The Barry Goldwater Scholarship is meant to "identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming this Nation’s next generation of research leaders in [the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics]." It is dedicated to the late Senator Barry Goldwater to honor his interest in science and technology. Besides college applications, this is likely the most rigorous application I have completed. I first applied to UW's Campus Representative and judges, and, once nominated, applied to the national scholarship after a thorough review of all my application materials. I learned a lot through the application and was able to strengthen my skills with writing applications. Furthermore, I became part of a new community. The Goldwater Scholars have a dedicated Slack channel and are planning a meet-up. I hope to meet some of the more local scholars for coffee soon and am stoked to have earned this scholarship.
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Mary Gates endowed Research Scholarship 2019 & Mary gates undergraduate research symposiumI applied for the Mary Gates Research Scholarship for my project regarding ion diffusion in halide perovskites as the Ginger Lab in 2019. As someone interested in a research career, and a recipient of one of the research awards, I presented at the Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Through the application process I learned a lot about applications in general and how to phrase research topics in a way that is understandable to an audience with diverse experiences. For lack of a better phrase, I also gained experience in "selling myself" and in displaying myself as a good candidate for the scholarship. My oral presentation at the symposium itself was good experience in presenting in front of an audience with similar research background but different experiences and specializations. The presentation taught me to be more sure of myself and how to put together a concise overview of my research. I also was able to meet with people doing similar research and compare research techniques!
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Usha and S. Rao Varanasi Endowed Diversity Scholarship in Chemistry 2019 |
In 2019 I applied for the Department of Chemistry Scholarships and received this scholarship. I was also invited to the UW Chemistry Awards Dinner and able to meet my donors in person! Dr. Usha Varanasi is an amazing woman - she was appointed as the science and research director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northwest Fisheries Science Center and became the first woman to lead a fisheries field office. Dr. Rao Varanasi is similarly distinguished and worked at Boeing in science and research positions for over 45 years. The scholarship application was one of my first experiences with applications of the time, and extremely good experience for future applications. This scholarship also helped decrease the burden on my family for my attendance of university and gave me role models to look up to - for people of my background it is still uncommon to find others who have been successful for many decades in the biochemistry or chemistry fields in the United States and have held faculty positions.
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