Lane Tech Rising Senior Tayiba Chowdhury Named 2020 Bank of America Student Leader
Lane Tech College Prep High School rising senior Tayiba Chowdhury is one of just 300 high school students nationwide – and one of just 5 in Chicagoland – to be recognized as a 2020 Bank of America Student Leader.
For the past two years, Tayiba has accumulated more than 150 volunteer hours supporting causes that, as an immigrant, are important to her. She is a longtime volunteer at the Rohingya Cultural Center, where she tutors immigrants impacted by the Rohingya Genocide, sharing her own experiences as a means to encourage students to pursue higher education regardless of their socioeconomic means. Last year, after recognizing an increase in cancer diagnoses in her community, she spearheaded a successful fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and, additionally, used the fundraiser as a springboard to share important educational resources with students in her school.
Lane Tech rising senior, Tayiba Chowdhury is one of just 300 high school students nationwide – and one of just 5 in the Chicago area – to be recognized as a 2020 Bank of America Student Leader. The program, now in its 16th year, provides students a summer of paid, virtual leadership experience, civic engagement, and workforce skills-building. As part of the program, Tayiba will participate in a collaborative project to educate community residents on the importance of voting and engaging in conversations around democracy, social justice, civil rights to build a more diverse and inclusive society.
Tayiba is currently enrolled in a two-year program with Chicago EYES (Educators and Youth Enjoy Science) on Cancer, a cancer research training program where she works full time in the laboratories of cancer researchers at the University ofChicago. Complementing her rigorous research training are a cancer-based summer lecture series, year-round career development, and skill-building workshops. While working with the organization, she recognized the lack of minority involvement in the STEM field and plans to encourage minority students like herself to pursue careers in the field.
Tayiba is actively involved in Lane Tech College Prep High School, serving as both a freshman mentor and tour guide. Tayiba is also President of the Leaders Club, Vice President of the Technovation Club and Vice President of Technology for the GEM (Girls in Engineering, Mathematics and Science) Club. Last year, she created a Henna club at her school, where she taught students about Henna art and her culture. Tayiba looks forward to concentrating on computer science, debating, medicine or environmental science when she heads to college next year.