Senior Saniya Mishra was in fifth grade when she discovered her passion for learning about the human body. It hasn’t dissolved since.
“[My fascination] started in fifth grade,” Saniya said. “We did an anatomy unit, and that was the first time I learned about the human body. I loved it so much. I went home and learned extra because I was so into it. It was the first time that I was curious about something outside of school. After that, I continued to be curious about it, and I thought, ‘What can I do with this in the future?’ and I discovered I could go to school for, like, ten years to study science. I learned more about what pursuing the medical field means and being able to help other people and have my own career with that, and I realized, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do.’”
Saniya has been nurturing her love for science since a young age, and she quickly realized her passion for it. She wanted to discover all that she could about the human body. She did some research herself at that young age so that she could carry on her love for the body.
Throughout her high school career, Saniya continued to learn about biology and the human body. She has taken many classes where she has been able to take in a lot of information. But not just normal classes; she’s taken classes where she has been able to set her own path and discover her own conclusion.
“I’ve taken different classes where we go beyond the structured lab setting,” Saniya said. “In AP Physics, we did a bottle rocket project where we could do our own thing with it. We structured it however we wanted to, and looking at that and seeing how different designs had different success rates [was cool to see]. We took it into our own hands, and it wasn’t a structured design our teacher gave us, and that was something I really enjoyed. We did something similar in AP Biology this year. Right now, my lab partner and I are working on worms. We cut them in half and are looking at how fast it takes for them to regrow. My partner put them in different temperature conditions, I put them in different light conditions. It was really fun to make our own question and find our own answer to it. In that way, my interest in science has increased because I’ve taken my own curiosity, and that’s helped me form my passion even more.”
Saniya has been able to form her own ideas and opinions about the science she is learning, and that has helped her discover her love for each part of science. She has been able to see what parts she is most interested in and has been able to take part in some labs that she has really enjoyed.
“The AP Biology project [where we watched the growth of worms] has been my favorite,” Saniya said. “It’s been really fun. The creatures are kind of cute, honestly. We’re looking at their eyes and waiting for them to grow back, and they become big. It’s interesting to watch them and the weird things that happen. One time, when I was cutting them, the stomach came out and started to move, and I was like, ‘Now it’s in three parts?’ so it’s really weird to see that. It’s interesting to find things that I wouldn’t have even expected. I’m researching one thing, and then I find out all these different things. That’s what’s been really fun about this project.”
Being able to set up her own experiment and question has helped Saniya discover more than she thought she could. She has been able to discover the different branches of science and decide which ones she wants to pursue in the future.
Saniya is planning on going into the medical field, but she isn’t sure what exactly she wants to do within that. She is thinking something along the lines of being a physician. While she isn’t quite sure specifically what type of physician yet, Saniya has spent a long time researching what she wants to major in.
“I’m thinking of majoring in molecular biophysics and biochemistry [at Yale University],” Saniya said. “I was looking at different major options, and I’m really interested in physics, and I didn’t want to go a straight biology path because I wanted to look at the other sciences more, too. I thought that was a great way for me to do that. I also just love biochemistry. We did a biochem unit this year, and looking at the way molecules interacted was really interesting to me. But I also just love biology, too.”
I want to have the knowledge about each individual patient I see, but also have the knowledge to be able to deal with any situation and help everybody.
— Saniya Mishra
Throughout high school, Saniya has taken many science classes, but she hasn’t participated in too many science-related extra-curricular activities. She plans to change that going into college. She wants to do as much science as she can, and she is excited for the opportunity to see all of the options available to her.
“Next year, I’m hoping to look into being a part of a research lab or be a part of those pre-med societies to prepare myself more,” Saniya said. “And also getting closer to possible settings for volunteering or shadowing. Anything that can immerse me more into the science and medical world. I’m not quite sure about all of the different options I’ll have, but I’m hoping that once I’m on campus, I’ll have a better idea.”
As Saniya begins her college journey, she hopes to expand her science-related opportunities. She wants to do all that she can to gain more knowledge that will allow her to help people.
Saniya has found a love for science, and she wants to use that love to grow her knowledge and be able to help people, which is exactly what she plans to do.
“I really want to understand the human body, but also to understand society, too,” Saniya said. “There’s a lot of different social determines of health, and I feel like really understanding a person’s situation and, of course, their health, but also what their background is and where they’re coming from and how that shapes their health [is important]. I want to have the knowledge about each individual patient I see but also have the knowledge to be able to deal with any situation and help everybody. Because I know everyone’s situation is different, and I want to have the knowledge to face any situation.”
