My Experiences

Assisted council member Farrah Khan, interacted with community leaders, and got a chance to experience the process of making legislation. My most meaningful experience was when I accompanied Council member Khan to inspect CR&R Anaerobic Digestion plant. This facility is the largest Anaerobic Digestion facility in North America. It accepts organic waste and converts it to a clean burning Renewable Natural gas and an organic compost material for local agricultural uses.

I was given an opportunity to perform research on the ideal location of Veteran's cemetery to be built in the city. I looked through many public documents, minutes of the previous council meetings to present several options for the location of the cemetery with its respective pros and cons in terms of cost, budget, environmental damage, etc. I was also given the opportunity to present my findings at the city council meeting.

Supported a Harvard Med School research project to study 3D annular motion of Tricuspid valve present in the heart. Created digital illustrations of various phases of the valve, performed statistical analysis and created 3D visualizations of the observed data. To prepare, I undertook summer course in Statistics and an online course in Python.

Tools used - Python 3 (numpy, matplotlib), Excel, MediBang Paint

Selected to represent Irvine Unified School District and traveled to Sacramento to discuss issues impacting public education with state legislators. To prepare, we held meetings with school district board members, district superintendent, PTA leaders to learn more about education issues and priorities. Researched state policies, formed caucus groups to prepare topics to be discussed with the policy makers. I learned how to concisely and effectively put my point across in a respectful yet assertive manner.

Working at the IROEC was a valuable experience for me. We performed restoration work at Irvine Ranch: dug out pond for fish, fixed the aquaponic system, removed weeds, worked on building trails, mulched, and maintained shrub-ways. I researched for greenhouse kits available within the budget allocated to me. Finally decided to repair the old greenhouse instead of buying a new one. Working outdoors in the sun required physical and mental strength. I developed appreciation for environment and dignity of labor. I was also inspired by Maya to pursue marine biology as a major in college.

StempowerHer is a student run organization that teaches math and science to young girls in order to encourage them to pursue STEM fields in the future.

Helped make lesson plans, revamped program structure to include experiments and outdoor activities. Helped in club publicity, recruitment and selling refreshments to raise funds.

I also organized a school-wide STEM teacher forum and invited female STEM teachers to share their experiences and share words of encouragement.