My earliest memories include the swift footsteps of my mom pacing around the kitchen as she speaks rapidly on the phone about things I wouldn't understand until many years later. Growing up I never questioned if business had a place for women; I knew I could make my own. I loved math, but the things I learned in econ interested me like no other. Finance became the perfect bridge between the two. I wanted more than what my school offered, so I spent 3 of the summers in high school taking finance classes and interning at financing firms. With a lot of work and even more luck I received an offer of admission from MIT. Now I've completed my first year I am extremely proud of the challenges I took on in and out of the classroom. I remain in complete awe of every person I meet. I declared Finance (15-3) as my major with a planned double in Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science (6-14). Lacrosse was the year's highlight with a conference win and NCAA birth. I am Director of Finance in my sorority for this upcoming year and VP of professional development in the MIT Scholars of Finance Chapter. Currently I remain on campus doing research this summer at the Sloane School of Management. I am working under lecturer Melissa Webster researching applications of Artificial Intelligence in businesses and individuals. My research focuses on the implications of artificial intelligence within stock prediction and financial analysis. Up until now AI has not been able to beat predictions and investments of financial analysts. AI is able to look at historical trends and store knowledge far greater than what a human analyst can. Shouldn't it be better? Many of these models don't account for behavioral biases, investor sentiments, and unpredictable/irrational choices investors make. New models try to incorporate this, but are still underperforming. I don't quite know what I will find on the topic, but I am extremely excited to dive into it. One day I want to walk into an office where women are not a clear minority. I want articles about female financial movies and I want the headlines not to have to mention it was a female-made decision because the decision holds significance instead of who made it. The only way to do this is to provide role models for young girls. Women succeeding in finance and loving what they do. In a recent interview I was told that I would make a great secretary simply because I was able to name what was next on the agenda. I was a second round candidate for a wealth management internship. I am hard working and intelligent. In a second a man diminished me to a secretary. Things like that need to stop happening. There needs to be a change in who runs these companies, who is hiring, and more mandatory training to best eliminate biases. Finance needs to be about more than returns. Financial reputations are filled with greed and corruption. There are so many ways to ethically invest and use financial knowledge to better this world. It is firms making positive efforts to do good that I want to work with and enforcing stricter rules about ethics is needed. Thank you for the opportunity to apply to this scholarship and thank you for supporting women in finance. It would be an honor to receive this scholarship and it will go to someone who is going to change the world for the better, because I know I can.

My best tip for going back to school is to talk to your teachers or professors right away. Let them know what kind of student you are; what allows you to succeed. Tell them your goals for this year, what you hope to get out of the class, and what goes on your mind. Then get to know your teachers. The goal is to form a relationship early on in the year. Teachers are resources that I don't think we use enough. They have seen thousands of students, they know what it takes to reach goals. A lot of times I waited until the middle or even the end of the year to get close and I missed out on a lot of knowledge and help. Don't wait, talk to your teachers right away.