Dorsa Shirazi, of Irvine, CA, won the 2015 $1,000 Orange County Mensa Scholarship.
When I was a child, I witnessed the struggle of people with disabilities, and I wanted to lessen their suffering. As a result, I started to explore the field of engineering by trying to understand how the objects around me worked. Of all the objects I created, I am most proud of a small mechanical arm I made that could bend in x-y coordinates because it helped me realized that I could help people with my inventions. Therefore, by the time I started high school, I knew with certainty that I wanted to major in Biomedical Engineering. My academic goal is to get my Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and my Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. When I think about my future, I see myself as a biomedical engineer who designs medical devices for hospitals and makes artificial body parts for people suffering from physical disability.
In order to best accomplish my goals, I have been involved with extracurricular activities at Irvine Valley College. In spring 2014, I got involved in the Solar Decathlon project as the IVC Student Rep to be a part of Team Orange, which will represent Orange County in the Solar Decathlon 2015 competition. In this competition, I will help the OC team build a completely electric solar-powered house. In addition, I have been the President of the Applied Science and Engineering Club since 2013. I have further been a part of the IVC Robotic Project since 2012, which helped me build the necessary experience for becoming an employee of Mathobotix. As their employee, I served as a STEM mentor to teach young students (K-12) to build robots that are programmable. Additionally in August 2014, I got hired by Avid Academy for Gifted Youth to teach robotics to gifted children and became the Coach for their FLL 2014 robotics team. Furthermore, I tried to make a positive impact in people’s lives through volunteering. Specifically, I have been a volunteer math tutor at IVC in the Student Success Center. While working in the SSC, I requested to work with students with disabilities to be close to those whom I wish to help the most.
Aside from my school activities and projects, I am committed to do well academically by maintaining my G.P.A. of 3.88 and learning from the research that I completed in the past 3 years. In 2012, I initiated a research to find the best scalpel in an attempt to study how to make surgery possible with shorter convalescence. From my research, I was chosen to present at a conference hosted by the Honors Transfer Council of California in the spring of 2013. In the same semester, I got accepted to share my research at a second conference held by the Orange County Graduate Women in Science. I continued my research and designed a new scalpel which reduces the pain, redness, and scar on skin, and I presented it at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research in the fall of 2013.
Maintaining two jobs in addition to volunteering have made me who I am today. I am a person who does not give up easily because I have overcame difficulties, and my accomplishments have taught me the value of hard work and determination as I help others.