Thinking back I can’t remember a time where I wasn’t fascinated by science. From a very young age my parents instilled in me a passion for learning and understanding the world around me. If I had to think of a catalyst, the spark that made the world of science real to me, it would be when I was in 5 th grade doing a current event report on the CDC and its director of the time Julie Gurberding. I don’t recall what the article was about but reading it established in me a resolve to learn as much as I could. Every discipline has its Mekah within the United States, some more evident than others. For performing arts its New York, for technology there’s Silicon Valley and for Public Health the CDC is the epicenter of all information and research. Reading that article nearly 15 years ago not only helped me to understand that science was a world unto itself but also as a black adolescent, there was a place for me within that world. And thus began my journey into the world of science and research.

Even before reading that article so many years ago I was reading books by Michael Crichton and Robin Cook, hard science fiction books. My mom was a librarian at the time so she made it her goal to expose my brother and I to as much as possible; and though I didn’t understand the processes being explained in the books I understood key words which pushed me to ask more questions and search for more answers. My ideas on what I wanted to do when I grew up were greatly informed by the books I read. When I was 12 I wanted to become a forensic pathologist after reading Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell, then an epidemiologist after reading Andromeda Strain by Crichton at age 14, later I had dreams of working for the FBI after reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeffery Lindsay. All of these books brought out of me a passion to learn and helped me to understand the dynamic nature of the human psyche. We are forever growing and changing your mind is a part of being human. Choosing a career path taught me how dynamic I was but also helped to hone in on what I wanted to do through self analysis.

I ended up at GSU majoring in Nursing with the hopes of becoming a forensic nurse or nurse practitioner. I took a variety of courses that broadened my knowledge of the human body and how it worked. After taking a Microbiology class and working at the CDC I began to miss the science I loved as a child. I decided I wanted go to graduate school after I completed nursing to get my Master’s in toxicology. It was then that I hit my first road block— the Test of Essential Academic Skills, the entrance exam into nursing school. I had taken it two times and couldn’t get an acceptable score. I took the third rejection as a sign. I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. My heart wasn’t in nursing and I had known it. I took a year off to work and collect myself and after talking to a professor I looked into Public Health. Public Health encompassed everything I wanted to do. I had a passion for learning about pathogens and toxins and their effects on the human body as well as a desire to make a lasting change.

I found that UGA was the only school that offered an undergrad degree in Public Health and decided to make the switch. I chose Environmental Health Science over Promotions because I felt it encapsulated so many of the ideas and concepts I wanted to delve into as a student and young professional. Environmental preservation had been an interest of mine especially in reference to marine life and the oceanic ecosystems. Last semester I took an interesting course called Oceans in Peril that outlined the issues facing the ocean from sea level rise and ocean acidification to loss of coral reefs and overfishing. Along with that course I enrolled in an internship focused on water quality within the Oconee watershed. Through this internship I gained a lot of practical knowledge like filtration

techniques, colony counting and statistical analysis using R and Prism. I also learned some career building skills as well as how to organize public outreach programs, scientific posters and proposals. I’m working on another internship now with the same instructor performing PCR and DNA extractions with vibrio isolates. While I’ve gained a lot of practical skills from these experiences I have gotten to know myself as well. I’ve realized that I enjoy learning mechanisms and processes for how phenomena like climate change and ocean acidification work; I also feel most at home doing lab work and research so it’s only fitting that I pursue a career doing just that.