For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved math and science. In third grade, my absolute favorite thing to do in school was to draw bar graphs, carefully coloring in my rectangles with my 24-pack of crayons. As I got older, I realized that not everyone had the same enthusiasm for the subjects I loved so much, and that confused me. To me, math is like a perfect puzzle. Getting to work with the numbers and watch how they come together to create this beauty and perfection, and to know that that beauty was an inextricable, mysterious, miraculous part of the universe– how could that be anything but exciting and awe-inspiring? I’ve always been overflowing with excitement for math, science, and learning in general, and I want nothing more than to share the joy that those things bring me with other people. I often tell my friends about new things I’ve learned about, or show them pictures of slides that I took in the neuroscience lab I work in at my local university. I’m often met with some variation of a blank stare or general confusion, like why would anyone be this excited about derivatives and integrals?, but that has never dampened my love of the things I’m passionate about or my determination to share that joy with everyone I care about. This absolute force of excitement about everything I love has always been one of the first things I’ll say when I’m describing myself. In my community, that drive and excitement has driven me to get involved, take initiative, and work to transmit that same joy that I feel to others. Recently, while babysitting a young girl, she told me that she wanted to be an evolutionary astrobiologist, and that her mom told me she should ask me about that, because I love science so much and would most definitely want to tell her all about that. We talked, in terms modified for fifth graders, about how molecule chirality would be different on other planets around the universe, why that tiny factor would be so difficult for Earth-based life to adapt to, and the intricate puzzle that would create. As I watched her eyes light up as I explained everything I knew about it, I realized that this is the legacy I want to leave in my community. I want to be known for my joy and love of learning, and most importantly, I want to help others feel that same excitement and absolute delight for the things I love. I find so much joy in simply knowing, and I love sharing that joy with anyone and everyone who will listen. The world of science is an ever-unraveling mystery, and I want to dive head-first into everything there is to explore. The more I explore, the more I’ll get to share that joy, and continue to learn and love with my community, today and in the future.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved math and science. In third grade, my absolute favorite thing to do in school was to draw bar graphs, carefully coloring in my rectangles with my 24-pack of crayons. As I got older, I realized that not everyone had the same enthusiasm for the subjects I loved so much, and that confused me. To me, math is like a perfect puzzle. Getting to work with the numbers and watch how they come together to create this beauty and perfection, and to know that that beauty was an inextricable, mysterious, miraculous part of the universe– how could that be anything but exciting and awe-inspiring? I’ve always been overflowing with excitement for math, science, and learning in general, and I want nothing more than to share the joy that those things bring me with other people. I often tell my friends about new things I’ve learned about, or show them pictures of slides that I took in the neuroscience lab I work in at my local university. I’m often met with some variation of a blank stare or general confusion, like why would anyone be this excited about derivatives and integrals?, but that has never dampened my love of the things I’m passionate about or my determination to share that joy with everyone I care about. This absolute force of excitement about everything I love has always been one of the first things I’ll say when I’m describing myself. In my community, that drive and excitement has driven me to get involved, take initiative, and work to transmit that same joy that I feel to others. Recently, while babysitting a young girl, she told me that she wanted to be an evolutionary astrobiologist, and that her mom told me she should ask me about that, because I love science so much and would most definitely want to tell her all about that. We talked, in terms modified for fifth graders, about how molecule chirality would be different on other planets around the universe, why that tiny factor would be so difficult for Earth-based life to adapt to, and the intricate puzzle that would create. As I watched her eyes light up as I explained everything I knew about it, I realized that this is the legacy I want to leave in my community. I want to be known for my joy and love of learning, and most importantly, I want to help others feel that same excitement and absolute delight for the things I love. I find so much joy in simply knowing, and I love sharing that joy with anyone and everyone who will listen. The world of science is an ever-unraveling mystery, and I want to dive head-first into everything there is to explore. The more I explore, the more I’ll get to share that joy, and continue to learn and love with my community, today and in the future.