I was born in New York City. At four years old, I moved with my family to Tokyo, Japan, and lived there for ten years. I have acquired a deep understanding of the Japanese culture from my years in Tokyo. I came to live in the UK when I turned fourteen. From all these experiences in such varied countries, I have gained a great sense of adaptability and curiosity about different environments. I have always been fascinated about the planet and have had opportunities to discover amazing geomorphological places all over the world.

My interest in the Earth's phenomena has grown while experiencing natural occurrences. In 2002, a huge bush fire ravaged Australia around the Sydney area, causing my family and me to evacuate the hotel affected by the flames which had engulfed several national parks like the Blue Mountains and the Royal National Park. In 2006, I was in Phuket with my family and witnessed the tsunami and its devastation on Kamala Beach. In Japan, with an average of three earthquakes a day, I became aware of the Earth's power and how humans have to face and adapt to hazards.

Through studying Geography as one of my A-level subjects, I have deepened my knowledge of the physical and human factors, but I still desire for more. I also have been passionate from my early years about researching, collecting and labelling fossils and rocks that I found during my trips. For example, I found some shell fossils along the Mekong River in Cambodia, and some basalt in Bali at the foot of Mt. Batur. At 15, I was accepted to work with an archaeological team under the supervision of the well-known archaeologist, geologist and pre-historian Professor Henry de Lumley. During the last two summers, I joined his team during two weeks as a volunteer at a dig site in 'La Grotte du Lazaret' in Nice, France. The assignment involved camping in the area, working on the archaeological dig in the morning and studying the bones and objects we had found in the afternoon at the laboratory. I experienced the thrilling moment when, millimetre by millimetre removing the dirt, 170,000 year old remains of prehistoric animals appeared. It might have been brought by the Homo Erectus living in the cave at the time furthering my interest in Earth's past. These experiences have helped fuel my desire to study Geography at university and learn about people and their societies, economies, cultures and the environment.

My international background combined with my interest in linguistics have led me to study French inside of school as an A-level and Mandarin outside of school at the University of SOAS. In addition to Geography and French, I take an A-level in History of Art. This subject has allowed me to broaden my horizons of ancient as well as recent civilizations and cultures. When I arrived in the UK in 2010, I had to adapt to a new life, new school, new friends, which was one of the most challenging years of my life. To get involved I joined the 'Duke of Edinburgh' scheme. I have now completed the Gold award expedition and am currently completing the volunteering and sport activities during my last year of school, gaining a wealth of experience such as developing orientation skills, confidence, communication, leadership and teamwork. During the summer of 2011, I joined an organisation called 'The Challenge' where I spent three weeks exploring, creating and developing ideas to help the community and the environment. In extracurricular activities, I sing to grade 7 standard and am a long standing member of the school choirs. I have been a member of the volleyball A-team and last year served as a coach to a group of younger girls.

I am looking forward to getting involved in all aspects of university life. I have the drive, determination, curiosity and enthusiasm to be successful at university in my chosen disciplines.