Science. When I thought of the word, the only thing that came to my mind was a White old man with a bright white lab coat and glasses, with a micropipette in one hand and a beaker in the other. But Fred Hutch taught me that those positions can be held by anyone, including people that look like me. That truly inspired and motivated me, since I knew that I had a chance to join the field of science and medicine despite my background, culture, and such.
Minorities in STEM are constantly revolutionizing and pioneering. I met quite a few researchers during my time here at Fred Hutch, including: SHIP Interns, Eric Nealy, Raabya Rossenkhan, Alicia Morales, and Ms. Singhvi. They all have completed something phenomenal, whether that be researching at the age of 17 or being a Principal Investigator amongst many white men.
When speaking about the diversity at the Hutch with an intern, I learned about Percy Julian, who was a Black pioneer in extracting medicine from plants in the 1960s, since he was educated in Europe and came back to the US. Without his knowledge and discoveries, we wouldn’t be as far as we currently are with our cancer research today. Although he was a revolutionary, he hasn’t been given much appreciation and the credit he deserves. So, the scientific field of research has grown since, but needs to continue to grow on its pathway to inclusion and diversity, rather than look back.
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