I loved computer science in middle school, but I was always the only girl in my programming classes. Despite never being directly excluded, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t belong, and by the time I got to high school, I’d given up computer science. Though I have now found my passion for chemistry, I’ll always remember the struggle to maintain my confidence and curiosity in a male-dominated environment, so today, I work to make sure that no other girl feels similarly isolated. I lead All Girls STEM Society (AGSS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to reduce the gender gap in STEM by hosting free STEM workshops for young girls. At AGSS, our all-girls environment empowers our participants to see STEM as a field where they belong and are supported, giving them the confidence to pursue their interests and promoting diversity and inclusion in STEM. I have been volunteering for All Girls STEM Society for four years, and I have been on the leadership team for three years, first as Director of Fundraising and Outreach, then as Vice President. As a volunteer, I have been able to positively impact many of the participants in our workshops as an older mentor. One of my most memorable experiences in volunteering for AGSS was my experience helping Emily, one of our participants. I first met Emily at our All Girls Math Tournament three years ago, and since then, we have formed a strong bond. At workshops, Emily always seeks me out, and we talk about everything from the activity we’re doing to our favorite Star Wars movies. Emily has told me that I am her favorite volunteer, and I am grateful to be a positive influence and a role model for her. As leader and Vice President of AGSS, I develop curriculum, organize venues, and craft grant proposals, doing much of the work that makes AGSS’s impact possible. Over the past two years, I’ve helped secure $15,000+ in grant funding while recruiting sponsors like Wolfram Alpha and Texas Instruments, ensuring AGSS’s impact for years to come. I’ve also spearheaded an initiative to expand and strengthen local outreach, enabling AGSS to help more girls from low-income families and increase their access to STEM resources. My work has led to a tangible impact. Just this year, we’ve hosted workshops that reached over 800 participants throughout San Diego, and 80% of our participants report being more confident in STEM environments after attending workshops! I’m proud that my leadership has ameliorated the gender gap in STEM, improving diversity and inclusion in the next generation of scientists and engineers. Through AGSS, I’ve learned to value serving others and experienced how rewarding it is to use my knowledge to better my community. Whether it’s as an advocate for gender equality through my service work or in my career as a scientist, I hope to continue my commitment to service and change in college and beyond.

Ever since sophomore year, I’ve been fascinated by the simple and powerful logic behind chemistry — that every reaction can be explained by the movement of electrons. As a result, I’ve never hesitated to take on challenging material and delve deeper into the field I love. I took organic chemistry in junior year, designed my own biochemistry course in senior year, and conducted biochemistry research on amino acids at the Scripps Research Institute, all experiences that have encouraged my passion for chemistry and inspired me to pursue it in college and beyond. My background in chemistry and in research has sparked my interest in using chemical mechanisms to improve human health. In fact, I’ve set an ambitious long-term goal for my learning and research: to create a more efficient method of drug development. In achieving this goal, I hope to make medications more accessible and affordable — especially given the fact that 3 in 10 Americans report that they can’t afford their prescriptions. Ultimately, I hope that my work can improve healthcare quality and save lives, so that my scientific knowledge can benefit the world at large. However, I hope that my impact is not limited to just the realm of scientific research. Outside of chemistry, I lead and actively participate in my school’s Speech & Debate and Model U.N. teams, which has sparked my interest in lawmaking and taught me the importance of understanding the social impact of any scientific work. In college, I hope to pursue my interdisciplinary interests through a minor or double-major in political science, so I can find the best way to integrate my interdisciplinary passions into my career. I am also deeply committed to serving my community directly through volunteering and leadership. For the past four years, I have volunteered for and led All Girls STEM Society (AGSS), a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the gender gap in STEM by hosting free workshops for girls in grades 3-8. As Vice President of AGSS, I develop curriculum, organize venues, and craft grant proposals, doing much of the work that makes AGSS’s impact possible. Over the past two years, I’ve helped secure $15,000+ in grant funding while recruiting sponsors like Wolfram Alpha and Texas Instruments, ensuring AGSS’s impact for years to come. I’ve also expanded local outreach, enabling AGSS to help more girls from low-income families. My work has led to a tangible impact. Just this year, we’ve hosted workshops that reached over 800 participants throughout San Diego, and 80% of our participants report being more confident in STEM environments after attending workshops! I hope to continue my commitment to service and change in college and beyond, whether that’s continuing to fight for gender equality in STEM or focusing my efforts on other issues in the community. I know that my curiosity, innovative spirit, and my dedication to using my knowledge to help my community will continue to fuel my passion for science research and policymaking, and I look forward to making my impact on the world.

Ever since sophomore year, I’ve been fascinated by the simple and powerful logic behind chemistry — that every reaction can be explained by the movement of electrons. As a result, I’ve never hesitated to take on challenging material and delve deeper into the field I love. I took organic chemistry in junior year, designed my own biochemistry course in senior year, and conducted biochemistry research on amino acids at the Scripps Research Institute, all experiences that have encouraged my passion for chemistry and inspired me to pursue it in college and beyond. My background in chemistry and in research has sparked my interest in using chemical mechanisms to improve human health. In fact, I’ve set an ambitious long-term goal for my learning and research: to create a more efficient method of drug development. In achieving this goal, I hope to make medications more accessible and affordable — especially given the fact that 3 in 10 Americans report that they can’t afford their prescriptions. Ultimately, I hope that my work can improve healthcare quality and save lives, so that my scientific knowledge can benefit the world at large. However, I hope that my impact is not limited to just the realm of scientific research. Outside of chemistry, I lead and actively participate in my school’s Speech & Debate and Model U.N. teams, which has sparked my interest in lawmaking and taught me the importance of understanding the social impact of any scientific work. In college, I hope to pursue my interdisciplinary interests through a minor or double-major in political science, so I can find the best way to integrate my interdisciplinary passions into my career. I am also deeply committed to serving my community directly through volunteering and leadership. For the past four years, I have volunteered for and led All Girls STEM Society (AGSS), a nonprofit dedicated to reducing the gender gap in STEM by hosting free workshops for girls in grades 3-8. As Vice President of AGSS, I develop curriculum, organize venues, and craft grant proposals, doing much of the work that makes AGSS’s impact possible. Over the past two years, I’ve helped secure $15,000+ in grant funding while recruiting sponsors like Wolfram Alpha and Texas Instruments, ensuring AGSS’s impact for years to come. I’ve also expanded local outreach, enabling AGSS to help more girls from low-income families. My work has led to a tangible impact. Just this year, we’ve hosted workshops that reached over 800 participants throughout San Diego, and 80% of our participants report being more confident in STEM environments after attending workshops! I hope to continue my commitment to service and change in college and beyond, whether that’s continuing to fight for gender equality in STEM or focusing my efforts on other issues in the community. I know that my curiosity, innovative spirit, and my dedication to using my knowledge to help my community will continue to fuel my passion for science research and policymaking, and I look forward to making my impact on the world.

I lead All Girls STEM Society (AGSS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to reduce the gender gap in STEM by hosting free STEM workshops for young girls. At AGSS, our all-girls environment empowers our participants to see STEM as a field where they belong and are supported, giving them the confidence to pursue their interests and promoting diversity in the next generation of scientists and engineers. As Vice President of AGSS, I develop curriculum, organize venues, and craft grant proposals, doing much of the work that makes AGSS’s impact possible. Over the past two years, I’ve helped secure $15,000+ in grant funding while recruiting sponsors like Wolfram Alpha and Texas Instruments, ensuring AGSS’s impact for years to come. I’ve also spearheaded an initiative to expand and strengthen local outreach, enabling AGSS to help more girls from low-income families and increase their access to STEM resources. My work has led to a tangible impact. Just this year, we’ve hosted workshops that reached over 800 participants throughout San Diego, and 80% of our participants report being more confident in STEM environments after attending workshops! I’m proud that my leadership has ameliorated the gender gap in STEM, improving diversity and inclusion in the next generation of scientists and engineers. Through AGSS, I’ve learned to value serving others and experienced how rewarding it is to use my knowledge to better my community, and I hope to use my college education and my passion for scientific research to continue to serve the world. Ever since sophomore year, I have been passionate about chemistry, and I’ve never hesitated to take on challenging material and delve deeper into the field I love. I took organic chemistry in junior year, designed my own biochemistry course in senior year, and conducted biochemistry research on non-canonical amino acids at the Scripps Research Institute, all experiences that have empowered me to pursue chemistry in college and beyond. I hope to turn my passion for chemistry into an impactful career in science research. In particular, I aspire to use my future expertise to create a more efficient method of drug development, which would make medications more accessible and affordable — especially given the fact that 3 in 10 Americans report that they can’t afford their prescriptions. Ultimately, I hope that my education and my career can improve healthcare quality and save lives, so that my scientific knowledge will benefit the world at large. Whether it’s as an advocate for gender equality through my service work or in my career as a scientist, I hope to continue my commitment to service and change in college and beyond. I look forward to making my community and the world a better place!

Ever since sophomore year, I have been interested in and passionate about chemistry, the major I plan on pursuing. That year, I took Honors Chemistry, where I learned that almost every chemical reaction can be explained by the movement of electrons. I was fascinated by this instinctive but powerful logic, so much so that I studied the entire course material in advance. I explored everything from resonance structures to freezing point depression, covering all the AP Chemistry curriculum topics by February of that year. I continued exploring my interest in chemistry in Advanced Honors Chemistry, a college-level organic chemistry course. In this course, I performed challenging, hands-on labs to separate compounds and synthesize aspirin. I delved deep into the mechanisms of many organic chemistry reactions, furthering my knowledge. In Advanced Honors Chemistry, we had thoughtful discussion about the chemistry itself, but also about its applications (like the synthesis of life-saving drugs), which gave me a greater appreciation for the real-life impact of my favorite subject. Taking Advanced Honors Chemistry concurrently with Honors Biology sparked my interest in the intersection between chemistry and biology, specifically in how chemical mechanisms can influence human health. To pursue this interest, I designed my very own course on biochemistry to take in my senior year, where I am currently tackling topics from protein folding, to enzyme kinetics, to nucleic acid chemistry. Beyond the classroom, I have pursued my interest through summer internships, like conducting biochemistry research at the Scripps Research Institute. At Scripps, I designed genetic circuits and ran experiments to incorporate non-canonical amino acids into peptides, research that could help develop drugs to fight against cancer. My internship has allowed me to apply my knowledge to produce brand new science, and I’m very proud that I have been able to translate my interest in chemistry into concrete results that benefit the world. In fact, I’ve set a rather ambitious long-term goal for my learning and research: to create a more efficient method of drug development. In achieving this goal, I hope to develop new therapeutics more rapidly and at a lower cost, thus making medications more accessible and affordable — especially given the fact that 3 in 10 Americans report that they can’t afford their prescriptions. Thus, I hope that in pursing a degree in chemistry, I will eventually be able to improve healthcare quality and save lives, so that my scientific knowledge can benefit the world at large. However, I hope that my impact is not limited to just the realm of scientific research, as I am also dedicated to using my STEM knowledge to directly serve my community through volunteering and leadership. For the past four years, I have volunteered for and led All Girls STEM Society (AGSS), a nonprofit dedicated to combatting the underrepresentation of women in STEM by hosting free STEM workshops for girls in grades 3-8. As Vice President of AGSS, I develop curriculum, organize venues, and craft grant proposals, doing much of the work that makes AGSS’s impact possible. Over the past two years, I’ve helped secure $15,000+ in grant funding while recruiting sponsors like Wolfram Alpha and Texas Instruments, ensuring AGSS’s impact for years to come. I’ve also spearheaded an initiative to expand and strengthen local outreach, enabling AGSS to help more girls from low-income families and increase their access to STEM resources. My work has led to a tangible impact. Just this year, we’ve hosted workshops that reached over 800 participants throughout San Diego, and 80% of our participants report being more confident in STEM environments after attending workshops! I'm proud that I have been able to use my passion for chemistry and for STEM in general to foster the next generation of women in STEM, and I will continue this commitment to service and change in college. Ultimately, I love chemistry because of the simple but powerful logic that underlies the field, because of the profound impact it can have on biology and human health, and because it can help me make a tangible impact in my community and beyond.