Rosalyn Morin, president of Science National Honor Society (SNHS) for the 2022-2023 school year, is a very talented and intelligent senior at Miami High. She is a Silver Knight nominee, and she has also participated in a scientific research internship.

Rosalyn and SNHS 

   As a junior, Rosalyn saw SNHS failing to initiate any activities and services for their members. Seeing this and wanting to make a change made her run for president of the club. “I knew that this club had an astounding amount of potential to be a great honor society that can lead collaborative events that the students at Miami High who have a passion of science can be involved in,” she said. 

   Rosalyn says being president of SNHS must be one of her most memorable experiences at Miami High. Her presidency of the club led to her learning so many things like being able to lead a body of individuals and successfully creating movements that help our community. Rosalyn said, “This is a lesson I will forever cherish because as I embark on my new journey, I can use this lesson and do spectacular things for the rest of my life.” 

   Being SNHS president was hard. During the start of her college applications process, one of the most overwhelming times for seniors, Rosalyn had little motivation to initiate any activities for the club members. Fortunately, SNHS advisor Dr. Yoham came to the rescue; he supported every idea Rosalyn had for the club. “Without Dr. Yoham, my ideas for the club would have never been executed,” she said. “I will forever be grateful for his nurturing personality and guidance.”     

    Her best memories from the club are all the different experiments the science coordinator, Angel Mora, would perform. At the end of every SNHS meeting, Angel would perform an experiment. All the members would look forward to this for the next meeting. The excitement and curiosity from the members would bring Rosalyn joy. “It made me realize that all my officers are doing a great job and keeping this club active and intellectually collaborative,” she said. 

   As Rosalyn prepares for college, she has hopes for SNHS to continue growing as a club. She would like to ask the new officers to remain motivated to keep the club active and collaborative with its members. 

Rosalyn’s Childhood 

   Born on May 13, 2005, Rosalyn had a good childhood, doing ordinary things such as playing with barbies and running around the park. “I’m really grateful for having such a normal childhood. It kept me very sane as a teenager,” she said. 

   Rosalyn said her family was very nurturing growing up; any idea or goal she had was unconditionally supported. She’s grown very close with her family. Rosalyn says she wouldn’t be the goal-driven and humble person she is today without them. 

   One thing Rosalyn was very passionate about as a child was living life to the fullest. She’s always wanted to see what life has to offer. “We all know life is short, so I wanted to make sure I made the most of every second I was alive and healthy,” Rosalyn said. 

   Something that Rosalyn would change about her childhood is that she wasn’t in anything that would grow her talents such as ballet, dance, or sports. Now that she’s older, she realizes she doesn’t have a real talent like her other peers. Rosalyn said, “It makes me wish I started at a young age, growing and practicing several talents.” 

   Rosalyn shares that one of her proudest moments in her childhood would be establishing a great bond with her mother, Indira, who was a first-generation student and a single mother, who always strived for her goals. Her mother has motivated her to go above and beyond her limits and supports Rosalyn’s moves through life. Rosalyn says without such a good bond with her mother, she’d feel like her life would have been incomplete.  

    Rosalyn says that her mother didn’t have the same support she was given growing up, so it was a lot tougher for her mother to accomplish her set goals. Indira’s life story always motivated Rosalyn growing up and continues to do so. One thing Rosalyn learned through her mother is that no matter what obstacles life throws at her, she’ll always persevere and come back stronger. “She’s an extraordinary human being, and I’m forever grateful that such a mother was placed in my life to raise me,” Rosalyn said. 

Rosalyn’s Academics 

   Although Rosalyn has had many academic achievements throughout her time in high school, her proudest is the day she got accepted into her dream school, Duke. She said it didn’t make her proud that Duke was one of the best schools in the nation, but that it proved all her hard work and effort was worth it. 

   Rosalyn plans on majoring in biomedical engineering because she wants to innovate the world of technology and engineering in the world of medicine. “As much as medicine fascinated me, I want to be a part of the sector that helps patients through devices and medical equipment,” she said. 

   Rosalyn faced some troubles her sophomore year of high school. This was when Covid-19 hit, and everyone was online. She didn’t expect to learn this way, and it gave Rosalyn no motivation to continue learning throughout the school year. Not having contact with anyone led her to feel very lonely at times. Luckily, Rosalyn was able to get in to contact with several friends of hers her junior year. Once she got back to school, she was able to find her passion for learning again. 

   One of Rosalyn’s favorite school memories is sitting at the lunch tables with her friends. “It almost felt like we were in a movie or show like The Breakfast Club or The Office. It was such a great way to spend quality time with the people I love,” she said. 

   Rosalyn’s favorite subject throughout high school was chemistry. Doing homework that Dr. Hueck would assign kept her entertained. She was always fascinated by the concepts and curriculum of the subject such as the idea of atoms and the chemical reactions between the elements. “It always kept me excited, so I continued my passion as I went to AP Chemistry the following year,” Rosalyn said.  

Rosalyn’s Silver Knight Nomination 

   Silver Knight is a scholarship that is awarded to students who have contributed a project in helping the community. Rosalyn was nominated in the science category; her major project for Silver Knight consists of the work she did at her research internship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. She worked for two consecutive years detecting the early symptoms of AMD. 

   Rosalyn says if someone would like to be a Silver Knight nominee, she would give them her full support because this gives students the ability to become closer with other nominees and learn about the many other projects students in Miami are doing. “Whether you get the award or not, it is a great experience everyone should be a part of,” she said.  

   Rosalyn would like to give a special thanks to all the research fellows and physicians she was able to work with as she completed her research internship. They are the types of individuals she would like to surround herself with in her future. Rosalyn said, “Each and every one of them motivated me to be a hard-working STEM student.” 

Rosalyn’s Goals and Accomplishments 

   Some goals that Rosalyn would like to achieve in the next four years are to meet new individuals and step outside of her comfort zone. She said, “Coming from a tight knit community in Miami, I’ve grown used to the culture surrounding me.” For this reason, in college she wants to expose herself to different cultures from her peers. “It will only help me become more aware of what the life around me has to offer,” she said. 

   Rosalyn’s biggest accomplishment is working with several world-renowned doctors in helping detect the early signs of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which is a highly progressive disease and one of the leading causes of blindness in the world.  

   AMD may blur your central vision and is caused by aging which results in damage to the macula, which is a part of the eye which controls straight-ahead vision.  

   Rosalyn was able to contribute through several projects that helped detect the early symptoms of the disease. “This made me proud because I was able to help a community of people get medical attention in a more effective way,” she said.  

   In the future, Rosalyn has goals of being a part of a big research project in the biomedical engineering field. Contributing to a project like this to help even more individuals is a big goal for her. “A big part of my goals of participating in research is to give back to the community and find new technological advancements that can create a more innovative world in medicine,” she said.  

“Dreams come true, work hard and make them happen.”

                – Gabriel Ferrer, Miami High grad

    As a freshman, Rosalyn never saw herself going to a big school such as Duke. However, she did not let anything get in her way and she made sure to put in effort and make her dream of having a successful future come true. She was told this by an upper-class student, and it stuck with her through her years of high school.