Art

Since my childhood, I have always loved colors and materials. After experimenting with various forms of art, I gravitated towards using mixed media and conceptual works. I use these to express my interpretation of current social upheavals and economic turmoil. I have used materials that illustrate these ineffable concepts implicitly through the dynamic nature of the works. The art itself is not the main feature–and usually isn’t even permanent. Instead, the message and the ideas are the driving force behind my creative expressions. Through my art, I hope to provoke thoughtful discussion and response to these topics.

 

My years of training in the arts have honed my skills of observation and have increased my ability to view an issue from all perspectives. This allows me to delve deeper into scientific issues, evaluating them from different viewpoints to find innovative solutions. This bridging of disciplines has been integral to my development both as a scientist and an artist.

 

Research

As a scientist my keen interest has been in renewable energy, driving me to envision innovative solutions including designing a shoe that recharges a battery while walking. I have been fortunate to be able to work in a cutting-edge material science lab in the fast-growing field of computational material science. The neural network that I created with them will hasten the process of producing safer batteries using novel materials for easier acceptance and accessibility of renewables.

 

Trading & Finance

Early in middle school, my father created paper-trading accounts for me and my sister. At first, I was uncertain of what I was doing: I would randomly choose ticker symbols that I liked, putting my fake $100,000 into BOOM and CAKE. From that experience, attending seminars,  and many others, I eventually reverse-engineered my way into a basic understanding of the stock market.

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Knowing how fortunate I am to have a father introduce me to this, I wanted to share this journey in an easy-to-access way for other teens like myself. This led me to record  Trading for Teens, a short podcast series to serve as an introduction to trading. As I venture into alternative investments, I am recording more episodes on broader market analysis, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and also personal finance.

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Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has played a big role in my life. In 9th grade, instead of getting a traditional, food-service job, I had the idea of making my own income by buying and reselling shoes in my free time allowing me to control my financial future.  Similar to my podcast, I created FlipperFiles—an informational hub for sneaker reselling—for other teens to be able to jump in without the steep learning curve that I had to climb.  Gaining 8,000+ followers has helped me secure credibility and a large follower-base, so I have been invited to consult with other sneaker-related businesses and groups, such as Advantage.IO and Frosted.io, Coding FlipperFiles Tools was one of my first ventures into the software realm. The bots that I coded reached over 5,000 people in their first year of paid subscriptions. Over the last few years, I have launched many successful branches from FlipperFiles, all of which have furthered my curiosity and helped me learn. 

        

The rest...

Beyond these activities, I love expressing my creativity through music. When the pandemic is over, I hope to go to Rolling Loud in Miami before going to college and (hopefully) break the world record for most golf ball bounces on a golf club in one minute!