Harvard University

My first day of senior year didn’t quite match the conventional one I had imagined when I began high school. I was in a new school—three times larger than my old one—and I didn’t know a single person except for my younger sister. I got lost on my way to every class and had to repeatedly ask for directions. I was in Santa Barbara, California and completely terrified. I was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, the third of four children and the daughter of two prominent local doctors. Juneau is a small, isolated—the only way to get there is by plane or boat—and tight-knit community. For me, this…