Samantha Lopez Leija

Global Challenge: Utilize emerging media to make quality education accessible and equitable

Bio:

Samantha Lopez is an undergraduate student at NYU Tandon, getting her Bachelor’s in Integrated Design and Media and Minoring in Computer Science. She recently enrolled in the BS/MS program and is working to transition her academic focus to computer science during her master's education, in order to further her career aspirations toward creative computing applications. Samantha was born and raised in Mexico and later moved to Texas. Through her lived experiences, she has developed a passion for finding ways to utilize emerging technologies to facilitate access to quality education and create a more sustainable global society.

Within the NYU community, she serves on the E-board of AStudio, a Tisch organization that provides students with opportunities to explore and expand their skills within the creative field via mentorship programs, workshops, panels, and studio tours. Similarly, Samantha is a NEXT// Campus Leader and has previously been a campus ambassador for Adobe, working to foster the creative community around campus, aid fellow students to become proficient with creative software, and create partnerships between school organizations and Adobe. Through these positions, along with previous involvement in NYU student startups and Vertically Integrated Projects/labs at Tandon, she has developed skills within design and engineering. Striving to pursue a career where she can make meaningful contributions towards decreasing education inequality.

This pursuit is illustrated through her commitment to service, where it is clear she sees the importance of fostering a community of learning and opportunity. Samantha has previously taken part in NYU’s Project Outreach, where she collaborated with organizations such as the Bronx is Blooming and SAGE to learn about and serve communities within the NYC area. Similarly, she worked with NYU America Reads/Counts to provide instructional support to title 1 schools in NYC by serving as a tutor in a second-grade classroom in Brooklyn. Currently, she continues to involve herself in similar causes, looking to work with Teach For America and focusing her coursework projects around public service technology.

During the Spring 2026 semester, Samantha participated in an Exchange program at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea, where she studied in the Industrial Design department. There, she learned valuable skills in hardware and software prototyping, Web Applications, CAD software, and Designing Digital User Interfaces. This culminated in a prototype for a device with applications in arts and music education, particularly within primary schooling, amongst other projects.

That following summer, she partook in a Short-term program in partnership with Hanyang University, where she explored the UN Sustainable Development Goals and case studies on various social ventures. There, she worked with Dot Inc. along with her teammates to conduct fieldwork and user interviews across Seoul to pitch a smart-glasses concept extending tactile technology to real-time museum accessibility for blind and low-vision visitors.

These experiences have largely been possible thanks to her involvement in GLASS. The guidance that the program provides is oftentimes the avenue through which she has become knowledgeable about these programs and opportunities. Similarly, the program's efforts and support toward allowing students to participate in Global opportunities make it feasible for students to engage in exchange and abroad programs.

For Samantha, her efforts thus far were born out of her alignment with her chosen global challenge, “Utilize emerging media to make quality education accessible and equitable,” along with the very fitting UN Sustainability Goals of Quality Education and Gender Equality. As a woman and a student who came from title 1 K-12 education herself, these topics are very close to her. She has seen and experienced firsthand the number of doors that can be opened for a child through improved and equitable educational opportunities. Samantha strives to culminate all of her studies, experiences, and career efforts into the development of initiatives or technologies that work toward this equitable provision for all individuals, everywhere.