Dr. Helen Urpi Wagner Coello is a first-generation Latina postdoc in STEM education, dedicated to sharing and uplifting the stories of undocumented and DACA students. With a background in biology, she now focuses on how schools can better support students from diverse backgrounds. Helen is passionate about creating spaces where everyone feels they belong and can succeed. Through her work and social media, she hopes to inspire others like her to keep moving forward and reaching for their goals.
My STEM journey has not been completely linear. I did not choose Biology as a major until after I got accepted in my university for a completely different field. I struggled to feel smart during high school, and even though I knew I was productive and proactive and that I was good at having the energy to manage many things, I did not feel smart enough to do science. As I got my welcome package for my University, I convinced myself to prove all my own thoughts wrong and change my major to Biology. I reached out to multiple advisors until I found one that helped me change my major just in time for the beginning of the semester. There were so many people who told me to stick to a non-STEM major, and many “friends” who mocked my decision to go into Biology. In my experience, there will be many who try to discourage you from the path you want, who will tell you to stay on a different track, one without change, don’t. In my case it was advisors, but it can be family, friends, and even role models, however, please remember that this life is yours to celebrate, explore and experience, and you deserve to figure out what makes you passionate.
As I got into the end of my Bachelors, I was concerned when professors kept telling me that being in STEM meant I would lose all my “non-STEM” friends as I grew away from them. I continued my path, but I was worried about losing my dear friends and scared about the possibility of losing my ability to talk to others outside my field. However, that never happened is still not the case. Many professors will try to scare you away from a social life and be disappointed in the social energy you have and your ties to different communities, but don’t listen. Every circle, community and social setting that supports you is worth pursuing and keeping if you want to do so. They all build parts of who you are and allow you to center your life without being overwhelmed by your identity as a scientist or academic.
For me, it has been difficult to keep my identity as a Latina, as first gen, as a Peruvian, as a happy and excited and energetic individual throughout my time in higher education. Many people have internal biases that if you are too happy, laugh too much, dress with too many colors, and present yourself as “girly” or too dressed up, that you’re dumb. I have been told to hide or tone down parts of who I am to fit a particular image, but I have never understood what my personality and expression have to do with science, or the quality of my work. I have struggled with these biases through every position I have held so far, and unfortunately, this struggle is something I have to learn to address by advocating for myself.
I went into my PhD without getting a master’s, which by the way, is a possibility. Many students don’t know that a master’s is not required to apply for a PhD. Both degrees have their pros and cons, but if one of your goals is a PhD and you’re passionate and driven, you might want to give this pathway a chance. My advice would be to do the following:
Although my PhD was focused on mosquito biology, genomics using bioinformatics, landscape ecology and pedagogical studies on citizen science, I changed over to STEM education research for my postdoc. I think something to note is that the field you focus on for your PhD is not going to hold you prisoner. Yes, it would be ideal to have your graduate program focused on what you would like to study post-graduation, but that is not the case [for] many. I have met dozens of faculty members whose PhD field is completely different [from] their current focus and they’re successful and happy with what they do. The process to change after graduation is similar as above from #2-7. You are able to change your field, you just have to have confidence and advocate for yourself, focus on your [transferable] skills and make sure to make those personal connections. Once you master the art of promoting your skill sets, you can copy and paste the same steps to any job you find interesting, even if it is not in academia with a university.
For a postdoc position I have seen income be listed as low as $30,000 to as high as $80,000. It can be very difficult to land a postdoc position without following the advice above, because your communication skills, interest and connections, like in any other field, do matter. It is slightly humbling to spend 4-8 years studying in a PhD program for that starting salary, but really it depends on the trajectory you want to take. Your income can be influenced by your current skill sets, knowledge, the programs available the year you apply, and even your interview with the programs which convince your employer of the salary you should receive. For this reason, as well, it is important to make sure you research available programs, and their salary ranges to see what suits your needs at the time of application. I took 5 years to complete my PhD in Biology, where the average was 6 years in my university at the time I attended. This path can look very different for every person. The most important part is to remember your passion, your drive, to take care of yourself throughout, find community, things outside of the job that make you happy, and to remember that you’re worthy of the time and love you pour into yourself as you go through this journey if you decide this path is for you.
My STEM journey has not been completely linear. I did not choose Biology as a major until after I got accepted in my university for a completely different field. I struggled to feel smart during high school, and even though I knew I was productive and proactive and that I was good at having the energy to manage many things, I did not feel smart enough to do science. As I got my welcome package for my University, I convinced myself to prove all my own thoughts wrong and change my major to Biology. I reached out to multiple advisors until I found one that helped me change my major just in time for the beginning of the semester. There were so many people who told me to stick to a non-STEM major, and many “friends” who mocked my decision to go into Biology. In my experience, there will be many who try to discourage you from the path you want, who will tell you to stay on a different track, one without change, don’t. In my case it was advisors, but it can be family, friends, and even role models, however, please remember that this life is yours to celebrate, explore and experience, and you deserve to figure out what makes you passionate.
As I got into the end of my Bachelors, I was concerned when professors kept telling me that being in STEM meant I would lose all my “non-STEM” friends as I grew away from them. I continued my path, but I was worried about losing my dear friends and scared about the possibility of losing my ability to talk to others outside my field. However, that never happened is still not the case. Many professors will try to scare you away from a social life and be disappointed in the social energy you have and your ties to different communities, but don’t listen. Every circle, community and social setting that supports you is worth pursuing and keeping if you want to do so. They all build parts of who you are and allow you to center your life without being overwhelmed by your identity as a scientist or academic.
For me, it has been difficult to keep my identity as a Latina, as first gen, as a Peruvian, as a happy and excited and energetic individual throughout my time in higher education. Many people have internal biases that if you are too happy, laugh too much, dress with too many colors, and present yourself as “girly” or too dressed up, that you’re dumb. I have been told to hide or tone down parts of who I am to fit a particular image, but I have never understood what my personality and expression have to do with science, or the quality of my work. I have struggled with these biases through every position I have held so far, and unfortunately, this struggle is something I have to learn to address by advocating for myself.
I went into my PhD without getting a master’s, which by the way, is a possibility. Many students don’t know that a master’s is not required to apply for a PhD. Both degrees have their pros and cons, but if one of your goals is a PhD and you’re passionate and driven, you might want to give this pathway a chance. My advice would be to do the following:
- Get into research in undergrad for at least a year
- Make a lot of connections with faculty, PIs and graduate students
- Figure out a topic you want to study that drives you
- Find a list of PIs that study the same field with a similar focus
- Email the PIs on the list for a meeting to discuss their research, if they don’t answer, email their graduate students
- Make plans to apply to programs with the PIs you connected with most
- Remember that the programs you apply to don’t just have to do with the topic or field. You will also be in the program with the PI and graduate students for years, so make sure you also like their style (hands on vs hands off), their personalities, their methods of support, availability, ways of handling challenges, and so on
Although my PhD was focused on mosquito biology, genomics using bioinformatics, landscape ecology and pedagogical studies on citizen science, I changed over to STEM education research for my postdoc. I think something to note is that the field you focus on for your PhD is not going to hold you prisoner. Yes, it would be ideal to have your graduate program focused on what you would like to study post-graduation, but that is not the case [for] many. I have met dozens of faculty members whose PhD field is completely different [from] their current focus and they’re successful and happy with what they do. The process to change after graduation is similar as above from #2-7. You are able to change your field, you just have to have confidence and advocate for yourself, focus on your [transferable] skills and make sure to make those personal connections. Once you master the art of promoting your skill sets, you can copy and paste the same steps to any job you find interesting, even if it is not in academia with a university.
For a postdoc position I have seen income be listed as low as $30,000 to as high as $80,000. It can be very difficult to land a postdoc position without following the advice above, because your communication skills, interest and connections, like in any other field, do matter. It is slightly humbling to spend 4-8 years studying in a PhD program for that starting salary, but really it depends on the trajectory you want to take. Your income can be influenced by your current skill sets, knowledge, the programs available the year you apply, and even your interview with the programs which convince your employer of the salary you should receive. For this reason, as well, it is important to make sure you research available programs, and their salary ranges to see what suits your needs at the time of application. I took 5 years to complete my PhD in Biology, where the average was 6 years in my university at the time I attended. This path can look very different for every person. The most important part is to remember your passion, your drive, to take care of yourself throughout, find community, things outside of the job that make you happy, and to remember that you’re worthy of the time and love you pour into yourself as you go through this journey if you decide this path is for you.
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