My Life Searching for Space to Belong
Dr. Aidyl Sofia Gonzalez-Serricchio is a Puerto Rican. She is a molecular geneticist, environmental microbiologist, explorer, and first-generation college graduate. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology from the California Institute of Technology and currently conducts research in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering. She is also Director of Outreach and a researcher at the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences. Her work explores soil microbiomes, extreme environments, and the connection between environmental and neurological health while expanding access to STEM through education and citizen science.
When I was little, I shared a bedroom with my brother and sister in a neighborhood where police refused to patrol or even answer emergency calls. College was never a topic of conversation or an option for me or anyone in my home. Scientists were people seen on TV or in upstate NY, not from the hood.
One day, I noticed a roach laying “worms” on the floor below the windowsill, and then it disappeared. The landlord must have set off a bug bomb for the whole building. I got curious. covered it with a shoebox and checked on them every day.
What I was actually watching were cockroach eggs.
Inside that dark little space, I saw something extraordinary: tiny translucent forms emerging, maturing, darkening in color. I watched them crawl out from that shell before my eyes, and it was beautiful.
I proudly screamed with joy and told my mother that the roaches are white, come out of a weird egg, and turn brown.
She was not happy. I got a wack. Mom got the bugspray to eliminate my roaches
But something shifted in me, and I kept asking “¿ por qué?” and “¿ cómo?” Before I ever felt smart enough for science, I was already practicing it. I was observing. Hypothesizing. Returning daily to gather data.
That shoebox was my first laboratory.
My abuela and my tías used to tell me, “Hecha para las estrellas.” It was the last thing my mother said to me before Alzheimer’s slowly took her voice.
Long before degrees. Long before Caltech. Long before the Arctic or microgravity experiments.
There was just a little girl growing up in poverty, trying to understand how life worked, the interconnections with all life on this planet, and the world around her, hoping her curiosity had somewhere to breathe.
The Turning Point
I was the first in my family to go to college. I navigated the financial aid, academic expectations, and campus culture on my own.
I failed my first semester of college. Not because I didn’t understand the material, but because something wasn’t translating between what I knew and how I was being assessed. I remember sitting with my grades and hearing the echo of certain voices: “Maybe you’re not meant for college. You are lucky if you make it past 21 alive.”
One person noticed the disconnect between what I could explain out loud and what showed up on exams. He encouraged me to go to the learning center.
That’s where I was diagnosed with dyslexia and a severe learning difference. Schools were never built for how my brain processes information.
Once I received accommodations, everything changed. Not because I suddenly became smarter, but because the system finally met my brain halfway.
From that point forward, I earned a 4.0 GPA, graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with honors, and later received a full fellowship funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to pursue my Ph.D. at Caltech.
Dyslexia did not disqualify me from science. It forced me to think visually and systematically, to persevere, & develop a thick skin.
What once felt like a limitation became part of my strength. I saw connections and innovations that no one ever thought of, and were impressed as well as shocked that it came from me.
What I Do Now
Today, my research spans soil microbiomes, extreme environments, and neurological health. I travel to places like the Arctic and volcanic landscapes to study organisms that survive under extreme conditions because understanding how life adapts on Earth may help us understand life beyond it.
I also study how soil health connects to human neurological health, including Alzheimer’s disease. Hoping for an opportunity to perform a certain aspect of my research in space.
I teach. I go into high schools and work with educators to help students design their own research experiments. It is deeply important to me that young people, especially those who feel different or underestimated, see themselves as scientists before someone tells them they are not.
People sometimes think scientists are isolated or boring, that we just sit in labs all day.
My lab is also in the Arctic. My lab is on the edge of a volcano. My lab is planet Earth.
I’m also a magician, because science is magic. It’s just magic we understand.
One skill I’m oddly proud of is lockpicking. I learned it as a little girl, and now I use it in the lab when someone forgets their keys.
My Advice to Latinas Pursuing STEM
If you can see yourself doing it, even if you’ve never met someone who looks like you doing it, persist.
Find your tribe. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, who find joy in your presence, and whom you lift in return. Community matters.
You do not need to shrink your background to enter STEM. You do not need to erase your accent. You do not need to wait until you feel “ready.” Start where you are.
The path may not look traditional. You may fail. You may need accommodations. You may have to advocate for yourself. You may need mentors who see what others miss.
If you love it, you belong in it.
The women in my family were right. Hecha para las estrellas.
And so are you.
Website: https://draidylgonzalez.com
Instagram: @real_dr.g
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidyl-gonzalez-serricchio/
Internships/fellowships
The GEM Fellowship Program (https://www.gemfellowship.org) was transformative for me. Through GEM, I completed an industry internship where I worked on developing polio vaccines. GEM supports underrepresented students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM and provides funding, mentorship, and industry connections. I remain connected to the organization and highly recommend it to students seeking both financial support and real-world research experience.
Dr. Aidyl Sofia Gonzalez-Serricchio is a Puerto Rican. She is a molecular geneticist, environmental microbiologist, explorer, and first-generation college graduate. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology from the California Institute of Technology and currently conducts research in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering. She is also Director of Outreach and a researcher at the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences. Her work explores soil microbiomes, extreme environments, and the connection between environmental and neurological health while expanding access to STEM through education and citizen science.
When I was little, I shared a bedroom with my brother and sister in a neighborhood where police refused to patrol or even answer emergency calls. College was never a topic of conversation or an option for me or anyone in my home. Scientists were people seen on TV or in upstate NY, not from the hood.
One day, I noticed a roach laying “worms” on the floor below the windowsill, and then it disappeared. The landlord must have set off a bug bomb for the whole building. I got curious. covered it with a shoebox and checked on them every day.
What I was actually watching were cockroach eggs.
Inside that dark little space, I saw something extraordinary: tiny translucent forms emerging, maturing, darkening in color. I watched them crawl out from that shell before my eyes, and it was beautiful.
I proudly screamed with joy and told my mother that the roaches are white, come out of a weird egg, and turn brown.
She was not happy. I got a wack. Mom got the bugspray to eliminate my roaches
But something shifted in me, and I kept asking “¿ por qué?” and “¿ cómo?” Before I ever felt smart enough for science, I was already practicing it. I was observing. Hypothesizing. Returning daily to gather data.
That shoebox was my first laboratory.
My abuela and my tías used to tell me, “Hecha para las estrellas.” It was the last thing my mother said to me before Alzheimer’s slowly took her voice.
Long before degrees. Long before Caltech. Long before the Arctic or microgravity experiments.
There was just a little girl growing up in poverty, trying to understand how life worked, the interconnections with all life on this planet, and the world around her, hoping her curiosity had somewhere to breathe.
The Turning Point
I was the first in my family to go to college. I navigated the financial aid, academic expectations, and campus culture on my own.
I failed my first semester of college. Not because I didn’t understand the material, but because something wasn’t translating between what I knew and how I was being assessed. I remember sitting with my grades and hearing the echo of certain voices: “Maybe you’re not meant for college. You are lucky if you make it past 21 alive.”
One person noticed the disconnect between what I could explain out loud and what showed up on exams. He encouraged me to go to the learning center.
That’s where I was diagnosed with dyslexia and a severe learning difference. Schools were never built for how my brain processes information.
Once I received accommodations, everything changed. Not because I suddenly became smarter, but because the system finally met my brain halfway.
From that point forward, I earned a 4.0 GPA, graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with honors, and later received a full fellowship funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to pursue my Ph.D. at Caltech.
Dyslexia did not disqualify me from science. It forced me to think visually and systematically, to persevere, & develop a thick skin.
What once felt like a limitation became part of my strength. I saw connections and innovations that no one ever thought of, and were impressed as well as shocked that it came from me.
What I Do Now
Today, my research spans soil microbiomes, extreme environments, and neurological health. I travel to places like the Arctic and volcanic landscapes to study organisms that survive under extreme conditions because understanding how life adapts on Earth may help us understand life beyond it.
I also study how soil health connects to human neurological health, including Alzheimer’s disease. Hoping for an opportunity to perform a certain aspect of my research in space.
I teach. I go into high schools and work with educators to help students design their own research experiments. It is deeply important to me that young people, especially those who feel different or underestimated, see themselves as scientists before someone tells them they are not.
People sometimes think scientists are isolated or boring, that we just sit in labs all day.
My lab is also in the Arctic. My lab is on the edge of a volcano. My lab is planet Earth.
I’m also a magician, because science is magic. It’s just magic we understand.
One skill I’m oddly proud of is lockpicking. I learned it as a little girl, and now I use it in the lab when someone forgets their keys.
My Advice to Latinas Pursuing STEM
If you can see yourself doing it, even if you’ve never met someone who looks like you doing it, persist.
Find your tribe. Surround yourself with people who lift you up, who find joy in your presence, and whom you lift in return. Community matters.
You do not need to shrink your background to enter STEM. You do not need to erase your accent. You do not need to wait until you feel “ready.” Start where you are.
The path may not look traditional. You may fail. You may need accommodations. You may have to advocate for yourself. You may need mentors who see what others miss.
If you love it, you belong in it.
The women in my family were right. Hecha para las estrellas.
And so are you.
Website: https://draidylgonzalez.com
Instagram: @real_dr.g
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidyl-gonzalez-serricchio/
Internships/fellowships
The GEM Fellowship Program (https://www.gemfellowship.org) was transformative for me. Through GEM, I completed an industry internship where I worked on developing polio vaccines. GEM supports underrepresented students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM and provides funding, mentorship, and industry connections. I remain connected to the organization and highly recommend it to students seeking both financial support and real-world research experience.
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