Emily Chen is a high school student from New Jersey interested in math, computer science, and creative problem-solving. Emily began participating in math competitions at a young age, and she is now a student at the Academy for Math, Science, and Engineering, where she serves as the co-president of the school’s Math Club. Emily has also been working on computer-aided design and 3D printing projects.
Beyond academics, Emily enjoys combining her creativity with her love for helping others. In middle school, Emily started a crochet initiative, crafting characters from books for small authors and donating the proceeds to hospitals. The Summit community inspired her to re-launch the initiative, and she is excited to turn her passion for crocheting into something meaningful. Read on to learn about Emily’s love for math, her engineering projects, and her crochet organization!
Meet Emily!
How did you initially become interested in STEM, and which subjects are you the most interested in?
I’ve probably been studying math for as long as I can remember! I grew to love it starting in elementary school. I took a lot of math classes and eventually started exploring programming, which I really enjoyed. Later, I had the chance to apply to the Academy for Math, Science, and Engineering, the school I attend now. Going to this school has completely immersed me in STEM, and it’s been a huge part of my life ever since.
Math has always been one of my biggest passions—it’s at the core of everything I do. I also really enjoy computer science and programming; they challenge me in the best ways. At my school, we take required engineering classes, like electrical engineering and computer-aided design, and I’ve found those incredibly fascinating as well.
What extracurriculars are you involved in?
I’m involved in a few clubs at school. I’m co-president of the Math Club, a member of the Computer Science Club, and I’m considering joining the French Club this year. There’s also the Technology Student Association, which focuses on competitions, and I’m planning to participate in that as well. I’m also working on a Lego project where I’ve been designing a Lego set and 3D printing it. It’s been a really fun and creative process.
Outside of school, I started a crochet initiative with one of my middle school teachers toward the end of middle school. Small authors would reach out to me, asking me to crochet characters from their books. They would sell the crocheted figures, and I’d donate the proceeds to hospitals. Unfortunately, I haven’t had as much time for it since starting high school, but I really want to get back into it. I’m passionate about both crocheting and helping people, and it would be amazing to combine both of these through one project.
Summit STEM Fellowship (SSF) Experience
What was your favorite part about the fellowship?
I really loved the sense of community it created. There were so many students from diverse backgrounds and different parts of the world, all coming together to share their passion for STEM. It was so inspiring to see how our interests connected us, even though we came from such different experiences. I really enjoyed the coffee chats and meeting people from all over the world. I still keep in touch with some of the students through social media!
What was your favorite Fireside Chat over the summer?
My favorite Fireside Chat was the very first one of the summer: Isabella’s Fireside Chat on turning ideas into reality. She’s such an engaging speaker, and what stood out to me is that she’s not much older than me. She started pursuing her ideas and launching initiatives at such a young age, even in high school, which really showed me that it’s never too early to begin making an impact.
Her story inspired me to take action, even while I’m still in high school. Her Fireside Chat inspired me to start thinking about my crocheting nonprofit again. After hearing Isabella’s talk and many others throughout the fellowship, I felt motivated to start planning how I want to relaunch it. Hearing about other students’ projects also motivated me to take steps toward making it happen.
What were some of the lessons you learned over the summer?
One of the biggest lessons I took away from the talks was the importance of cold emailing. The fellowship really emphasized that opportunities don’t just come to you—you have to actively seek them out. That mindset has stuck with me, and I’ve become more comfortable reaching out to create opportunities for myself. Earlier this year, I reached out to a local college, Stevens Institute, because I knew someone who worked in a lab there. They told me to follow up in the spring, but I’m still really glad I put myself out there and made the initial connection.
Summit Research Scholars (SRS) Experience
What was your favorite part about the Summit Research Scholars?
My favorite part of SRS was definitely office hours! I really enjoyed getting to know everyone and being able to hear directly from the mentors, either one-on-one or in small groups. I especially enjoyed Druvik’s office hours. It was super cool to hear about his experience in science fairs and ISEF! I also really liked talking to the other students about their projects and their research interests, because it was really cool to see the wide range of topics that people were researching, especially since I hadn’t heard of a lot of them before.
Can you describe your research topic and why you chose to explore it?
What I’ve been researching is something called Ramsey numbers, which is a topic in graph theory and mathematics. Basically, what I’m doing is trying to use machine learning to narrow down the bounds of Ramsey numbers, since this is a really famous and notoriously difficult problem in math. I chose that because I really love math and problem-solving, as well as computer science. I really wanted to explore the intersection of the two subjects and combine my interests. After completing the proposal, I think I have a really good plan of how to further my research, and I’ve already been planning how to continue now that the program has ended!
What was the most valuable skill or lesson you learned through SRS?
I think the most important lesson that I learned was not to underestimate myself. During SRS, I was able to accomplish a lot more in just one week than I ever would have thought. Now I have a full research proposal and action plan to actually complete a whole research project, so I’m really proud of myself! Research has always been something that I wanted to do, but I wasn’t really sure how to go about it or how to start. SRS really provides a good foundation of how to actually get started, which isn’t really available anywhere else.
What advice would you share with future Summit Research Scholars?
My advice to future scholars would be to take advantage of all the resources available at SRS, because they’re super helpful! Put your best effort into everything, and don’t be afraid to seek advice from mentors or even other students.
Future Aspirations
What are your goals over the next few years, and do you know what career you’re hoping to pursue yet?
Over the next two to three years of high school, I want to focus on exploring different areas to figure out what I’m truly passionate about and then pursue those interests more deeply. I think in college, there will be even more opportunities to discover and develop my passions. As for a career, I’m not entirely sure yet—it’s something I imagine could shift once I’m in college and exposed to a whole new environment. But I know it will definitely be in STEM, possibly something related to engineering, math, or computer science. I’m excited to see where that journey takes me.
How have the Summit Education programs influenced your career aspirations?
Both SSF and SRS really expanded my perspective on career possibilities. When you’re younger, you tend to think of just a few common jobs like doctor, teacher, or author, and you don’t fully understand what the day-to-day would look like. But through the programs, I learned there are so many more career paths out there, and I gained valuable insight into what those roles actually involve. The mentors shared their experiences, and their jobs didn’t always fit neatly into one category. It made me realize how diverse and dynamic the options are in STEM.
One interesting career I was exposed to was product management. It sounds really interesting because it would allow me to combine my passions for technology, art, and design in a meaningful way. It’s something I’d definitely like to explore further.
What have you been up to since the programs ended?
After being part of SSF and SRS, I realized that I really enjoy exploring relevant problems in society and finding specific issues I would want to solve. Because of that, I want to continue pursuing research projects in the future so that I can work on problems that have real-world impacts, which is my main goal!
I was inspired to turn my passions into something that has a real impact in my community and in society. That inspiration turned into a nonprofit called Toys for Joys Global! We crochet handmade stuffed animals and donate them to people in need, especially kids battling illnesses or in foster homes. In October, we made a pretty big donation to Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York! So far, we’ve donated around 70 handmade toys across three donations, with a fourth one currently in progress. At the moment, we have about 31 global volunteers, and we’re preparing to bring on at least 15 more volunteers locally. Most of our volunteers I actually met through the Summit community!
