by: Siyona Singhal

Humor Editor

Aspiring doctor and avid volunteer, junior Anna Victor manages to maintain balance in spite of her very full schedule. 

Victor’s love for the medical industry first sparked because of her mother, who is a doctor; however, “In general, bio is what I’m drawn to. I like learning about different biological processes more than any other science and any other subject.” Victor is president of the Students Interested in Medical Sciences Club (SIIMS), hosting guest speakers from the medical industry and even planning to have a symposium in the spring. The club’s goal is to introduce people to different jobs and careers within medicine. Victor described her favorite SIIMS moment: “when we had two guest speakers come in person a couple of meetings ago, and that was really great, because we had a full classroom of students and everybody was super engaged, asking a lot of questions. It made my day that it worked out.” So far, Victor’s biggest challenge has been planning everything and sending out countless emails to guest speakers, which can get stressful at times. 

Victor’s passion for biology also led her to write a research paper on various gene-editing methods and their applications to Rett Syndrome  – a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects girls, causing developmental and nervous system problems – including ethical considerations. The paper was published in the National High School Journal of Sciences. Rett syndrome is incredibly rare, which is what drew Victor to investigate the disease. It took Victor six months to finish the paper, and surprisingly, the most challenging part was writing the citations: “I had to write the citations at the end by hand, and it was this specific format that really was annoying to do. There’s no citation generator to make that, so I had to do it myself.” 

  Victor and her mother also run a nonprofit organization that supports educational resources for children of farm workers. The non-profit began because “my mom used to work in Salinas, where there are a lot of farm workers, and she had the idea that we could try to do stuff to support these children.” So far, with the money they’ve raised, they have donated many school supplies such as backpacks, books, and pencil cases. Victor and her mom raised money by sending out links to family members and posting on social media, allowing them to purchase the supplies which they put in packages to deliver to churches. Victor’s most rewarding moment was when “we went to a drive, and we brought our school supplies. A bunch of farm worker families would just come in and grab what they wanted. There were so many kids, and they were looking at all the colorful stuff; it was really cute.”

Through her busy schedule and rigorous coursework, somehow Victor finds time to give back, enjoy her hobbies, and deepen her love of biology. It is clear that she is thriving in her junior year at LGHS and will leave a lasting impression on her community.