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:

1. Get into research in undergrad for at least a year
   
2. Make a lot of connections with faculty, PIs and graduate students
   
3. Figure out a topic you want to study that drives you
   
4. Find a list of PIs that study the same field with a similar focus
   
5. Email the PIs on the list for a meeting to discuss their research, if they don’t answer, email their graduate students
   
6. Make plans to apply to programs with the PIs you connected with most
   
7. 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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Abigail Rivera Seda, Second year Ph.D. graduate student at Tufts University School of Medicine

I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was fortunate that my family did everything they could to allow me to be in a bilingual private school. Since I can remember, I have always been an advocate and wanted my career to impact others positively. Although I didn’t know what that looked like for me, I performed very well in my STEM courses and enjoyed science fairs, science communication, and science clubs. Surprisingly, when I saw the movie “Contagion” – a thriller about a viral pandemic – I became inspired by the woman scientist who developed a vaccine that could prevent individuals from getting sick. I thought, “I want to be her. I want to do what she does”, which inspired me to major in Microbiology.

My current thesis project focuses on characterizing a protein in Clostridium difficile, an important pathogen that affects almost half a million people. It is considered one of the hardiest organisms in the world because it can form a spore that allows it to survive even after being exposed to the vacuum of space!

If you focus only on my educational or career milestones, you could say that my career path has been traditional, but when you look beyond the milestones, I’d say not quite. Before I went to college, I asked my science teacher, “How do medications and vaccines get created?” She mentioned that scientists do research to study and design them. So, I started from there. When I began my major in Microbiology at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, I was eager to get into research. I didn’t understand what research or doing research was then, but I knew it was the path to becoming a scientist. I was very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Fortunately, sharing my interest in research with professors and asking, “How can I start?” landed me my first research opportunity at a Microbial Ecology and Genomics Lab (MEGL). I was in my undergrad lab for almost two years and was excited about the research I was doing. Unfortunately, after a category five hurricane hit the island in 2017, Puerto Ricans were in a complete blackout, and –other than struggling for basic necessities—I worried about what would be of my education. Fortunately, before the hurricane, my family had plans to work and move to Spain. Since I was halfway through college, it was not an option for me, but given the uncertainty and circumstances, I joined my family.

Two weeks after the hurricane hit the island, I was in Spain. Given the cultural shock and differences in the educational system, life seemed quite challenging. I no longer had the same enthusiasm for research; I was focused on surviving. However, I felt lucky to be allowed to enroll at the University of Malaga. During my experience in MEGL, I became interested in understanding the physiological processes in bacteria. For example, how can bacteria degrade/digest other complex biomaterials, serve as probiotics, or cause disease? This curiosity led me to major in Biochemistry with a minor in Biotechnology.

When the time came for me to graduate, I wanted to be involved in research again, and due to the financial stress my family had at the time, I needed to sustain myself. I researched and applied for post-baccalaureate programs on the East Coast in the US and was accepted in the NIH-funded Post-baccalaureate Research and Education Program (PREP) at Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; this program is explicitly an NIH incentive to promote diversity in the biomedical sciences and provide research opportunities for minoritized groups. 

After finishing the one-year program, I am now continuing my graduate school education as a Ph.D. graduate student at Tufts in the Molecular Microbiology program, which, funny enough, is the combination of my two undergrad majors.

So, yes, you could say I followed a traditional career path –private high school, bachelor’s in science, post-baccalaureate, and now a doctorate, with no breaks in between—however, the effort behind that path was more than I could imagine.

Currently, the biggest challenge as a Ph.D. graduate student is learning to think for myself and leading my project despite the failures. It requires a lot of reading, patience, persistence, and realizing that the shortcomings in the project are unlikely because of you. 

One of the first pieces of advice I received during graduate school is that “over 90% of experiments won’t work”. However, I realize it’s an everyday challenge during graduate school since I hope to become an independent scientist by the end. On the other hand, I enjoy the flexibility of leading your project; for example, being able to read about a very cool experiment related to my topic and think, “I’m going to try that out.” I also enjoy the fact that –despite being the leader in your project—science is about collaboration. I have great colleagues willing to provide feedback and brainstorm ideas if I’m ever stuck on a question. 

We are at a time when scientists can be involved in spaces outside of a lab, and becoming an academic professor is not the only (acceptable) option. For a long time, people saw academia as the only pathway or career track to realize you are a scientist. With the advancement of technology, it is becoming more common for scientists to work in industry (e.g., pharmaceuticals, biotechnology companies, clinical labs, manufacturing companies, etc.) or become entrepreneurs.

This also opens opportunities for scientists to go into patent law, work alongside the government to develop regulations and policies for upcoming therapies or technologies, or become consultants for venture capitalists. Being a scientist no longer means being useful only in a lab; having critical thinking skills, curiosity, and the ability to identify gaps and a need in society are also helpful.

Because of all these options, I am unsure of the next steps in my career, but I am open to learning more about these different sectors and seeing the best fit for me.

Looking back on all the milestones, achievements, and experiences that I have had, I would not change anything regarding my career path, which, for me, is also evidence of a lot of personal growth and acceptance. Given my circumstances, it has been a challenging journey, but I find being a Molecular Microbiologist very fulfilling. I am currently studying a pathogen with the hopes that the knowledge that I generate will help other scientists develop therapies to help people who suffer from the disease; I am capable of reading other scientific literature that helps me understand human life and all the different organisms that share our planet; and I have the privileged to continue my career into different job markets and learn from people with a different knowledge and skill set.

If I were to advise anyone interested in becoming a scientist, it would be:  always be your authentic self. Be curious. Ask many questions. Share your goals with people, even if you don’t think they can help you, building a network is important. For example, as an undergrad, I would openly speak to professors about my interests. Additionally, I know representation matters. I was fortunate that my undergraduate institutions were Latino and Hispanic, where I saw professors who were women and people of color, so I never questioned whether people who looked like me could become scientists, which is a privilege. However, being proactive and involved in outreach and institutional or national organizations will expose you to other social groups and backgrounds. 
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For example, when I returned to the US, I learned about SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science). Their mission is to provide resources, opportunities, and incentives to undergraduate and graduate students from minoritized groups to become involved in the sciences. I’ve found that being involved in organizations like these helps me feel fulfilled and supported by people who share similar experiences. So, I hope that you can believe that even though in your current surroundings it doesn’t seem like science is for you or you don’t have a community to support you, you can trust that there are organizations and people out there who believe in you and are ready to help you in your scientific journey.

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​Sometimes I wish I could say that I’ve always wanted to be an engineer. That would’ve saved me from endless hours (or days or weeks) of second-guessing my abilities. But it wouldn’t have helped me become the curious, self-determined, Latina in STEM that I am today. 
 
I have always loved being a student. And as a kid I didn’t really think about my future. When I would be asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my go-to answer was a lawyer. As a child of immigrants, I was familiar with the profession by name only but that was about it. As I graduated from elementary, to middle school, to high school I didn’t give that question much thought. That is until I saw my older brother and later my classmates apply to college. But even then, I didn’t understand what college would offer - all I heard was that I could continue being a student and that was enough for me.
 
Luckily, I was not a bad student and had parents that emphasized the importance of a college education. So, I applied to the only two universities that I could see myself at, the University of Houston (UH), where my brother was studying, and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) where most of my classmates were applying to. When it came to choosing a major for the application, I chose undeclared. I couldn’t decide on what I would want to study, everything seemed interesting and new and exciting but also very vague and scary and different. How could I, a seventeen-year-old with little knowledge of the world outside of my small hometown, make such a big decision?
 
A couple of months later I found myself at UT’s orientation. Getting there was a big discussion with my family, but after an invitation to explore the campus and meet with representatives of the university we decided that UT would provide me with the resources like career counselors, student mentors, and tutoring to make that decision. As an undeclared student my goal was to successfully transfer into a major that I was genuinely interested in and that would lead to a stable career. 
 
My first fall semester was rough. The classes were hard, I felt homesick, confused, and in over my head. I also felt very frustrated with myself because I still didn’t have a clear answer to that question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” I was tired of being so indecisive. So that winter break I decided to transfer into linguistics because I liked words and I really wanted to justify studying Latin after taking an introduction class into classical mythology. Shortly after starting the spring semester, I was able to successfully transfer into the linguistics department.
 
A couple of weeks later, I felt like I made a mistake.  
 
But part of growing up is making them and learning from them. So, this time, I asked questions. I signed up for almost every single transfer information session (except for anything medical because of several different reasons), I talked to my academic advisor, I talked to students about their majors and the classes they were taking, I attended pre-law student organization meetings (just in case), I went to office hours, went on field trips, did a lot of tutoring, and I googled endlessly about majors and jobs. And most importantly I talked to my career counselor who introduced to me the different types of careers paths that different kinds of majors provided. By the end of the semester, I realized architectural engineering checked all of my boxes: challenging, useful, and stable. 
 
My second fall semester was better. I was able to transfer into the engineering school to study architectural engineering. The more and more I learned about the different building systems, the equations that make our lives easier, and the people that make it happen, the more I realized I made the right decision. Like I learned my freshman year, I had to explore and learn about all of my options so I joined different student chapters of professional organizations like the Structural Engineers Association of Texas (SEAoT) which introduced me to forensic civil engineering. I attended Women in Engineering Program (WEP) events where I met and learned from women studying and working in engineering.
 
By the time I graduated, I had participated in undergraduate research, competed in an international concrete competition, 3-D printed a model of a high-rise building, and found the answer to that ever present question. I want to design and construct a strong and healthy built environment. Currently I work as a forensic civil engineer where I investigate building and road failures and will be going back to school  to earn a master’s in civil engineering. I am still at the beginning of my STEM journey, but like the saying goes, getting started is the hardest part. 

​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. 
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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! 
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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.
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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.