Hi everyone! My name is Yalda and I am a new peer advisor at the Center for Young Women’s Health! I am 17 years old, and I will be a senior in high school in the fall. When I took Chemistry for the first time my sophomore year, I fell in love with it. My junior year, I decided to take my interest in science further, and took higher level science courses- specifically chemistry and biology. I enjoy these topics as they allow me to develop knowledge of life processes, and the world around me. Science excites me so much, I want to make it exciting for younger students as well. I am an active member of the STEM Mentors club at my high school, where we provide engaging science lessons to K-8 students through partnerships with local elementary schools, summer camps, etc. This summer, I along with a small group of STEM mentors brought fun science experiments to a day camp that taught campers about our environment. We performed demonstrations of oil spills, natural selection, the water cycle and more. I also further my interests in science through the Women in Stem club, and the Tiger docs club, both of which are dedicated to exploring different areas in STEM, connecting with mentors who are already in the STEM field, and to providing exposure to a wide variety of career paths in the medical field. I am also an active member of the South Asian Student Association (SASA), and I am the co-president of two clubs that work to integrate students with ranging intellectual disabilities.

I have always taken interest in the field of medicine. Over quarantine, I taught myself various skills, including how to suture with an at home with a kit! After high school, I plan on taking the pre-medicine track in college. Bettering the lives of patients and empowering patients to take control of their health is my dream career. I am excited to be a peer leader not only to gain valuable knowledge in healthcare, but also because I believe keeping teenagers informed on various topics of sexual/mental health is extremely important, and sometimes overlooked. I am hoping that through Teen Speak, I can make a difference for teenagers, like me, by helping create a safe, informative place for teens to ask questions about anything they may be curious about. I can’t wait to start writing blogs myself!

-Yalda