Carmen-Jeanette

Major: Applied Physics and Mathematics

I am a Bay Area, California native from a large, multiethnic family. My immigrant father and my hard-working mother have always put education first. Thanks to their influence, and the encouragement from the rest of my family and friends, I am in the last year of my undergraduate studies in applied physics and mathematics. I plan to attend a Ph.D. program in neuroscience after graduating from California State University Channel Islands.

Before taking an astronomy class during my freshman year in college, I did not have any plans for a career in science. In fact, I thought I would study marketing and become a businesswoman. I developed a passion for learning, especially science and mathematics, by taking classes like cellular biology, calculus, and several foreign languages. Out of each field I studied, physics was the most interesting science to me because it aims to explain the properties of the observable world, and even invisible mechanisms of the universe.

Today, I am happy as a double major in physics and mathematics, despite spending most of my nights studying and writing lab reports. Due to a transfer out of the Minnesota, financial struggles, and taking additional classes outside of my degree, I have not had the smoothest ride throughout my academic career. However, I do not regret studying physics and mathematics because my experience has opened many doors and showed me the range of options I have in STEM.

After completing a Ph.D. several years from now, I will conduct research on neurological disorders as a medical scientist. I look forward to studying neurology, physiology, and biophysics while conducting experimental and computational clinical science. Through multidisciplinary collaboration with scientists all over the world, I aim to facilitate the discovery and development of therapies for cognitive disorders to better address public health crises in local and global communities.