ISABEL SIEH
Stanford University How was high school particularly in a pandemic?
Going to class online made learning feel more individual, and I felt more alone with my thoughts. While I lost daily interactions in school, I discovered that through the internet, a whole digital world could be explored right at home. We became closed off from local physical aspects of our life, but we opened up to a new worldview. For example, many student changemakers across the Philippines struggled to find ways to continue helping their communities without being in-person. Thus, as the events head of my school’s Sustainability Council, I chose the theme “Making a Change Online” for the first Sustainability Summit to prompt students to create change despite being online. By organising the summit, I raised awareness regarding issues in the Philippines, eliciting mindfulness and action—all from our homes! Additionally, as social media and the internet became the new principal form of interaction, we surprisingly became more aware of the injustices around us: children without devices lacking access to education, families facing food shortages, journalists risking their freedom and our climate worsening. I believe that instead of turning a blind eye, we are coming out of the pandemic with a bigger worldview and stronger resolve to be a force for good.
What are you most excited for?
All the learning opportunities. Stanford is at the forefront of new technologies like AI, and is actively working on improving the social and ethical impacts of these innovations. I hope to join institutions like the
Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Aside from tech, I look forward to a liberal arts education, and being able to explore my many other interests, such as ethics, literature and psychology. I’m thinking of majoring in Computer Science, Symbolic Systems, or Science Technology and Society, with a possible minor in Ethics in Society or Education. Without even setting foot on campus, I’ve met so many incoming, current and graduated Stanford students each with unique passions and stories to tell. I can’t wait to be inspired by all my classmates!
Where do you see yourself in five years?
The world and technology change so rapidly. What the hot new thing is today might be an old practice in five years; so, it is difficult to envision what exactly I’ll be doing in the near future. I know, however, that I would always want to be learning and doing meaningful work. And wherever I am— from social development to startups—I aim to apply my interdisciplinary education, particularly at the intersection of technology and humanities, to innovate for the social good.