Born in California and raised mostly in Pune, India, Mugdha is a recent transplant to Sammamish, Washington. While she had always loved nature, she discovered a passion for environmental conservation and education living in the Pacific Northwest. She began volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium as a Youth Ocean Advocate, and at the Sammamish Animal Sanctuary where she spent hours cleaning pastures, feeding, and hugging all kinds of farm animals! She hopes to pursue her passion for ecology at the University of Washington starting this fall. Outside of academics, Mugdha enjoys participating in student government (she has a lot of school spirit!), playing badminton and any pick-up sports, sending letters and postcards, and going on picnics.