Chemistry captured my imagination in high school and has been the driving force behind my academic and professional goals ever since. In my excitement for the subject, I borrowed an experimental organic chemistry textbook from my high school teacher and explored it over that same summer. In 2023, I chose to take organic chemistry classes at Texas A&M and started working as an undergraduate assistant at the Pentzer Lab, a research group that focuses on polymer chemistry. Working with this research group introduced me to valuable characterization methods such as FTIR, NMR, GPC, and UV-Vis and provided me with hands-on experience in a chemistry laboratory setting. Now, my research interests have led me to Dr. Hung-Jue Sue's lab, where my current work involves scratch testing of multi-layer coatings and mechanical testing of sustainable polymer composites.Being named a National Merit finalist, I take my academic life seriously. Working in Dr. Sue's lab and collaborating on group projects in my engineering classes have both provided me valuable lessons in teamwork, communication, and project management. I studied Spanish in school for 11 years and have been playing percussion for 8 years, fulfilling my drive for personal achievement outside the classroom. Finally, tutoring organic chemistry students at Texas A&M University has been a fantastic opportunity to use my technical skills and knowledge to selflessly serve others. I find tutoring to be fulfilling and full of excitement every day.For the future, I plan to continue working on scratch and polymer composite research with Dr. Sue at Texas A&M University. I am excited to continue contributing to polymer research, and I hope to secure a summer internship to further hone my technical and soft skills.
