A Quick TRIP Through My Life! by Saanvi Gupta

Hello! My name is Saanvi Gupta, and I am a junior at Downingtown East High School. My parents immigrated from India to the United States in 2004. A year after, I was born in New Jersey, after which we moved to Connecticut and then here, in Pennsylvania. I currently live in Chester Springs, a small suburb just outside of Philadelphia, with my parents and puppy Chikoo.

I applied to TRIP to further my interests in medical research and gain exposure to laboratory work while also meeting students that would willingly give up 12 Saturdays to do the same. With a large fascination with women’s health and previous research experiences in breast cancer diagnostics and global views on menopause, I am excited to see where TRIP takes me next. So far, I have learned how to use pipets, pipettes, and micropipettes (yes, they are all different), made fruit fly food, performed dilution problems, and now have fruit flies living in my bedroom! For my upcoming project, I am going to study how fenugreek (a plant that I have eaten growing up) and a high sugar diet will impact female fruit fly fertility. As someone who wishes to build a career around women’s health research and medicine, I am ecstatic about my upcoming journey in TRIP and will most definitely cherish this amazing experience. 

At school, I am heavily invested in anything and everything science and math-related. I currently serve as the President-in-Training for my school’s TSA (Technology Student Association) chapter and compete as part of my school’s Academic/Quizbowl Team and HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America). I also created a Math Tutoring program for my school district which enables high school students to tutor other students across the 16 schools in Downingtown Area School District. Additionally, I am a Charity Chair of the Student Council; my main job is to organize Mr. East, an annual senior boy’s beauty pageant that raises money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (this year, we raised over $4000). Outside of school, I used to compete and now mentor in VEX Robotics and volunteer as part of the Shakti Foundation, a local volunteering group that promotes Indian heritage and culture. I also love dancing and choreographing in Hip-Hop and Bollywood styles and playing Just Dance - it’s a great stress relief!