It is not too often you board a plane flying 10,000 miles away from home. If you do, it is most likely a luxurious overseas vacation. I, however, was not going on vacation, nor to a very luxurious location. In fact, for the next five years following 2009, California would no longer be my home. Rather, my home would become a country unlike anywhere I had ever been: Armenia. The 2008 global financial crisis took my parents’ family business and house, leaving them...

When I began volunteering at Lake Avenue Community Foundation - a nonprofit in the city of Pasadena that offers mentoring and enrichment programs for children- I was able to achieve my desire of helping many children in my community become more comfortable with and engaged in learning. The children I tutor at this organization come from low-income backgrounds or are children of first-generation immigrants. They lack the opportunities that would make learning much easier for them as it does for...

A factor I attribute my academic achievements to is the first challenge I faced that was a barrier to my education: a new school in a different country, where everyone speaks a different language than my own. When my parents and I moved to Armenia in 2009, I was forced to attend an Armenian school where classes were taught in Armenian and Russian, instead of English. With my minimal knowledge of Armenian, I barely understood the lessons and realized that it...

I have been drawn to the nervous system since learning about it in my middle school anatomy class. Since then, I have continued learning more about the brain from independent study, volunteering at a pharmacy, and eventually enrolling in my favorite class that focuses greatly on the brain: AP Psychology. Before learning psychology, I gained some basic background knowledge about the brain by studying it through research outside of class, focusing on the numerous diseases people suffer from relating to...

My admiration had reached a point beyond the ability of YouTube tutorials to satisfy. Fascinated by piano, I had desperately convinced my parents to enroll me in a music school, where my passion intensified. Being about five years older than my musical peers made catching up one of the biggest challenges. I risked potentially disappointing myself and my parents, and facing humiliation in case piano became nothing more than a failed pursuit for me. However, it was a risk worth...

Growing up in a Christian family, I have always believed in God. I followed my parents’ routine of going to Church every Sunday morning and saying my prayers before I eat, sleep, or do anything important throughout the day. As I grew older, however, the idea of God made me increasingly nervous. I wanted to have a place in God’s Kingdom but knew I was unworthy due to my sins. Though my life was going great – my family was...

After learning about the human brain in my middle school anatomy class, I was drawn to its beauty and significance. I did research outside of class to learn more about the brain and was devastated to learn about the numerous diseases people suffer from relating to the nervous system. I realized that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of such patients, and began exploring my options. My desire to further study the causes of such disease and...

Culture often becomes a boundary of one’s beliefs and values. For me, however, exposure to two completely different cultures helped me break out of those predisposed boundaries. As I spent a large part of my childhood in Armenia and grew up in a very traditional family, my values and opinions were no different than those of the rest of my family, relatives, and others that shared my culture. Initially, I saw no issue, but upon my return to the...

The more I explore Duke, the more I picture myself thriving in its academically rigorous yet socially exhilarating environment. The challenging courses and numerous organizations relating to the undergraduate neuroscience program - especially Duke Synapse and Neuroscience Majors’ Union - excite my desire to pursue and be actively involved in the field of my dreams. Duke’s student-driven campus will allow me to collaborate rather than compete with my peers, which will satisfy my outgoing personality and gratify my desire...

Culture often becomes a boundary of one’s beliefs and values. For me, however, exposure to two completely different cultures helped me break out of those predisposed boundaries. As I spent a large part of my childhood in Armenia and grew up in a very traditional family, my values and opinions were no different than those of the rest of my family, relatives, and others that shared my culture. Initially, I saw no issue, but upon my return to the...

I remember sitting in my 8th-grade anatomy class and opening my textbook to the brain anatomy chapter. I was instantly drawn into the fascinating structures and functions of the human brain, an organ so complex yet packed within the tiny confines of the cranium. It was a no brainer that I chose the nervous system as the topic for my final project. Unappeased by the limited information from my textbook, I turned to the internet and the 3-volume encyclopedias in...