Throughout my childhood, my mom would take my brother and I on daily nature walks. As someone who hopes to pursue the natural sciences, you would think that these nature walks were the highlight of my day. But I hated them. My nose was running, my vision was blurry, and I was deathly afraid of butterflies. Now that I have a bulk supply of Claritin on my nightstand, I realize that the problem wasn’t that I didn't like nature. In fact, when we got home from these walks I would often delve into my Virginia species guide or intently examine the demeanor of my pet fish. From there I would draw my favorite flowers or animals, or bombard my parents with questions I had about my lingering memories from the day's walk. Now I realize that those “mandatory” nature walks formed the foundation for my curiosity about the world and introduced me to nature as a healing force. This appreciation for nature that was unknowingly instilled in me quickly led to a fascination in biology when I entered high school. I had never realized before how complex and beautiful life on Earth was. This soon led to me wondering about what life would look like in other places in the universe. Thus, my obsession with astronomy and astrobiology began. I became fascinated with learning about the limits of life and the beauty of the universe, and spent my time daydreaming about discovering microbes on another planet. This passion has lingered with me ever since, and serves as somewhat of an escape from the worries of daily life. The nature of astronomy and biology provide perspective on our lives as humans here on Earth. For many people, the insignificance of human lives in the framework of space and time evokes a sense of despair and meaninglessness. However, I, like many astronomers before me, prefer to take the opposite approach. As most eloquently stated by Brian Cox, I believe that “we are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.” The idea that we, as humans, may be the only beings who can experience the universe leads me to the conclusion that we exist simply to experience. I strive to fully appreciate the most mundane tasks to the most awe-inspiring phenomena as equal aspects of the human experience. This is the perspective that nature provides to my life. The same nature trails that I spent my childhood begging to escape are now where I am able to feel most connected to myself and appreciative of the wonder that is life. Nature reminds me that there are forces at work that are larger than myself. Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed or disillusioned, I will surround myself with nature. Nature sparks wonder and awe towards the universe, and induces calmness and fulfillment. Nature is what heals me.

When I walked into my first hackathon, I immediately noticed that I was one of only ten young women in a large group of young men. Along with my minimal coding experience, I felt like I didn’t belong. Later that year, I learned that two of my classmates were creating their own hackathon, TecHacks. The mission of TecHacks was to create a supportive online environment for young women to pursue their interests in computer science and technology. I immediately got involved. Over the past year and half, the executive team members and I have created an incredible international community of women, including us, those who attend our hackathon and other events, and adult volunteers. Within our executive team, I coordinate outreach and events, meaning that I spend a lot of time communicating with our audience and professionals in STEM. During these conversations, we bond over our similar experiences with “imposter syndrome” and biases toward women in technology, regardless of our backgrounds.This position has also allowed me to meet college-age and professional women who have served as meaningful mentors to me. However, it is the differences within our community that have proven to be most valuable to me, helping me realize that many other young women around the world do not have the same opportunities I have been given throughout my life. This continually reinforces the importance of our mission for me. As the outreach team lead, I coordinated the gathering of our 900+ sign-ups and 20+ mentors and judges for our hackathon this past August. I was able to experiment with different marketing strategies to see what worked best for our event and our audience, including forming partnerships with other organizations, hosting Q&As, and advertising on different platforms. As the events team lead, a position that I hold during our off-season (fall and winter), I organize events that aim to provide resources to young girls interested in computer science and technology. I often organize panels with female professionals from large tech companies to talk to our audience and answer their questions, as well as organize workshops that teach young women important professional skills such as how to use certain software, develop a resume, or send a professional email. Although I plan to pursue a career in biology and/or astronomy in the future, being a part of this community has served as an outlet for me to pursue technology and computer science. I have gained technical skills that will be useful in any STEM career, as well as invaluable “soft skills” from working on a team, especially on the outreach team. TecHacks serves as a supportive and uplifting community for me, and I work hard to ensure that it serves the same role for others. I am proud and grateful to be a part of this community, because the people I have met have been invaluable contributors to my world view and supporters in my pursuit of STEM.

When I walked into my first hackathon, I immediately noticed that I was one of only ten young women in a large group of young men. Along with my minimal coding experience, I felt like I didn’t belong. Later that year, I learned that two of my classmates were creating their own hackathon, TecHacks. The mission of TecHacks was to create a supportive online environment for young women to pursue their interests in computer science and technology. I immediately got involved. Over the past year and half, the executive team members and I have created an incredible international community of women, including us, those who attend our hackathon and other events, and adult volunteers. Within our executive team, I coordinate outreach and events, meaning that I spend a lot of time communicating with our audience and professionals in STEM. During these conversations, we bond over our similar experiences with “imposter syndrome” and biases toward women in technology, regardless of our backgrounds.This position has also allowed me to meet college-age and professional women who have served as meaningful mentors to me. However, it is the differences within our community that have proven to be most valuable to me, helping me realize that many other young women around the world do not have the same opportunities I have been given throughout my life. This continually reinforces the importance of our mission for me. As the outreach team lead, I coordinated the gathering of our 900+ sign-ups and 20+ mentors and judges for our hackathon this past August. I was able to experiment with different marketing strategies to see what worked best for our event and our audience, including forming partnerships with other organizations, hosting Q&As, and advertising on different platforms. As the events team lead, a position that I hold during our off-season (fall and winter), I organize events that aim to provide resources to young girls interested in computer science and technology. I often organize panels with female professionals from large tech companies to talk to our audience and answer their questions, as well as organize workshops that teach young women important professional skills such as how to use certain software, develop a resume, or send a professional email. Although I plan to pursue a career in biology and/or astronomy in the future, being a part of this community has served as an outlet for me to pursue technology and computer science. I have gained technical skills that will be useful in any STEM career, as well as invaluable “soft skills” from working on a team, especially on the outreach team. TecHacks serves as a supportive and uplifting community for me, and I work hard to ensure that it serves the same role for others. I am proud and grateful to be a part of this community, because the people I have met have been invaluable contributors to my world view and supporters in my pursuit of STEM.

When I walked into my first hackathon, I immediately noticed that I was one of only ten young women in a large group of young men. Along with my minimal coding experience, I felt like I didn’t belong. Later that year, I learned that two of my classmates were creating their own hackathon, TecHacks. The mission of TecHacks was to create a supportive online environment for young women to pursue their interests in computer science and technology. I immediately got involved. Over the past year and half, the executive team members and I have created an incredible international community of women, including us, those who attend our hackathon and other events, and adult volunteers. Within our executive team, I coordinate outreach and events, meaning that I spend a lot of time communicating with our audience and professionals in STEM. During these conversations, we bond over our similar experiences with “imposter syndrome” and biases toward women in technology, regardless of our backgrounds.This position has also allowed me to meet college-age and professional women who have served as meaningful mentors to me. However, it is the differences within our community that have proven to be most valuable to me, helping me realize that many other young women around the world do not have the same opportunities I have been given throughout my life. This continually reinforces the importance of our mission for me. As the outreach team lead, I coordinated the gathering of our 900+ sign-ups and 20+ mentors and judges for our hackathon this past August. I was able to experiment with different marketing strategies to see what worked best for our event and our audience, including forming partnerships with other organizations, hosting Q&As, and advertising on different platforms. As the events team lead, a position that I hold during our off-season (fall and winter), I organize events that aim to provide resources to young girls interested in computer science and technology. I often organize panels with female professionals from large tech companies to talk to our audience and answer their questions, as well as organize workshops that teach young women important professional skills such as how to use certain software, develop a resume, or send a professional email. Although I plan to pursue a career in biology and/or astronomy in the future, being a part of this community has served as an outlet for me to pursue technology and computer science. I have gained technical skills that will be useful in any STEM career, as well as invaluable “soft skills” from working on a team, especially on the outreach team. TecHacks serves as a supportive and uplifting community for me, and I work hard to ensure that it serves the same role for others. I am proud and grateful to be a part of this community, because the people I have met have been invaluable contributors to my world view and supporters in my pursuit of STEM.

I am fascinated by astrobiology because it combines two of the most captivating phenomena: life and the universe. Perhaps what makes both of these concepts so captivating is that there is so much we don't understand about them. They seem to exist beyond our scope of influence; they are greater than ourselves. While I admit that this idea is somewhat scary, I am overwhelmed with excitement and curiosity when I think about deep space objects and strange alien life forms. I have my sights set on finding life elsewhere in the universe, fueled by my curiosity about the unknown. Finding this life (or not finding it) would forever change humanity's perspective on our own existence. In order to truly understand our place in the universe, we must determine whether or not we are alone. It is nearly impossible to fathom all of the possibilities of what life may look like, how it may behave, how intelligent it may be, or where it may exist. We don’t yet know what the laws of nature will create given different parameters than our own. It is when we allow ourselves to follow our curiosity that we make the most amazing discoveries. Curiosity is what carries us to other planets, and one day maybe even to other stars and galaxies. Curiosity takes us back in time, to before humanity existed, to when seemingly alien life forms dominated Earth. Curiosity takes us into the deepest parts of the ocean, to the most hostile environments on Earth, and even to imaginary worlds. The key is allowing yourself to be curious.

I am fascinated by astrobiology because it combines two of the most captivating phenomena: life and the universe. Perhaps what makes both of these concepts so captivating is that there is so much we don't understand about them. They seem to exist beyond our scope of influence; they are greater than ourselves. While I admit that this idea is somewhat scary, I am overwhelmed with excitement and curiosity when I think about deep space objects and strange alien life forms. I have my sights set on finding life elsewhere in the universe, fueled by my curiosity about the unknown. Finding this life (or not finding it) would forever change humanity's perspective on our own existence. In order to truly understand our place in the universe, we must determine whether or not we are alone. It is nearly impossible to fathom all of the possibilities of what life may look like, how it may behave, how intelligent it may be, or where it may exist. We don’t yet know what the laws of nature will create given different parameters than our own. It is when we allow ourselves to follow our curiosity that we make the most amazing discoveries. Curiosity is what carries us to other planets, and one day maybe even to other stars and galaxies. Curiosity takes us back in time, to before humanity existed, to when seemingly alien life forms dominated Earth. Curiosity takes us into the deepest parts of the ocean, to the most hostile environments on Earth, and even to imaginary worlds. The key is allowing yourself to be curious. My mother is the one who instilled this value in me. She has always encouraged me to explore new things and discover the world, from when I was a child to now. She has been the primary guiding figure in my life, and has shaped me into the person I am today, and I am beyond grateful for her.

My name is Libby McClough, and I am a high school senior at a STEM magnet school. My dream is to one day be an astrobiologist - that is, someone who studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. I have always been a curious and passionate person, and when I entered high school, that curiosity and passion attached itself to biology and astronomy. I believe that astrobiology is the perfect field for me because it explores the unknown. There are no bounds for what I can discover and create. It is a chance for my curiosity and creativity to lead me wherever it wants. I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy when I think about all of the possibilities of what life may look like, how it may behave, how intelligent it may be, and on what other worlds it may exist. I hope to one day find this life, because it would forever change humanity's perspective on our own existence. I believe that in order to truly understand our place in the universe, we must determine whether or not we are alone. I have also always had a deep appreciation for art. I believe, at its core, art is emotional, and it is a method of communication among humans that I want to decipher. Art evokes the same feelings for me that I have when I look up at the stars or down at a bug on the sidewalk. Like many artists, I want to show other people the same beauty that I see in the universe. I am an artist, and my medium is science.

I think the most amazing combinations between STEM and Art are artistic renditions of astronomical phenomena and astronomy photographs. Scientists collect data from telescopes and other instruments and interpret it, in order to predict what astronomical phenomena may look like, but artists are the ones who bring this data to life. They add humanity to the numbers and letters, and are able to produce beautiful visualizations. Artists are what make astronomy so awe-inspiring, with images that allow us to truly experience the beauty of the universe. This is why I hope to pursue photography, in addition to STEM, in college. My name is Libby McClough, and I am a high school senior at a STEM magnet school. My dream is to one day be an astrobiologist - that is, someone who studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. I have always been a curious and passionate person, and when I entered high school, that curiosity and passion attached itself to biology and astronomy. I believe that astrobiology is the perfect field for me because it explores the unknown. There are no bounds for what I can discover and create. It is a chance for my curiosity and creativity to lead me wherever it wants. I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy when I think about all of the possibilities of what life may look like, how it may behave, how intelligent it may be, and on what other worlds it may exist. I hope to one day find this life, because it would forever change humanity's perspective on our own existence. I believe that in order to truly understand our place in the universe, we must determine whether or not we are alone. When I am not studying astrobiology, I enjoy participating in robotics competitions. I am on a Botball robotics team with fellow high school students in my area, and I find great joy in solving problems together and producing a final product that we are proud of. I have also found that a lot of the skills I learn in robotics apply to other aspects of my life, such as other coding and engineering projects, other STEM subjects such as math and physics, and everyday problem solving. I have even had opportunities to implement hardware that I learned about through robotics at hackathons with my friends. I enjoy competing in hackathons on the weekends when I have the chance, and I even contribute to organizing a hackathon every summer. The hackathon I help organize is called TecHacks, and it is an all-female hackathon aiming to bridge the gender gap in STEM. At my school, I hold leadership positions in both our Environmental Science Club and our Psychology Society. I love being a part of both of these communities, because I am able to connect with people that have similar interests to me and have fun. In Environmental Science Club, I am currently leading a group of students in attempting to crossbreed lettuce and pepper species. Advances in crossbreeding technology can help to fight back against the antibiotic resistance crisis, as well as teach the students more about genetics and agriculture. In Psychology Society, I often give lectures about topics that I am interested in, such as Attachment Theory, social psychology, and perception. I see all of my interests, psychology, environmental science, biology, robotics, etc., as containing puzzles to solve. Scientific research is also largely composed of solving puzzles, and this is likely why I enjoy it so much. I am currently working on a senior research project at my school, where two other students and I are attempting to seed decellularized grass scaffolds with cardiomyocytes as a form of biological tissue engineering. We have had some help and guidance from our lab director, but we are lucky enough to have had a lot of freedom in choosing, designing, and executing this project. This past summer, I was also an intern at an immunology lab at George Mason University, where I learned about wet lab techniques and strengthened my understanding of the research in the field by sitting in on lab meetings and writing my own literature review on SARS-CoV-2 infection. The previous summer, I was an intern at a psychology lab at the University of Delaware. This was my main introduction to research, and I learned many valuable skills, such as effective scientific communication, basic statistical analyses, and psychological research methods. Through these experiences, I have fallen in love with the creativity and problem solving that is exercised in research. I also have a deep appreciation for art. I paint and draw in my free time, I was in my school orchestra from 4th - 10th grade, and I often help my mom with her small-business where she produces and sells art. I believe, at its core, art is emotional, and it is a method of communication among humans that I want to decipher. Art evokes the same feelings for me that I have when I look up at the stars or down at a bug on the sidewalk. Like many artists, I want to show other people the same beauty that I see in the universe. I am an artist, and my medium is science.