Growing up, I was always fascinated by the biological world and all of the living things that encompassed this world. As a kid, I would spend hours collecting snails and caterpillars. I would try to observe what they eat and provide their needed food in their enclosures. For one of my birthdays, I begged for an ant farm. I could spend hours watching the ants create their tiny complicated labyrinths.
My grandfather noticed my passion for science and he began to sit with me every day after school to discuss my homework. He would explain in simple terms how to do algebra in ways that my teachers would not. He made it easy for me to understand geometry as it was first introduced to me. With this, he would often supplement what I was working on with books filled with mathematics.
My grandfather came from a family of Italian immigrants that did not necessarily have money. At eighteen, he began school for aeronautical engineering. There his classes were filled with math and physics. He started to struggle with his classes since he did not have the opportunity to just be a student. He had to help support his parents so as he stocked shelves his grades slumped. In order to make more money, he had to join the military.
After the military, he began working for Verizon as a technician. He enjoyed his time there. He was able to watch technology transform linearly. He continued working there while helping raise me since my mom was a single mother. Every day, after his long shifts working in the field of technology he would come home and assist me with my homework.
Throughout high school, I often felt insecure about my scientific abilities. My grandpa would always try to push me toward my goal of becoming a scientist. He said that since I was young he could see the light in my eyes appear whenever I was trying to learn something new. Since my mom did not have a lot of money, he would even pay for supplemental summer programs where I could learn more about science. Without all of his support, I genuinely do not believe that I would be able to pursue my Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. He truly is my STEM hero.
