Education
From childhood, I have had a deep passion for learning. Alongside the Saturday morning cartoons, I loved tuning in to science documentaries like NOVA on PBS. As I collected facts and knowledge, I couldn’t wait to share them with my friends and family. School became my favorite place to be, full of new information and enthusiastic teachers fostering my natural curiosities and excitement.
Through the influence and inspiration from my teachers at Willow, Cedargrove, Royal Oak, and Charter Oak, I continued to pursue higher education. I earned my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biotechnology with concentrations in Microbiology and Pathology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. I found opportunities to engage in undergraduate research as a McNair Scholar, studying the immune system response to herbal extracts. I was also a member of the founding cohort of the Amgen Scholars Program, through which I studied cancer biology at UC Berkeley. I progressed to earn my Doctorate degree in Developmental and Cell Biology from UC Irvine. My dissertation and ongoing research program focus on studying the regenerative abilities of the axolotl salamander and gaining insights into the behavior of stem cells used in regenerative medicine.
Experience
My interest in education did not stop with my own studies but extended to utilizing every opportunity to assist others in achieving their educational goals as well. After graduating from Charter Oak High School, I immediately returned to serve as the visual caption head for the Charter Oak Marching Regiment so that I could pass along the lessons I had learned as a member to the next generations of students. At Cal Poly, my participation in the Science Educational Enhancement Services (SEES) provided me many opportunities, and allowed me to serve as a mentor to freshman for three years, and conduct Academic Excellence Workshops for my peers to supplement traditional lectures in the areas of mathematics and chemistry.
In graduate school, I partnered with the Minority Sciences Program (MSP) to lead scientific writing workshops and journal clubs. Though I was preparing for a career in research, I realized that in order to be most fulfilled, I must combine my interests in the sciences with my true passion for education.
I enrolled in advanced teaching methods and became a pedagogical fellow. Equipped with forward-thinking instructional techniques, I received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation to partner with a local middle school and introduce university-level laboratory activities to the seventh-grade life sciences curriculum, spending 2 days per week on-site teaching students. I also worked through a grant from the United States Department of Education to evaluate the UC Irvine biology curriculum, providing alignment with recommendations from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
With the completion of my degrees, I entered the professoriate at Azusa Pacific University where I could best blend my research interests with significant time in the classroom. My proximity to Charter Oak also allowed me to reconnect with the marching regiment where I currently serve as Assistant Band Director.