Hello I’m Nya Gasowski (they/them)! I’m a rising junior at American University in Washington, D.C., majoring in environmental science, although I will be spending the next year abroad at Queen Mary University of London. I am a Brooklyn native and love spending time walking around the city and going to prospect park. I also really love art and visiting the wide array of museums and galleries here and in DC. During the BUEE program I will be working within Dr. Cheng’s lab, evaluating the impact of leaf mulching on urban soil health on NYC housing authority grounds and assessing the effects of biochar on the mobility of Pb and As in two soils. I am very excited to be apart of this research project as this is my first urban ecology opportunity independent from my university. I am very passionate about urban environmental health and its connection to environmental racism and justice and hope to do more research within this scope looking into the future!