Sophomore Chloe Ndir enjoys watching movies, participating in community work and volunteering. She describes an internship she has with an organization called Tappin Roots that “seeks to train and empower the next generation of environmental leaders and community leaders,” according to the Tappin Roots website.

“It’s a group of 14 to 12 people, depending on the day, and we just do community work,” said Ndir. “We garden to get Black and brown students more [involved] in the STEM community and to grow our interests within STEM because there’s such a lack of Black and brown people in STEM. We did robotics and we built a driving robot. We [also] do arts and crafts.”

 Ndir has lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, Phoenix, Arizona, Seaside and Portland. She loves Portland the most.

“I feel like Portland has so many good opportunities, and I feel like I fit in better in Portland because it’s more inclusive and there’s a lot to do nature-wise. There are so many hikes you can take and walks, and it’s more beautiful visually,” said Ndir.

Ndir sees her mother and Black female artists as role models in her life.

“[I look up to] my mom or Beyonce, any Black woman in my life because they’re easily someone to look up to. Any Black woman, any woman who’s strong, any woman who’s kind to other people. Just a good person, like a philanthropist,” said Ndir.

Sophomore Atena Hajir became close friends with Ndir this year. Ndir’s personality has made a positive impact on Hajir.

“She’s very bubbly. She’s very honest. She doesn’t lie, so if she wants to say something, she’ll say it,” said Hajir. “She’s helped me be more open and [put myself] out there. I can be kind of shy, and she pushes me out of my comfort zone.”