PROJECTS

I saw firsthand the kind of toll the COVID-19 pandemic put on this nation's doctors and nurses as I shadowed a cardiologist in SCV. I wanted to give those healthcare professionals a voice—thus, COVID Diaries was born. I conducted seven interviews, six of which were with doctors and one of which was with a nurse, and asked them a series of questions. The transcripts can be found here.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, senior centers were shut down and the elderly were often completely isolated from their families. As soon as quarantine restrictions were lifted, I began visiting my local senior center to play piano for them—pieces I'd learned and those I'd composed—on the first Tuesday of every month.

My summer intern project at a biotech startup in SCV, SetPoint Medical, consisted of research into nickel biocompatibility. I reviewed current literature, read relevant FDA guidelines and legal requirements, and proposed potential experiment/analysis that could provide nickel ion release data for the company. Linked here is a PowerPoint presentation of my findings.

As the president of Operation Smile at my high school, I organized multiple toy drives for items such as coloring books, board games, action figures, makeup kits, etc. The most recent one, held from 2/6/23 to 2/10/22, was hugely successful—there were hundreds of donations, with a total value of approximately $400. All items were donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

After the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, the elderly were prioritized in getting immunized, but many needed assistance in making vaccine appointments. Vaccine Helpers was a 100% volunteer-run initiative, our main objective being to schedule vaccinations for elderly patients. Once the appointment was scheduled, we walked them through some routine questions and gave them the date, time, and location to show up at, making the whole process quick, easy, and efficient.