Ever since taking a chemistry course in the tenth grade, Alexis Allen has wanted to get a degree in chemistry. “It was truly fascinating the way my teacher would break down the water molecule and explain the strength of the bonds and intermolecular forces between two water molecules,” Alexis explained in a personal essay. After researching careers she could work in with a chemistry degree, she decided to major in biochemistry on a pre-pharmacy track. She is currently in AP chemistry and is excited to learn more about her options in the medical field.

One of her career goals is to help find a cure for cancer. After losing an aunt to breast cancer a couple years ago, Alexis was encouraged to use what she learned in school to help others and their families. “Watching such an amazing woman deteriorate before my eyes significantly affected the way I saw this life altering disease,” Alexis stated. She doesn’t want to delay the disease, but end it.

This fall, Alexis will attend University of Virginia. After staying at the university during her Spring Break weekend, she was encouraged to make UVA her top choice. “I just felt so welcomed,” Alexis said. “I felt like I was a part of the campus and so it was just different from the other campus tours I took.”

Before going to college and receiving her degrees, Alexis already works to give back to her community. One of her favorite extracurricular activities is volunteering at Randolph Community Center and a children’s track team. She enjoys working with children and seeing them excel and improve. “These people might run track for the rest of their lives and they might actually be able to recall that I was the one running the 200 with them and making sure that they did what they needed to do,” Alexis said. Besides volunteering, her other favorite activity is running for her own school’s track and field team. She enjoys track because it is an individual sport. The fact that she has to rely on and push herself is one reason she likes the sport so much.

Along with volunteering and running track, Alexis is the current class vice president and was the chair class president two years ago. She is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, the National Honor Society, Sisters with An Intuition and FBLA. Previously, she also was a step team co-captain and played volleyball. Staying busy with extracurricular activities, Alexis still works hard and currently has a 4.2 GPA. One lesson she will take with her to college is “that it’s okay to be outspoken and have an opinion, but I also have to be understanding as well.”

One of Alexis’ biggest inspirations is her dad. “He gets up every morning and works really hard at his job,” Alexis said. Seeing how her father, one of the only African American workers with his position, works hard every day and pushes to do and be the best, motivates her to do the same. In the future, Alexis hopes to motivate others and make an impact. Not only does she want to make an impact in the medical field but for people in general.