​Early on during my childhood years growing up in Puerto Rico, I focused on the idea of becoming a veterinarian. Opportunities to study veterinary medicine in Puerto Rico were non-existent at that time, requiring me to look beyond the island setting and exploring veterinary professional schools in the US mainland. However, at the time, the idea of moving far away from the family for many years was daunting. I understood this was the only way.
As an undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, I worked as a research assistant at a parasitology laboratory led by Dr. Sharon File. We worked with animal models of bilharzia to understand transmission and pathology associated with this endemic parasite. I also volunteered at the local veterinary clinic to gain contact hours working with domestic species. With my family's support and the help of many mentors who selflessly opened their doors to their clinics and research laboratories, I finished my Bachelor's degree in Biology and fulfilled the experience requirements to apply and be accepted into veterinary school. I completed the veterinary program at the University Of Wisconsin Madison School Of Veterinary Medicine, and then I decided to specialize in veterinary pathology. After completing my veterinary pathology residency and completing board certifying exams, I worked in multiple settings, including academia, veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and primate centers.  
As a veterinary pathologist at the Southwest National Primate Research Center, I have the privilege to work with laboratory animal models of infectious diseases in a research setting. This opportunity has been the most rewarding experience of my professional career. Looking back at the path that landed me in San Antonio, Tx, I will be eternally grateful for the academic mentors that provided career-defining experiences.

I grew up in South Central Los Angeles. My parents immigrated from El Salvador with no money, searching for a better life in the U.S. They met in Los Angeles and decided to start a family. So that made me first generation for, well, everything. Since my parents did not come from wealth, they always told me that as an inheritance, they couldn’t offer me any riches or property but what they could offer me was an education. They always pushed the importance of school and going to college because they believed it was the only way I could have a better life financially than they did. My dad worked as a security guard and my mom was a stay at home mom with many side hustles (cooking Salvadoran cuisine for events, cleaning houses, working in thrift shops etc.). On my dad’s day off he would often take me to the library because he wanted to cement a love for books.  At that library in Compton, was the first clue, the very first seed planted for my future career as an Aerospace Engineer. 


I always gravitated toward the section full of science books that specifically covered celestial bodies. The titles were Saturn, The Moon, Comets & Asteroids, Jupiter etc. I was hooked. Every chance I got, I chose to do school reports on space and it’s celestial bodies, but I was never told or encouraged to pursue science in elementary or middle school. In fact, I didn’t know what an engineer was until I was 16 years old. 
I was an incoming senior getting ready to submit my college applications. That summer, I attended the UCLA SMARTS (Science and Mathematics Achievement and Research Training for Students) program. SMARTS was a program to get students interested in STEM. I took a Statistics and a Robotics class for college credit through the program. It was my first exposure to coding, building and making something with my own hands. I was hooked, we built tiny robots using breadboards and I wrote my first computer program that summer.


I was riding the robotics course high, so I searched for the Robotics Club when I went back to school that fall. I joined Team 1692, the Crenshaw Cougarbots and participated in my first FRC (First Robotics Competition). There, I met two of the earliest influences on my decision to pursue a STEM career. Mr. Reyes was the robotics club facilitator & the school’s only computer science teacher. Tim was an actual engineer from The Aerospace Corporation who volunteered his time to mentor our Robotics team for FRC. 


I took on a design role within the team, I spent most of my time drawing on the white boards thinking about what mechanisms we could put on the robot to make it accomplish certain tasks. I spent so much time at the Robotics Club that fall semester, I often brought my college applications so I could work on them. One afternoon, I was debating out loud what major to mark on my college applications. Mr. Reyes took one look at my scribbles on the whiteboard and said “You’re always around here talking about space, why don’t you apply for aerospace engineering?” I looked at him stunned. What the heck was aerospace engineering? I had never heard of it. He went on to explain that engineering was basically what I was doing in the robotics club and aerospace engineering meant I could do the same thing but what I built would either fly or go to space. I could not believe what I just learned. I quickly switched all of my major selections to aerospace engineering wherever it was available. I received my acceptance to UCLA for aerospace engineering that Spring, I had made it. I was off to pursue my dream of building things that would someday work in space. 


I was 100% not prepared for what UCLA had in store for me. It’s no secret that engineering is hard, but the UCLA engineering program was on another level. I struggled quite a bit during my time there, all of my friends who were first generation students in STEM did. We weren’t prepared, there was definitely a gap in our basic math and physics education but we kept going because we knew we deserved to be there and we would just have to work a bit harder. While at UCLA, I was part of the Center for Excellence in Engineering & Diversity. I made lifelong friends there. CEED was an essential support system to get me through engineering. I met other engineering students of color from backgrounds like mine and it made me feel less alone in engineering. It was BECAUSE of CEED that I found my next leap opportunity to take a leap forward into my dream career. One of my friends had just finished an internship at Intel, in one of the group chats she joined,  there was someone encouraging people to apply to The Brooke Owens Fellowship. She sent me a link to the program and application because I was the only Aerospace Engineering major she knew (she was an electrical engineering major, shout out to Justine!). As a rising senior in college, I decided to apply. 
​
​
The Brooke Owens Fellowship is an aerospace fellowship that aims to increase the number of gender minorities in the aerospace industry. The fellowship offers a 10 week internship at many startups and big aerospace companies, a summit in DC to meet with the founders and other fellows, and access to a network of professionals in the industry ranging from scientists to engineers to space policy experts. The Brooke Owens fellowship was life-changing. I had the privilege to become part of the inaugural class. I had never met so many women my age, so passionate about aviation and space. Even in my classes at UCLA, I was often 1 of 3 women in a class of 60 and almost always the only person of color. Now, I suddenly knew 40+ young women just as excited about aerospace as I was.
It was through becoming a fellow that I landed an internship with Space Systems Loral (now Maxar Technologies Space Division). Maxar is a satellite manufacturer located in Silicon Valley. We make satellites for space exploration, imaging and GEO applications. I now work full time for MAXAR as a Mechanical Design Engineer for Solar Arrays. I’ve learned SO much in the past three years about space hardware, the industry, what it takes to take a design from concept to test and finally to flight. I am currently working on qualifying (testing phase of a new design) a solar array wing and it is expected to launch later this year! 
​

My journey to become an Aerospace Engineer wasn’t easy, it wasn’t linear, it was hard, frustrating and sometimes lonely but it was also fun, exciting and inspiring. I want to help other first generation students realize that they have the option to go into a career in aerospace. I want everyone to know that aerospace now,  more than ever before, is for everyone. 

​As a child on the island of Puerto Rico I was always curious about animals, insects, plants, trees, and many other things related to nature.  When Hurricane Hugo (1989) threatened to impact the island, I was impressed by the satellite images and graphics presented on TV. I wanted to know more about what it was, why should we prepare and moreover why everyone was so scared? That is the moment when my curiosity and dream of becoming a meteorologist was born. The constant threats of tropical cyclones to Puerto Rico kept me on my toes every season as I grew into a teenager and fueled my interests into high school. I remember looking for maps in the newspaper to track the position of the storms and paying lots of attention during the weather segment on TV. In 1998 Hurricane Georges made direct impact to my home island further reinforcing my fascination with weather and passion to protect and inform citizens.
 
I was a diligent student in school who loved the challenge of math and always ensured I maintained good grades. I was driven by the dream of working with the experts at the National Weather Service’s (NWS) San Juan Forecast Office. Upon graduation, it was time to apply to college and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  However, to my surprise, there were no meteorology degrees available in Puerto Rico. Devastated, yet undaunted, I had to rethink my college choices. I started on the social sciences path at the University of Puerto Rico, but quickly realized that I was not enjoying those classes. Seeking something that aligned with my skills, I changed to a degree in mathematics which turned out to be the best choice I could have made. I struggled with the chemistry classes, but enjoyed my calculus, physics and especially differential equations. I pushed myself beyond what I thought my capabilities were. I enrolled in the harder classes, and had some doubt and stumbles along the way. But I sought help from the professors when I needed it and they were always there to reassure me and encourage me.
 
While in college, I found out about a group doing weather and climate research and quickly joined them. Through them I learned about weather, modeling, and research and attended my first conference. I also learned about other opportunities such as graduate school and summer internships which turned out to be the key turning point in my career path. The upcoming summer I was admitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Educational Partnership Program - Undergraduate Scholarship Program. With this scholarship, I was able to intern in two different NOAA facilities for 10 weeks during the summer. One was the Environmental Modeling Center in Maryland, and the other one in the Hurricane Research Division (HRD) in Florida. During this time I was also admitted to the graduate program in Atmospheric Sciences at Howard University in Washington, DC.  Finally, my dreams were becoming reality. 
 
I returned to HRD for two additional summers while pursuing my graduate degree, also participated in internships at the National Science Foundation and the NWS Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office, and spent 30 days at sea in a NOAA research cruise. All these experiences were a great foundation for my first full time job with the Department of the Navy at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division as a Research Meteorologist. There I worked on modeling and observations of the low levels of the atmosphere and also set up weather stations at Navy facilities during testing of new radar technologies, among other tasks. I then returned to the NWS Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office, but this time as a full time meteorologist where I would do weather forecasts, give briefings and interviews, issue watches and warnings, and plan or attend outreach events for the community and our media partners. This was my dream job since I was a child, a different location but with the same mission, and I was on the top of the world. 
 
Around the same time I began working on my non-profit organization Semilla Cultural (semillacultural.org) or “cultural seed”, to promote and preserve the Afro-Puerto Rican genre known as ‘bomba’.  Bomba, a combination of dancing, singing, & percussion, is important to me as it gives me a vehicle to bring Latin culture and positivity to the forefront of society. Through this adventure I developed and polished leadership and other soft skills that would be useful in my scientific career path. Still growing and always looking for more challenges, I decided to apply for a position at the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research as a Management and Program Analyst for which I was hired. In this role I manage critical programs, lead people, am involved in the science policy process, and perform research and development analysis.  It is yet another step in my journey and I am enjoying every minute of it. 
 
Being rooted in public service, there are several things that set the meteorology field apart. One of these is the schedule and it can be difficult for some. While in the NWS Forecast Office, I worked on a rotating shift schedule, meaning that I did not have a consistent schedule. Sometimes working weekends, holidays and overnight shifts was challenging, especially as a mother of two little girls. There are also challenges that you get as a forecaster with the rapidly changing weather and the high pace push to get information and warnings out immediately. But that stress also brings a great feeling of satisfaction from serving the community and partners. That gratification is invaluable and simply irreplaceable.
 
The public service aspect of the meteorology field also brings about cultural matters, especially when your culture allows you to see things differently and you can identify barriers. Many of us come from an area where English is the second language, and I am no exception. While at the forecast office I noticed there were no services or collaborations with the Hispanic community. I used my cultural knowledge and took the initiative to connect with local Spanish media, attended Hispanic community events, and created a website with weather and safety information in Spanish (weather.gov/lwx/espanol). Now this community has access to hazardous weather and safety information in their own language (with still things to improve). In this instance, being a Latina in STEM paid off. The diversity I brought to the team removed a barrier from part of the citizens we serve.
 
One thing that was immediately apparent in the workforce was the lack of diversity in this field, particularly females, and especially Latinas. I am a strong believer that representation inspires youth. You can show them that someone like them can achieve what you have, and make them feel welcome into this field. Also, having a more diverse workforce can harvest diverse solutions and ultimately improve services (published studies have demonstrated this). I enjoy doing my part to inspire Latinas through outreach. I cherish the opportunity to visit schools or events where others can see and listen to the experiences of Latina woman scientist. Being able to speak and answer questions provide experiences that, both the community and I will never forget, even more when they can identify with you. 
 
My path has not been straightforward, I have doubted myself and my decisions, and I have struggled. But I suppressed those doubts and I remained focused on my goal of becoming a meteorologist. My journey has been supported and inspired by amazing leaders, colleagues and mentors in the field, and by my family and friends as well. To them, I owe a lot for who and where I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful. As a Latina, I am committed to my purpose of paying it forward through mentoring and serving the community through science and culture. It is my goal to see many other women, especially Latina women, in this field.

I always liked math in school. Even though I excelled in math in middle school, for some reason I was not recommended to advanced math class for high school.  I never let those things bother me…when people underestimated me. I knew they would eventually find out. The opportunity came in the 10th grade. My school had a grade wide math test to assess students’ knowledge in order to place students in their 11th grade math class. Everyone was stressing about the test. I decided to take a few days to review the math. I don’t remember being stressed. On the day of the test, I took the test and did my best. When the results were released, I received the highest score on the test.  I did better than the students in the advanced math class. The teacher met with me and wanted to know what I did to achieve the highest score. I told her I studied.

Even though math came easy to me, it was not a subject I pursued. I thought I was going to become a doctor. In college, I struggled with my Introductory Calculus class. My instructor was speaking a foreign language – limits, deltas, epsilons, limits, derivatives etc. Uggh.  I wanted to do well so I paid a tutor but I still struggled.  I eventually reached a crossroad when I was taking an Organic Chemistry class and a Calculus class. I disliked the Organic Chemistry class and was struggling in the Calculus class. However, I would spend hours trying to figure out the math but was not interested in learning Organic Chemistry. Then it dawned on me, if I was willing to spend so much time trying to learn math, I might as well major in Mathematics. So I switched my major to Applied Mathematics. 

Throughout my college career, I always tutored students and worked with outreach programs. After struggling with math, I realized one of the reasons I struggled in math as I progressed to advanced math classes was because sometimes the instructors were not able to explain the concepts in terms I could understand.  I figured out a way to explain math in terms that related to my everyday life. It was very rewarding when a student realized that math was not as hard as they thought.  I knew I wanted to help students learn that they can excel in math based majors and careers and thought the best way to do this was to become a math professor.
​
After working for NASA maintaining satellites for 4 years, I applied to grad school to pursue a doctorate in Applied Mathematics with a focus on Math Modeling using Differential Equations. At a point during my journey, I came to understand there were not many students of color excelling in STEM major – Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering in particular. I also understood that to increase the numbers of students of color in these majors we had to reach these students at an earlier age. Therefore, I made the decision to pivot and focus on developing and implementing programming to introduce students, particularly students of color, to STEM through hands-on projects and develop their mathematical, problem solving and critical thinking skills. This led to me working full-time for the UCLA Samueli Engineering Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity (CEED) Program. Through my work in the CEED Program, I learned more about the problem and how to develop programming to address those problems at the pre-college and undergraduate levels. I also built relationships and partnered with other professionals doing the same work. Over the years, I progressed from a pre-college program coordinator to the Associate Director of CEED’s Pre-College Program and was recently named the Director of the Center for Excellence in Engineering and Diversity. In this position, I will continue to provide and develop programming to address student needs on the pre-college, undergraduate and graduate level. My plan includes on the Pre-College level:

• Exposing students to STEM through hands-on projects
• Developing students’ STEM identity
• Preparing students to be competitively eligible pursue and succeed in STEM majors with a focus Engineering and Computer Science
• Increase the number of students of color applying to and being admitted to schools of Engineering. 

On the Undergraduate level:

• Support undergraduate students academically
• Help Students grow their professional network
• Encourage and provide students to research and internship opportunities
• Develop Students leadership skills 
• Encourage pursuit of graduate school 

Ultimately, my goal is to increase the number of students of color who are prepared for success and leadership positions in the engineering and technology workforce.