Krystinna Arevalo

Krystinna Arevalo is a recent alumna of the Governor’s STEM Scholars class of 2024. She is a first-generation sophomore student at the University of Pennsylvania, studying Neuroscience and Health & Societies. During high school, Krystinna completed two summers as a research intern at Rutgers University through the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED program. She conducted research on the actin cytoskeleton of epithelial cells and the ultrastructure of engineered skin tissue. At Penn, Krystinna is an associate editor for the Penn Bioethics Journal and serves as the Social and Fundraising Chair for the Special Needs Swim Program, supporting children in the Philadelphia area.

Krystinna is passionate about connecting low-income, first-generation students to transformative opportunities in STEM. She believes in the value of diversity and bringing students of different backgrounds together. She aspires to become a physician-scientist using her research background to advance STEM policy and healthcare accessibility. She is particularly interested in the applications of cellular and molecular biology, and bridging the gap between science and policy. Her goals center around serving underserved communities and learning across a breadth of fields to become a flexible leader.