Science and Hope

Luisa Estefania Garcia-Rojas Vazquez

[su_box title=”About Luisa” box_color=”#262733″]About Luisa Luisa is Mexican and has a Master of Health Sciences. She is passionate about research and inspiring new generations. She is a faithful believer that science is more than a miracle. You can view her profile on LinkedIn. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1183425 [/su_box] 

Key Story Points

• Use your passion and inner strength to help you navigate the challenges you will encounter.
• Don’t give up so easily. Cultivate perseverance.

My love for science emerged from observing and interacting with my immediate environment as a child. From an early age, I liked to discover and learn about the origin of things. What fascinated me most as a child was the process by which people became sick and recovered from their illness over time. I wanted to know the mechanisms involved. However, a phenomenon persisted in my community where people trusted blindly in miracles. Going to the doctor was considered as the second best option. This practice began to create a lot of skepticism in me and so I continually asked my teachers at school how the “miracle” worked. Although full of hope, I found their answers ambiguous, unsatisfying, and unrealistic. 

When I finally reached the University of Morelia city in Michoacán (UDEM), Mexico, I would love to say that I had teachers who inspired me. However, this was not the case. The research classes were boring, square, and not question-based. Everyone was taught to memorize long lessons from classic books that surely came from the library of Babylon. There were very few readings on current advancements in science and because of this, the structure of this program made for classes full of complex words and processes that caused feelings of hate and distaste for the program. It was a difficult period. However, it was my motivation to enter a world that seemed unattainable up until now. So I chose to do a thesis for my Bachelor’s degree. 

[su_pullquote]Far from finding understanding for my passion for science, I found scientists who tried to discourage me. Each “no” was another incentive to work harder and show them that my passion was greater than their negative comments.[/su_pullquote]

For the first time, I was discovering the threads that drive such complex health-disease processes. Discovering these threads was definitely more enlightening than believing blindly in miracles. Concurrently, I was also hearing constant comments along the lines of “you can’t,” “you should be doing something else,” and “research is not for anyone.” I used these comments as my fuel to keep going. After many emotional breakdowns and being rejected for being a young female scientist, I hunkered down to review hundreds of articles and put in my hard work. I was able to finish my thesis and graduate as a Nutritionist. It was a cathartic and liberating moment. I found an exciting part of research that no one had shown me and I wanted more!

A new adventure was about to begin. I chose to do a Master’s degree in Health Sciences. Again, far from finding understanding for my passion for science, I found scientists who tried to discourage me. They were some of the harshest critics of my work. However, each “no” was another incentive to work harder and show them that my passion was greater than their negative comments.

At the same time, I decided to publish my thesis (Download). No one had told me that the publication process was so complicated. But fortunately, my article was accepted without corrections, which made me feel an unprecedented emotion. When I finally achieved my Master’s degree, I had a very clear goal: to improve the current view of science.

I started working at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo as a research professor. Without a doubt, it is one of the most rewarding experiences in my professional career. I love encouraging my students to go beyond the frontiers of knowledge, to be skeptical, to teach them an accessible methodology that makes them understand that science is available to everyone and is not exclusive to just a few. I want to show them that research is their passport to knowledge and world. I shared my “research adventures” around Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and I became very excited to see smiling faces from my students as they listened to my stories. I made sure to convey to them that the most important thing is to come back and help people in their own communities. I urge my students to teach and promote a better lifestyle by making little changes based on evidence.

Creating a better lifestyle for future generations is precisely what motivates me to engage in this wonderful world of science. By teaching our local communities that there is nothing wrong with treating people’s illnesses based on science, we can show them the hope and potential  that exists in science.

Video (in spanish): Rompiendo muros | Luisa Estefanía García-Rojas Vazquez | TEDxUniversidadMichoacana