YYGS has given me a space to interact with like-minded peers and learn about topics that interest me. Through our discussions and interactions, I have learned to consider a diverse array of viewpoints in everything I do. YYGS has inspired me to initiate actionable change in my community and I am excited to use my experience to support others in developing their passions as well as to give back to my community.
Amid unprecedented shutdowns and restrictions around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of my extracurricular activities were cancelled. As I searched for new online opportunities to further my passion in STEM, I came across the “STEMpowerment Viewpoint Challenge” – an international scholarly writing competition hosted by STEM Fellowship, a Canadian registered charity. I decided to participate in this competition during the summer of 2020, and I entered with a viewpoint on treatment methods for severe COVID-19 patients. I placed in the top 10 papers and my viewpoint was selected for publication in the STEM Fellowship Journal.
After this competition ended, I soon realized that many other high school students in my region had been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. At my school in particular, there was a lack of STEM clubs and students interested in this field had very few opportunities to pursue their passion outside of the classroom. I was determined to tackle both issues and I immediately sprung into action. In January 2021, I founded STEM Fellowship Mississauga, a high school division chapter of STEM Fellowship. I am proud to note that 100% of our executive team (myself included) are members of one or more underrepresented communities in STEM (females, persons of colour, etc.). To further improve representation, we have launched projects such as creating resource lists for these groups to join organizations, become interns, land jobs, and receive mentorship in the STEM field. In addition, we teach our general members skills such as big data analysis and scholarly writing in preparation for future careers. We also prepare and provide opportunities for them to partake in various nation-wide competitions and challenges. As a team, we hope to reach over 500 students in our region by the end of the school year and have over 50 general members.
Over the past year, I became increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the disposal and littering of single-use face masks, an issue I noticed even in my own community. As I further researched on possible methods to dispose of masks in a more environmentally-friendly approach, I came across pyrolysis – a method of thermochemical decomposition of plastic waste to produce biofuel – and chose to write a viewpoint on the same. I am grateful to note that I won Best COVID-19 Paper and a sponsored publication in the STEM Fellowship Journal. I hope to further give back to my community by providing students in Mississauga with similar resources and opportunities through my STEM Fellowship chapter.