ESP Biography



CRYSTAL CHANG, MIT junior studying biology, theater, and language



Major: Biology

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2020

Picture of Crystal Chang

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Hi everyone! I'm a junior majoring in Course 7 (bio), doing autism research in Course 9 (neuroscience), minoring in Theatre (I've written plays that have been performed professionally and performed in professionally written plays both here and abroad), and possibly minoring/concentrating in Spanish, Japanese, or Korean. At MIT, I volunteer as a Mandarin medical interpreter as part of Medlingual, a club I started; dance with the Asian Dance Team and DanceTroupe; ice skate; and, of course, teach for Splash! I also do healthcare policy work and am involved with MITMUNC (MIT Model United Nations). In no particular order, I love music/performing arts, cells, and good food with good friends. Let's get to know each other better!



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

S12458: How to be Biochemically Beautiful in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Ah, to be young and beautiful--but what's the current consensus on immortality? Hairspray, fad diets, face masks, anti-wrinkle serum--do any of these work? If so, how? What's the mechanism behind acne? Botox? For that matter, what is attraction, biochemically speaking? After this class, you'll be able to read fancy food labels at the grocery store, understand vitamins, and debunk TV ads. Special focus on food categories and the science of chocolate chip cookies :D


S12459: The Science of Happiness: Love Others, Love Yourself in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Can we use science to make us happy? Reduce stress? Make a good impression with interviewers for college apps? What is love? Why do we love? Why should we love? What's the scientific explanation for racism/stereotyping, and can we use that to change the world we live in? How does our brain tell us how to feel and what to choose, anyway? WHAT IS THE BRAIN????? Come to learn lots about neuroscience, psychology, a bit of sociology, but mostly about life. :)


S10855: The Existential Crises of Cells in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
Featuring rolling cells, hungry cells, and--gasp!--the saddest cell story in the world. Fun intro to how cells grow and make decisions, especially in the context of immunology. This class will be 30-40 minutes of interactive lecture followed by a short Q&A session on how to get a research internship. :)