• Pronouns: They/them
• Hometown: North Plainfield, NJ
• School: Rutgers University, class of 2027
• Majoring in: Psychology; minor in art 
• Other interests: Storytelling, drawing, playing piccolo with the Marching Scarlet Knights, making art
• Coach: Dennis and Diana Curran​​

How/why did you choose your major?
I picked my major because I've always loved understanding people's behaviors, mindsets, and attitudes. I've always been a person that enjoys helping others and through my experiences with therapy I decided that I wanted to become a person that was just as impactful as my therapist was.

What is your relationship with your ZF coach like?
The coaches are my favorite resource, I love talking with them or asking them questions as they're very reliable.

What hobbies/extracurriculars/other interests do you have? 
I have a lot of hobbies, such as storytelling, drawing, playing piccolo with the Marching Scarlet Knights. Making art has been a passion of mine since I could use a crayon. I've made paintings, my own characters with a developed storyline, video projects, paper mache, dolls, etc. I adore all forms of art. It's completely satisfying and fascinating to me. It fills me with so much motivation I could never get tired or go a day in my life without it.
Why did you apply to ZF/what drew you to this organization?
I had no idea about Zenie Foundation until I was called by the guidance counselor in high school. Initially, I was struggling looking to apply to several scholarships, but reading over the website really motivated me to join because the ZF community looked so passionate and close knit. As I come from a fairly small school, finding a more tight knit community that reminded me of my hometown was incredibly relieving.

What impact has ZF had on your academic and professional career thus far? 
Zenie Foundation helped me definitely prepare for beginning college mostly through being able to learn so much from my coaches and being able to ask them multiple questions. Also, I would have to be honest that ZF has provided me a lot of financial relief, which was a huge concern for me when starting college. Talking about what careers I am interested in pursuing for psychology also helped reinforce or develop new interests, but the overall support I've received was extremely helpful in building confidence. I would like to have more meetups, it's really nice seeing everyone and getting to know the other students. I think I'd like to have more check-ins with each other, even if they're online, just to see where we are if there is something we may be struggling with.

Tell us something you are excited about! 
As I am also an art minor, I've been developing a few video projects, comic ideas that are centered around the impact of trauma on children. Most are in the beginning stages, but I hope to finish them by next year!


Tell us about some of your career aspirations. 
At first I wanted to mainly be an adolescent/child therapist, but that shifted towards a greater interest in art therapy. As I began college, I've continued to have a greater interest in art therapy and therapy for adolescents, but now I've also become interested in family therapy.
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