“From a young age, I believed that one person can really change things for the better in the world. This belief has always driven me to help others and make positive changes in society. A big moment in my life was when I restarted the MathCounts club at Brooklawn. That’s when I first realized how important it is to encourage students to be curious. To strive. To excel. When attending middle school at Brooklawn, I did well in the MathCounts club and even made it to competitions, reaching the top 10% of Northern New Jersey and advanced to the regionals. This made me love math even more and pushed me to attend a high school that focuses on engineering. But when I got to high school I noticed that there weren’t many girls in STEM classes. Less than 30% of girls were taking these courses.  I knew clubs like MathCounts could inspire girls to pursue STEM careers. I was also upset when I found out that the MathCounts club had been shut down. It meant that kids in the community were missing out on a HUGE opportunity. So, I decided to do something about it. I worked hard to convince the school to bring back the MathCounts club. After six months of planning and talking to many people, I succeeded! Now I’m a mentor and coach for the club - dedicated to helping kids in my community discover their passion for STEM subjects.” (Parsipanny, NJ)

Interviewed By: Sneha Jain