Hobbies
Swimming
One of my favorite things to do outside of school is to be active. When I was six years old, I began swimming competitively right here in Worcester. I loved practicing, seeing all of my friends, and the feeling after finishing a hard workout together. I have since expanded my involvement in the world of swimming as a swim instructor at the very same place I started.
Running
When I entered sixth grade, I joined my school’s cross-country team. Running wasn’t super similar to swimming, so I wasn’t sure if I would stick with it, but I fell in love after the first practice. I still love to run, especially on trails with my dog on the weekends.
Baking
Another one of my favorite hobbies is baking. I always loved helping out in the kitchen, experimenting with recipes, and of course getting to eat whatever it was that we made. I normally make everyone in my family’s birthday cakes, stuff for holidays, and love to make sourdough bread when I have the time. Two of my favorite recipe websites are Sally’s Baking Addiction and Cookie and Kate!
Traveling
During the summer and winter breaks, I love to travel. Last summer I went on a road trip from California to Colorado, traveling though Nevada, Arizona, and Utah along the way. I had such an amazing time hiking, biking, and exploring these places. Some of my favorites were Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon, and Crested Butte, Colorado.
Community Service
Worcester Refugee Assistance Project
I started volunteering at the Worcester Refugee Assistance Project (WRAP) the summer between my sophomore and junior year and it has been a great experience. I mainly work with elementary aged kids, doing everything from reading books to coloring to playing soccer in the gym. We also do various STEM activities for part of them time, like building trusses, learning about adaptations, and even making ice cream. I have so much fun every time I’m there and highly recommend getting involved! I plan to continue this work through the summer and my senior year.
Robotics
I’ve also volunteered at various robotics events held at WPI, the Massachusetts First Lego League Championships and WAVE, which is a VEX Robotics event. I inspected robots, reset the fields in between matches, and queued teams for judging. Both of these events were so much fun to participate in and I plan on volunteering with them again next year!
STEM Education Week
STEM Education Week was back in October, and I had the opportunity to visit Tatnuck Magnet School in Worcester to teach elementary aged kids about various topics in STEM. My group led a magnet investigation activity for 3rd graders, which involved them making a magnetic maze and exploring the magnetic properties of various materials. This experience was so much fun and I would love to do something similar again!
Extracurriculars
During my junior year here at MAMS, I participated in biotech, math team, and creative engineering and design. I had done math team at Tahanto, but the other two clubs were a lot of fun because they were something I had never done before. I'm also on the robotics team at MAMS and WPI (FRC 190) which I have a lot of fun doing!