My freshman year, I joined my first-ever club, Interact. It was new to me, but the prospect of it intrigued me and I went to the next meeting and the next until our first event. I volunteered at elementary schools, book fairs, and churches, making new friends along the way. The club taught me the importance of giving back while facilitating it, helping me form connections with such a diverse group of people I wouldn't have interacted with otherwise. Hence the name, Interact. I changed schools and had to leave the club seeing as it was not offered at my new school. The summer of senior year, I realized I wanted to leave my mark at George School and give it something that could benefit each and every person. I decided to start Interact at my school, this process was hard and grueling while balancing my other commitments but I was determined. The club was approved and I welcomed new members. Underclassmen who desired a sense of community to upperclassmen who just needed service hours. Working with these people and giving them the opportunities I was given has taught me the importance of creating the change you want to see. I hope to join the service clubs at my future university and continue to spur others to give back to our communities. Interact Club was my introduction to service; ever since then, my love of service has only continued to grow. Recently, I decided to embark on a service trip to Greece, to aid the refugee population. As a Muslim, I’ve seen the effects of the refugee crisis in my community, including the media's impact on the perception of refugees. Media tends to depict refugees as “other”, creating a disconnect from what we see on the screen. My goal was to tell the refugees’ stories through media, breaking down walls perpetuated by current media; creating films, and facilitating art workshops for the children. The experience showed me the beauty of human connection. I connected with a family over my heritage, and though they laughed at my broken Arabic; we created a bond. Our backgrounds are miles apart, yet we connected. In college, I hope to continue creating connections and breaking down barriers we put between ourselves and marginalized communities. In the future, I hope to accomplish what Interact did for me and for other students. It helped sow the seeds for me to become a prefect for my dorm, a captain for my track and soccer teams, and an environmental advocate. It’s hard for youth to get into service because they don’t know where to start or don’t have access to opportunities. I want to join and establish programs that will assist youth in giving back to their communities and continue to foster a generation of doers.

I'm interested in studying Computer Science and engineering. From films to Spotify playlists to robots, I’ve always loved creating. My first experience with coding was in 8th grade. My teacher had put the cell lesson on the back burner to have "Coding Day". Coding scared me, it seemed like a language too intricate and convoluted for me to grasp. My teacher gave us a website where we could create a game out of basic Java. It subverted my expectations; it was simple and easy to comprehend. Creating simple art or making characters run invigorated me. Although just a hobby then, I decided to take a robotics class junior year. It was difficult; I felt overwhelmed with Arduino and seemingly never-ending wires on teensy boards. My teacher helped me take my time to understand, devoting extra time to explain these subjectsto me. My end-of-the-year robot ended up winning the culminating bot battle. I proved to myself that I was capable of understanding convoluted subjects and beyond that being able to apply them. I knew this was what I wanted to do. I aspire to teach others, especially those who look like me, that they’re capable of anything STEM and especially programming. I want to use my education to create solutions for climate change and the environmental crisis. Technology has been an excellent tool for humanity: it has helped us discover new medicines, connect in ways we never imagined, and gain access to infinite information. But there has been a downside; technology has also hindered us. It has increased the need for fossil fuels, sped up climate change, and created more pollution. We have made enormous strides in humanity’s development using technology. It’s about time we stop focusing on how technology can generate the utmost profit and instead on how it can save us and our home. The world is in a climate emergency, it’s dying. The temperatures are rising, the ice is melting, and animals are dying. We have to take action and be proactive, and at this point, tech is one of the only ways we can create real change for the environment. I am a pioneer for the environment at my school, as a member of the Climate Action Club. I want to combine this with my desire to pursue engineering to create a better world and innovate new tech that can help people make small steps toward a green world.

My best back to school tip is value yourself and recognize your self-worth. Don't try to overwork yourself for the sake of anyone else but yourself. Recognize when you are stressed and overwhelmed and communicate that with your educators, it's the best thing you can do. Comparing yourself to others is an endless cycle, everyone is different and is going through their own struggles you may not see it because everyone is caught up in their own world . Don't feel ashamed, worthless, or lazy about being pressured, it's okay. Everyone feels this way and goes through this, you're not alone. The most important thing to remember your direction is more important than your speed. @zainab.exe