Category: North America
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...
Making My Way from Mountains to Mud: Part 2
– Robin McLachlan – <> In Part 1 of this journey, I bumbled down into Crystal Cave, the rocky heart of Sequoia National Park, where my love for geology was ignited. But if this fiery relationship started way up in...
Finding a different way to make an impact
by Sharon Briggs | Senior Scientist at Helix I can remember the day I decided I wanted a career in genetics. I was 17 years old sitting in my human anatomy-physiology class learning about sickle cell anemia. It blew my mind...
I always thought I wanted to be a scientist
– Michelle Dookwah – Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Georgia I always thought I wanted to be a scientist, yet I considered other careers at brief points in my life. When I was really young, I wanted to...
Finding the Strength to Succeed
– Ashley Taylor – 5th Year PhD Candidate | Department of Chemistry | Louisiana State University Science was my first love because my parents also loved science. They made sure my siblings and I were introduced to science fairs, science...
Making My Way from Mountains to Mud: Part 1
– Robin McLachlan – Graduate Student | University of Washington | Oceanography | Sediment Dynamics Group <> How did I make my way from mountains to mud? Well, I had just graduated high school and was celebrating my last summer before starting...
From engrams to psychiatric disorders and back
– Steve Ramirez – – Principal Investigator | Center for Brain Science| Harvard University – I‘m often asked how I got into neuroscience, so here’s the story. In college, I was one of those students who loved every subject, from...
Surviving as an underrepresented minority scientist
by Stories in Science Team <> In case you missed this article, songbird neurobiologist Dr. Erich Jarvis of The Rockefeller University was the recipient of the 2015 Ernest Everett Just Award from the American Society for Cell Biology. He wrote a...
To Be or Not To Be
Fanuel Muindi and Juan Carlos Escobar Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were 12? I sure do! Well, I recently asked my Little what he wanted to be when he grew up. I can’t believe...
My Journey with Science
Anonymous || I have been interested in science from a young age when I liked to build intricate contraptions that I called “inventions”. These gadgets made from rubber bands and other household items helped me explore how moving parts worked...
A non-linear path to the career I never knew I always wanted
By Valerie K. Haftel Ph.D | Associate Professor of Biology, Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA I was always fascinated by animals, and how they work in nature. I had a fondness for playing in streams with friends, catching frogs, collecting buckets of...
Just Don’t Tell Me
Don’t tell me not to ask questions. Because I won’t shut up.
The Inner City Scientist
By Ketema Paul, PhD – Associate Professor at UCLA I have known I wanted to be a scientist since I was a kid. My earliest memory of wanting to be a scientist was 7 years old. Science was my favorite class and...
Love The Path You Travel
Jessica Rauchut – Research Associate at Penn State Hershey Medical School || At 22, many of us are graduating, starting new jobs, becoming doctors, getting married, or having kids, while the rest of us are still trying to figure out how...
A Lab-Coat AND Hiking Shoes
I've spent my professional life juggling two careers. First, as a lab neurobiologist, I study rats and cultured neurons, trying to understand how stress damages the brain. Second, as a field primatologist, I study the effects of social stress and social subordination...
Let us inspire young people with stories in science
by Jessica Tsai and Fanuel Muindi (originally published by The STEM Advocacy Group) Download PDF || What is your scientific origin story? When did science first captivate you? Who were the people who truly engaged you in the scientific process and...