From Grandma’s Backyard to the Bench 

Rodolfo Jimenez 

My parents were so young when they had me. They both had to put school on hold in order to provide for their new family. Because of my parents’ varying work schedules, my grandmother had a big role in raising me. Because she lived outside of town, my forms of entertainment were either playing outside or watching PBS. This lack of television was instrumental in helping me develop my curiosity for how things worked. This curiosity led me to intensely explore the surroundings of my grandparents’ house. I was constantly digging up the dirt and wondering about its composition. I even found myself mixing certain liquids together to see what the mixture would make. It didn’t stop there. I also tried to see what I could create from loose materials around my grandfather’s garage.

Rodolfo Jimenez

That curiosity continued when I started school. My first real exposure to a scientific laboratory was the summer after 5th grade. There was a summer science camp held by our school district that exposed students to STEM. This camp truly amazed me at what could be done with science. My experience at this camp was transformational as it made me decide that I wanted to pursue a career involving science. The camp showed me the various fields of STEM and just how many day to day actions were able to take place because of science.

After realizing all of this, I knew that if I was to make an impact on the world it would need to be through science. At that time, because of the unawareness of a career as a scientist, it meant that my goal to impact the world through science meant I would pursue a career in the health field. So, I ended up attending Texas State University for college because of the opportunity to play collegiate sports as well as try to earn a spot in their physical therapy school after completing my bachelors. When I first got to the university I was ecstatic that I got to be away from home and on my own.

But, for someone who came from a part of the state that was predominantly Hispanic, it was easy for me to notice that I was one of the few people of color in the class. Initially I didn’t have much of a problem adjusting to my new settings. But as I conversed more with some of my classmates, I started to feel uncomfortable. I believe that once I spoke and they heard my South Texas accent, I was seen as someone who may not be at the same academic level as them.  On top of this newly added pressure to act a certain way, I found my undergraduate courses more challenging than any of my high school or dual enrollment courses.

I didn’t really know what getting a PhD required or what I could do with a PhD.

Struggling in a class was something I had never really had to deal with before. I really didn’t know who to reach out to for help. Of course, I remember there were office hours offered by the professors. However, I felt I would be seen as a failure if I went and asked for help. Furthermore, it would have been a confirmation that I didn’t belong in the class. It is important to note that in the Latino culture, it is looked down upon to ask for help. So I believe this mindset prevented me, as well as others, from asking for help. Because of this unwillingness to ask for help my grades in my STEM classes were not very impressive. By the end of the first semester I had finished with Cs in my STEM lecture courses but had managed to achieve an A and B in my chemistry and biology labs, respectively. Even though I was disappointed with my overall performance, I was glad my grades in the lab courses were much better. It was also around this time that I went to talk to my chemistry professor about how I would be able to explore diseases on a more physiological level. After asking that question, she steered me towards changing my major from biology to biochemistry. She told me this major would give me more hands on experience and preparation for a PhD. It was something that had never really crossed my mind, and to be honest, I didn’t really know what getting a PhD required or what I could do with a PhD. She was great at breaking it down for me.  The main thing I took from my conversations with her was that if I wanted to dive deep into my cardiovascular condition, I needed to get a PhD. So, from there on out, I made it a goal of mine to get a PhD.

Once I finally started my PhD program, I realized I was going to have to work even harder than I did as an undergraduate. And as one of the few people of color in the department, I felt as though I was a freshman again and was unsure I could actually get through this challenge. Even though I still had some struggles early on, I was able to find mentors that believed in me and pushed to help me become a PhD candidate. After that point, I knew it was on me to finish what I had started and get my PhD. So, with a few more years of blood, tears, and sweat, I was able to successfully defend my dissertation and obtain my doctorate.

Even at this point – where I felt like I was on top of the world –  life came at me at a thousand miles an hour. It was during this time that the federal government shutdown was taking place.  This shutdown eventually led to the elimination of my scientist position at the University of Texas at Austin. But I knew I didn’t have much to time to feel sorry for myself. Thankfully, I was able to find another position that would allow me to work with students who would more than likely need a little guidance when they got to the University of Texas (just like I did when I first started my undergraduate career). It was at this point that I decided to leave research and concentrate on working with students to ensure they are successful when they start their undergraduate careers.

Even though I am no longer a practicing scientist, I am still using all of the critical thinking skills that I obtained while getting a PhD. And because I followed my passion for science, I have been able to live a life that I could’ve never have imagined as a little kid in my grandmother’s backyard.

Featured Image titled “Back Yard” is by Eddie Welker on Flickr | Some rights reserved