My academic interests have always been quite diverse: As a child, my answer to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" varied day to day from novelist to veterinarian to mathematician. The only common thread I found across the plethora of subjects I enjoyed was the excitement of "solving the puzzle," whether it was crafting the perfect sentence structure or calculating the answer to a complex math problem. Even in my free time, puzzles were - and still are - a staple. I love Wordle, Sudoku, crosswords, and even your typical 2,000 piece Ravensburger jigsaw.

In high school, I continued to follow my various puzzle-solving interests, participating in activities including Speech and Debate, writing contests, investment organizations, and math competitions. Senior year, I interned in the Biostatistics Department of the UTSA Health Science Center. My primary project was Geocoding, or using computers to obtain usable geographic data about hundreds of thousands of given addresses. This experience solidified my love of computer science (or, as I like to think of it, glorified logic puzzles) and data analysis, which heavily influenced my choice of majors coming into UT.

The newly-available Statistics & Data Science major perfectly combines my loves of coding, mathematics, and problem solving. The Plan II Honors program serves as the ideal interdisciplinary counterweight to my many STEM-oriented courses, providing much-needed balance, flexibility, and exploration. My exciting, puzzle-filled, and uniquely UT educational experience will allow me to view problems holistically in order to create the most effective solutions. Using the tools and opportunities the Forty Acres Scholars Program has given me, I hope to explore the development, use, and ethics of AI in data analysis; the possibilities in anything from finance to healthcare are limitless. I can't wait to see where this curiosity takes me - as our motto says, "What starts here changes the world."

Majors:
Statistics & Data Science; Plan II Honors

Honors Programs:
Plan II Honors and Polymathic Scholars

Extracurricular Activities:
Freshman Research Initiative; Intramural Volleyball

What drew you to the Forty Acres Scholars Program?
From the moment I found out I had been selected, I knew that the Forty Acres Scholars Program would be the foundation of my higher education. Everything about the program is geared to create the exact college experience I had always hoped to have - a close-knit community of like-minded students, the chance to explore the world and my place within it, opportunities to meet, talk, and work with professionals in my field of study, and most of all, support, confidence, and belief in my ability to succeed in college and beyond. I was drawn to this program because I knew it was a gift that would change my life forever, giving me the chance to change others' lives in return.

What makes your scholar cohort unique?
Even from the very beginning, I have known that the scholars in my cohort are the intelligent, driven, and inspiring people that everyone tells you to surround yourself with. Hearing about each of their fascinating and incredibly diverse endeavors pushes me to be better myself. Nevertheless, success and brilliance aside, my fellow scholars are kind, witty, and down-to-earth - the kind of people that I know I will be blessed to have in my life for years to come.