- Hometown:
- Carmel, CA
Biography
Victoria graduated cum laude from Santa Catalina School in Monterey, California, where she received the Alumni Award for demonstrating the spirit of excellence and values of the school. With strong interests in food and environmental sustainability and plans to go on to medical school, she volunteered in nutritional services at a local hospital, participated in a service-learning trip to Morocco, and through the R4 Environmental Club headed up efforts to replant a garden that is supplying the school’s kitchen for the first time. She was also active in Model United Nations, TEDxSantaCatalinaSchool, and the school literary magazine and attended the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. At IU she will participate in the Science, Technology, and Research Scholars mentored-research program and plans to earn degrees in cognitive science and environmental and sustainability studies with a minor in French. She chose the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science because it encompasses her interests in human biology, anthropology, philosophy, and psychology and allows her to study the brain in depth.
Victoria has long admired the life and writings of Etty Hillesum, a spiritual author and Holocaust victim, in particular her reflection, “I don’t want to be anything special. I only want to be true to that in me which seeks to fulfill its promise,” which she sees as a reminder to refrain from comparing oneself with others, to minimize the influence of ego, to search earnestly for one’s interests and passions, and to strive for personal excellence.
She will hold the Virgil T. DeVault and the Breon Mitchell scholarships in the Wells Scholars Program.