My post high school goals include: Going to college and getting a degree in zoology with an emphasis in entomology.

STEM courses I have taken: IDEA, Honors Biology, Honors Geometry, Honors Chemistry, Honors Algebra II, Precalculus, and Zoology. I am currently enrolled in Calculus and Physics.

Current Research Overview: 

I plan on studying the elasticity of the risk-aversion behavior of cricket species A. domesticus. People are often inclined to believe that insects are driven purely on instincts, but many studies have proven otherwise. Insects are very able to alter their behavior and their understanding of their world in order to survive, but little study has been done on the elasticity of said behavior. 

Many insects, including the house cricket, produce certain chemical signals when they die, warning conspecifics to avoid the area. Though its possible reactions to these chemicals are hard-coded, the crickets might be able to alter their behavior in order to survive. If crickets are dehydrated prior to testing and the only way they can get water is to be in close proximity to signal chemicals. Will the crickets be able to overcome their instincts to survive? That is what I seek to find out.

2023-2024 Research Overview: I am studying the effects of microplastics on the species of butterfly Vanessa cardui, otherwise known as the painted lady. Caterpillars will consume microplastics that are mixed into their food until they grow and I can collect them as adults. Once I collect them, I will look for microplastics within the body, measure them, and write up my study.

The effects of microplastics on insects are relatively unknown. There are massive gaps in our knowledge and I seek to fill those gaps. If we can understand how microplastics affect insects, we can get one step closer to cutting microplastics out of the pollution spectrum.