Zachary Scheppat Memorial Science Scholarship

“Kayla entered the waiting room.” I pressed admit. A little girl popped into the Zoom meeting, only her forehead and pigtails visible. As she angled the camera, I saw her face. She seemed so normal. Why did I assume that she’d be different? Kayla was Peerguide’s first student from foster care. After three months of outreach, I connected my nonprofit with numerous social workers through the Washington state foster care system, and they began regularly sending foster students to PeerGuide for tutoring. I was proud of my nonprofit’s mission to serve students from underrepresented backgrounds, so when the first student signed up, I was eager to teach her. Upon her guardian’s initial inquiry, I contacted Kayla’s social worker. She explained that Kayla had been taken into government custody after being found abused at age five. She emphasized Kayla’s intelligence but noted her lack of academic support, as her foster mother worked three jobs. This background caused some apprehension and uncertainty within me as I was only a high school sophomore, but I still agreed to help because I knew she would benefit from my assistance. After several sessions, I realized that she was nothing like my preconceived notions of what a foster child would be like. I thought she would be reserved, traumatized, and behind in school. However, she was outgoing, caring, and very bright. I also learned she loved mac and cheese, Harry Potter, and Taylor Swift. I began looking forward to our sessions, and she soon became the highlight of my Mondays and Thursdays. Working with Kayla, I learned how to communicate more effectively, value a younger student’s perspective, and appreciate someone’s story. Most importantly, I learned how to make a difference in another person’s life. Through our collaboration, the friendship we fostered, and the impact I was making, I was thrilled to learn alongside her. By networking and growing PeerGuide when I wasn’t working with Kayla, I expanded the organization to over 350 students and more than 250 tutors. The countless relationships I helped foster, similar to the one I had built with Kayla, were gratifying as students and tutors worldwide still engaged in learning during the pandemic. Developing PeerGuide over the past years has painted a clear picture of what I want coming out of college. I want to help people. By pursuing the sciences and medicine, I hope to connect with people on an emotional level, one where I can help them with tangible results and be emotionally supportive when they need me most. I feel like I can accomplish this as a doctor, having the ability to heal and care for others simultaneously. However, I want my career to be multifaceted. Eventually, I want to become a high school AP Biology teacher, making students gaze in awe at the curvature of the mitochondria's matrix and have them memorize that it is "the powerhouse of the cell," as I once did. I want students to engage in science and be as passionate about studying it as I am. I want to combine my passion for teaching and my love for science to help more students like Kayla I meet in the future.

Everyday uses of math captivated me from a young age, encouraged by my parents reciting the times table to me over dinner and math competitions all over the state. My summers were filled with STEM learning as they took me to technology-related workshops, app-development sessions, and science fairs. Growing older, I began to branch out: working for a math tutoring service, volunteering to help peers with calculus, and volunteering in STEM-related fields. Tutoring for math and physics problems gave way to my passion for teaching, a career path I am considering for the future. My role in math tutoring was to develop new ways to approach a subject with only one right answer, which encouraged both students and myself to think about math creatively. I want to continue tutoring as a part-time job post-graduation, especially for students that do not have well-established educational resources. Another vision I have for my future career is creating beneficial technology for neurodiverse and disabled communities. My cousin was diagnosed with autism when he was young, which originally inspired me to connect with the local autistic community. Throughout high school, I have explored opportunities to collaborate with different organizations for volunteering, planning fundraisers, and community events. Two companies, NavigateVR (aimed toward young adults) and Floreo (aimed towards children), developed virtual reality technology that would display a social situation to people with autism and helped them learn to respond to overwhelming stimuli through virtual reality rather than experiencing it for the first time in real life. This technology is not perfected yet but is important to develop as it can potentially help students and young adults with autism engage socially. I want to use my knowledge in both biology and computer science to create AI or machine learning technology that can adapt to individuals, and provide personalized feedback or advice to approach these overstimulating situations. Additionally, I would like to focus on creating smaller, more affordable products that I can donate to schools to aid in learning specifically for special education programs. This upcoming school year, I will be attending the University of California-Berkeley to pursue an undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics. The applied mathematics major includes specialization in three areas of interest, and I hope to study machine learning, economics, and biology/psychology (with more of an informatics focus). This opportunity will allow me to learn more about technology and the effects of technology on biological processes or psychology. The last issue that I am passionate about is sustainability. I’m particularly interested in solving urbanization and the current effects of redlining. There is a large disparity in average temperatures between previously redlined urban areas and suburbs, which can interfere with learning for students or general well-being. The materials used in infrastructure are often unhealthier than suburban areas and contribute to the declining health of residents. In my career in science, I want to use my knowledge in math, biology, and chemistry to create affordable and sustainable infrastructure that can be easily implemented in cities and involve children in the process so that they can connect with their community. To conclude, I want to create an impact in the science field by helping groups that have consistently been overlooked. Using the practical skills, hands-on experiences, and technical knowledge I learn in college, I hope to create beneficial technology, educate young minds, and implement sustainable processes or infrastructure alongside those from marginalized groups.