08/16/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1HFBB9ozRB/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Long before she was one of the most influential members of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a teenager hunched over a microscope, studying the effect of antioxidants on roundworms.
As a high school student, she entered the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) -- the largest and most prestigious pre-college science competition in the world, where students earn their place only by winning their way up through school, regional, and state fairs, out of millions of young scientists. In 2007, competing against finalists from dozens of countries and judged by doctoral-level scientists, Ocasio-Cortez placed second globally in the microbiology category. Her project, conducted out of Mount Sinai, tested how those antioxidants affected the lifespan of tiny roundworms -- and in some cases nearly doubled how long they lived.
The achievement earned her an honor reserved for the fair's standouts: MIT's Lincoln Laboratory named a small asteroid after her, 23238 Ocasio-Cortez, still orbiting the sun today. Years later, she shared the news with obvious delight. "It's true! Science was my first passion," she wrote. "Asteroid named by 's Lincoln Laboratory in honor of longevity experiments I conducted out of Mt. Sinai. My research won 2nd place globally in Microbiology at ISEF. At BU I started as science major, changed to Econ 🤓 ."
Her path wound on from that microscope -- through college and a string of jobs that would each shape her: interning on immigration cases in Ted Kennedy's Senate office, mentoring young people, founding a small publishing venture to tell better stories about the Bronx, and pulling long bartending and waitressing shifts to keep her family's home out of foreclosure -- before the long-shot campaign that made her, at 29, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. But the skills that carried her at the science fair never left her: the curiosity, the persistence, the nerve to stand before a panel of experts and defend her own ideas.
That's the thing about Mighty Girls. You never know, when one of them is bent over a science project or lost in a library book or asking one more stubborn question, exactly where it will lead. The girl at the microscope becomes the woman in Congress. Our part is to encourage the curiosity, nurture the ambition, and clear the path where we can -- and to believe, long before she can prove it, that she is capable of mighty things.
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To share AOC's inspiring story with kids, we recommend: "Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?" (https://www.amightygirl.com/who-is-aoc) and "A Woman In The House (And Senate)" (https://www.amightygirl.com/a-woman-in-the-house-and-senate), both for ages 8 and up
To introduce young readers to many trailblazing female political leaders in the U.S. -- both historically and in modern times -- visit our blog post, “Remember the Ladies: A Tribute to Women in Politics” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11162
For books for children and teens about girls who love science, math, and engineering, visit our blog post, "Ignite Her Curiosity: 60 Books to Inspire Science-Loving Mighty Girls," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13914
To see more stories from A Mighty Girl, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter
