Hopefully, some of you will one day think that my pieces in some way resonate with your life or provide useful advice. I personally signed up to be an Admissions’ blog writer to give people an honest context of how college students, particularly at Penn, go through life. We should probably get to know each other then to foster this dialogue!
I was born and brought up in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area and have lived there my whole life. Currently, I live in Cupertino which many of you might recognize as the location of Apple’s headquarters. My Californian-ness makes me a boba and avocado enthusiast and a huge fan of third wave, hipster coffee. With my friends from back home. I’ll often go to Chinatown in Philly when we miss Asian food to stuff ourselves with dim sum and hot pot.
Being from the Bay Area made me aware of opportunities through higher education, as most around me aspired to go to top colleges. In high school, I was quite the science geek. I worked at a Neuroscience and Materials Science lab and greatly enjoyed both experiences. In fact, for a while, I seriously considered going into academia. Even when I was applying to colleges, I examined such opportunities during my tours.
Beginning to narrow down my college list, Penn stood out as being a hub of scientific innovation from hospitals, the medical school, pharmaceutical companies, and undergraduate education being centered in walking distance of the dorms. Scouring the admissions site, I came across this link to something called LSM which is the Life Sciences and Management Dual-Degree Program between Wharton and the College. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Wharton, but I knew I wanted a business background in order to convey my scientific thoughts in a purposeful way to society.
But science and business are only a couple of my eclectic interests. I love to learn languages and was the head of my school’s French National Honor Society. In the first semester of my freshman year, I decided as a result to take an upper level French Literature class where I was the only non-native speaker or non-French or Classics concentrator. Nonetheless, I had an incredible time and have to say it was my favorite course. This linguistic excitement comes to practice through my love for travel: to date, I’ve been fortunate to have visited 26 countries. Through my travels, I particularly love exploring new foods and art and sometimes attempting to recreate both at home too!
Ultimately, most people would describe me as someone who’s quite enthusiastic and loud. I love to talk for hours on end. While most people may describe me as an extrovert, I probably am the biggest fan of staying in and taking power naps. I love being a nerd and talking to my friends about the latest trends in healthcare and the structures of polymers. My best friend always says, “you aren’t Anova’s friend till she tells you that she is named after the statistical term Analysis of Variance.” Given that, I guess we’re friends now! I look forward to you getting to know me more and always feel free to let me know your thoughts.
