Analytical Chemistry Research and Development Project Artifact

Below you will find a link to my final lab report for my Analytical Chemistry class of Sophomore year. It is a compilation of all of the work I did in the lab portion of the class throughout the entire semester. The overarching theme of the lab was analyzing drinking water for heavy metals, specifically lead. In order to do this, I used Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, and finally Micro-Fluidic Paper Devices that I developed with my lab group. We ended up developing functional microPADs that have the ability to test for lead in drinking water at a threshold concentration. While we worked in groups, we had to write our reports individually. I really loved doing this project because I hope to enter a career in environmental chemistry in the future. Take a look at my report for more information!

Lab Report

Model United Nations Artifact

I competed in Model United Nations starting my sophomore year of high school. During the fall conference of my junior year, my partner and I wrote resolution papers about stopping nuclear proliferation and making clean drinking water available to everyone. It was truly eye opening to brainstorm solutions to these worldwide problems with so many people from so many schools. After many disagreements and collaborations, we finally produced the resolution papers containing our solutions to these problems. I was the member of my group that put all of the ideas together and actually wrote the papers. Our papers ended up winning us the Superior Delegation award, which is the best award a partnership delegation can win. The attached photo is from the Model UN conference at which we won the award.

Bio Sci Zoo Trip

I recently went on a trip to the Columbus Zoo with the Biological Sciences Scholars program. It was very interesting because I had never been to the Columbus Zoo before. Walking around and seeing all of the animals was fun, but the behind the scenes tour was the best part. We were given a tour of the manatee facilities, and I learned a lot. I saw the water filtration tanks, the non-public manatee tank, the crane used to remove manatees from the water, and the kitchen used to prepare food for the manatees and fish. The highlight of this behind the scenes visit was definitely getting the opportunity to feed the manatees. Since they are being rehabilitated, they need to eat in a way that closely mimics how they eat in the wild. To feed them, we put heads of lettuce in a tube that sinks to the bottom of the tank, so it’s as if the manatees are eating sea grass off of the sea floor. Overall, I had a great time at the zoo with the manatees and my fellow scholars!