Environmental engineering is more than just solving technical challenges; it has the power to transform cities into places where sustainability and equity go hand in hand. I am drawn to this field because it allows me to address some of the most pressing urban issues, including housing affordability, environmental justice, and climate resilience. My goal is to design sustainable solutions that protect the environment and ensure that all communities, regardless of socioeconomic status, have access to clean air, safe water, and resilient infrastructure. One of the most urgent challenges in urban development is the unequal distribution of environmental resources. Low-income communities often bear the brunt of pollution, lack of green spaces, and climate change impacts, while wealthier areas benefit from eco-friendly infrastructure. I want to change this by focusing on sustainable engineering solutions prioritizing underserved populations. This includes implementing green infrastructure, such as permeable pavement and urban forests, to reduce flooding in vulnerable neighborhoods and integrating renewable energy into affordable housing projects to lower utility costs for residents. Housing affordability is another issue that environmental engineering can make a significant impact on. Sustainable building materials, energy-efficient designs, and innovative water conservation systems can make housing more affordable and environmentally friendly. I am particularly interested in exploring how modular construction and circular economy principles—such as repurposing materials and reducing construction waste—can create affordable, long-lasting homes. By ensuring sustainability is embedded in housing policies, I hope to help develop urban areas where everyone can access safe, energy-efficient, and cost-effective living spaces. Public infrastructure also plays a critical role in creating equitable and sustainable cities. Expanding public transportation systems, improving water treatment facilities, and designing waste management solutions that minimize pollution are all areas where environmental engineering can make a meaningful difference. I am mainly motivated by the opportunity to work on projects that enhance urban resilience, such as developing cooling strategies for heat-prone neighborhoods and designing systems that reduce air pollution in industrial areas. These solutions not only address environmental concerns but also improve public health outcomes, especially for communities that have historically been overlooked in urban planning decisions. My passion for environmental engineering stems from the belief that sustainability should not be a luxury but a right accessible to all. Too often, eco-friendly infrastructure is implemented in high-income areas while marginalized communities face environmental hazards. I want to change that by ensuring that green technology and sustainable development practices benefit everyone, not just those who can afford it. Helping others through my career means designing cities built to last for the present and future generations. By merging environmental engineering with urban planning, I aim to create solutions that balance economic growth with environmental responsibility, ensuring that cities remain livable, resilient, and inclusive. Through research, policy advocacy, and hands-on engineering work, I want to contribute to a future where sustainability and equity are not competing goals but complementary forces shaping tomorrow's cities.

My favorite thing about our planet is the interconnectedness of its ecosystems. Every living organism plays a role in maintaining balance, from the ginormous redwoods absorbing carbon dioxide to the microscopic plankton sustaining marine life. Nature operates as a complex, self-sustaining system, and disruptions in one area can create ripple effects across the globe. This delicate balance inspires me to protect the environment and ensure that the systems supporting life on Earth remain intact for future generations. Growing up in California, I have witnessed firsthand the impact of climate change—wildfires devastating forests, droughts straining water supplies, and rising sea levels threatening coastal communities. Seeing these challenges has motivated me to take action in my community and beyond. One of my most significant contributions has been through my involvement in environmental advocacy and education. As a volunteer for local sustainability programs, I have participated in initiatives to reduce waste, promote renewable energy, and encourage sustainable urban planning. For example, I worked with One Life, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to unhoused individuals, to raise awareness about how environmental issues disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. Pollution and extreme weather events often worsen the living conditions of those experiencing homelessness, reinforcing the need for sustainable, affordable housing solutions. This experience deepened my understanding of the connection between environmental justice and social equity, inspiring me to advocate for policies that address both issues simultaneously. Additionally, I have taken steps to create a more sustainable community by participating in local environmental efforts. I have joined beach and park clean-ups to help reduce litter and protect wildlife from pollution. Recognizing the impact of fast fashion on the environment, I have also made a conscious effort to shop secondhand and donate clothes instead of discarding them, encouraging my friends and family to do the same. Small actions like these help reduce waste and promote a more sustainable lifestyle, reinforcing my commitment to protecting the planet’s natural balance. Beyond my immediate community, I have explored ways to contribute on a broader scale. My interest in urban planning and environmental engineering has led me to research how cities can incorporate green infrastructure, such as rooftop gardens, permeable pavements, and improved public transit systems, to reduce environmental impact. I aspire to use this knowledge in my future career to design sustainable urban spaces that promote both ecological health and social well-being. The interconnectedness of our planet’s ecosystems is both beautiful and fragile. By taking action—whether through local initiatives, education, or long-term planning—I hope to ensure that these natural systems remain resilient. The fight against climate change and environmental degradation requires collective effort, and I am committed to doing my part to protect the Earth’s balance for generations to come.

The three loves theory. The idea is that we only love three people in our lifetime. While not science-based, it is one of the theories I deeply believe in. Your first love, the childish puppy love that teaches you the great feeling of falling in love. I have always seen math as more than a subject: it's how I bonded with my dad. Exploring all kinds of concepts together, from addition through counting cubes to making 3D shapes to demonstrate how rotations around axes worked. The time spent with my dad gave me unique perspectives and problem-solving abilities at a young age. He would find ways to explain math in a fun way and always told me that no matter what was taught in school, there would always be another way to solve a problem. Time spent with my dad was my first love; it showed me how applicable math can be in my day-to-day life. Your second love is the love that feels so intense and shifts your worldview. I wanted to use my unique perspective to show younger students that math is fun and to teach them that there are countless ways to solve a problem. To do this, I began volunteering with Healthy Cities Tutoring, where I met with students one-on-one and helped them understand confusing concepts. After teaching a few students, I realized they all had different learning styles. I started using resources like playing cards, colored paper, and building blocks to break down complex concepts. My time at Healthy Cities Tutoring was my second love, showing me how much I enjoyed teaching and seeing the spark in student’s eyes. Your third love is the unexpected one that comes out of nowhere but feels right. On the first day of junior year, as I walked into my engineering class and looked around, I was shocked to see only four other girls, all a year older than me. I felt intimidated and thought about dropping the class altogether. After much thought, I decided to stay and tried to form a community within the class for myself. As the year progressed, I integrated my thought process into projects, giving me a different angle from which to approach problems. I grew confident in my abilities and found my place despite only having four other girls with me. Nearing the end of the school year, we began one of our final projects. Our goal was to create a bridge and presentation best suited for a specific scenario, and the best would continue to the showcase. My group and I worked tirelessly, came into class for extra time to calculate dimensions, meticulously put together our bridge, and spent nights rehearsing our speeches. Ultimately, we qualified to go to the showcase and won first. Engineering was never a pathway I thought I would pursue, but it became a topic that consumed my brain, becoming a dream of mine to pursue. My “love life” with STEM has shaped me into a creative problem-solver with a strong commitment to the field and to teaching and inspiring others. I never truly felt like I had a woman that I looked up to in the STEM field, and it has driven me to want to educate and inspire others, especially young women who have faced the same uncertainties as me when it comes to being a woman in the field. I’ve been lucky enough to have taken a class that has allowed me to visualize and experience how I can improve the field of engineering and encourage others to find a passion in STEM.

Ever since I was little, my dad and I have shared a passion for math. We explored all kinds of concepts together, starting with addition through counting cubes all the way to making 3D shapes to demonstrate how rotations around axes worked. This allowed me to develop unique perspectives and problem-solving abilities at a young age and develop them as I grew older. He would find ways to explain math in an accessible and fun way and always told me that no matter what was taught in school, there would always be another way to solve a problem. Patterns in math have always been the thing that fascinates me the most, and the more I explored math, the more fascinated I became. I wanted to use this skill to show younger students that math can be fun and to help them learn that there are multiple ways to solve the same problem. To do this, I began volunteering with Healthy Cities Tutoring at nearby elementary and middle schools, where I met with students one-on-one and helped them understand concepts they had been struggling with. After teaching a few students, I realized that they all had different learning styles. As a result, I started using varied resources like playing cards, colored paper, and building blocks to break down difficult concepts. This helped make the concepts easier for them to comprehend while keeping them engaged. Tutoring has been a way for me to share my love for math with others and hopefully spark the same love for math that I have grown up with while still giving back to my community. I have also attended summer camps like the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) to learn about different areas of math, such as probability and game theory. Through these programs, I was able to learn new topics and meet others who shared the same level of interest in math. I have always seen math as more than a subject; it's how I bonded with my dad and many of my peers, and it is a source of curiosity and passion. My journey with math has taught me the importance of creativity and problem-solving and shown me how rewarding teaching others is.