Hello, all! My name is Alexandria Becks, and I am incredibly thankful to be acting as the President of the Aurora branch of J-KOA this 2026-2027 academic year. I was lucky enough to join J-KOA two years ago as a mentor. I have always felt that scientific outreach is important; without it, I wouldn’t be in this position in my career as a PhD candidate. I am lucky enough that my family is incredibly supportive, but before me, none of my family or friends had entered science as