Haerat Alabi, a Breakthrough New York student, will be attending Yale and majoring in either Biotech or Bioethics. Haerat shared some of her reasons for choosing Yale what makes her passionate about Biology.
In the interview with Haerat, she passionately discusses her academic interests and the factors influencing her university choice. She shared a memory from 8th grade that helped her narrow her focus, “I think I’ve always just loved bio. But what like, what started the tech and ethics thing was an eighth grade movie that I watched, which is currently one of my favorite movies, Gattaca. [In the movie] the world has become so genetically engineered that like, it’s, it’s now a competition of like the haves and the have nots. And it’s your weird if you were born Naturally.” Heart further explained how this led to her interest in CRISPR technology, which is what she hopes to focus on while at Yale.
While undecided between a career in laboratory research and pursuing pre-law with a focus on medical ethics, Haerat’s openness to exploring both paths reflects her adaptability and commitment to making an impact. The allure of an out-of-state university, Yale, is rooted in a desire for a different environment while remaining close to home. She’s drawn to Yale’s campus culture, personalized academic support, and opportunities for personal growth.
Haerat’s anticipation for university life extends to experiencing campus activities, potential study abroad opportunities, and engagement in extracurricular pursuits. Her positive experience with Breakthrough, especially the guidance from writing advisors, has been instrumental in navigating the university application process. “The Breakthrough mentors were really helpful and helped me stay on top of everything. I have my writing advisor that would help me and we had meetings every week, and he would go over it. And those were, like, honestly, so useful. Because, like, brainstorming for these brainstorming for the questions and and just being able to open up and just give my life to a stranger to read and judge was a little hard for me. But if I was like, sitting down with Scott, who’s my writing advisor [I was better able to express myself.” Overall, Haerat’s journey exemplifies the transformative potential of higher education in fostering intellectual curiosity and societal engagement.
