Sanya is an incoming MD student at University of Virginia Medical School in August 2021. She was born in India and completed her primary education in Dubai. She earned her BA degree in Cell Biology and Neuroscience from Rutgers University. One of her main interests is teaching. During her time at college, she was a physics and chemistry tutor for underclassmen. Wanting to educate communities, she created resource lists at the Eric B. Chandler Health Center for the different counties in NJ that would help residents get access to their most basic needs in the most affordable manner. Additionally, at the start of the COVID pandemic she created a blog, posted on the Division of Life Science website, to prevent the spread of misinformation and to educate the public about this virus in easy to understand language. She also educated her texters about various resources available to them as a Crisis Text Line Counselor. Majority of Sanya’s time was spent in the lab where she characterized thyroid hormone receptors in mice tissues and carried out data analysis on various thyroid related genes which culminated in a second author publication and an honors thesis that won the Paul Robeson award. While on her summer vacations in India, Sanya helped out at a temporary health care camp set up in a remote hilltop village. She educated patients about sexual health related diseases and menstruation to reduce the social stigma surrounding those issues. Talk to Sanya if you have questions about shadowing abroad, being away from home and graduating from a state school.