Reveling in the Rigors of STEM

As a child, Vivian Li ’22 spent a lot of time in the lab where her mother worked on targeted drug therapy for a type of lung cancer. Her mother’s co-workers would show Vivian how to use the machines and equipment. “I was super fascinated,” she remembers.
 
Through those early experiences, she developed a love of science and learning. Once she arrived at La Jolla Country Day School in ninth grade, this passion only grew. For her, the AP biology textbook was almost a page-turner because she was so interested in the content. In four years, she nearly exhausted LJCDS’ extensive STEM offerings.
 
“I’m one of those people who kind of just dives down a rabbit hole on the internet if someone tells me about something,” she says. “And I just Google it, and I will read so many articles, watch so many videos to understand it.”
 
Vivian’s focus on learning and leadership extends beyond the classroom.
 
A four-year member and three-year leader of the Science Olympiad team, she spearheaded its move from a low-commitment student group to a more formal program as part of LJCDS’ Flex time this year. To do it, she enlisted science teachers, gathered study materials, recruited team members and increased the commitment required to participate.
 
The effort paid off. During the March tournament, the LJCDS team medaled in events at the regional competition for the first time. For Vivian, the results were worth celebrating—but so was the community she had built.
 
“I’m really proud of how much we accomplished at that tournament this year but also seeing everyone work together,” she says. “There were a few moments during our Flex, I just saw everyone partner up and working together and felt really proud.”
 
That community building is another thread that runs through her time at LJCDS. She developed close-knit bonds through Science Olympiad, the Asian American Pacific Islander affinity group she led this year, and the fencing team that she captained.
 
Before LJCDS, she felt lost at her much larger public middle school. “When I came to La Jolla Country Day, it was a smaller community,” Vivian says. “And it was just, overall, a lot easier to form these small communities.”
 
Vivian is headed to the University of California, Berkeley, where she plans to study biochemistry and molecular biology. Like her mom, she’d love to have a lab of her own someday. She’s already had a taste of the future during two summers of internships at a bioengineering startup.
 
But only time will tell how her interest in science and learning plays out at Berkeley. “I’m looking forward to it.”