Since I was little, I have loved the water. I have been a competitive swimmer since age 8, and a water polo player since freshman year. Some of my fondest childhood memories are centered around the ocean, lakes, and rivers. Especially swimming, surfing, and paddleboarding with my friends. The water makes me feel safe and at peace. Yet it seems every month a new headline makes it obvious that my safe place itself is in danger from climate change and human pollutants. I want to be able to help the places that have helped me throughout my life. From a scientific standpoint, it is vital that we protect the oceans for the survival of life as we know it on Earth. As both a major contributor to oxygen and as a massive carbon sink, the oceans keep our world in balance. Yet, as anthropogenic activities and associated pollution continue to impact our waters, the oceans cannot regulate the planet as they have, not to mention the devastating changes below the surface pertaining to biodiversity loss. From the air we breathe, greenhouse gases, storm systems, food sources, recreation, and holding massive amounts of biodiversity that we have hardly scratched the surface of, the oceans have so much to offer. Aside from quantitative measures of its massive importance to life on Earth, it is beautiful, complex, and has a right to exist unharmed from the hubris of humanity. We should protect it for the simple reason that it and its inhabitants deserve life. I am studying for degrees in Earth science and chemistry. As a chemist I want to pursue green chemistry to prevent waste entering the environment and subsequently our oceans. I am also very passionate about bioplastics and see them as a veritable alternative to petroleum products, keeping plastic waste that doesn't break down out of our waters. Further, I am interested in petroleum alternatives in terms of fuel sources. They would not only reduce or eliminate oil spills that harm ocean life but long term curb the global warming impacts of combustion as less CO2 would be pumped into our skies, taking a load off the carbon sink that is the oceans. This would therefore lessen ocean acidification, help stop the displacement and eradication of species in the ocean based on temperature changes that make their homes unsuitable for them, and stopping or slowing the decline of vital coral reefs, helping preserve ocean biodiversity globally. My degrees and love for the oceans go hand in hand perfectly. Chemistry gives the skills to make alternatives, Earth science the context and applications, and my love for the oceans give me determination. Often when I am unsure, afraid, or feel that I have failed, I find myself thinking that all I want to do is go to the beach. Floating out past the breakers in the cool Pacific brings me far more peace than anything that I have found on Earth. I feel so small, a tiny speck in the massive depths. Yet I feel so at peace, like I am home. At the end of the day, I understand how vital our oceans are to the survival of our planet, how deeply fascinating they are, and how important they are to so many coastal communities and beyond. However, I can't help but think about what they mean to me, just a little speck, one small life. The oceans have always been there for me, it only seems right that as I grow up and go into the world as a scientist, I can try my best to be there for them.

I have always gravitated towards the natural sciences, and found great joy, friends, and opportunities within them. Chemistry in particular has stolen my heart through my infatuation with how things work on a smaller scale. I remember my awe when I learned that the nature of our reality is dictated by tiny little charges who dance together. I still haven't gotten over how cool that is. Within chemistry I am most interested in the research and development of alternatives to petroleum products. From plastics, to solvents, to fuels, I know that it is imperative that societally we move away from fossil fuels due to how detrimental it is to our environment. Recent developments in alternative solvents that are less harmful while not sacrificing efficiency have been made in the field of green chemistry. I think that this is what excites me the most, that we are steps closer to moving away from petro-solvents as I learn more about their harm not only environmentally but also to the people using them. I am very excited to be attending University of California - Santa Barbara for many reasons, but one that stands out in my anticipation is the potential to partake in research associated with this interest of mine. The Lipshutz Research Group has a plethora of green chemistry research projects that I hope to contribute to during my chemistry degree. It makes me very happy to know that there is a group of scientists at the school I will be attending passionate about the same thing as me. This provides me with research opportunities that I find very meaningful during undergrad. I intend to pour my all into trying to get into one of these projects to pursue the topic that excites me the most in my field. As I've grown up, I have learned more and more of the deleterious impacts that humanity is having on itself and our environment. The past couple years for me have been marked by fear, hopelessness, and anger. I was so scared that we were irrevocably hurdling to destruction. I am still frightened, but also embolden because of that fear and the necessity of change. I am determined to not become jaded and harsh from frustration, as many older scientists I know have. I want to hold onto wonder at the beauty of our world at both the macro and micro scale, to not give up on humanity. Through the field of chemistry, I have found an application for my frustration and a way to ease the fear I feel for the future of our planet and species. Green chemistry has given me hope that I cherish and drives me to want to contribute to its advancement.

Education to me is a fundamental right of humanity. Striving towards comprehension is something that we have done as long as we were considered human. Peering up to the stars and tracking their movements to understand the passage of time and its implications for food sources and weather, wondering about our place in the everchanging cosmos. I believe that everyone deserves to learn as much as they want to about our world and beyond. Not only is it very interesting and can help provide meaning and direction in life, it is also vital to have a well-educated population for a well-functioning society that cannot easily fall victim to things like ethnocentrism, fascism, and bigotry of all kinds. An educated population can strive for a better present and future for all, by learning from and building off the past. On a more personal level, education is my ticket to the life I long to live. As both a first-generation college student and a daughter of a single mother, being able to pursue higher education feels extra special knowing all it took from my mom and I to get me here. I revel in the simple pleasure of understanding, and want to learn all I can about everything. I am most enraptured with chemistry. Its rhyming complexity and propensity to hold novel ways to power and protect our world has drawn me in. I hope that with an education in chemistry and Earth science I can understand enough to help our ailing planet and its people. Outside of career, education is the cornerstone of my hobbies. I have always been told by my friends, family, and teachers that I tend to take the logical, inquisitive, and scientific approach. This is something that often is not equated with being an artist. I think that societally we have made a grave mistake in separating arts and humanities from math and the sciences. That is a sentiment that is a throughline in both my own art and my time spent doing community stem outreach. Volunteering and teaching others, especially young girls, about science through an apprenticeship with the EcoLogik Institute brings me so much joy. It feels very rewarding to be fostering the love for learning that was built in me as a kid thanks to a fruitful combination of STEM oriented library programs, reading with my mom, and a propensity for wandering. Knowledge and learning have a wonderful way of connecting diverse pools of people in meaningful conversation and swapping of stories. It is always so fun to talk to a wide variety of people at educational events. While teaching the science topic of the day through an activity, I end up learning something new, not always related (which makes it all the more interesting and fun), each day I roll the science explorers club cart out. I believe that education is very powerful. I want to pursue my own higher education with the end goal of helping others through science while continuing to volunteer in my community. I want to be a lifelong learner and helper; a college education is my next step in pursuing that goal.