Samay Boorgu

About Me

I am a senior attending Florence High School in Florence, Alabama. At school, I am involved in Student Council, Key Club, Technology Student Association, Quiz Bowl, and Varsity Tennis. I am also passionate about helping my community, having previously assisted the Alabama Kidney Foundation as an organizer and a Team Captain of the 2021 Shoals Kidney Walk to raise awareness and funding for kidney disease patients. I am also working with the AKF as a member of their Early Education Committee to create a service-oriented high school program and an educational coloring book for children ages 5-12. In the future, I plan to study biology in college and pursue a career in the medical field.

My Goals

I look forward to college and being part of a community that believes in science, diversity, and responsible leadership. I want to align myself with a school I believe in and where I can create positive change. I am always looking to learn more and am open to taking on new challenges.

EDUCATION

Florence High School, Class of 2022

I am currently a senior at Florence High School and am ranked 6 out of 337 students.
GPA 4.0 (unweighted) | 5.1 (weighted) | 35 ACT (composite)

UCLA Pre-Med Summer Scholars Program

An educational program incorporating medical guest speakers and hospital tours and activities giving the Summer Scholar an involved sense of working in the field of medicine. The goal of the program is to expose the Summer Scholar to a variety of medical professions in hope that they make a more informed decision about their own path to medicine.

Harvard Secondary Student Program

Took the condensed 7-week Introductory to Molecular and Cellular Biology class taught by Professor Aditi Hazra, and received an A for the course which was worth 4 credits.

Attended the Global Health Leaders Conference at Johns Hopkins University

An international conference where I learned about issues in global health, public health, and medicine directly from world leaders in these fields. I was also fortunate to forge friendships and connections with like-minded exceptional students from across the world. Only 14.4% of applicants were accepted (around 500 people).

EXPERIENCE

Member of the Alabama Kidney Foundation’s Early Education Committee

Working with the AKF as a member of their Early Education Committee to create a service-oriented high school program. I aim to institute the flagship program at my own school soon before trying to expand to other schools in my area.
We are also working on an educational story/coloring book for children ages 5-12. One of the duties of students in the new high school program will be to go to local elementary schools and read the book to children, and explain to them the dangers of kidney disease and the importance of staying in good health and eating right to prevent it. The initiative is still in its infancy as of now, but we aim to have the program launched in multiple Alabama schools by the end of the school year.

Clinical Research Internship at Shoals Primary Care

Research Internship under Dr. Matiullah Syed

Founder of School Quiz Bowl Team

Founded Quiz Bowl Team and hand-picked/recruited all 8 members myself. Currently serving as Team Captain.
Organized a fundraiser for the team in order to raise money to buy equipment (buzzers, question sets, etc.) which can be used for many years after our current team graduates, and also to pay for transportation and tournament entry fees. Raised over $300.

The Pre-Collegiate Global Health Review

Published an article titled “The Looming Diabetes Epidemic in Developing South Asian Countries” in the Pre-Collegiate Global Health Review, an international, peer-reviewed journal.
You can read the article here: https://www.pghr.org/post/the-looming-diabetes-epidemic-in-developing-south-asian-countries

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Shoals Kidney Walk of Champions

Assisted the Alabama Kidney Foundation as an organizer and a Team Captain of the 2021 Shoals Kidney Walk to raise awareness and funding for kidney disease patients. Made gift bags for attendees, created and posted flyers around the city, and raised over $4300 in donations.

Youth Summer Program Assistant – Florence Lauderdale Public Library

Assisted the teen librarian with preparing for and holding summer programs for children throughout the summer of 2021.

Created and Donated Face Shields to Local Hospitals

Made 250 reusable face shields for doctors, nurses, technicians and other healthcare workers in April of 2020 and donated them to local hospitals, including Helen Keller Hospital and North Alabama Medical Center.

HONORS, AWARDS & CERTIFICATIONS

HeartCode BLS Certified

Basic Life Support Program by the American Heart Association; Completed while at UCLA for the UCLA Pre-Med Summer Scholars Program.

Alabama Boys State

Led the “city council” of my city at Boys State to write bills and ordinances to be passed in the “senate”, which aided the city as a whole in gaining points that were tallied up at the end of the week. Our city ended up placing 2/16 and my small team was shown to be one of the biggest contributors.
Ran for State Treasurer and was elected as the Federalist Party’s (composed of almost 300 people) candidate for the position to run against the Nationalist Party. I was later elected to two different state positions, which were the Commissioner of Revenue and Superintendent of Banks

National Merit Commended Scholar

Received a score of 1390 with a selection index of 211 on the PSAT in October of 2020.

Technology Student Association

Achieved 1st place in Technology Bowl at the Alabama TSA Conference in April of 2019 (Freshman Year). The competition was cancelled in 2020 and our team did not have enough members to attend in 2021 since it was being held virtually. However, I am looking forward to the conference this year and hope to make the best of my final year of TSA.

National French Honor Society

Inducted into the National French Honor Society chapter at my school during Sophomore year, and elected as Secretary during Junior year.

Academic Excellence Awards

Awarded Top 5% award in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade.
Awarded Highest GPA in Honors Geometry in 9th grade.
Awarded Highest GPA in AP Microeconomics in 11th grade.