How did a couple of pieces of crumpled-up papers in a small jar save a generation of children from concentration camps? The story starts with a Polish woman with an ambition for an egalitarian future named Irena Sendler. In 1940, Hitler declared that all Jewish citizens were to be forced into a ghetto no more than a square mile large in Warsaw, Poland. Appalled by the conditions, Irena and her colleagues, who were social workers, secured passes to enter the ghetto under the guise of checking for typhus outbreaks. The Gestapo’s fear of the disease allowed them to sneak in resources. However, over time she realized that would not be enough; she needed to get the children out. She painfully begged parents to let her get their children out with the reality that they may never see them again. She smuggled children in coffins and briefcases under the Gestapo’s noses, risking her life each time. Her courage and selflessness never fail to inspire me; she never flinched in acting on what she thought was right. In addition, she falsified documents giving them new identities, and placed them in orphanages and foster families, keeping documentation of each child on tiny scraps of paper in a jar. In October of 1943, Irena was arrested and sent to Pawiak Prison. For 100 days, she faced brutal torture yet gave no intel. Irena escaped on the date of her execution and immediately resumed work. Typically, one would assume that after a traumatizing experience, they would head away from the danger, but she faced it fearlessly. Ultimately, Irena saved 2000 Jews from concentration camps yet still curses herself for not doing more. Even going so far as to dislike being praised because, in her words, she just did what the normal thing to do was.

In my junior year, I was tasked with creating a book club for our final exam. A simple task in person, but my members were online. No microphones and black screens greeted me on the first day which was severely disheartening. However, I tried not to let that hinder me, and I greeted each session with kind remarks and created a spreadsheet of dates each chapter should be completed by. I created a trivia of the first chapter's occurrences to increase engagement but was greeted with another blank screen. Finally, by the end of the first week, one of the students reached out to me and thanked me for me trying and being kind and sensitive to their general lack of will to speak. They further elaborated that they had anxiety in social situations. I explained to them that it was no problem and encouraged them to try to interact when they felt comfortable, and in the next few days, they started responding more. Their courage encouraged another to speak, and soon enough, we had successful sessions. Granted, only two of the other five members showed engagement, but it was a start. The sessions continued for a month until the teacher explained that the final would be a video reenacting the book. Now why she decided that an entirely asynchronous class would make a group video is a question for another day. Over a couple of days, I gathered ideas and wrote three scripts that my group would need to act out. However, when it was time to draw roles, one girl asked to be the narrator, which was a part that I had not written. Her decision would unbalance the workload and would mean that I would also have to act in addition to writing the script. This would heavily increase the work I needed to do, but I also recognized her discomfort, so I rewrote all three scripts. Once the roles were decided, I set a deadline for the actors a couple of days before the actual deadline to give time for the editor to put it together. And that was the end of it, or at least I thought. The night of the deadline the editor emailed me panicking that some actors still hadn't submitted their videos. Now, it was 10 pm, and I was about to crawl into bed, but after her stress, I decided to stay up to help her put it together. We got it done well after midnight and received an A+. Being a leader is more than the ability to take control of a situation. As a leader, you are tasked with the responsibility to influence the others around you positively. For example, during the group project, I encouraged one member to speak up more and convinced her that her voice had value and supported another when they were overwhelmed. Leaders should instill confidence in others and support them when they struggle. The role of a leader is to create more leaders.

The technology behind weather tracking and forecasting has come far, but not far enough. On average, 80 people die yearly from tornadoes in the United States alone and over 1,500 face injuries. Meteorologists can recognize conditions for where a storm may form using a doppler radar. However, to determine an EF rating and touchdown, storm chasers must visit the affected areas and notify weather stations. It works like a charm until night falls. If an area is marked as tornado-probable, the only thing broadcast meteorologists can do is issue a warning. Tornadoes are practically invisible and far too dangerous for even trained storm chasers to tackle at night. Meaning that residents living in a warning area have no idea if their house is in the path of a tornado. As a long-term goal, I wish to apply the knowledge I learn to identify natural disasters and improve radar technology to forecast catastrophic storms effectively. In addition, I want to remedy the lack of preparation some areas have for sporadic disasters and enable citizens to reach sanctuaries faster. Another goal is the prevention of one of the most critical issues: climate change. Islands face the most risk due to their limited resources and proximity to water. When climate change worsens, islands will face rising sea levels, loss of marine life, and increased catastrophic storms. In addition, with rising temperatures, invasive species that live in warmer areas will start to relocate to the island, outcompeting native animals for resources, leading to their extinction. However, these are just some of the effects that will target the islands. Imagine the fate of the rest of the world when it's their turn. I plan to fight against rising climate change issues, providing a sustainable future for the earth and the people living here.

The lab results always ended the same, with insignificant findings that left doctors scratching their heads. Concurrently, my condition intensified, and by my 14th birthday, I had been tested for almost every disease known to man. As my body grew frail, I progressed into a state similar to an antique victorian doll: the type that you're afraid will shatter the second it brushes your fingertips. This decline went on for a year. As the doctors gave up, my mother sent an application to the Mayo Clinic. As we approached the doctor's office, I worried this was another dead-end. However, he determined my illness was a type of Dysautonomia; unfortunately, there was no cure. He endorsed a rehabilitation program in the facility, but my journey was just beginning. This program threw me right back into normality without any stops for comfort. Despite feeling like my nerves were on fire, I had to exercise without a single complaint. The program being nothing more than coping, almost made me despair. During a terrible episode, I asked myself, "What's even the point if the pain won't end?" Before I thought further, I reminded myself what I was doing this for: to wipe the worried look off my mother's face and go back to school. Snapping back into it, I woke up earlier the next morning, no longer permitting negative thoughts. Instead, I challenged myself in exercise, adding a higher weight that I knew I was capable of but was avoiding. Despite its challenges, I'm grateful I fought this illness, as it changed me completely. I never give up and expect things to come to me; I fight for them. I am proud to state that I now feel in control of my body, able to overcome anything thrown at me, regardless of the adversity.

Even in my childhood, I've always felt a connection to the rain, so I decided to start learning more about weather phenomena in early middle school. Soon after, I became infatuated with the topic and commenced my conquest to consume any content I could discover. I watched in awe as EF-4 tornadoes developed from a minuscule rope of cloud and the raw power mother nature evoked as tsunamis toppled cities. That was when my passion started, but it had only just begun. Later in life, I self-taught myself the scientific side through borrowed textbooks and free documentaries, studying every free educational content I could find. I aim to continue my studies at an honors college until I receive my master's degree in Atmospheric Sciences, and then it's into the workforce from there. I've always been inspired by the meteorologists on TV risking their lives in hazardous weather events to ensure the safety of the citizens in their city. So when I become a meteorologist, I aim to do the same thing. Even if it means taking the night shift to update citizens on a tornado probable thunderstorm or reporting from a boat drifting down a flooded street that became rubble in the wake of a hurricane while rescuing citizens estranged from their homes. I will apply the knowledge I learn to identify natural disaster conditions and observe areas to update news stations of a storm forming. As a long-term goal, I want to remedy the lack of preparation some areas have for sporadic storms through scientific research to help citizens reach sanctuaries faster. As a more personal goal, I intend to become fluent in as many languages as possible. Finally, I will fight against rising climate change issues, providing a sustainable future for the earth and the people living here.