I think one of the first scientific concepts that I understood as a child was the idea of a black hole. Astrophysics was a common topic of conversation around my family’s dinner table. This wasn't because any of my parents had any formal education in this subject. My father, however, has a great interest in all things space. He self-taught himself things that I only began to grasp toward the end of high school. It pains me sometimes, to think of what he and my mother, an aspiring doctor at one point, could have achieved had they been born in countries with institutions that supported their success. But they ventured out, to find those places for my siblings and I. It is this dedication that I aspire to honor with my pursuits in science. I hope to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and eventually a Master’s in Materials Engineering and work in the textiles industry. Everyone must clothe themselves, but the way that we do depends on a very flawed industry. There is room for improvement in this industry from the way that cloth is produced chemically or organically, to the way that it is chemically processed, to the way that it is sold commercially and then disposed of. The amount of chemical and physical waste produced by the textile industry—one of the leading polluters of our oceans—is proof of this. One of my short-term goals is working with the brilliant scientists presenting logistical and engineering solutions to this problem, building a better future for all of us. I am interested in the way that science helps to not only build the future, but to also help define the past. Chemistry has fascinated me since I was very young. I was always asking why: how things were made, how things worked. I found that the answer which satisfied me was always lying in the composition of things, in the relationships between atoms and particles. As I grew and changed, I could struggle with identity and faith and belonging, but the relationships that make up scientific study always remained steadfast. This is a comfort I continue to hold close to me. My love of science has always been matched by my love of history. Recently, I have realized that these subjects go hand in hand. Making sense of our world is a tense game of ping pong—a historian may recognize significance in an excavation site, an archaeologist confirms this by carbon dating its artifacts, a biologist deems them safe, a sociologist crafts a narrative, and so on. Even the stars were mapped with the help of oral tradition. Facing history is a significant part of science. Constructing multiple viewpoints and destructing biases helps spur on progress and efficiency. This is why it is necessary to have diversity of opinion and frame of mind within STEM fields. Only within an inclusive framework can we find and solve the problems that plague our Earth and society, which is ultimately what science aims to do. My long-term goal is to provide resources to those who can give the world of science these different viewpoints, but haven’t been given the chance. Particularly, people like my parents, but especially disadvantaged women world-wide. If I open doors, I want to hold those doors open for those behind me.

My relationship with God continues to change as I continue to learn more about myself, the world, and my place in it. My relationship with religion is more complicated. But at the core of my belief is the idea of God as a Creator, whether or not this role is a passive or active one. Creation, to me, is the most beautiful thing in the world; from agriculture to art to children. Creation is an act of love. God, as the Creator, is love itself. My STEM pursuits have always come from a place of wanting to understand creation. How are things made and how do they work? Finding these things feels like finding God, to me. Science is a beautiful pursuit in this way. I have been very lucky to have grown up with parents who encouraged my siblings and I to find our own beliefs, so that the lives we would come to live would be the lives most authentic to us. However, as my parents are believing Muslims, this is the foundation that I have. I spent early childhood constructing my idea of the universe based on this foundation. My belief in God was solidified just a few years ago, during the pandemic. I had always been a child that was much too introspective, much too lonely, and took everything that caused me sorrow deeply and buried it. When the world stopped and I was at home shielded from distraction, shielded from accountability and responsibility, I could no longer bury the vivid memories that tormented me when I lay awake at night. I fell into a hole of deep self-loathing. That entire period of about two years felt like a long, dark night. And I don’t know how I got through it, but I do know that there in the dark, sometimes, it felt like God was holding my hand. My goal is to try to emulate that presence for others in the world, beginning with mine. As a daughter and sister, I want to be able to help my parents support my four younger siblings in their pursuits, so that their dreams are closer to them than mine are for me, even with all the privileges my parents’ hard work has afforded me. As an engineer, I want to protect the livelihoods and resources of communities worldwide. As a philanthropist, I want to provide opportunities to people with less than me. I believe that there is a Creator, and that Creator is love itself, and by loving others through our lives and helping others through STEM, we can take a small part in this creation.

I am interested in the way that science helps to not only build the future, but to also help define the past. Chemistry has fascinated me since I was very young. I was always asking why: how things were made, how things worked. I found that the answer which satisfied me was always lying in the composition of things, in the relationships between atoms and particles. As I grew and changed, I could struggle with identity and faith and belonging, but the relationships that make up scientific study always remained steadfast. This is a comfort I continue to hold close to me. My love of science has always been matched by my love of history. Recently, I have realized that these subjects go hand in hand. Facing history is a significant part of science. Constructing multiple viewpoints and destructing biases helps spur on progress and efficiency. This is why it is necessary to have diversity of opinion and frame of mind within STEM fields. Only within an inclusive framework can we find and solve the problems that plague our Earth and society, which is ultimately what science aims to do. As someone who comes from a country that is not greatly represented, even within the immigrant population of the United States, I believe I can help bring to the forefront of the scientific community the knowledge of yet uncharted scientific projects. The intersections at which Black women lie allow us to bring these little-known issues to the forefront of the scientific community. It also allows us to implement little-thought-of solutions. A Black woman I greatly admire who has done this is Wangarĩ Maathai, an environmental activist who became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. Maathai excelled at using education as a tool along with science. As someone who aims to see a world where women's education, globally, is increasingly promoted, this is incredibly inspiring to me. Maathai promoted self-sufficiency from women through agriculture, implementing a program wherein Kenyan women supported themselves and the environment by planting trees. I would like to take a cue from this. I aim to obtain a Master’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering and use this knowledge to help transform the textiles industry by implementing more sustainable production practices and utilizing innovative biomaterials. It is important to note that much of the waste produced by textile manufacturing and clothing winds up in under-developed places like Sub-Saharan Africa, a part of the equation that is often overlooked. I am also interested in the space where science and women’s history meet. Supporting African traditional textile traditions—typically held by women—is another goal of mine, very much inspired by Maathai. I hope that like her, I can utilize the scientific field to support both the planet and women’s pursuits.