What has been the biggest benefit of being a PACE Researcher?
Getting to gain confidence within the lab and learning how to network within research.
How will this experience help you move forward in your career?
I’m learning how to actually be a scientist; I’m not just reading books and learning the basics, I’m applying my knowledge in the real world.
What would you tell anyone thinking of applying to be a PACE Researcher? Do it! If you’re unsure about graduate school, but you want to stay within the field so as not to lose momentum, this is the best place for you.
What is your current research focused on?
Breast cancer and environmental factors that may contribute to its development.
What’s the most exciting or surprising finding you’ve had so far?
Honestly, what’s been most exciting is planning out what my next steps will be. I can ask all my coworkers about the paths they’ve taken to get where they are, and learn from their experiences.
What have you enjoyed most about working in your lab?
All of the different people I get to interact with! The other members of my lab are all so kind and patient. Working and learning in a positive environment makes it so much easier to bring up issues or mistakes.
Why are you pursuing a career in biomedical research?
I’d watch Cosmos with my dad on the weekends while he did laundry and listened to my questions; he had been a pilot and understood my insatiable need for answers. When I was five, he was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare soft-tissue cancer with a not-so-great outlook. Suddenly, the science-y words that I picked up from Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids had more context. All of the medical jargon and assistive devices that invaded our house simply became my normal; I’d help my dad put on his leg brace before we’d go riding bikes, and it wasn’t out of place to see him tossing around a football while sitting in a lawn chair. He passed away shortly before I started middle school.
Before my dad’s death, he was my biggest cheerleader. He loved my brothers, of course, but I was his little girl. He volunteered at as many classroom events as he could, especially when my fourth-grade class went to the science museum. He followed me around as I fell more in love with science. There’s a picture of us in a scrapbook somewhere from the interactive young science exhibit; I’m in a lab coat and have the biggest grin on my face. He was beaming with pride.
I spent the next few years being a teenager and figuring out who I was, all under the lens of grief. I was incredibly lucky to have such a great support system; my mom and brothers, family, friends, and my classmates all stood by me while I worked myself out. When I got to high school, I threw myself into academics. I was finally making sense of a world that, to me, seemed senseless.
When the pandemic made its way to Minnesota, I remember my U.S. History teacher telling us on a Friday, “There’s no way they’re sending you all home, spring break is in two weeks.” The following Monday, we weren’t back in the classroom, but instead on an “extended spring break” that lasted until the end of the school year. The first few months were rocky, but I managed to do very well during distance learning the following academic year. My Pre-Calc teacher, Ms. Gipp, began offering extra Zoom lessons after the required meetings, and quite often it would only be my teacher, my cat, and me. The kindness and patience she showed me while essentially tutoring me for an entire semester are part of the reason I want to teach one day.
Near the end of my junior year, my mom saw a Facebook ad for the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR). More specifically, it was for a summer experience they were offering that would allow rising high school seniors to practice being a UMR student for a week. After touring the campus, I had a good feeling about the place and applied for the summer program, NXT GEN MED Summer Quest. Thankfully, I got in. For a week in August 2021, I learned about antibiotic resistance, soil science, and what it meant to be a college student. At the end of this experience, all of the participants were given a stipend and a spot at UMR, assuming we didn’t flunk our senior year. I didn’t bother applying anywhere else; I had found my place.
A little over a year after attending UMR’s Summer Quest, I was moving into the residence hall to actually be a student. One of the biggest factors that drew me to UMR, despite having toured other schools, was the social dynamic between faculty and students. While there was professionalism, there was a lack of hierarchy. All of the professors’ offices were in the same building, on the same floor, in the same study space. For me, this took away the fear of approaching someone for help; I never had to knock on a door to ask a question. Because of the office setup, I was also able to easily interact with professors I hadn’t taken classes with. One of these professors, Dr. Ratliff-Crain, often stopped by our study table to say hello or drop off some candy; he is also the reason I’m sitting in this lab today.
One day, he told our table about a tour group he was going to be taking down to The Hormel Institute. I was instantly intrigued as my maternal grandfather had worked for Hormel Foods back in the day, and at the time, my grandpa’s health was rapidly declining. It felt like I was connecting to a piece of him by visiting something vaguely related to his old job. On this tour, I felt the same thing I did while at Summer Quest: I had found my place. They told us about a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program, and I knew instantly I had to apply. One of my last phone conversations with my grandpa was about this program and how excited he was for me to apply.
By some miracle, I was accepted into the SURE program and happily finished out my semester before moving to Austin. Despite having two other first-year students in my lab, I felt so out of place. The senior researcher in our lab, Dr. Fabia de Oliveira Andrade, spent so much time trying to explain what exactly we were studying and helping with, and she met us with so much patience. Once again, I was shown immense kindness by someone trying to teach me something, and that makes all the difference.
When I returned to UMR, there was something different. I had gone out and experienced the “real world” that I’d been hearing about all my life. I could picture my future in a way that I hadn’t been able to before. I spent the next two years studying, finding my niches, and figuring out what to do after graduation. Last October, I received an email from The Hormel Institute, and initially, I ignored it; I was still left on their email list from when I was a SURE intern, but something prompted me to check it again. There was an announcement for PACE (Post-Baccalaureate Accelerated Career Experience) at the bottom of the email. Once again, that instantaneous feeling hit, and I now had my post-graduation plans. I applied to the program and got in, a month after I thought I had been rejected. I was ecstatic.
Now that I’ve been in the PACE program for almost five months, I can happily say that applying was the best choice I’ve ever made. I’m in Dr. Hilakivi-Clarke’s lab again, and I’m so happy to be back. I’m doing similar work to when I was a SURE intern, but I understand what I’m doing now! Words cannot describe how great it feels to be doing science and understanding the how and the why. Whenever I put on my lab coat, I think of that picture of me and my dad, and I can feel he’s still beaming with pride.