2020 Brunner Award Recipient
ELANA ABRAMS
ACLU Summer Internship
Elana Abrams is currently a junior at Bronx Science and is dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accepting environment, whether that be in school or in her larger community. She is immersed in social activism and enjoys taking part in and facilitating dialogue. She is involved in a diverse array of activities in which she has taken on leadership roles. Elana is a part of Bronx Science’s student government, senate, national honors society, and speech and debate team and is the president of her youth group. She is an Anti-Defamation League certified peer trainer and a founding member of Bronx Science’s equity team. She was also a member of the National Organization for Women. She is creative and her desire to create has led to her passion for painting, playing the guitar, and writing. Elana is unafraid to speak her mind and enjoys discussing politics with people who have opposing views. This, coupled with her desire to create a more equitable society, has led to her involvement in politics, specifically through the ACLU National Advocacy Institute. Through her involvement with the ACLU, she hopes to learn more about the inner workings of professional social activists, politicians, and lawyers as well as create meaningful relationships with people who share her goals and aspirations. In the long term, Elana wants to have a role in politics through the fourth branch of government, as believed to be by Thomas Jefferson: the media.
Elana will be attending ACLU’s Summer Intensive virtually, where she will work with lawyers, lobbyists and activists to gain real-world experience in social justice. 2020 Brunner Award Recipient
SARAH AKTARI
Khodakah Neuroscience Lab at Albert Einstein School of Medicine
Sarah Aktari is a rising senior at The Bronx High School of Science. She is part of the biology research program, and she is very excited for the opportunity to be able to conduct research in a lab, with aid from the Brunner Awards and the Bronx Science Alumni Foundation. Last summer, she was mentored by grad students as she conducted research at a neuroscience based lab. At the lab, she realized that she wanted to pursue biology in college, and continue research in the future. This summer, Sarah hopes to learn more about the brain, continue developing lab skills, and also grow as a student. During her free time, Sarah likes to spend time with her family, play the guitar, and dance. Currently, she is spending the quarantine watching movies with her family, baking, and re- reading the Harry Potter series. She loves watching romantic comedies, Bollywood movies, and Disney movies. Her favorite Disney movies include The Lion King, Aladdin, and The Emperor’s New Groove. She can always be found jamming out to her favorite songs, “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from The Lion King. She also loves baking cinnamon rolls and cookies, even though she always makes way more than necessary. Sarah is excited for the following summer, and is excited to be volunteering at a lab. She is extremely grateful for the Brunner Awards and the Bronx Science Alumni Foundation for allowing her to pursue her dreams, and for giving her the opportunity to have an enriching summer.
Sarah will be traveling to Khodakhah Neuroscience Laboratory at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she will volunteer at their research laboratory to help with her neuroscience research. 2020 Brunner Award Recipient
SAMIRA BEGUM
Northeastern E-Focus Chemistry Seminar
My name is Samira Begum and I am a student at the Bronx High School of Science. My favorite subjects are chemistry and computer science, two fields I hope to major in when I go to college. I am currently trying to pursue research in these two areas in both fields of environmental science and drug research. Although I enjoy math and science, I also enjoy reading philosophy and learning about economics. A few of my hobbies outside of academics include long distance running, being a food conseguir, and exploring the big city of New York. In school, my favorite activities are my two extracurricular, the Bronx Science Speech and Debate team and being a part of the research program at my school. My favorite part of being a member of the Bronx Science community is the diversity in the student body and the broad field of intellectual study students at Bronx Science are able to take part in. I am also an intersectional feminist and I read a lot of feminist literature in my free time. Furthermore, I am also an environmental activist. I hope to use the knowledge I gain as a future scientist and future researcher to help prevent climate change from destroying our planet.
Samira will be virtually attending Northwestern’s e-Focus Seminar, which will focus on Chemistry with Real World Applications with a focus on environmental science. 2020 Brunner Award Recipient
GUY BLOOM
UTNIF DEBATE CAMP
Guy Bloom is a freshman at the Bronx High School of Science. He went to middle school at The School at Columbia University. He lives in both his mom’s and dad’s house, having three half-brothers at his dad’s house and three pets at his mom’s (two dogs, one cat). In his free time, he likes to play video games with his friends and watch TV with them. Though not interested in physical sports, he is very competitive when it comes to his high school policy debate career. If he did not get homework, most of the free time he would have would go to researching and reading literature for debate. He has participated in competitive debate since the sixth grade, though he much prefers the style he does in high school. His biggest achievement when it comes to his debate career is undoubtedly his performance at the Lakeland Westchester Classic, where he, along with his partner Nell Tov, made it to semifinals and were the first seed after preliminaries. He was the third highest ranked speaker in that tournament out of 80 debaters. Over the course of his high school career, he plans to have debate as his only extracurricular activity and pursue it to the fullest. That being said, he still takes his academic career very seriously and makes sure to have his priorities straight.
Guy will be attending UTNIF Debate Camp virtually where he hopes to strengthen his debate skills for the Bronx Science Speech & Debate Team.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
SARAH CHAN
Healthcare Provider Personal Protective Care Donations
Sarah Chan is currently a junior at the Bronx High School of Science. Her three year journey so far has allowed her to meet new friends and teachers that have pushed her to pursue her interests. Her passions include traveling, volunteering in her community, and swimming. This summer, she was hoping to be a lifeguard at her neighborhood pool and volunteer at her community hospital, but her plans were all cancelled when the Coronavirus hit. Her everyday life changed so suddenly and now she is unable to see her peers and teachers anymore and has to adjust to remote learning. Being stuck at home in quarantine has encouraged her to learn something new every da. So far, she has learned how to cook, skateboard, and knit. However, she wanted to do something more to help with the crisis going on even if she couldn’t physically be out there saving lives. With the Brunner Award, she hopes to learn how to sew so that she can actively participate in the fight against this virus by producing masks for health care workers on the frontline. These workers put their lives at risk trying to save others and she believes that this is the best way for her to contribute to the effort.
Sarah will be volunteering her time producing handmade Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers that are on the frontline of this pandemic. She hopes to be able to make scrub hats, as well as masks, with the equipment she was awarded.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
PHOENIX CHEN
Cooper Union School of Arts Summer Art Summer Intensive Program
My name is Phoenix Chen, and I am a current sophomore. I live in Queens, and have a kindergartener brother who is a handful. When teachers asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had no ready answer. The only thing I liked doing was drawing video games, but ‘artist’ was too vague an answer. What did an ‘artist’ do? I wasn’t too concerned with it, but it bothered me. In middle school, I was exposed to the extent of what was considered the ‘visual arts’, ranging from design, animation, and architecture, among hundreds of other categories. I still didn’t know which direction to go, but it sounded like a good career path to explore. But sophomore year swept in like a wave. Juggling AP exams, studying, art and friends was stressful, and I found myself dry of inspiration. I took a break from art to organize myself, but it wasn’t until March that I could. This year, when the COVID-19 pandemic concentrated in NYC, it was disturbing to see what was happening so close to me in Queens. In March, I heard twice as many sirens going through my neighborhood than ever before. 2020 was supposed to be a year of new starts, but it seems to be only a bringer of chaos. But these events, I have found to be rich in inspiration. This flurry of change is worth documenting in my mind, in my own artwork. I am very grateful to be subject to a Brunner Award and the opportunity that it presents, and will take this chance to absorb as much as I can this summer!
Phoenix will be attending The Cooper Union School of Art Summer Intensive Program virtually, where she will work with guest artists throughout the Drawing Intensive 48.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
CAROLYN CHUI
Wake Forest Debate Camp
My name is Carolyn Chui and I was born on March 27th, 2004. I was born in Manhattan and I grew up in East Harlem. I went to Pre-K and then tested into TAG, a gifted school in East Harlem. The school shaped me in multiple ways, as it had a tough and fast paced curriculum, but I loved that. I struggled with English in third grade because the teacher expected us to know grammar, and I didn’t because my parents are first generation immigrants. The first half of the year was a struggle, but with the help of sgi I was able to grasp it. The struggle taught me to work hard and persevere. In the end TAG wasn’t challenging enough, so I went to Columbia Secondary school for middle school. CSS had a philosophy class and we did mock debates in it, which I loved. I discovered my passion for debate and decided I wanted to be a lawyer. I thought I wanted to go Stuyvesant, but after the Bronx Science open house, I decided I wanted to go to Bronx Science. The debate team was very impressive and I wanted to be a part of it. I knew I would be able to do more debates on the Bronx science team and that it would help me achieve my dreams of being a lawyer. Debating is what introduced me to a diverse group of people with their own experiences and ideals, which helped widen my understanding of the world.
Carolyn will be attending Wake Forest University Debate Camp virtually where she hopes to strengthen her debate skills for the Bronx Science Speech & Debate Team.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
EDITA COSOVIC
The Brilliant Space, Online Tutoring Service
My name is Edita Cosovic, and I am a freshman at Bronx Science. I have an older sister and a younger brother meaning that I am the middle child of my family. My interests include playing soccer with my friends and family during my free time. I’m even part of Bronx Science’s Junior Varsity soccer team which further develops this interest. This team has allowed me to make a lot of new friends. Moreover, I spend my time binge-watching my favorite shows on Netflix and scrolling on TikTok, as other students my age do. I also love helping people, so I plan to pursue a career in medicine. With these interests in mind, over the span of my year at Bronx Science, I’ve involved myself in different sports, clubs, and activities. These activities include the Pre-Medical Society, HOSA, and Key Club. In addition to these, I am also a part of the school’s Astronomy, and Scrapbooking Club, which allows me to spend time with my friends while indulging in some creativity! Alongside these, outside of school, my sister and I have started our own project to bring free tutoring services for students of all grades, all over the country. In the end, I’m a regular kid who just wants to have fun and see a change in the world.
Edita has created a tutoring website specifically designed to help students while school is not in session. She hopes the materials awarded will help her successfully reach more students.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
JIACHI GERALD DENG
Summer Immersion Internship Program
Within school Gerald Deng is Captain of the varsity Boys Swim team at Bronx Science (2020-2021) where he plans and organizes team-building activities. During his sophomore and junior year Gerald qualified for the NY State Swimming Championship meet. He has been a manager for the Girls Swim Team for two years. Gerald is also part of his school's Student Government (WTV). He helps edit homeroom videos and even has his own news segment. Gerald also in his free time volunteers to give back to his community. He walks, runs and bikes for charity. He is part of Key Club and Chief of photography for illumination, a volunteer based organization. He even helps volunteer to tutor middle schoolers to learn how to ace the SHSAT. Through his extracurricular experience Gerald has been able to obtain great communication skills as well as time management skills. Though he had a brief working experience as a swimming instructor he can understand mandarin and is familiar on how to use Adobe Premiere Pro. These skills will carry over into his future on and off the pool. Gerald plans on attending a d3 swimming college and would like to pursue a major in pre-med. His ultimate goal is to become a doctor.
Gerald will be attending the Summer Immersion Internship Program which connects students to companies that are in need of interns. He hopes to both help be a part of the process to match students with companies and to focus on learning Blockchain.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
AIDAN DOMONDON
Horticulture
Growing up, my parents always made it an effort to make going outside and staying active a part of our lives. In elementary school, my mother enrolled me in every sport they had to offer just to see if at least one would stick. Every week, practices, games, meets in the park. Every weekend, getting dragged along with them to go hiking upstate for hours at a time. Being a kid in the age of increasing distraction, I was tempted by the pull of mindless video games, cheap iPhone apps, and the hours of endless programming on TV. Eventually, however, the forest trails of Bear Mountain State Park and Breakneck Ridge became ingrained in my mind. I grew a taste for not only the tranquil silence of the woods, but the satisfying crunch of the leaves crackling under my feet as I trod on, both the cool, thin air at the summit that makes it harder to breathe, and the breathtaking view that makes it all worth it. I enjoyed my time outdoors. As my parents kept working, they could afford more and more. Eventually, the hiking was replaced by visits to the New York Botanical Garden, to which we had just bought a membership. We would attend every event, from the Christmas train show in their greenhouse to the Spring Orchid Show. At their Mother’s Day event, there was food and drinks from local vendors on Daffodil Hill. I still remember my mother’s smile that day. How content she was, seeing her family all together, having fun in the grass on a sunny afternoon. I associated nature with family, and I have countless memories with it. Thus, this is where the seeds were planted. This is where my love for nature and the outdoors began. It is the reason why when it is 2 p.m. in the middle of summer and I gaze out the window, I feel guilty because I’m in here instead of out there. It is the reason that freshman year, surrounded by dozens of clubs fighting for my attention, I chose the Gardening Club alone. It is the reason why last summer I spent hours volunteering with the Parks Department at Alley Pond to help clean up their trails. It is the reason why I want to spend this summer out under the heat, farming. It is the reason why I chose to apply for the Brunner Awards.
Aidan plans on starting a small urban farm right in his backyard and will utilize his award to do so.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
ALEXANDER EUM
Wake Forest Debate Camp
My name is Alex Eum and I am a sophomore attending the Bronx High School of Science, as well as a proud member of the Bronx Science Speech and Debate team. Throughout this past year, I have grown a lot as a person as well as a debater. I have invested a large portion of my time and energy to speak faster, learn about the debate topic, and to bring success to the team. In the past summer, I worked as hard as I could to get better at debate. I asked as many questions as I could, reach out to lab leaders, and practice debate as much as possible. My proactive approach has benefited me enormously, as every tournament I went to with at least one other sophomore team, I constantly got top speaker among my peers. Debate has transformed me into a different person, as I am interested in current events and the things happening around me. Debate has also leaked into core subjects. For example, I read a book in my English class about white beauty standards, and the negative affects it can have on marginalized communities. I was very easily able to connect it to the identity work I do in debate. Furthermore, Bronx Science has taught me various valuable life skills. Time management is huge in a competitive high school, especially this year where I took 2 APs and wanted to be extremely successful in debate. All in all, my career has just begun, and I am grateful it begins in this wonderful environment that will be my foundation for the rest of my life.
Alex will be attending Wake Forest University Debate Camp virtually, where he hopes to further develop his debate skills to ultimately qualify for the Tournament of Champions.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
SCARLETT HU
Cooper Union/CUSAI Program
My name is Scarlett Hu, but I usually go by Scar. I'm an incoming senior at Bronx Science that typically enjoys creating frame by frame digital animation or doodling in my sketchbook. In my childhood, I never really had anything I was incredibly interested in besides watching cartoons and sitcoms on television. My childhood was a cycle of watching these shows, then taking piano lessons, then doing SHSAT/test prep, it wasn't until I was in 8th grade when I found an app that lets you animate movements using stick figure animations. I used that app to make small shorts that were really fun to make and a few months later, I found an app that lets me do that but with a frame by frame style. I've never had lessons in animation and only started taking this interest seriously around freshman year. I spend most of my days, besides doing school work on weekdays or SAT prep on weekends, watching YouTube videos knitting, playing piano or art/animation related things. After these past three years of self-learning in this passion of mine, I have been more and more driven to get professional classes on how to create anatomically accurate and more smooth animations so I can make a portfolio to major in it once I go to college. This is why I would like to take this art course at Cooper Union so that I am able to improve in my art skill and make better animations when I am older.
Scarlett will be attending The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive virtually where she hopes to fortify her digital animation skills.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
MOHAMMED ISLAM
New York University STEM
Who am I? Such a simple question, but filled with endless avenues of answers. I was born in Jessore, Bangladesh as the youngest son in a family of four: mom, dad, older brother, me. There isn't much I recall about my childhood or family in Bangladesh since we immigrated to the U.S when I was 1 years old. From what my mother tells me, it was a very difficult transition. We didn't have any relatives in the city and often moved around. I've actually lived in every borough at least once. Despite the circumstances, my family had always prioritized mine and my brother’s education. I was fortunate to have attended middle school at the Talented and Gifted School for Young Scholars (T.A.G). I began exploring my possible career paths here. Thanks to T.A.G’s advanced S.T.E.M focused curriculum, I became drawn to the prospects of engineering. Like my brother, I eventually took the SHSAT and was ultimately accepted and enrolled at Bronx Science. During my freshman year, I joined the Debate Team and Key Club. I was also fortunate to gain admission into the 2019 Bluestamps Engineering Summer Program. That program solidified my interest in engineering, specially electrical-computer engineering and pushed me to pursue research through my school's Regeneron Science Talent Search Research Program. Recently, I've completed my sophomore year and am both excited and terrified for the future. Though I don't know what will happen next, I can say for sure that I'm ready for whatever comes my way. Mohammad will be attending the NYU STEM Program virtually, where he hopes to gain a strong foothold in the engineering/entrepreneurship world.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
ALANNIS JAQUEZ
Fordham University Summer Lab Program
Alannis Jaquez is a Junior at the Bronx High School of Science. Alannis loves animals and nature. Her hobbies include painting, writing, learning, and playing the piano, as well as playing softball and tennis. She has many interests in the STEM field, but during the summer of 2020, she will be focusing on urban ecology research and public health research. Alannis will be working on these two projects which she will present in the fall and winter of the following school year. Alannis loves The Beatles because of their uplifting style of music and Michael Jackson because of his revolutionary style of music. All of these musicians inspire Alannis to stand up for what she believes in. Alannis also loves horror literature and her favorite author is Stephen King. Alannis loves The Shining and has read it two times now. Alannis’ favorite pastime however is spending time with her dog, Sam. Sam is a four year old Siberian husky. Sam is very playful and loving, but she is also extremely gentle. Alannis hopes to get another dog so that Sam will no longer be alone. A new hobby that Alannis has been trying to take up is cooking. As a vegan, she has started learning new recipes and healthier ways of living. Her current favorite recipe is a squash and kale mix. It is very savory and flavorful. Overall, Alannis is a student with various interests who hopes to use her summer experience as a stepping stone into college and her career.
Alannis will be working with Dr. Natasha Burke in the Psychology Department at Fordham University studying food insecurities and its disparities among different socioeconomic statuses.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
ISKANDER KHAN
Restaurant QRCode Menu Project
Iskander Khan lives in New York City and is a sophomore at The Bronx High School of Science. He is very interested in starting businesses and creating products to help solve problems. During middle school, he started Goat Bros. Soap, which sold soaps online and at summer street fairs. He later worked for the Life Science Vendor Exhibition, a biotech conference, to help with technology and registration. Last summer he joined Pixorize, a start-up focusing on educational videos to help medical students with the MCAT and USMLE examinations. He later created Jigull.com, an online social media platform. He currently works on his project- Crappsy.com, a digestive health website that uses artificial intelligence to scan stool photos users upload and give health recommendations to users based on the quality of their stool. He also enjoys photography, writing, and walking around New York. He looks forward to helping restaurants return to business this summer by creating hand-free QRcode based menus, a project for which he received funding from The Brunner Awards.
Iskander’s award will help him create a useful tool restaurants can use to slow down the spread of COVID-19. He has created touchless menus through the use of QRcodes and acrylic holders, which will have menus appear on mobile devices rather than paper, to limit human touch.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
LOLA MURTI
Best Buddies Leadership Conference Lola Murti is a current junior at Bronx Science who’s been involved with Best Buddies for the past two years. Best Buddies is an international nonprofit organization that is dedicated to promoting inclusivity for those that suffer from intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Bronx Science chapter of the organization partnered with an autism center in the Bronx earlier this year, where club members spend time bonding with the students there. As the newly elected president, Lola hopes to expand the club to have more members. In addition to Best Buddies, Lola is also the Assistant Producer of Wolverine TV, a photographer for the yearbook, and a starting competitor on the Mock Trial and Moot Court teams. She also is a member of NHS, the rising President of Exposition (the school’s Social Studies magazine), and one of the incoming LOP Directors. She’s thrilled to be continuing Best Buddies using the money provided from the Brunner Award.
Lola is Bronx Science’s school chapter President for Best Buddies. She has partnered with Quality Services for the Autism Community and hopes to continue working with them throughout the next school year.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
EMMA NYGUYEN
Psychology Researh at Hunter College
My name is Emma Nguyen and I’m a rising senior at the Bronx High School of Science. I have a strong passion for education and I love learning. I don’t necessarily have a favorite subject but I enjoy science and history. Outside of my studies, I do cognition research with Asian Elephants at Hunter College. I study their behavior patterns around watering holes and crop fields. Outside of research, I help at various organizations around the city. Some include Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS), Alley Pond Environmental Center (APEC), Mount Sinai St. Lukes, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. I do a variety of different things at these organizations, but they all fuel my passion for community service and education. When I’m not volunteering or doing research, you can find me hanging out with friends, taking pictures with my camera, playing with my dog, or strumming my guitar or ukulele. After high school, I plan on studying Cognitive Science, either neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, or a mix of all of them.
Emma will be working at Hunter College’s Psychology Lab, where she will be studying elephant behavior to understand their cognition for their conservation.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
JASON SETHIADI
Seanger Lab Research at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons A proud resident of Queens, NY, Jason Sethiadi has loved science for as long as he could remember. He grew up loving marine biology and aviation and remembers being obsessed with whales and fighter jets. Jason enrolled in middle school at NEST+m and received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Overall Academics in 2017. At the Bronx High School of Science, Jason continued his love of discovery by joining the Biology Research program. In his sophomore year doing the research program, Jason and his collaborators won an honorable mention in the 2019 Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Competition for developing an adaptive aircraft fuselage mechanism. Now as a rising senior, he currently volunteers as a researcher studying and identifying tumor cells in melanomas using machine learning at Columbia University Medical Center. He hopes to pursue biomedical engineering and sports analytics in college. Additionally, Jason is also a member of the school jazz band and a proud baritone saxophonist. Outside of the classroom, Jason directed his love of aerospace into becoming a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and values being able to volunteer and serve the community with his fellow members. In his free time, Jason loves playing baseball, as well as learning and following players’ sabermetrics, having been raised a diehard New York Mets fan. Jason also likes to write comedy and aspires to perform stand-up someday. Like a true New Yorker, Jason stays true to his roots as an avid urban explorer and co-owns a restaurant blog with his close friend exploring the best eateries in the city.
Jason will be working with Dr. Yvonne Seanger at the Seanger’s Lab in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, identifying tumor cells in melanomas and improving machine learning to help with this process.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
JULIA SPERLING
Dance Training for Parkinson Disease Therapy Julia Sperling is in the class of 2021 at the Bronx High School of Science. At Bronx Science, she has been the Junior Editor of the Dynamo Literary Magazine for two years, the Groups Section Editor for The Observatory, and writes for The Science Survey. Outside of school, she spends her time writing, dancing, and teaching students in Hebrew School at The Village Temple. Almost every day after school she goes to Peridance Capezio Center, where she is in the Junior Ensemble of their pre-professional program. Her teachers at Peridance include Diego Funes, Igal Perry, Tyler Gilstrap, and Nikki Holck. She performs 15-20 times each year with her ensemble. She has been a part of the ensemble for two years, and in the pre- professional program for six years. Over the summer she has been a selected participant in numerous dance intensives, including the New York State Summer School of the Arts School of Dance and the Boston Conservatory Summer Dance Intensive. Throughout her summers she has been taught by Carolyn Adams, Robert Battle, Elizabeth Roxas, Elisa Clark, and Erica Pujik, to name a few. She is a Scholastic National Medalist in writing and has received other regional awards for her poetry. Her poetry is published in Canvas Literary Magazine, and she has been selected to participate in multiple writing conferences, including the Sewanee Young Writers Conference in summer 2019, and the 2019 Writopia Essay Conference, where she was a presenter on the Gender Studies panel. Julia will be researching dance therapy to learn more about dance instruction and how it can benefit non-dancers, specifically seniors, with challenges such as Parkinson’s disease and mental health issues.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
ISABELLA VIDAL
Wake Forest Debate Camp My name is Isabella Vidal and I live in Washington Heights. I am a 15 year old sophomore at Bronx Science and I am a member of the policy debate team. I first started debate in middle school and even though my middle school did not have the same type of debate that Bronx Science has, it sparked my interest in debating. Part of the reason I wanted to go to Bronx Science is because of the reputation of the debate team. Joining the debate team has been one of the highlights of my life. Once I joined, I learned that debating took a lot more work and dedication than I expected. I have grown so much both as a debater and a person. In fact my fellow debaters are my closest friends. I have also grown to love all the work that good debating demands; I have more fun doing debate-related activities and homework than any other extra-curricular. Debate tournaments are not only educational and fun but I will never forget the memories I created with my friends at these tournaments and the unique skills I gained from this activity are skills that I could not get anywhere else or through any club. When I go to college, I plan on joining a debate team and continue to improve my skills as a debater. In addition to the debate skills, I have learned a great deal about working as a team. During the past year, I have worked with other debate team members and have learned that competing and friendship are compatible.
Isabella will be attending Wake Forest University Debate Camp virtually, where she hopes to improve her debate skills by developing and refining her ability to strategize and sharpen speaking and tactical skills.
2020 Brunner Award Recipient
JOLLY ZHENG
CPR Training
Jolly is a rising junior at the Bronx High School of Science. From a young age, she had a large interest in science. When she was younger, people would often find her on the library floor reading science-fiction books. In the future, she would like to go to med school. She is particularly interested in human physiology and how everything in the body works. In her free time, she enjoys reading books, playing instruments, conducting research experiments. She reads a large variety of books ranging from science-fiction to historical fiction. She has been playing the piano for the past seven years. Since a young age, she would often plan research experiments and conduct them in the comfort of her own home. These experiments range from working with plants to different animals. However, these experiments are often very simple and non-complex. Because of this, she wants to research in human physiology with a professor because she believes it lays the secret to medicine for numerous diseases. To add on, Jolly is planning to research in human physiology or oncology. She hopes to find new information to further her knowledge and scientists' knowledge of human physiology.
Jolly will be receiving her CPR certification so she may better assist in her hospital volunteer program.