As an eight-year dual-admit B.S./M.D. Program student at St. Bonaventure University, Nishtha Tripathi will graduate and join the George Washington University School of Medicine in May 2024. Her current course of study is a double major in Biology and Behavioral Neuroscience; this Paliwal Club of 100 STEAM Scholars Fund winner is on an exciting trajectory toward her dream of being a surgeon!

What is your professional dream?

I want to be a surgeon.

What does being in the Paliwal Club of 100 mean to you? 

It means joining a group of individuals who are as passionate about learning, social awareness, and breaking barriers as I am.

Women are underrepresented in the S.T.E.A.M. (science, tech, arts or math) fields and music industry. How can we change this? 

Current women in STEAM should act as role models for young women who have been told they cannot do what they enjoy due to their gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and/or socioeconomic status.

What are some of the challenges you have faced along the way?

Ever since I was a young girl, I have been interested in STEAM. In middle school, I distinctly remember taking electives such as Anatomy, Physiology, and Introduction to Flight instead of classes others expected me to sign up for — such as painting or home economics. I met people who didn’t believe I could succeed as a woman in the male-dominated STEM field and have learned to push past the boundaries they have set for me.

How will this grant from the 1,000 Dreams Fund help you reach your goals?

This grant will help me pay tuition for my undergraduate degree. As a current research assistant in Dr. Ryan’s Developmental Biology Lab (project titled: Studying the Effect of DCSA on Craniofacial Abnormalities in Zebrafish Embryogenesis), this grant will also go toward any costs associated with my research, such as traveling to conferences and printing my presentation.