Hello everyone! My name is Daria, and I'm in the College Class of 2026. I grew up between Minneapolis, MN and Istanbul, Turkey, and am double majoring in Biological Anthropology and Earth Sciences with a minor in Data Science and Analytics. This is my fourth semester on the BFS Undergraduate Advisory Board, and I am also a member of Penn Quiz Bowl. 

I knew coming into Penn that interdisciplinary work was extremely important to me and my academic journey (I even wrote my Common App essay on this!), so taking ISP in my freshman year was like a breath of fresh air. Learning from professors in diverse and seemingly unrelated fields and then exploring their intersections through discussion and writing sharpened my ability to think integratively and laid a solid foundation for future interdisciplinary work. 

Beyond academics, the sense of community fostered by BFS and ISP has been incredibly meaningful to me. I look back fondly on when my friends and I would walk back to Hill from class together, only to delve deeper into lecture due to our shared passion for the content!