Hidden Figure

It’s in her DNA.

For the past two years, Morgan Lomax ‘24 has placed in the top 5-7% in Khan Academy’s Breakthrough Junior Challenge, an annual global competition for short videos that simplify complex S.T.E.M. topics!  The 2021 competition had approximately 3,400 submissions. She commented, “The work I put into it did show in the ranking. I hope to place even higher in the coming years.” 

In 2020, Morgan made a video on gene targeting, and in 2021 she submitted one on CRISPR– a specific technology that falls under the gene targeting umbrella. CRISPR is able to help prevent disease by editing DNA. The acronym stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. According to Morgan, “CRISPR is the future of biology and chemistry– though we have to consider the ethical implications of such a powerful technology.” 

Morgan scripted, filmed, animated, and edited both of her three-minute videos. “I taught myself how to use the animating and video editing platforms: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop.” This sophomore learns about new subjects through YouTube videos.  She subscribes to “Crash Course” to learn about various topics outside of school. This YouTube channel makes quick informative videos for students on topics in history, sciences, math, and media. Morgan added that she especially likes to watch the videos made by Hank Green because “I find them more interesting than the other presenters. I learned about biology, animation, and quantum physics through these videos.” 

Morgan’s 2022 video will take on the entangled world of quantum physics.