection would come to mean to me. Women’s heart health is the biggest philanthropy the sisters of Alpha Phi support through the Alpha Phi Foundation. To me, that was important, but I never felt a personal connection to it. That is - until this summer - the summer before my sophomore year. After completing a ten-week Research Fellowship at my school in Lancaster, PA, I returned home to Long Island for a month to work at a day camp before starting my sophomore year. I had a scheduled follow-up with my cardiologist after having some lightheadedness the previous winter. I thought the appointment was going to be quick - in and out, and I would be able to return to my job before lunch. Instead, my doctor told me that he had found something on my EKG called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. A rare congenital heart disease that I’ve had my whole life. If I didn’t want to worry about suddenly dying, he said I should think about having a procedure within the next year. I was thrown for a loop. I’d been living with a heart condition my whole life that could have killed me, and I never knew it. My anxiety went through the roof. Over the next several days my mom and I had multiple conversations with the cardiologist. As I informed him of my plans to take a semester abroad next year, he suggested I do the procedure within the next six months and recommended an electrophysiologist in NYC who specializes in young people with my condition. My mind was reeling, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep. I quit my job. I became emotionally fragile – matching what I now knew my heart was. It was hard to process that within a rapid two-week time frame I would go from being a ticking time bomb to once again a healthy normal eighteen-year-old college student. The doctor felt the procedure was successful, and I shouldn’t have to worry anymore. But the knowledge that they did something to my heart, a life-sustaining organ completely derailed me. My anxiety went through the roof! So now there IS a personal connection to the philanthropy aspect of Alpha Phi, and I volunteered to speak at my sorority’s Red Dress Gala – a fundraiser for women’s heart health - in order to share my experience, and how it was meant to be that I joined Alpha Phi to help other women deal with their cardiac issues. I am hoping by decreasing my financial burden for my education, I can once again turn my focus on my studies and my dream of becoming an astrophysicist. Hopefully, I can put this behind me, but I still have this small thread of fear that my Wolf-Parkinson-White will return. Despite this, I plan on living my life to the fullest, and my inner strength will help me deal with that if it does.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college junior double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors over the past two summers. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. As a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected twice as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During the first summer research experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. I am now beginning my junior year, am a physics tutor on campus, and taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor last fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in an easily understandable way. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues intelligently and clearly. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself. As the child of a single mother, making ends meet has always been a struggle for my family, and being able to pay for college is no exception - this scholarship will help me finish college with less stress, and bring me one step closer to fulfilling my dream career.

My mom is the strongest woman I know. Some people say she may even wear a cape. I know she’s always been my hero. I was 12 when I found out my mom had previously had cancer. I really wasn’t even sure what it meant at that age, at least not what the possibilities had meant for her at the time. I now know that she could have been gone even before I came to be – and I wouldn’t be here to write this essay. She is a survivor in every sense of the word. She has battled two types of cancer and won –physically, mentally and spiritually. She takes on life with undertones of joie de vivre, seeing the beauty and good in the world around her. She has subtly tried to instill this in me, enriching my life from my earliest recollection with music, dance, theatre, art, flowers and fun – weaving culture and beauty into my soul to where they have become a necessity for me to function. Our story almost stems from her cancer diagnoses, specifically Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Thyroid cancer which are both primary cancers, and which for her were diagnosed at the same time just as she was embarking on a new career. After she finished treatments – a year long ordeal with two primary cancers, multiple hospitalizations, drug reactions, and infections – she took some time to recuperate and then made the courageous decision to have a child, with no spouse or significant other. Yes, she did it alone via sperm donor and I am the result. The uncertainty of what chemotherapy may have done to her reproductive system along with her age drove her to this decision, no longer content to wait for for prince charming to find her, sweep her off her feet and have children. Her desire to have a child was so strong she felt compelled to pursue the endeavor on her own. She says I am her gift from God after going through what she went through, a true blessing and I have lit up her life. Now, almost 20 years later I am in college and she continues to work hard to support me as I pursue my dreams of becoming an astrophysicist. She never complains and always makes sure my needs are met. It will be a long road to my Ph.D. but I am not afraid. She helped instill in me the attributes of hard work, perseverance, and never giving up on your dreams - even if you have to attain them in an un-traditional way. She was the epitome of independence, and instilled enough self-confidence that I am right now studying abroad halfway around the world in Australia. My senior year of high school, I had a solo in the high school musical “The Theory of Relativity” which was titled “Promise Me This”. The first half of the song completely mirrored my life with my mother and spoke so strongly to me that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to perform it without breaking down. The second half spoke of the character losing her mother - which honestly is my biggest fear in life – and I tried to tell myself that this is what we went through, but in reverse. I made it through my performances, albeit very emotionally and realized this strong, independent woman – my mom – has passed along those traits to me, along with a love of the arts, and the ability to recognize beauty in life, believe in miracles, and to not waste a single day.

At the start of my Spring semester during my freshman year at college, I decided to go through the rush process in hopes of joining a sorority. During the philanthropy round of my formal recruitment, my future sisters of Alpha Phi asked how many of us knew a woman personally affected by heart-related health problems. Many of the people on the Zoom call raised their hands, but I didn’t. I felt lucky to say that no woman I knew suffered cardiac problems. My bid to join Alpha Phi was accepted, and I had no idea this past January how much this connection would come to mean to me. Women’s heart health is the biggest philanthropy the sisters of Alpha Phi support through the Alpha Phi Foundation. To me, that was important, but I never felt a personal connection to it. That is - until this summer - the summer before my sophomore year. After completing a ten-week Research Fellowship at my school in Lancaster, PA, I returned home to Long Island for a month to work at a day camp before starting my sophomore year. I had a scheduled follow-up with my cardiologist after having some lightheadedness the previous winter. I thought the appointment was going to be quick - in and out, and I would be able to return to my job before lunch. Instead, my doctor told me that he had found something on my EKG called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. A rare congenital heart disease that I’ve had my whole life. If I didn’t want to worry about suddenly dying, he said I should think about having a procedure within the next year. I was thrown for a loop. I’d been living with a heart condition my whole life that could have killed me, and I never knew it. My anxiety went through the roof. Over the next several days my mom and I had multiple conversations with the cardiologist. As I informed him of my plans to take a semester abroad next year, he suggested I do the procedure within the next six months and recommended an electrophysiologist in NYC who specializes in young people with my condition. My mind was reeling, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep. I quit my job. I became emotionally fragile – matching what I now knew my heart was. It was hard to process that within a rapid two-week time frame I would go from being a ticking time bomb to once again a healthy normal eighteen-year-old college student. The doctor felt the procedure was successful, and I shouldn’t have to worry anymore. But the knowledge that they did something to my heart, a life-sustaining organ completely derailed me. My anxiety went through the roof! So now there IS a personal connection to the philanthropy aspect of Alpha Phi, and I volunteered to speak at my sorority’s Red Dress Gala – a fundraiser for women’s heart health - in order to share my experience, and how it was meant to be that I joined Alpha Phi to help other women deal with their cardiac issues. I am hoping by decreasing my financial burden for my education, I can once again turn my focus on my studies and my dream of becoming an astrophysicist. Hopefully, I can put this behind me, but I still have this small thread of fear that my Wolf-Parkinson-White will return. Despite this, I plan on living my life to the fullest, and my inner strength will help me deal with that if it does.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college sophomore double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors last summer. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. Last year as a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During this experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. I am now finishing my sophomore year, where I was hired to be a physics tutor on campus, and am taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor this past fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in a way that is easily understandable. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues in an intelligent and clear manner. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself. As the child of a single mother, making ends meet has always been a struggle for my family, and being able to pay for college is no exception - this scholarship will help me finish college with less stress, and bring me one step closer to fulfilling my dream career.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life, and as a college sophomore double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college sophomore double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors last summer. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. Last year as a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During this experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in California with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. My hope is that through my chosen career and research, I can help our government and the global field of space exploration determine the best ways to grasp the extent of opportunities to be discovered in space, as well as the limitations we may face, as the amount we truly know is minuscule in the grand scheme of the entire universe . I am now finishing my sophomore year, where I was hired to be a physics tutor on campus, and am taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor this past fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in a way that is easily understandable. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues intelligently and clearly. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college sophomore double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors last summer. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. Last year as a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During this experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. I am now finishing my sophomore year, where I was hired to be a physics tutor on campus, and am taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor this past fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in a way that is easily understandable. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues in an intelligent and clear manner. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college sophomore double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics, I am moving steadily closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors last summer. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies right now, moving toward obtaining my undergraduate degree. I intend to then pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Currently, I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, but I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers. Last year as a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College, where I am an undergraduate student. I was also selected as a Hackman Summer Research Fellow working on Protoplanetary Nebulae: Unraveling the Chemical Connection Between the AGB and PNe which was a 10-week research project. During this experience, I was able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research Professor and fellow student researchers. One might think as a first-year college student I was in over my head amongst graduate students and professionals in the field, but I was excited and exhilarated to be discussing the topics I love with people who understand and share my passion for space exploration and discovery. I am now finishing my sophomore year, where I was hired to be a physics tutor on campus, and am taking more advanced courses in my majors. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor this past fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in a way that is easily understandable. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting papers and projects at conferences, as well as be able to interact with my future colleagues in an intelligent and clear manner. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. These factors reinforce the knowledge that I am on the right path in choosing Astrophysics/Research as the perfect career for myself.

For as long as I can remember, my education has been enhanced by someone paying it forward specifically for me. My mom is a physical therapist and a single parent, and one of her patients was a Holocaust survivor who felt it was very important for as many children as possible to get a strong Jewish education. My mother told him that she couldn't afford to send me to a Jewish private school but he encouraged her to go on a tour/interview of the school many of his grandchildren attended, and she (and apparently myself as well) loved it, and he practically filled out the application for her when she told him! Needless to say - for 13 years - kindergarten through 12th grade - an "anonymous" donor contributed several thousand dollars each year to help fund my education. As a matter of fact, when this generous, humble man passed away when I was in the 4th grade, his daughter called my mother and said "Dad passed away peacefully last night in his sleep but don't worry, we will still be helping with Gillian's school tuition". My mom was speechless - here this woman had just lost her father, but her concern was for my mother - that she shouldn't worry about my ability to complete my education at the school we had both come to love, and where we found a sense of community. Clearly, his strong sense of philanthropy and compassion for others was passed down to his children, who continued to bestow their own form of Tzedakah on my mother and me. Many connections developed between my family and theirs. When I became a Bat Mitzvah his daughter came at my mother's request and was given an Aliyah about which she was very touched. After the ceremony, I remember her coming up to us and telling us that this Parashat was also the same as the anniversary of her father's passing. When I was narrowing down colleges, I realized one of his granddaughters went to the college I ultimately decided on. My choice to go there was largely influenced by conversations with this woman who graduated maybe 10 years earlier. I even joined the same sorority she had been part of! I tell this story because I feel very blessed to have had someone care enough to "pay it forward" for me and allow me to have had opportunities I might not otherwise have had. My goal is that as I am entering adulthood that I will be able to pay it forward to others in order to make them happy and feel special. They may be small things or amounts to start, but I will always be striving to find ways to make things easier for others - and offering Tzedakah whenever and however I am able to, and remembering how much someone did for me and my family, just out of the goodness of their heart.

At the start of my Spring semester during my freshman year at college, I decided to go through the rush process in hopes of joining a sorority. During the philanthropy round of my formal recruitment, my future sisters of Alpha Phi asked how many of us knew a woman personally affected by heart-related health problems. Many of the people on the zoom call raised their hands, but I didn’t. I felt lucky to say that no woman I knew suffered cardiac problems. My bid to join Alpha Phi was accepted, and I had no idea this past January how much this connection would come to mean to me. Women’s heart health is the biggest philanthropy the sisters of Alpha Phi support through the Alpha Phi foundation. To me, that was important, but I never felt a personal connection to it. That is - until the summer before my sophomore year. After completing a ten-week Research Fellowship at my school in Lancaster, PA, I returned home to Long Island. I had a follow-up with my cardiologist after having some lightheadedness the previous winter. I thought the appointment was going to be quick - and I would be able to return to my job before lunch. Instead, my doctor told me that he had found something on my EKG called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. A rare congenital heart disease that I’ve had my whole life. I would need a procedure within the next year. I was thrown for a loop. I’d been living with a heart condition my whole life that could have killed me, and I never knew it. The following week, I had a virtual visit with the specialist, after my cardiologist discussed my case with him, and he was able to review everything. He felt it was more of an urgent matter than my cardiologist led me to believe, and preferred I have the procedure – a cardiac ablation – sooner rather than later. I was scheduled to undergo the ablation exactly two weeks from the day I was diagnosed. I became emotionally fragile – matching what I now knew my heart was. It was hard to process that within a rapid two-week time frame I would go from being a ticking time bomb to once again a healthy normal eighteen-year-old college student. When I was younger I was often tired and would sometimes feel my heart racing, but I just thought that this was normal because I really didn’t know any differently. My middle school/high school was pretty rigorous as I went to a dual-curriculum school, and I often had hours of homework. Some days I really had to push myself to get out of bed and go to school, not realizing that this was not normal. I wanted to do well in school in order to get into a good college to reach for my career goals, and be able to help my single mother out. The doctor told me the procedure was successful, and I shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. But just the knowledge that they did something to my heart, a life-sustaining organ, has completely derailed me. Hopefully, I can put this behind me, but I still have this small thread of fear that my condition will return. In spite of this, I plan on living my life to the fullest, and my inner strength will help me deal with that if it does. I am hoping by decreasing my financial burden for my education, I can once again turn my focus on my studies and my dream of becoming an astrophysicist.

From the time I was 10 years old, watching Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, I knew I wanted to study the stars and empty space for the rest of my life. Throughout middle and high school, math and science classes were what I excelled at. Now, as a college sophomore double majoring in Astrophysics and Mathematics I realize I am one step closer to fulfilling my dream career of studying space as a research scientist. I’ve already had a glimpse of what my future life could be like as I completed a research fellowship with one of my professors last summer. Working nine to five (and occasionally doing overnight observations from a live telescope located in Spain) analyzing data has been incredibly fulfilling. It confirmed for me that becoming a research scientist is the perfect career choice for me. In order to achieve these ultimate career goals, I need to remain focused on my academic studies, moving towards obtaining my undergraduate degree. I then intend to pursue my master's degree and Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Upon graduation, I hope to work for a government-funded laboratory such as NASA, or a privately owned space or security laboratory. Although at this point I am uncertain which space subfield I will end up in, I am thoroughly enjoying learning about all the different areas that are open to me, and know I plan on ensconcing myself in this field and all it offers for a long time. My early accomplishments started in Middle School when I was accepted into the pre-engineering education track my school offered, steering me into the engineering program at my high school. As a high school freshman I applied to and was accepted into The Junior Academy which is run through the New York Academy of Sciences. It is made up of students from around the world working together on sustainable development challenges. Each team is paired with a STEM professional - a mentor for the duration of a 10-week challenge period. Last year as a freshman in college, I was awarded the Michael Albert Lewis Prize in Physics - presented to one or more freshman students in recognition of superior performance in Introductory Physics courses as determined by the faculty of the Physics Department at Franklin and Marshall College where I am an undergraduate student. As I mentioned above, I was also selected as a paid Hackman Summer Research Fellow. During this experience I was also able to attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) 240th meeting which was held in Pasadena, CA with my Research mentor/Professor and fellow student researchers. This year I was hired to be a physics tutor on campus, and I am taking more advanced courses in my majors - allowing me to get closer to achieving my career goals. I was the only freshman applicant selected to be a physics tutor this upcoming fall, both because of my demonstrated abilities to master the material and being able to teach that material in a way that is easily understandable. This is a skill I am proud of, and hope to continue to hone, which will allow me to excel at presenting at conferences and being able to interact with my future colleagues in an intelligent and clear manner. My professors have asked me to work on their research during the year because of the dedication I show in class, and my peers often seek me out to help them when they don’t understand the material. I see the future ahead of me – and it’s as bright as the stars in the skies I seek to explore.