The Beginning of My TRIP by Anoosha Shukla

Hello! My name is Anoosha Shukla, a junior at Wissahickon High School. I am super excited to be a part of TRIP’23@WTHS. 

As a child, matching memory games and solving puzzles were my favorite. Creating the connections and finding patterns were thrilling. These early experiences set the gears of my curiosity for STEM in motion. In school, I challenge myself with accelerated math and science classes, which always turn out to be my favorite. I find it exciting to connect the concepts learned in school with other parts of my life. For example, my knowledge of physics circular motion helps me understand the moves in my ice-skating routines, and mathematical sequences have enhanced my understanding of rhythm as an Indian classical dancer. 

At school, I am the vice-president of our science club. This means I get to organize and run monthly-experiments. Next month, I have organized a field trip for the science club to visit Gwynedd Mercy University’s science laboratory. I am also vice-president of the Debate and Speech team. I compete in Public Forum (2x2), alongside my debate partner. Debate is one of my favorite activities because of the adrenaline rush I get before the rounds! I am also a proud co-founder and co-president of my school’s Indian Cultural Association. This year, we had a successful Garba event. Over 150 students, parents, and community members joined us for a traditional Indian social dance. Currently, we are in the process of organizing our second annual Holi event!

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Outside of school, I am a synchronized ice skater and classical dancer. I have been doing synchro (the nickname) for 8 years and I love it. I am currently skating on Team Delaware at the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club. This season, we won first place at a competition in Anaheim, California! As for dance, I learn Kathak, a form of Indian Classical dance. I dance alongside my mom which is always a great mother-daughter bonding experience. Recently, I flew to Milwaukee to be a part of Hip-Hop DNA, a production designed to explore the links of hip-hop to various cultures. These special interests serve as my creative outlet and I cherish every moment of practicing dance or being on the ice.

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I applied to TRIP to gain exposure to laboratory work and build more connections within scientific topics. On Day 1 of TRIP, I learned how to use pipettes, pipets, and micropipettes! I also made four vials of fly food (constant, drug only, stressor only, drug and stressor). These four vials will help me study how black cohosh and a high sugar diet will affect female fertility in Drosophila melanogaster. Black cohosh is a species of flowering plant, native to North America. Native Americans used the root of this plant to relieve menstrual cramps and menopause symptoms. As someone who is interested in women’s health, I am curious to find out the results of this research. In addition to these foundational skills, I also got a vial containing about 30 fruit flies to take home! The vial is living on top of my desk  - it is a pretty unique desk decoration! Just from the first day in the lab, I can already tell I will love this “trip”. From being around naturally curious students to learning from incredible instructors and instructors assistants, I feel like this experience will be equally enriching and rewarding.