My Experiences – Research Rationalized

My Community Service

Giving Back to the Community

I started volunteering at Lincoln Glen Nursing Center (LGNC) in January of 2018. There, I restarted the Music & Memory program, which uses personalized playlists to remind residents with memory loss of their past memories. After my success at LGNC, I decided to start volunteering in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) where I also worked on their Music & Memory program. Apart from volunteering, I also ran 9 week-long sessions of a virtual neuroscience-themed summer camp I named Brain Camp for Kids.

Bay Area SfN Youth Organization

Advancing the Understanding of the Brain and Nervous System

I have been a part of Bay Area SfN Youth since 2018, and the organization has since become an integral part of pursuing my interests in neuroscience. Our mission is to encourage innovation within the community, provide resources to high schoolers looking to connect with like-minded individuals, and spread knowledge about the field of neuroscience through guest speaker talks, hands-on brain dissections, and other workshops.

Saratoga High Neuroscience Club

Giving Saratoga High Students a Route to Pursue Neursocience

When I first became interested in neuroscience, I was saddened to learn there were no real opportunities to pursue the field at my school. Thus, I created the Neuroscience Club! The club’s purpose is to spread general information about the nature of scientific discovery with a focus in neuroscience and medicine to the student body at SHS. Our general activities include biweekly lunch meetings with meeting presentations, hands-on activities, and fun games.

My Research Experiences

Engaging in Scientific Research Endeavors

Throughout my high school journey, I have pursued several research endeavours. I first attended Rosetta Institute of Biomedical Research’s Molecular Neuroscience summer camp, which was my first introduction to neuroscience. I was fascinated and decided to pursue neuroscience further at the University of Colorado, Boulder through their STEM Research summer program, where I carried out laser imaging research for four weeks. Finally, I also found my own summer research lab opportunity at the University of California, San Francisco where I worked in the Duan Lab on glaucoma research.