Maya Foster

For Maya Foster, college represented an opportunity to pursue her many passions with the force of an erupting volcano.

The neuroscience major is the founder of Voices of Color, an annual networking event that brings together Johns Hopkins students, alumnae, faculty, and staff who identify as women of color. With the help of alumna and university trustee Renee Chenault-Fattah, Foster has helped build a community of women who strengthen and support one another on Johns Hopkins campuses and beyond.

“Before college, I didn’t realize how much I had been yearning to find people who looked like me and who had the same interests and experiences that I’ve had,” Foster says. “I’m proud to be a part of celebrating our brilliant and vibrant community of women of color at Hopkins.”

At Hopkins, Foster has also grown academically and artistically. She’s passionate about learning French and hopes to apply to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to study in a French-speaking country like Morocco. She plans to begin applying to graduate programs that combine her love of neuroscience with her other interdisciplinary interests like computer science. And she’s still found time to pursue her love of playing the cello.

“I don’t like being confined to a niche,” she says. “Hopkins is full of hidden gems—unique artistic opportunities, cool events, supportive faculty, and a diverse community. If you have initiative, in my experience, all sorts of things can open up for you.”