About Me

My name is Ayaka Sakuma, and I'm a junior at John Jay Senior High School in New York. I am interested in pursuing a future in medicine and plan on studying premed after high school.

This past summer, I was able to combine my interest in working with laboratory equipment with my Japanese heritage, to intern at the Onoe Research Group lab at Keio University! Here, I was able to gain hands-on experience in a university research laboratory.

Alongside my interest in medicine, I value long-term dedication: I have practiced karate for 11 years and played the viola in orchestra for 8 years, experiences that have taught me discipline, perseverance, collaboration, and attention to detail. Currently, I'm the Secretary of the Asian American Club at John Jay contributing to leadership and engagement within the community. Since 2012, I have also attended the Japanese Weekend School of New York, JWSNY , completing 14 years of immersive, Japanese-language education across academic subjects. This experience has given me native-level Japanese proficiency and the cultural fluency to work confidently in international and research-focused environments.

I plan to pursue a pre-med track at a research-intensive university, where I can collaborate with others in biomedical studies, learn from faculty mentors, and prepare for a career at the intersection of medicine, research, and service.