Organize organize organize! I like having my whole schedule written in my outlook calendar and on paper in my bag so I never have to look too far to know where I'm going. With everything else going on its no fun worrying if you're missing an important meeting or class. Insta: lissa_0517

Some of the best discoveries resulted from complete accidents. From popsicles to play dough, and even implanted pacemakers, accidental discoveries come in all shapes and sizes. My favourite scientific discovery was too an accident in the making. When Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, he had just returned from a holiday and was sorting through Petri dishes that had been exposed to staphylococcus and left to grow colonies during his vacation. Strangely enough when he was looking through the dishes, one caught his eye; this dish had a spot of mold growing on it, and surrounding this growth was a "Zone of Inhibition" where no staphylococcus was observed. Later the mold was identified as a strain of Penicillium, starting the massive industry of antibiotics that we greatly benefit from today. The discovery of penicillin has saved many lives over the decades it has been used, and while its usage is not what it once was due to the development of penicillin resistance strains of bacteria, it has lead researchers to explore different avenues to treat various diseases. In the words of Bob Ross, "there are not mistakes, just happy accidents."

Throughout high school and into my freshman year at university I struggled with my mental health. I was constantly pushing myself to be at the top of my class and worked to earn money to pay for my schooling, rarely taking a break to relax and breath. Now, entering my fourth year at university I can proudly say I am able to live a much more balanced life. While my work load has done nothing but get harder, I have been able to prioritize and organize my schedule much better, leaving time to relax and get good night sleeps which are sometimes more important then studying. While dining hall food is not the greatest, and there are an abundant amount of opportunities to eat garbage food day in and day out, I have still found ways to eat health. Since growing in my understanding of nutrition, and realizing the variety of fuel source the body needs to be at peak performance, I have learned to balance my meals. I try to eat a solid portion of protein, and have a variety of colours on my plate. When the options are slim picking due to my picky eating habits, I am always able to find fresh fruit, or make a sandwich which is able to keep me going throughout the day. I have also began planning ahead by meal prepping each week, usually cooking all my dinners on Sunday night, and then just reheating it thought the week. This works great due to my very busy schedule. Maintaining my physical health and fitness has been surprisingly easy. Since I am on my universities soccer team, daily practices keep me in shape, and I have come too realize that during off season if I don't get enough exercise I can become a bit grumpy. This helps me stay movitiated, and the drive to maintain my position on the soccer team also helps me set a goal the drive for and maintain. I love exercising, and I feel like my whole sense of physical and mental health stems around it. Freshman year I didn't know anyone, and a difficult breakup left me feeling very alone. For a couple months I was very depressed and didn't really know what to do or how to get out of the constant loop of feeling like no one was caring about me any more. After a while I was able to push myself to engage with my new roommates, and meet other people I had met in class. This greatly helped with my confidences and attitude toward my new life, and greatly helped with my mental health. Overall, consistent exercise, maintaining heathy eating patterns (with the room to treat myself and eat junk once in a while), and maintaining a connection and conversations with people around me helps maintain my good health. School can be a difficult time, but I have found that just having a good attitude and being ready for new opportunities can really help me be healthy in all aspects of life.

My love for animals and initial desire to pursue veterinary medicine first drew me to purse a STEM degree. This initial love has now developed into a love for the laboratory and the many hands on experiences I have had in the 15+ labs I have so far taken in my undergraduate program. I am incredibly thankful that I chose to major in Biology at university, as it has opened my eyes to the enormous amount of opportunities in the STEM fields. I have always been an inquisitive person. Growing up I was always making something out of craft supplies or helping my mother bake cookies or muffins for the family. Being able to see something come together with my hands always made me feel exited and driven to make more. While many of the projects I have worked on in university have not had many visible changes, (organic chemistry is just changing one clear liquid into a new clear liquid), it is amazing to see the different pieces of technology that can be used to determine a molecule's composition, and this is just as exiting to observe. I also want to make a positive impact in other peoples lives, and I think the STEM field is one of the best places to do that. While I no longer want to me a medical doctor, I want to enter the research field and help develop drugs/materials that help people (or animals) live better lives. At the end of the day—or year, as I have recently discovered how long research actually takes—I want to feel like I have impacted people's lives and made them better in some way. Over the years I have had many obstacles. Being from a small town in Canada, I had to study and prepare for the SAT all by my self and travel 8 hrs away to write it. Since coming to university I have only been able to go home during Christmas break, remaining at school of the rest of the time studying, working, and learning more about the future industries I might on day want to enter. Currently, my largest obstacle is getting in to a PhD program. The competitive nature of these programs have pushed me to success academically and have many extracurricular activities to add to my resume. With that being said though I am unsure if I will be accepted anywhere in the USA, and if I am not, I am not sure of what I will do instead. Nonetheless, I am very glad I chose to enter the STEM field through biology. It has given me the drive and confidence in myself and my abilities to achieve things most people could not.

On a hot summer day I watched as a spider slowly crawled its way through its web to the bee that was furiously trying to set itself free from the sticky situation. Looking around, I had found a small twig and used it to cut apart the spiders web, preventing the spider from making the bee its next meal. Twelve year old me knew that I loved animals, but she never could have guessed where that love would later lead her. Now, some ten years later, I sit in a class room 2000 miles away from home in a new country surrounded by strangers. It's funny looking back and seeing how my life decisions and interests lead me to where I am today. From as early as I can remember I have always loved animals and became passionate about there safety and wellbeing as I grew older and realized the frequent abuse many animals faced, along with the many health complication and medical procedures some need to survive. Because of this passion I was able to volunteer at my local animal shelter all through out high school. Whenever I was able I would stop by and take one or two of the dogs on a walk and interact the the other animals they had. I loved being around them, and help some rebuild their trust in humans after being mistreated for years. Because I loved helping animals so much, I planned to enrole in a pre-veterinary program at university. When I first got into university, I was sure that by the end of my 3rd year I would be applying to a veterinary medicine program, but life had other plans. Unlike the majority of the pre-vet people at my university, I had chosen to major in biology instead of the usual route of animal science. This small decision helped shape my interests further. My passion for animals, and their well being has shifted since realizing my love of being in a lab environment. Now, I am more focused on the drug development and other "behind the scenes" work related to animal wellbeing. I am not sure how this will play-out in my future, but I am sure that I will always be passionate about animal safety and hope to volunteer at a wildlife rehabilitation centre soon. My love of animals at a young age has allowed me to discover my passion for lab work. I continue to be passionate about the softly and well being of animals, and some day my work will be able to help them in some way.

When I first received the letter in the mail offering me the opportunity to play soccer at university, I was elated! I didn't think I would have the chance to continue playing any sport competitively after high school, because very few people I knew were able to do that. I felt so blessed to be a part of the team, and being able to go into my final year now with the same group of girls I started with is one of the best feelings in the world. I am very academically driven, which can be quite challenging to balance with being in a university sports team. Thankfully my coaches are understanding and realize that while I am fully committed to the team, my education is taking the priority. Their willingness to help me on and off the field has been a blessing, and has helped establish a team that works hard, plays hard, and supports each others academic success. Being in a small school, I share many of the same classes with my teammates which allowed our bond to form even stronger. I have always worked hard to be an excellent role model for those around me, and push the other girls to preform their best both on and off the field. This past year I was able to take Biochemistry with a couple of my younger teammates, and was really able to encourage them and help especially with studying before testes. On the field I play centre back, which is well known as the position that directs the play. From my position I am able to see the field well, and direct my teammates to make the best plays. You could say that out of all the positions, centre back is the best one that fits the "glue" description, as without a good centre back a soccer team often falls apart and is not able to play cohesively. With my position and heavy influence on the rest of the team I try to keep my energy up and stay positive even when we are not playing our best. I have always worked hard in every sport I have played, and love being in the team dynamic where players can build off of each others strengths. I believe that I display the "glue girl" characteristics, because I am constantly engaging with my teammates both on an off the field, by both encouraging them and pushing them to strive for success.

As cliché as it sounds, my mother is my biggest influencer and I would not trade her for the world. Growing up she always encouraged me, and pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and experience life. Even though I would have greatly preferred to stay home all day long and read, my mother was the one who lead me to enjoy the active life style I now live. Because of her, I love to cook, bake, and even to my surprise now, clean. As I'm sure many other young people experienced, growing up she was far from my favourite person. I never saw that what she pushed me to do was for my own benefit, and instead assumed that she just wanted me to get out of her hair. As I grew old and learned more about her life and how she grew up, I realized that she encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone because she her self was not able to do so. Growing up in a low income single parent house hold, she was very limited both financially and situationally. Thankfully she was able to get out of that situation, and have me and my brother. She has pushed us both the become the best possible versions of ourselves. From her constant encouragement and help through out my upbringing, I have now been lead to pursue a career in the STEM field. Without her I would not be as self driven as I am now, and not be able to see my full potential, as school has always been a struggle for me because of minor learning obstacles. Now, about to start my fourth year of university, I am very interested in applying to graduate schools to pursue a doctorate degree in biochemistry or a related field. From my experience as a summer inter in a research environment, I am very exited at the possibility to conduct my own research. While medical school does not spark my interest, the medical field itself does, and I want my research to be related to human health and disease control/maintenance. At the end of the day I want to be proud of the work I am doing, and feel like I am contributing to the betterment of at least one person's life. I would not be who I am today it was not for my mother. I would not be as motivated, driven, or exited about life if it was not for her. Because of her influence on my life I am able to make many achievements, and have the opportunity to apply for graduate programs in STEM.