Columbia students take an active role in improving their community, whether in their residence hall, classes or throughout New York City. Their actions, small or large, work to positively impact the l...

Columbia students take an active role in improving their community, whether in their residence hall, classes or throughout New York City. Their actions, small or large, work to positively impact the lives of others. Share one contribution that you have made to your family, school, friend group or another community that surrounds you. (200 words or fewer)

I could talk for hours about subjects that interest me; in fact, I have. Science has been one topic of many a monologue throughout my life. If a friend ever has a question about even the most complicated scientific topic, they turn to me to explain it in great detail. So, during my freshman year of high school, I decided to create an outlet where I could help my peers explore their own questions as well as not talk, but write about the things that interested me the most in length. With the help of my biology teacher and a few curious friends, the Beverly High School Scientific Report was born. No longer were any people’s questions left unanswered: our club researched topics and published articles about them on the website I had created. When we met each week, it no longer felt like I was engaging in an unwelcome monologue about the effects of Agent Orange; it was now a dialogue, and people had things to say. I was glad I could get more people interested in the hard questions of science (even if it meant answering future questions would require a lot more thinking).