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Katherine Wang

1x

Finalist

General information

Hobbies & Interests

  • Liberal Arts and Humanities
  • Model UN
  • Forensics
  • Conservation
  • National Honor Society (NHS)
  • Band
  • Theater
  • Trumpet
  • Math
  • Environmental Science and Sustainability
  • Data Science
  • Painting and Studio Art
  • Travel And Tourism
  • French

Reading

  • Adventure
  • Fantasy
  • Romance
  • Horror

I read books multiple times a week.

Bio

I am a current Biological Sciences major in the Honors Program at the University of Connecticut. I hope to pursue a career in forensics, particularly wildlife forensics. Throughout grade school I have excelled in STEM and found a passion for the analytical approach of forensic science. Wildlife forensics provides me with the chance to use forensics to contribute to conservation and environmental law enforcement. Throughout my academic career I have earned the following awards and honors: Dean’s List Fall 2025, University of Connecticut Academic Excellence Scholarship, Wilmington High School Class of 2025 Top 10%, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Academic Excellence Award, Society of Women Engineers Certificate of Merit, Jae S. Lim Foundation Wilmington Math Prize, National Honor Society Beyond academics, I love the arts and I have continued playing in marching band and painting theatrical sets through college. The arts have always been a space where I have found community, support, leadership, and inspiration. Despite the financial pressures of pursuing higher education as a low-income student, I still look earnestly towards the opportunity to learn and pursue my passions. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Education

University of Connecticut

Bachelor's degree program

2025 – 2028

Majors:
  • Biology, General
Minors:
  • Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy

Wilmington High

High School

2021 – 2025

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Bachelor's degree program
Majors of interest:
Biology, General, Criminal Justice and Corrections, General

Career

  • High School Set Design Supervisor - Guided campers (grades 4-8), led a team of interns, designed an age appropriate scenic design

    Arts · Wilmington Public Schools Summer Theater Program

    Jan 2025 – Jan 2025

  • No School Playcation Day Group Leader - Supervised campers (grades 4-7) through creative and educational activities

    Arts · Kidstock! Creative Theater

    Jan 2024 – Jan 2024

  • Cashier

    Retail · Kohl’s

    Jan 2023 – Jan 2023

  • Cashier

    Retail · Market Basket

    Jan 2022 – Jan 2023

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Environmental Services
Dream career goals:
Wildlife Forensics
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Advocacy
  • Volunteering
Harry B. Anderson Scholarship
All it took for me to know forensics would be my future career was a one-semester elective class in high school. Rather than a dramatic tale culminating in a sense of justice or even a lifelong childhood dream, I simply fell in love with the methodical approach of forensics to problem-solving, in which piecing together a mystery could catch criminals and even save lives. Always gravitating toward math and science growing up, I resonated with the logical and analytical reasoning that forensics requires. Forensics is based in STEM, and a scientific approach is vital when drawing out the facts of evidence to support a verdict beyond reasonable doubt. Thus, as my passion for forensics grew, I found a way to apply my aptitude for STEM. Once I knew I wanted to pursue forensics, I enrolled in the Biological Sciences program at the University of Connecticut. It is an interdisciplinary major combining the Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB), Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), and Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB) departments. Based on my major, I had presumed I would pursue forensic biology or DNA analysis. Accordingly, I thought MCB courses would be the most vital foundation to my career, but I have found the most inspiration from my EEB courses. This past semester I took Big Data Science for Biologists, a bioinformatics course which taught how to use R and Python to analyze biological big data. Part of the course was the "why" of big data, where each week the class would read an article or two about an application of big data to different scientific fields. As the course was taught by a professor studying conservation, many articles were focused on wildlife and ecology. After learning about conservation of wildlife, like marine megafauna, and the effect of pollutants, such as light pollution, I realized how much of an impact research has on environmental policy and conservation efforts. I became interested in how I could contribute to conservation, while still pursuing my passion for forensics. Forensics and conservation, what a dream combination of fields. Discovering wildlife forensics as a career path immediately felt right to me, as it blended my strengths in scientific investigation with the sense of purpose I find in protecting wildlife. Over the last few decades the field of wildlife forensics has grown into a global effort to combat poaching. I aspire for a position in a wildlife forensics laboratory that employs DNA analysis to identify protected, endangered species and geographic origins to trace poachers. In doing so, I hope to use my STEM background in forensic work to help preserve vulnerable ecosystems across the globe.
Katherine Wang Student Profile | Bold.org