About Me
A peek at my early journey with science…
Once a month, my mother would take my brothers and me to COSI, a hands-on science museum in downtown Toledo, OH. As a curious eight-year-old, I was enamored by installations like the Rube-Goldbergian machine where a single billiard ball would launch out and scatter an organized assortment of other billiard balls at rest. While this installation taught me that a single force can impact a number of objects downstream, the exhibits that captivated me most and impressed upon me how little things affected bigger wholes were those that showed large-scale processes like physiology and evolution springing to life. I still remember Dinosaur Dynasty, an exhibit where young, future scientists like myself could dig up dinosaur bones and put together skeletal structures of prehistoric creatures. I would trace my fingers along bones like the femur and notice how it fit into other bones like the tibia, similar to a puzzle piece. After an hour of hard work, I would start to see how understanding the structure of smaller components like individual bones can lead to understanding an entire system like the structure of a leg—how massive, awe- inspiring figures result from intricate workings of little pieces. I cherished those moments. For low-income students from the rural town of Whitehouse, OH, opportunities for engagement in STEM were lacking, but it was because of locally accessible resources like COSI—and the people that invested so much time into these resources—that I was able to explore my love for science. Little did I know that these exhibits would shape the trajectory of my future in STEM and help me to define the reasons why I am pursuing a higher degree in science:
Once a month, my mother would take my brothers and me to COSI, a hands-on science museum in downtown Toledo, OH. As a curious eight-year-old, I was enamored by installations like the Rube-Goldbergian machine where a single billiard ball would launch out and scatter an organized assortment of other billiard balls at rest. While this installation taught me that a single force can impact a number of objects downstream, the exhibits that captivated me most and impressed upon me how little things affected bigger wholes were those that showed large-scale processes like physiology and evolution springing to life. I still remember Dinosaur Dynasty, an exhibit where young, future scientists like myself could dig up dinosaur bones and put together skeletal structures of prehistoric creatures. I would trace my fingers along bones like the femur and notice how it fit into other bones like the tibia, similar to a puzzle piece. After an hour of hard work, I would start to see how understanding the structure of smaller components like individual bones can lead to understanding an entire system like the structure of a leg—how massive, awe- inspiring figures result from intricate workings of little pieces. I cherished those moments. For low-income students from the rural town of Whitehouse, OH, opportunities for engagement in STEM were lacking, but it was because of locally accessible resources like COSI—and the people that invested so much time into these resources—that I was able to explore my love for science. Little did I know that these exhibits would shape the trajectory of my future in STEM and help me to define the reasons why I am pursuing a higher degree in science:
- I want to contribute to our understanding of how micro-scale changes in genes can lead to macroevolutionary changes between species over time &
- as I continue my own scientific training, I wish to create easily accessible avenues to share STEM with everyone, regardless of educational or financial barriers.
Education
- B.A. Molecular Genetics, University of California, Berkeley
- (In progress) Ph.D. Biology, Duke University
CV
kania_cv4.26.23.pdf |