My name is Olivia Han. I am a student who aims to create an equitable society through knowledge, development, and action. I want to invent systems which enable the growth of marginalized populations and engineer a world with justice at the forefront.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
My passion for justice led me to be attracted to my school’s mock trial club, learning about the United States justice system and the inalienable rights granted gave me an intense, deeper understanding of how marginalized populations in the U.S. are oppressed. I became varsity team captain of the club in my sophomore year with my alacrity in the knowledge of the law only augmenting. To learn more about healthcare disparities in ethnic groups across the U.S., I joined HOSA, in which I gained incredible experience in the field of medicine and qualified for the international leadership conference in my freshman year as well as placing second in the state. In addition, through my process of grief I found healing in the arts and am a published poet and scholastic award winner in the poetry and photography categories. I wish to inspire others with my work but especially the youth, they are the future of our world and have the most extraordinary minds, I am vice-president of a non-profit called Live to Learn which helps children discover and learn more about the world through self-curated programs including math, science, and art. We are an official 501(c)(3) non-profit and target title one communities with our free or low cost programs. We have helped over 100 young students in our Beaverton, Oregon community.
In my pursuit of justice, I asked myself the question: how do marginalized populations seek out a voice? With this guiding question in mind I made a research paper exploring the use of graffiti in socio-political discourse and its historic use by oppression populations. To further help others gain access to their rights, I was chosen for the League of Women Voters Oregon Youth Council where I was selected to be the Youth Voter Strategist and work alongside my peers to promote voter education. My hope is to ensure that people across the United States will have access to equitable voting; to realize this goal, a group of peers and myself created the idea for a voting access app. Our project was selected for the Carnegie Young Leaders for Civic Preparedness program which helped us in forging a path for voter awareness. My drive for justice has led me to care deeply about voting and uplifting those who seek aid. I wished to create true, tangible change and so was given the opportunity to participate in Leadership Initiatives Youth Internship Program for Business where I worked to create financial plans for a Nigerian start-up irrigation farm run by Abdulrahman Isa. In this internship, I connected with leaders from across the globe (including Nigeria, Moldova, and Switzerland) to realize Mr. Abdulrahman’s business. My work consisted of building profit and pricing plans, business and location analyses, collective purchase suggestions, and grant proposals.