Dr. Helen Urpi Wagner Coello is a first-generation Latina postdoc in STEM education, dedicated to sharing and uplifting the stories of undocumented and DACA students. With a background in biology, she now focuses on how schools can better support students from diverse backgrounds. Helen is passionate about creating spaces where everyone feels they belong and can succeed. Through her work and social media, she hopes to inspire others like her to keep moving forward and reaching for their g ..read more

Monserrat Orozco is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience at the University of New Mexico. Her research focuses on investigating the effects of repeated binge drinking on circadian rhythms and brain gene transcription. Her favorite neurotransmitter is dopamine because it is not only associated with happiness, but also serves as our ‘greatest motivator’.Reflecting on my scientific journey, I am reminded of my childhood days spe ..read more

Tatiana Castro is a Colombian-American naturalist and bilingual environmental educator to learners of all ages.​A piece of advice, or consejo, that I would like to give to Latinas who are looking to get into the STEM field is to pick the brains of people who are in a program of study or maybe a job that you are really interested in. Usually, people are willing and able to have a quick conversation, maybe over coffee or on zoom and share a little bit of their own story. So I hope thi ..read more

Tatiana Castro is a Colombian-American naturalist and bilingual environmental educator to learners of all ages. She loves to share her enthusiasm about how plants and people live on Earth together. Her favorite plants are from the tropics, especially the iconic Monstera deliciosa with its gorgeous big leaves. One of my earliest memories with plants and the environment is rooted in my elementary school’s science club. In fifth grade, I had the opportunity to work on our school’s first garden. Growing up in suburban Miami, I had never gotten my hands in the soil so intensely, and that feeling ..read more

Abigail Rivera Seda, Second year Ph.D. graduate student at Tufts University School of Medicine I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was fortunate that my family did everything they could to allow me to be in a bilingual private school. Since I can remember, I have always been an advocate and wanted my career to impact others positively. Although I didn’t know what that looked like for me, I performed very well in my STEM courses and enjoyed science fairs, science communication, and science clubs. Surprisingly, when I saw the movie “Contagion” – a thriller about a viral pandemic ..read more

Dr. Nandadevi Cortes-Rodriguez is an Assistant professor and a biologist. [My first] consejo is sometimes, we will have to work twice as hard as some other ethnicities and break many stereotypes, but in the end, working [at] what we love is extremely rewarding.  Being a Latina in STEM is very rewarding, and I remember something a high school Latina student from California told me while I was at the Smithsonian: “I am very happy to see that someone from Mexico is working in this prestigious institution, it gives me hope that one day I could work in a prestigious place like you.” [My secon ..read more

Dr. Daisy Rosas vargas is a chemist, by training, and science communicator  My consejo is that career paths are not one singular road. Throughout our career journey, we should be open to take new roads and even create our own roads to get to where we want to be. I always thought that I would get my academic dream job and stay there for the long run. But I learned that is not always the case and it’s OK. I wish someone had told me that it is okay to take a break or leave academia. My work is not my life. It is OK to do a non-traditional job that impacts a wider audience. ​Your lived ex ..read more

​Sometimes I wish I could say that I’ve always wanted to be an engineer. That would’ve saved me from endless hours (or days or weeks) of second-guessing my abilities. But it wouldn’t have helped me become the curious, self-determined, Latina in STEM that I am today.    I have always loved being a student. And as a kid I didn’t really think about my future. When I would be asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my go-to answer was a lawyer. As a child of immigrants, I was familiar with the profession by name only but that was about it. As I graduated from elementary, to middle sch ..read more

Title  Project Manager at Jacobson & Company  Your current position Project Manager at Jacobson & Company  Your cultural background  1st Generation Dominican American  What inspired you to pursue this career?  What inspired me to pursue a career in construction was funny enough not really knowing what career to pursue. When I graduated high school, I took a semester off to figure out what career path to take and came across a technical course in mechanical drafting. That sparked my interest in buildings and construction overall. I then decided to ..read more

I’ve always been fascinated with puzzles.  Crossword puzzles, logic puzzles, Rubik’s Cubes…as a child I could lose myself in these for hours at a time.  Even now, I maintain a subscription to The NY Times crossword app which I use daily.  For me, there’s a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes with the process of solving these puzzles. This obsession of mine turned into a passion for technology when I took my first high school Computer Programming class.  Coding programs to solve for problems was just another puzzle to me!  And, when I realized that t ..read more