A Little About Me by Emily Zhang

Hello everyone! My name is Emily Zhang, and I am a rising senior at Kingsway Regional High in Gloucester County, NJ. Before moving to South Jersey, I spent most of my childhood in Connecticut and studied Mandarin in China for about two years. My experience in China undoubtedly shaped a part of who I am today as a student and an overall person. ​

Although I am an introvert, I enjoy meeting new people and will never turn down an opportunity! Therefore, when I moved to NJ in eighth grade, I got involved in the marching band. Having been in a marching band since fourth grade, marching band gave me another perspective on music and the opportunity to build leadership and communication skills. I discovered that marching band is a team activity as it requires every member to be dedicated to their roles. Therefore, individualism and communication within each section are also very important. I am also a part of my school’s STEM Academy. Through this program, I’ve met students interested in similar studies as me which allowed me to learn further about topics in STEM. This past year, I began a service-learning project related to STEM. This project aims to connect with individuals with special needs in my community through music. So far, I have been able to learn about the importance of music therapy and how it affects an individual's mood. I was able to build a close connection with the students every week, and I find this important as students with special needs are often excluded from the community for being "different." I hope to expand this project during my senior year. ​

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TRIP was introduced to me by my biology teacher, and, funny story, before freshman year of high school, I always thought I was going to be a business major. It turns out that when I got accepted into my school’s STEM program and learned more about the career fields and academics, I am definitely a STEM type of person. TRIP interested me because I enjoy and value every opportunity for hands-on activities involving lab-based research. This program is also a great opportunity for me to learn more about the health sciences field, as I am interested in pursuing a career in the field after graduating high school. Hopefully, through this program, I can gain experience in leadership skills, communication skills, and problem-solving skills related to science.  Aside from research, I also want to participate in the TRIP Initiative to meet new people and individuals who share similar interests relating to STEM and pursue a career in the health profession. I aim to challenge myself by researching and finding a project that I will be passionate about throughout the next five weeks!
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