1. I had graduated high school in May 2012 with great grades and was
accepted to the university that I chosen with a plan in mind. One day, a letter
from the RISE program of the University of Puerto Rico Cayey Campus arrived. I
had never heard of RISE nor contemplated research as a possibility or option.
Research was something innovative, different, interesting and it sounded as a
challenge. So, I ventured and submitted all the documents, went to the interview,
and got accepted into the program. This was the moment, when my academic
plans and life changed, and feels that it is for the better.
During my senior year I participated in the Great Moonbuggy Raceof NASA
and performed a modest research study called “Pharmacy Consumers’ Knowledge
About Non-Prescription Drugs in Humacao”. This study was my first close
encounter with the research methodologies. In school we are not taught or
informed about current research methodologies, until we get to specific classes
and teachers at high school. The first time that my teacher informed us that we
had to do a research investigation, I didn’t knew what she wanted or what she
even meant. Curiosity attacked, and I started to surf the web and to look for
studies and topics and anything that could give me some light about it. This is
when I first fell in love with research.
After I did my investigation I really never thought about doing something
like it again. To receive the letter from RISE and to be accepted to the program
was a game changer. I always said that I didn’t like biology at all and that’s why I
entered the chemistry department. Taking general biology I in the summer made
me realize how amazing and perfect biology really is. Biology is the study of life.
Now that I am on my first semester taking chemistry I have realized how much I
fell in love with biology. Because of it I am a more aware, instructed and
educated science student.
As part of the biology class we had to take its laboratory. Every day in the
lab I had a new experience and learned something new. We were taught how to
use different instruments including micropipettes, microscopes and PCR
machines. Being able to understand the instruments, their job and different uses
gave me an idea of what I might see in the future. The techniques that we learned
were basic and fundamental for our development. Every day after class I would
see programs like CSI and I studied what they did in the laboratories and saw
that I wasn’t far away from reality because I did similar things. I believed that
one day I could be like them.
All these experiences gave me knowledge and experiences that have
helped me build my confidence. Now, I know that I can go to summer
internships, that I can go to graduate school and that there is something out
there waiting for me. Everyday, I believe even more in my self. New experiences
keep enriching my knowledge and guiding me towards my real future.