My goal for the future is to be a neuroscientist. I first became interested in the brain at the end of eighth grade because I wanted to know why people behaved the way they do and the brain’s impact on how we can walk, talk, and move our bodies. From then on, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in neuroscience, and since then, my love and passion for the subject have grown. Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a neuroscience summer course at Johns Hopkins University. This experience solidified my desire to study neuroscience in college and introduced me to the many subfields of neuroscience. Earlier this year, I also presented my Senior Project to my high school community about the connection between neuroscience and AI. Through my research, I learned about many kinds of prosthetic devices and an innovation called bionic skin, which connects to the amputee’s somatosensory system. I learned a lot through this project, and it introduced me to another field of neuroscience that I would like to explore in greater detail in college. Receiving this scholarship will allow me to obtain funding to start my higher education journey in the fall of 2024 at Smith College. While there, I plan to major in neuroscience and minor in biology or anthropology. The latter became a topic of interest to me this year during my course in Anthropology, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I am fascinated by how many factors in our environment and cultures shape who we are, how we think, and how we process information. Minoring in anthropology will allow me to explore how culture impacts the brain’s development, structure, and function and vice versa. Achieving this educational goal will require studying, conducting scientific research, and a substantial amount of money. One of the things I’m most looking forward to while in college is partaking in hands-on learning research opportunities. Some of the research opportunities that I am looking forward to engaging in include labs researching circadian rhythms, neurobiology, and neurochemistry related to Parkinson’s disease. I recently became interested in how sleep impacts the brain this past month through my neuroscience class, and want to explore more about that topic. While I plan on finding a job on campus to cover my miscellaneous expenses, obtaining funds from this scholarship will alleviate some of my academic financial responsibilities and give me more freedom to explore my interests.