Senior Elsy Cruz Parra Wins TWIST EPIC Award

Join us in congratulating senior Elsy Cruz Parra for receiving the TWIST EPIC Award from Target through her Genesys Works Internship. TWIST stands for Target Women in Science and Technology, while the EPIC stands for Engagement, Passion, Innovation, and Curiosity in All Things STEM.

Elsy plans to attend a four-year university before moving on to medical school to major in biomedical. Her dream job is to become a Physicians’ Assistant. Through the Direct Admissions program, Elsy has already been accepted into a long list of colleges in Minnesota, and she plans to apply to Augsburg, Mankato, St. Catherine, St. Mary, Hamline and U of MN campuses in Morris, Moorhead, Duluth, Rochester and Crookston.

During her time at Richfield High School, Elsy has served as a student representative to the Richfield school board, the Richfield Health Resource Center advisory council and the Safe and Supportive Schools advisory council. She has also participated in the National Honor Society, Student Government, Spartan Crew, the Robotics team and Me to We club. She also started her own club, Union Latina!

“I’m most proud of how much I have accomplished during my four years at Richfield High School,” said Elsy. “I know that there will be many more accomplishments to come.”

Elsy says that the Career & College Readiness Coordinator, Julie Magnuson, has made the biggest impact on her during her time at RHS. “From seventh grade to my final year of high school she has believed, supported and positively impacted my education. She inspires me to believe in myself and know that I can succeed in school and anything I want to pursue after high school.

At home, Elsy enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs, as well as watching movies and going shopping. If she could travel anywhere, it would be to South Korea or France. Her favorite nonprofit is Feed My Starving Children, and her advice to freshmen is that they should “join a club or extracurricular activity because you can gain skills, make an impact and meet new people.”

Target Women in Science & Technology (TWIST) is an organization within Target focused on engaging and advancing women in STEM careers. They foster connections, inspiration and knowledge-sharing to help women in STEM grow to their full potential through internal and external activities and events.

TWIST EPIC Awards began in 2017 as a program to support local schools and organizations in the community and to encourage girls to celebrate their achievements in STEM. The TWIST EPIC Awards recognize and honor 25 high school girls from the Twin Cities for their dedication to STEM. These young women demonstrate Engagement, Passion, Innovation and Curiosity (EPIC) within these fields and TWIST encourages them to continue pursuing this path.