Why my friends call me queen of the nerds by Talia

Why my friends call me queen of the nerds by Talia - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

I am passionate about Biology, and that is what I plan on majoring at Wake Forest. When I looked at the giant cell printed in my notebook, I contemplated how trillions of those misshaped circles could be inside me, growing, dying, and developing. This thought took me down a rabbit hole of “what if” questions and hooked me into the cell’s functions. I quickly became captivated by the intricacies of the natural world and the elegance with which life is organized. The balance within our biome, where every organism plays a vital role, felt almost magical in its precision.

From the microscopic world of bacteria to the complexities of mammals, I’ve come to appreciate every form of life—even the insects and rodents many avoid. It's awe-inspiring that, through billions of years of evolution, life has achieved such remarkable order. Organs and cells work together seamlessly, forming systems that sustain life in intricate, efficient ways.

What fascinates me most is when this order is disrupted. Studying how diseases emerge, spread, and understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to these breakdowns, has deepened my interest in the interconnectedness of biological systems. While currently debating between a career in medicine or research (or possibly both as an MD/PhD like my dad), I am passionate about using that intellectual curiosity to detect, prevent and treat disease.