About Me!

Hailing from the far corners of Southern California, Duke struck my interest being a top institution prominent in academics and big on school spirit. The newfound greatness of having seasons and the intimacy of a suburban college town also provided a good portion of Duke’s appeal. Being a Los Angeles-native, I yearned for a change in scenery, pace, and people; and here at Duke I have found home in all three.

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This year I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate. I am fascinated by the way human systems work in the natural world and studying biology has allowed me to dive deeper into the materials and intricate networks connecting all living things. As the largest invention of the century, computers have rapidly changed the world as we know it. Big data, especially biological big data, has been an increasingly popular field of study as science and healthcare become more enmeshed with technology. With proper guidelines and frameworks, I believe that applying bioinformatics solutions will help resolve our greatest problems in healthcare, the environment, energy, safer manufacturing, and beyond. To help find concrete answers I plan to learn more about product development, product management, and the steps of the ideation process through my coursework in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship certificate. Additionally, as an ideator above all else, I believe that combining my strengths in science and technology with the knowledge of business will help me build a fulfilling foundation in the biotechnology sector.

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What helped ignite my interests in biotechnology came from the rewarding experiences of volunteering at my local hospital in high school. I felt so connected to the patients and became curious about the care they were receiving. Wandering the hallways of the laboratories and imaging centers increasingly piqued my interest in technological innovations. I was a summer fellow at the Lundquist Institute at Harbor UCLA where I conducted research on chemical leaching and immune response in an obstetrics and gynecology lab. This introduction to the world of research and development further pushed me to find out more about creating global solutions to disease. I have worked briefly in a biophysics lab at Duke studying protein unfolding using atomic force microscopy and magnetism which helped me understand that I was also interested in visualizing change and participating in inspiring ventures. This led me to where I am today as I have worked as a social media marketing lead for a student run startup aimed at connecting employers with students and forming communities around a shared passion for innovation. The small team provided me a unique experience to voice my thoughts and actually see their implementations in the product and impacts on real time success. This is a feeling I plan to continue to seek for myself in whichever future positions I hold.

 

Creativity has always been something I cherished and I have loved the arts since I started dancing in baby ballet and tap classes. Performing was a large part of my early love for art and then came the discovery of the power of music and then the beauty of painting and architecture (ask me about my time in Berlin). However, one that has always stuck with me forever was my enthusiasm for all things food. I love the adventure of looking for new restaurants, trying new flavors, and connecting the dots of cultures and traditions one plate at a time. As a triple citizen, my background and heritage has helped shape me into a person intrigued by the complexities of human interactions, nourishment, and food. I hope that this will one day translate to my future ventures perhaps in creating the next ways to manufacture environmentally sustainable alternative food options in a lab grown setting. Bridging the gaps between science and technology while fueling my love of design is what I aim to accomplish in this life to impact the next generation.