What do you want to do when you grow up?

Watershed Model Observation

Native Plants

Native Plant Observation

San Diego Zoo 2016

Jessica SD Zoo

Bonobo Observation

Bonobos Observation 2016

Rene & Juan observing bonobos

Observing bonobos

Fun at the Petting Zoo

Why do I call myself a Latina scientist? Aside from having worked in the drug discovery team at a pharmaceutical company for nearly ten years and completing college degree rich in lab experiences prior to becoming a teacher, I’m aware there are not many examples of scientists in our everyday culture for our students to aspire to. By embracing this label I honor my journey in becoming a professional scientist in the hopes of inspiring students to consider science as a career. This week I shared a little about my path in becoming a scientist catalyzed by a summer internship experience at the San Diego Zoo in 1995 when I was 16 years old.

As a 9th grader I was accepted to the Math/Science Upward Bound program at Cal State Long Beach, which was aimed at helping first generation college-bound students from a low-income socio-economic background prepare for college and understand the college application process. Every summer I applied what I had learned at my high school alongside of other students (mostly Latinos, Filipinos and African Americans). But it was the summer between my 11th and 12th grade that this program provided an opportunity to travel to San Diego and spend a summer at their sister program at San Diego State University.

That summer I spent most of my time at an internship at the San Diego Zoo’s research facility, Center of Reproduction of Endangered Species (now known as Institute for Conservation Research). I worked alongside a female scientist working on her Masters in Science degree at UC San Diego. She showed me how to extract DNA from the feather tips of California Gnatcatchers. At that moment I was pulled into the laboratory science culture. We were able to look deeper into the work of field scientists using molecular biology research tools to verify their hypothesis. I was welcomed into a tight family of international researchers and built relationships that bridged the summer with my first year of studies at UC San Diego.

As a freshman in college I was invited back to C.R.E.S. to support the research work of Mike Jurke on Bonobos. For a year, I collected observations of their behavior to better understand their reproductive system. These two experiences opened new doors for me while I was in college. I worked part-time as a lab technician at a biotech company in Sorrento Valley, completing a summer internship in a medical research lab where I worked alongside a UCSD professor for two years.

While developing my teaching philosophy I often look back at how these experiences made a positive impact on my life. Completing an internship while 16 years old, allowed for me to see myself as a scientist for the first time. It was a powerful feeling. Knowing that I could be a scientist was an incredible driving force in my college application process and college experience. Just as it fueled my career in the laboratory, it informs how I design projects as a High Tech High teacher. I’m determined to create and facilitate experiences for our students to see themselves as professionals so they can feel what I felt. I wonder what experiences our students have already had that is driving them to dream big about their futures.