The One Where He Says Hi by Alexander Yum

HI GUYS I’M ALEX YUM AND I’M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE. For the next few weeks, you will witness the obnoxious comedy program that is my life. Except it’s not gonna be very funny because there may be a lot of dead flies and I’m scared of both death and flies (circa 2/1/20).

I’m currently a junior at the great(ish) Wissahickon High School. Science and math have always piqued my interest and at the age of five I boldly proclaimed that I wanted to “be a doctor” without knowing what that entailed. Now, with more *self proclaimed* maturity, I simply wish to find my passion that may lie in STEM, though, I still sometimes meddle with the idea of pursuing medicine.

In case you’re dying to know more about who I am, here’s a few things that define me. I was born in Tennessee and am proud to say that I had a Southern accent until I was 5 when I moved to a little half-Amish half-modern town (both cars and horse drawn buggies) on the outskirts of Pittsburgh before moving here in third grade. The things I love in life can be condensed into family, friends, food, fun, and *sometimes* sleep (we have a love-hate relationship). I play tennis for my school varsity team, rip the outer layer off of soft pretzels because it just tastes like burnt bread, and picked up the trombone in 4th grade because it was big, shiny, and fun to slide.

I wanted to get involved in the TRIP Initiative program because of two reasons:

1) I find research itself very intriguing but have not had many opportunities to partake in it. I wish to research and work in the lab as much as possible before college so that I can build experience and interest, and this program provides a perfect opportunity for me to do so. 

2) I will probably pursue a career in STEM, but I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. For all I know, my passion could lie in hypothesis-based research, and this program could provide a medium for me to find my passion.

As my biology teacher would put it, this program gives me “a lot of bang for the buck” and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the weeks to come!