During President Obama’s State of the Union Address, one Stanford freshman was among the 27 specially invited guests to sit near First Lady Michelle Obama.

Gabriela Farfan ’13, a National Hispanic Scholar originally from Madison, Wis., was among the youngest guests seated near Mrs. Obama on Wednesday night. Farfan is currently pursuing a degree in geology and has spent long hours researching gemstones, earning her “one of the top awards in the Intel Science Talent Search,” according to a White House press release from the Office of the Press Secretary.

Granted an independent research scholarship, Farfan researched “why certain gemstones appear to change color when viewed from different angles — a finding that directly affects the gemstone industry and may have applications in the nano and materials sciences,” continued the press release.