Coming into high school, senior Maya Hartung knew she was interested in science. But it was through her work in classes at Haven that she uncovered her true passion for biology.
Her interest in science was first piqued in freshman year environmental science.
“Going into ninth grade, a lot of people opted to skip environmental science, but I wasn’t here in middle school, so I just took environmental science and I actually ended up really, really liking it,” Hartung said. “It became a large passion of mine.”
Her initial interest led her to taking both biology and chemistry sophomore year. By doing so, Hartung opened up a new door: Advanced Placement level science courses.
Hartung took AP biology, taught by Ms. Katie Shepard, during her junior year.
“I liked Ms. Shepard’s class a lot,” Hartung said. “She gives you a lot of opportunities for exploration. We had a lot of options to do projects outside, which I thought were really fun.”
One of these projects, in particular, was something that became extremely intriguing to Hartung. For her final project, she created a ten minute documentary about how intergenerational effects of trauma can cause epigenetic changes.
“It was really interesting, and I liked the freedom of it,” Hartung said. “We were able to interview a doctor at Penn Medicine and another college student. It was cool putting it all together and being able to research.”
During high school, Hartung also participated in Wildlife Leadership Academy, a week-long retreat that focused on researching white-tailed deer.
“We did a research project at the end where I researched chronic wasting disease, which is a neurodegenerative disease in deer, elk, and moose,” Hartung said. “That pushed me more towards the biology aspect.”
Hartung hopes to continue fostering her love for research this summer at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I’m still finalizing it, but I’m probably going to be working in the lab of a doctor there, doing some research about kidney diseases and expanding the disease portfolio by studying zebrafish, which is going to be really cool,” Hartung said.
Hartung will be attending the University of Pennsylvania this fall, majoring in biology at the College of Arts and Sciences. She hopes to spend her time exploring medicine and research to decide which she would prefer to pursue.
“Penn, especially, is really integrated with the hospital system in Philly,” Hartung said. “There’s Penn Medicine, of course, and CHOP, so there’s a lot of good research opportunities and clinical experiences within those hospitals themselves.”
Hartung finds that advanced science classes at Haven can help students better understand their interests and discover new passions. She offers advice to underclassmen, encouraging them to not limit themselves.
“I think APs can be very difficult classes, but I feel like at our school, the daily homework load is not as much,” Hartung said. “I don’t think it’s unsustainable, and I think it can be really helpful.”
