ABC7 Star Scholar: Kelsey Ichikawa

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- This marks the 10th year ABC7 has celebrated student achievement with the Star Scholars program. Every year, ABC7 News recognizes seven Bay Area high school seniors and each gets a $1,000 scholarship toward his or her college education.

ABC7 Morning News anchor Eric Thomas spent time with one teenager who hopes to empower others through her creations in science and technology.

Kelsey Ichikawa is a STEMinist, she has a passion for the humanities and is an award-winning communicator.

This Irvington High School graduate from Fremont is bound for Harvard University in the fall to study the two ENGs -- English and engineering.

Thomas: "Engineering at Harvard... they don't seem to go together."

Kelsey: "I felt like if I did engineering at Harvard, I would not only get the engineering perspective, but also all the other range of humanities like politics, economics."

Kelsey hopes to connect her love of science and the humanities to create technologies that empower others and help develop communities with limited resources.

She said she wants to do "something hopefully in the health area with like vaccines or preventative measures, like water purification."

"Science is the study of the natural world and humanities are the study of human beings and human beings are part of that natural world. I want to intersect the two hopefully by working with science education, looking at the way our communication and our personal relationships are defined with the technology we use," Kelsey explained.

Kelsey is also a master speaker. As captain of her high school speech team, she has won awards at regional, state and national levels.

"I think it's not very common to have someone who is really interested in both STEM and the humanities and to really bring those areas together and have strengths in those different areas. I feel like that's probably the thing that makes me most unique."

Unique indeed. It's one of the many reasons Kelsey is one of this year's ABC7 Star Scholars.

This is the tenth year for ABC7's Star Scholars program, where ABC7 gives recognition to seven outstanding students, each of whom receives a $1,000 scholarship toward his or her college education. Watch Sunday, July 12 at 6:30 p.m. to learn more about all of our Star Scholars!