Who am I?

I am a senior at an urban high school. I'm interested in computer science and design. This summer I built a website, as a part of Girls Who Code. The site is designed to rate relative campus safety using FBI crime reports. Outside of computer science, my passion lies in social justice, not because of a self-defined moral necessity, but because people can be a force of innovation, when we are connected. When we let false identities like gender, sex, race, sexual orientation, etc., divide us, we are defined by separation. Society can function best for all people if we treat everyone with an understanding of their human rights, and then unite as an effective force. Social justice is the fight against these oppressions that prevent our ability to function optimally. I’ve joined and become a leader of many social justice groups: my school's Environmental Club and Alternative Political Groups, and a council of activists for a charity fighting sexual assault. This past year, I joined a LGBTQIA-identifying, youth ensemble dedicated to writing and producing a show from a queer, and art-activist perspective.
In all of my groups, we believed in a cause, which was essentially fighting for certain people’s basic rights. In Environmental club, we are fundraising for our next cause. In Alternative Political Groups, we publish a zine with our own essays, articles, poems, and political cartoons in an effort to educate young members of democracy about the political process, who is controlling the political system, and how they can participate in democracy. The council of activists works to promote awareness around sexual assault and raise money for the legislative and victim care systems of the charity. I volunteered at an exhibit at a community arts gallery with a youth-built series, Girls for Sale, about sex trafficking in their community. In the theatre, we work to communicate with others how we feel to be queer – in a fashion that is engaging, expressive, and honest. In my theatre work I have found more satisfaction in any other of my social justice efforts. I found the beauty of speaking with others through the fantasy of art – conveying an emotion in a show: the dialogue itself, the performance, and the design elements. Although any actor is inherently lying when they play a character, they are on stage with one of the few opportunities in this society to be fully honest. Utilizing technology like lighting, sound, set, etc. pulls that brutal honesty into a language more complex than words: design.
These passions -- to understand logic and consciousness in technology, to create art that is interactive and connecting, and helping society -- are my pursuit in life.