In the U.S., 4 in 5 people are monolingual. When natural language processing models are trained, such as Google Translate, historical data is pulled from the dominant language of that region. Language-dominant data compounded with the rapid development of artificial intelligence leaves minority communities at a disadvantage with underlying historical biases in technological use. This transcends the abstract nature of a statistic, it is the lived reality of my identity as a Jewish biracial woman, where the nuances of my own communities’ languages, histories, and cultures are the first to be erased in large language processing models. I grew up in rooms with people who did not look like me, teaching me about my community’s culture and history inaccurately. I am dismantling this barrier by learning how AI is developed with bias and putting myself in positions to learn about multiculturalism. During a study abroad in Costa Rica this past summer, my host family enlightened me on the erasure of indigenous roots in the country. My cohort and I visited Volcán Irazú, a volcano located near the city of Cartago. However, the city was originally named Cubujuquí by the Huetar people. When taught about the history of the city, it is always referred to by its Spanish, colonized name without the acknowledgement of its indigenous roots. If I were to train AI using this data, it would have no knowledge of “Cubujuquí” or its geographical significance for the Huetar people. This shows just how easy it is to perpetuate biased data unknowingly. Currently, I am building foundational software development skills through coursework and outside research—assembling an academic portfolio that portrays how linguistic variation, ethics, and infrastructure shapes AI use in Brazil. My involvement in the Portuguese Flagship Program is a direct pathway into this work. As a part of the program, I am currently taking accelerated Portuguese classes and will complete an intensive summer study abroad in the cultural epi-center of Salvador, Brazil. With a blend of indigenous, African, and Portuguese influences, I could research a greater variety of scholastic resources—in Portuguese, English, and Spanish—which would greatly add to my understanding of AI and linguistic variation. Following this experience, I will complete a capstone year abroad in which a semester of advanced coursework and a subsequent internship will prepare me firsthand for working with LLMs based in other countries. I hope that with my computer science and language skills, I can develop these AI models to not only be trained on language inclusive data, but to use these models as a means to inform U.S. national security from within the Intelligence Community. My pursuits at the University of Georgia have been a deliberate effort to build connections—between minority communities and the humanistic understanding of culture and the technological structure of AI. I have already begun strengthening the relationship between the Black and Jewish community in Athens, spearheading a joint Shabbat dinner with Hillel at UGA and the National Council for Negro Women during Black History Month. With over 30 attendees, the cultural exchange helped grow our understanding and compassion for one another, truly learning about the members in each community. I plan to take a similar approach doing hands-on fieldwork in Brazil, creating a comparative analysis of how AI is used and implemented in different socioeconomic contexts. Through the support of this scholarship, I could lay the groundwork for AI models that uplift and recognize minority communities, just as I have emulated as a leader in my own communities, allowing future generations to be represented in the technological systems that serve them.

It was a terrifying moment, one in which I realized how precious my life truly is. Two hours earlier, I had been bleeding on my bathroom floor. The air was pungent. The coppery smell of my blood overwhelmed my senses. Waking up from my bathroom floor, unconscious for an unknown amount of time, with a fresh, deep cut on my wrist, was a paralyzing moment. I know struggle like I know air. In the midst of my parents arguing, coming to terms with my bisexuality and learning to cook food so that my younger siblings wouldn’t starve, I struggled with feeling in control. Experiencing the pain and satisfaction was consuming, and I was obsessed with it. I was killing myself. It took me until that night to realize I was incoherent—disillusioned. Alone and scared, I gathered my bearings and grasped the sink until I could pull myself up. Shakily cleaning myself up and returning to my room, I collapsed in front of my window, curtains drawn with a full moon at display. It must have been past midnight and yet, my mind was so clear upon gazing at the moon. I have a deep appreciation for the stars, but I have never felt such an attraction before. This magnetic force began clearing the fog of my mind. I reached an epiphany, only a singular thought clouding the space: I want to live. I have since abstained from self-harm. In this time period, I fell in love with the rules of syntax and grammar, falling lost in the written worlds I create. I read hundreds upon hundreds of books, and I now advocate for the betterment of mental health services by raising awareness and initiating campus wide events. However, the one constant throughout those one thousand six hundred and twenty days since is my desire to comfort the fall of others by crafting a cushion of enchanted words. I had once thought that only when I become a successful author and am surrounded by my fanatical universes would I be “living”. As such, believing the mantra that I write to live. I was wrong. Every breath I draw upon is accompanied by a thought I could expand upon in the archives of my own literature. Only in my own words can I comfort people how I needed to be, save people how I was saved, and immerse myself in the pleasures of language. Such profound enjoyment can barely be conveyed as my appreciation for the written word scarcely outweighs my passion to contribute to it. I no longer am naive enough to believe that I write to live—no. I was lucky enough to be enlightened in the fact that my being is made for it, that I live to write. Overcoming my mental health struggles was the single hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. To this day, I still sometimes struggle with depressive thoughts. However, I know that I am on an upward trajectory in my mental health journey—there is no such thing as linear progression. Through the help of therapy and confiding in my support system, with each day I become more invigorated to learn about the world at large. My perspective has permanently changed, learning that there is so much vibrancy and joy to experience in life. As a result, I chose to study both cognitive science—the study of learning processes and the mind—and Romance languages at the University of Georgia. My zeal for intentional learning directly contributed to my interest in becoming a Portuguese Flagship Program student in which I now plan to study the intersection of AI and linguistic diversity in Brazil. Additionally, I was granted the opportunity to further study AI and cognitive processes at the University of Oxford for a semester, now being able to travel and experience the richness of different cultures. These are things I dreamed of doing as I tore into my skin so long ago. It is only because I have traversed the depths of depression that I am able to savor the air I breathe each morning I wake. Since that night, when I forced myself to have hope that my situation would improve, I have become empowered to write and share my story—raising awareness about mental health and substance issues. I am more empathetic, positive, and encouraging of others' journeys and progress because I know the importance of having a support system. I understand better how mental health issues take a toll on everyone differently. Now, as I look at myself in the mirror and no longer see the lifeless gaze I once viewed the world with, I spread my optimism and empathy so that no teenager nor person has to find release in the deterioration of their own body, just as I did.

In the U.S., 4 in 5 people are monolingual. When natural language processing models are trained, such as Google Translate, historical data is pulled from the dominant language of that region. Language-dominant data compounded with the rapid development of artificial intelligence leaves minority communities at a disadvantage with underlying historical biases in technological use. This transcends the abstract nature of a statistic, it is the lived reality of my identity as a Jewish biracial woman, where the nuances of my own communities’ languages, histories, and cultures are the first to be erased in large language processing models. I grew up in rooms with people who did not look like me, teaching me about my community’s culture and history inaccurately. I am dismantling this barrier by learning how AI is developed with bias and putting myself in positions to learn about multiculturalism. During a study abroad in Costa Rica this past summer, my host family enlightened me on the erasure of indigenous roots in the country. My cohort and I visited Volcán Irazú, a volcano located near the city of Cartago. However, the city was originally named Cubujuquí by the Huetar people. When taught about the history of the city, it is always referred to by its Spanish, colonized name without the acknowledgement of its indigenous roots. If I were to train AI using this data, it would have no knowledge of “Cubujuquí” or its geographical significance for the Huetar people. This shows just how easy it is to perpetuate biased data unknowingly. Currently, I am building foundational software development skills through coursework and outside research—assembling an academic portfolio that portrays how linguistic variation, ethics, and infrastructure shapes AI use in Brazil. My involvement in the Portuguese Flagship Program is a direct pathway into this work. As a part of the program, I am currently taking accelerated Portuguese classes and will complete an intensive summer study abroad in the cultural epi-center of Salvador, Brazil. With a blend of indigenous, African, and Portuguese influences, I could research a greater variety of scholastic resources—in Portuguese, English, and Spanish—which would greatly add to my understanding of AI and linguistic variation. Following this experience, I plan to complete a capstone year abroad in which a semester of advanced coursework and a subsequent internship will prepare me firsthand for working with large language models based in other countries. My pursuits at the University of Georgia have been a deliberate effort to build connections—between minority communities and the humanistic understanding of culture and the technological structure of AI. I have already begun strengthening the relationship between the Black and Jewish community in Athens, spearheading a joint Shabbat dinner with Hillel at UGA and the National Council for Negro Women during Black History Month. I recognized that entering an unfamiliar space can bring about hesitation; so, I worked with student leaders from both organizations to ensure that everyone would feel genuinely welcome. With over 30 attendees, sharing our cultural similarities and differences helped grow our understanding and compassion for one another, teaching me that when people feel seen, they are more likely to be curious than guarded. This principle now anchors my public service approach, making knowing the people in the community a priority before igniting change in it. This scholarship would be the catalyst for further personal and professional growth. I could lay the groundwork for AI models that uplift and recognize minority communities, just as I have emulated as a leader in my own communities, allowing future generations to be represented in the technological systems that serve them.

Prompt1 It was a terrifying moment, one in which I realized my life purpose. Two hours earlier, I had been bleeding on my bathroom floor. The air was pungent. The coppery smell of my blood overwhelmed my senses. Waking up from my bathroom floor, unconscious for an unknown amount of time, with a fresh, deep cut on my wrist, was a paralyzing moment. I know struggle like I know air. In the midst of my parents arguing, coming to terms with my bisexuality and learning to cook food so that my younger siblings wouldn’t starve, I struggled with feeling in control. Experiencing the pain and satisfaction was consuming, and I was obsessed with it. I was killing myself. It took me until that night to realize I was incoherent—disillusioned. Alone and scared, I gathered my bearings and grasped the sink until I could pull myself up. Shakily cleaning myself up and returning to my room, I collapsed in front of my window, curtains drawn with a full moon at display. It must have been past midnight and yet, my mind was so clear upon gazing at the moon. I have a deep appreciation for the stars, but I have never felt such an attraction before. This magnetic force began clearing the fog of my mind. I reached an epiphany, only a singular thought clouding the space: I want to live. I have since abstained from self-harm. In this time period, I fell in love with the rules of syntax and grammar, falling lost in the written worlds I create. I read hundreds upon hundreds of books, and I now advocate for the betterment of mental health services by raising awareness and initiating campus wide events. However, the one constant throughout those one thousand six hundred and twenty days since is my desire to comfort the fall of others by crafting a cushion of enchanted words. I had once thought that only when I become a successful author and am surrounded by my fanatical universes would I be “living”. As such, believing the mantra that I write to live. I was wrong. Every breath I draw upon is accompanied by a thought I could expand upon in the archives of my own literature. Only in my own words can I comfort people how I needed to be, save people how I was saved, and immerse myself in the pleasures of language. Such profound enjoyment can barely be conveyed as my appreciation for the written word scarcely outweighs my passion to contribute to it. I no longer am naive enough to believe that I write to live—no. I was lucky enough to be enlightened in the fact that my being is made for it, that I live to write. Overcoming my mental health struggles was the single hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. To this day, I still sometimes struggle with depressive thoughts. However, I know that I am on an upward trajectory in my mental health journey—there is no such thing as linear progression. Through the help of therapy and confiding in my support system, with each day I become more invigorated to learn about the world at large. My perspective has permanently changed, learning that there is so much vibrancy and joy to experience in life. Since then, I became empowered to write and share my story—raising awareness about mental health and substance issues and becoming more empathetic, positive, and encouraging of others' journeys so that no teenager nor person has to find release in the deterioration of their own body, just as I did.

In the U.S., 4 in 5 people are monolingual. When natural language processing models are trained, such as Google Translate, historical data is pulled from the dominant language of that region. Language-dominant data compounded with the rapid development of artificial intelligence leaves minority communities at a disadvantage with underlying historical biases in technological use. This transcends the abstract nature of a statistic, it is the lived reality of my identity as a Jewish biracial woman, where the nuances of my own communities’ languages, histories, and cultures are the first to be erased in large language processing models. I am dismantling this barrier by learning how AI is developed with bias and putting myself in positions to learn about multiculturalism. During a study abroad in Costa Rica this past summer, my host family enlightened me on the erasure of indigenous roots in the country. My cohort and I visited Volcán Irazú, a volcano located near the city of Cartago. However, the city was originally named Cubujuquí by the Huetar people. When taught about the history of the city, it is always referred to by its Spanish, colonized name without the acknowledgement of its indigenous roots. If I were to train AI using this data, it would have no knowledge of “Cubujuquí” or its geographical significance for the Huetar people. This shows just how easy it is to perpetuate biased data unknowingly. Currently, I am building foundational software development skills through coursework and outside research—assembling an academic portfolio that portrays how linguistic variation, ethics, and infrastructure shapes AI use in Brazil. My involvement in the Portuguese Flagship Program is a direct pathway into this work, reinforcing my determination to reach advanced fluency in the language while incorporating studies of machine learning into personal research objectives. As a part of the program, I am currently taking accelerated Portuguese classes and will complete an intensive summer study abroad in the cultural epi-center of Salvador, Brazil. With a blend of indigenous, African, and Portuguese influences, I could research a greater variety of scholastic resources—in Portuguese, English, and Spanish—which would greatly add to my understanding of AI and linguistic variation. Following this experience, I plan to complete a capstone year abroad in which a semester of advanced coursework and a subsequent internship will prepare me firsthand for working with large language models based in other countries. During this time, I would also like to attend a tech conference in São Paulo to learn more about AI from experienced professionals in the region and across the country. My pursuits at the University of Georgia have been a deliberate effort to build connections—between minority communities and the humanistic understanding of culture and the technological structure of AI. This scholarship would be the catalyst for further growth. I could lay the groundwork for AI models that uplift and recognize minority communities, just as I have emulated as a leader in my own communities, allowing future generations to be represented in the technological systems that serve them.