What started as doing Outreach for my FLL Team soon blossomed into one of my most meaningful activities. Whether it was running workshops for Girl Scouts or hosting a Maker Workshop for 1000s of students all day , I thrived in sharing all that I knew. Soon I found myself also helping start a program for ELL students in the Rancho Cordova area by partnering with Ranchobot Robotics.

As mentioned, I lead workshops for ‘Girl Scouts: Heart of California,’ emphasizing hands-on coding and robot construction. My aim goes beyond just teaching technical skills; I show the Scouts how coding relates to real-life situations, and how it directly affects them. We explore how logical thinking applies to everyday technology, making the workshops engaging and practical. Being a woman in STEM myself, I'm passionate about supporting girls in this field, and helping some of them realize that they could enter the robotic field. I also mentor robotics teams for the program, The Rancho Cordova Robotics Competition (RC^2). We use kits provided by the city to facilitate collaborative learning, particularly for kids from underprivileged backgrounds. Through this competition, I was able to create an inclusive environment where financial limitations don't hinder access to STEM education.

I also take pride in being the main coach for Winston Churchill Science Olympiad team for Anatomy & Physiology. I currently mentor the middle schoolers at Winston Churchill Middle School, as a Science Olympiad Coach for the event Anatomy and Physiology. I create lesson plans, tests, and teaching materials, using my background in genetics and anatomy and physiology to provide a thorough understanding of the subject. Beyond academic instruction, I foster a supportive learning environment where students feel encouraged to ask questions, explore novel concepts, and collaborate with their peers. Through individualized attention and constructive feedback, I offer guidance on study strategies, time management, and goal setting to help students excel not only in the Science Olympiad but also in their school academics. This experience is meaningful because I share my passion for biology and help nurture a love of learning science during this important developmental stage.

Another way that I give back to the communities that raised me is encouraging others to join as well. As President of Math Club I strive to take the anxiety of learning and mastering math, breaking down the stereotypes of math being ‘scary’, or ‘not for girls’, or ‘too difficult to handle’. As part of the club, I teach math concepts (tutoring help), answer questions, and prepare team members for math competitions. I also plan and run our Pi Day celebration, inviting new people to the club and promoting what we do while also creating a fun environment for people to enjoy math (and pie). Finally, I revived the annual Mira Loma Math Tournament for elementary and middle school students, after it stopped during lockdown. I used to compete in this tournament myself as an elementary schooler, and so reviving it was a very important task to me.

Looking back, I am very grateful to all the support I had to believe in myself and break down stereotypes, and as I inspire a new generation of mathematicians, inventors, and scientists, I hope to support them the same way.