Ailin Sha is a current sophomore at Harvard University, where she studies English and Economics with a minor in Film. She is an accomplished writer whose honors include being named the 2024 Massachusetts State Champion of the Poetry Out Loud competition, as well as receiving State Gold Keys and a National Silver Medal from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. In addition to her work as a poet, Sha is a skilled musician and deeply involved in her local community. For seven years, she played the violin with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, performed in her high school orchestra, and spearheaded monthly performances at Mount Pleasant Home in Jamaica Plain for senior residents—experiences that strengthened her belief in the power of art to connect people across generations and backgrounds.