In the South Atlantic Ocean there is an archipelago called the South Sandwich Islands, where a small colony of seabirds live and nest: the Gray-headed Albatross. They are classified as endangered, and their numbers are rapidly declining from getting tangled in illegal fishing nets in the Indian Ocean. It is my dream to pursue a career researching, monitoring, and preserving this beautiful species' population. I had the privilege of spending much of my childhood in nature– in national parks, forest preserves near my hometown, even my own backyard. No matter where I was, I always found myself fascinated by the birds there– trying to recognize their calls and spot plumage through the trees. Today, I study Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a concentration in Evolution and Ecology. I am also participating in a Bird-Friendly buildings sustainability project within the Biology department, collecting data about bird collisions with our campus buildings and taking action to make them safer for migratory species. My ultimate academic goal is a Masters Degree in Behavioral Ecology. Endangered species conservation is incredibly important to me and I am determined to study these birds up-close and protect them from threats of extinction.

Ever since I was a baby, I've been exploring the natural world. Throughout my life, I've had the privilege of visiting many National Parks around the United States and experiencing the incredible array of plants, animals, and gorgeous scenery they have to offer. After my first year in college studying Graphic Design, I realized that my passions had shifted and that I needed something new. During that spring semester, I had begun using the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Identification app to track and identify the bird songs and calls that I was hearing in the courtyard of my dorm building. Soon, I was fully captivated by the birds! While I was growing up, backyard bird species had always been something in the back of my mind— their calls being something that made me smile while walking to my school bus stop, or listening to while lying under the tree in our backyard on hot summer days. Over the next few months, my bird identification skills grew tremendously, and I was able to determine who was singing without the help of the app. I could tell by the colors or shape of the wings and beaks who was hanging out in the trees in my yard. By the end of the semester, I had decided what it was I wanted to pursue: Ornithology. Of course, not many schools offer a degree in ornithology, so I was worried it might be a difficult field to get into. Instead, I've transferred into a Biology program at my university that has an Ecology and Evolution concentration. Perfect! This way, I will be able to study animals and the environment much more broadly, in order to become more specialized later. I intend to take courses in animal behavior and life science illustration to deepen my understanding of the animal world. After achieving my bachelor's degree in Biology, I'm aiming for a Master's or PhD in Avian Evolutionary Biology, and with any luck, study firsthand in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I have become deeply interested in becoming a wildlife surveyor and ecologist after seeing the work of the British Antarctic Survey online. The scientists there are monitoring the health and growth of the endangered Gray-Headed Albatrosses in South Georgia, an island in the Atlantic Ocean. Being able to study this species close-up would be a dream come true, and it would make me especially proud to know that I am doing work to save those and many other species of birds from critical endangerment. All in all, I am lucky to be able to say I have spent most of my life exposed to and learning about nature and animals, and I am even happier that I decided to change majors and enter this field. I hope that my studies and research will have a positive impact on the Avian world and that I'll be able to spend the rest of my life pursuing this passion.

Community engagement and service were always a core value taught to me from a very young age. I spent a decade of my life as a Girl Scout in Troop 60102, and demonstrating good leadership and service to others. Many times over the years, my troop and I volunteered at local homeless shelters, providing hot meals, a place to sleep, and a care package for the next day to homeless men, women, and children who stayed with us. Being able to plan a meal, cook all the components as a team, and serve it to our guests made me feel as though I was making a huge impact on my community members. Everyone deserves safety and comfort overnight, especially during the cold winter months. Having the opportunity to serve good food and make up warm beds for the guests, hearing their stories, and seeing the smiles on their faces truly made me feel like I was creating a safe and comfortable environment for people who are living in a constant state of uncertainty. I believe this deep and frequent engagement with my community had a positive impact on my academic success as well. Learning communication, leadership, and organizational skills while volunteering was something I could apply to my school classes and group projects. In high school, I was a member of the National Honor Society and Tri-M Music Honor Society, which were both also fundamentally community service and engagement groups, wherein we collaborated with numerous organizations around our city, such as Versiti Blood Center and a few senior living facilities around the holiday seasons. Alongside our community service work, I was a fully honors and AP student, with straight A's and a 4.0 GPA. I am an artist, so I was proud to become someone that school clubs and organizations came to for logo designs, photography work, and leadership roles, because they knew I was willing and capable. My Troop and I designed, painted, and hung large inspirational murals in the hallways of our middle school to encourage and uplift our classmates, which are still there, even years after we graduated! I credit my peers and mentors throughout my life for helping me develop the skills and spirit to participate in these good causes, and I learned to say "Yes" to new and different opportunities because I knew that my work would make a positive impact on the world around me. I was able to observe the most admirable qualities in the people around me and learn how to exhibit them myself. Currently, I am an undergraduate student pursuing a Biology degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I have a 3.85 cumulative GPA and a continued trend of straight A's. After completing my Bachelor's, my goal is to earn a Master's or PhD in Avian Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. Long-term, I would like to be an Ornithologist and wildlife surveyor and contribute important research to the field of birds. I am fascinated by birds of all kinds, and it would be a dream come true to study and help endangered species all over the world. I have spent many, many hours in national parks and forests, even as a baby, and the natural world has always been something deeply important to me to protect and help thrive. I possess the qualities needed to make an impact, and I hope to apply all the strong skills I learned during my upbringing to my present and future careers in order to be someone whom people can count on to lead, inspire, and create for years to come.

Throughout my upbringing and teenage years, I often struggled with my identity and my relationship with my religion. I often felt lost, or as though I was doing something incorrectly when it came to my faith. In my photography, I have begun to develop a style that reflects my experiences and journey finding peace with who I am and what I believe in (or don't believe in). The photos I chose for this portfolio are in black and white-- white for purity, black for loss, death, worry. They are intended to convey the feeling of loneliness, fear, and believing oneself forsaken. In general, I often find myself photographing the same themes, objects, and symbols, and I've noticed that they each have some underlying meaning to them when I go back and look at them a second time. For example, water to me represents transcience, the possibility for positive change, and constant movement. Sharp lines and stone architecture give a sense of foreboding or authority to cower before. In the context of this particular portfolio, the pillars (Image 5) and the shadows surrounding them make me feel very small. I often felt this way about the church I belonged to-- being watched over and admonished for simply living. The sharp lines are also present in Image 4, which I've titled "Cobwebs". The image is almost entirely straight lines and right angles, but the cobweb itself is made of up curving and twisting fibers that attach themselves to different corners. In a way, I see myself in the shapes created by the spider's silk-- clinging to whatever would have me, frail and breakable, but still holding the potential to be something beautiful. The swan wing in the third image resembles an angel's wing, with water behind it-- both of these things together create a feeling of safety and purity, but still a layer of skepticism underneath. "The Gaping Mouth", the second image, is a photo I took in the contemporary wing of the Art Institute in Chicago. The vibrant black of the doorway represents an unknown path, or simply, uncertainty. The man to the immediate left of it is the same color as the door and looks as though he is contemplating walking toward it. Overall the image is meant to convey unpredictability, and both subjects being in black say that nowhere is necessarily safe, not even within the self.