Campus: Duke
Hometown: Riverside, CA
High School: Thacher School

My passion is social justice, particularly education justice. During high school, I worked extensively with children from a variety of backgrounds. When working with special needs kids, freshmen girls at my school, students of color from A Better Chance, or kids who have been affected by a parent’s cancer, I realized the importance of environment in a child’s growth. I see hope and ambition in the kids I work with. This ambition goes to waste when a bright kid is trapped in a school that lacks resources.

Because I was the child of two educators, a love of learning was instilled in me at a young age. School is the place where I’ve experienced the most opportunities to learn and the greatest personal growth. This is especially true of the English classroom where I found my voice. Through discussion and writing, I developed my perspective as well as a love of reading and writing. Having to organize and defend my beliefs in front of my classmates while also hearing their differing opinions, which was only possible if people in the room came from different backgrounds, allowed me to figure out my beliefs and also confirmed one of my core beliefs: diversity is a crucial part of a healthy environment. Even outside of the classroom, I value the unity that comes with respected differences between me and my peers on both the volleyball and basketball courts.

All of these experiences have led me to believe that education, a quality education, is a universal human right. I plan to study political science at Duke. After graduating, I hope to become a lawyer and help increase the credibility of the public education system by fighting the racial isolation and deterioration of schools so that everyone, regardless of circumstance, has a fair opportunity for growth.

What drew you to the Robertson Program? I want to be a part of a community of determined and compassionate individuals. I want to learn with and from people who share a passion for changing the world. The Robertson Program offers all of this. It also offers incredible opportunities to gain leadership skills and get to know the communities I want to dedicate my life to improving through firsthand experiences. I will use the different opportunities, resources, and experiences offered by the Robertson Program to prepare myself to be a leader who understands how to overcome intellectual challenges, who possesses an understanding of the diverse world we live in, and a precise vision of how to have a lasting impact on the world.