I grew up on the Texas-Mexico border in a "colonia" called Cameron Park, a place in the Rio Grande Valley that hosts a vibrant blend of Mexican and Texan cultures. Colonia is a Spanish term that translates to colony, settlement, or development. Historically, these were bare pieces of land with little to no infrastructure sold to Mexican immigrants at a low cost. My grandfather and a few of his siblings were some of those immigrants who moved into Cameron Park where they would build not only homes but lives for themselves and their families. My father can tell me about the dirt roads, now paved, that lined homes that connect Cameron Park to the rest of the larger city, Brownsville, as if they were always that way. Despite these types of improvements and continued efforts to the infrastructure, the lasting impact of being underserved by the local governments have resulted in Cameron Park being one of the poorest places in Texas. With a poverty rate of around 46.7%, according to the United States Census Bureau, my neighborhood remains a place where poverty and income inequality can define lives. 

Growing up in poverty, most of the people I knew did not have college degrees nor did they work in scientific or academic settings; I did not know of any career options available in the Natural Sciences. Nevertheless, I was an outdoorsy kid with a vibrant sense of curiosity that left me longing to explore the natural world. I liked dinosaur shows and loved to watch documentaries. But without a research-oriented or academic influence, I did not view pursuing a career in the natural sciences as possible or practical. I did not think that college was affordable or that higher education was something people like me achieved. For most of middle and high school, I considered becoming a teacher or entering the medical profession. Although I was excited about the prospect of these two fields, neither genuinely brought me joy. What they did offer, however, was a feeling of security; I knew other low-income Hispanic people like me who became teachers, like my mother, or worked in the medical field, like my aunt. 

Although I had an idea of what my life would look like, I was forced to reevaluate my future when suddenly confronted by a new challenge. I became disabled. I had an undiagnosed condition, but it was in my sophomore year of high school that the tremors and convulsions began. My symptoms led to multiple spinal injuries that left me unable to walk for months. After about a year of physical therapy, I regained my ability to walk again, though things would never be as before. Through it all, I still managed to excel in my courses, which gave me confidence and inspired me to dream bigger than I had before. I thought back to what made learning exciting, and it was exploring my curiosities; I was most curious about the natural world.

My newfound confidence encouraged me to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for my final two years of high school. There, I met professors who guided and pointed me further towards pursuing my goals. They encouraged me to take biology and geology courses that nourished my passion for paleontology. With this new interest and curiosity towards research, I decided to attend The University of Texas at Austin (UT), a school brimming with opportunities in paleontology. At UT I could gain the education and skills required to have a career in paleobiology. 

I am now at UT, majoring in general geology and biology, with an emphasis on evolution, ecology, and behavior. Since arriving, I have taken classes that reinforced my passion for paleontology. One such class was "Life Through Time", a class similar to Historical Geology. It was in this class that I met my mentor, Dr. Julia Clarke. I was fascinated with how life changed, developed, and shifted in characteristics through time. I enjoyed this class so much, I looked into Dr. Clarke's lab group. The Clarke Lab is focused on seeking new data to understand avian diversity and distribution through deep time. This mission interested me greatly and so I met with lab members to talk about projects in the lab. One such project had to do with New World Vulture vocalizations and how they might inform us about losing the ability to vocalize. This project instantly called to me because it seemed like one big mystery that I could have a hand in solving. The intrigue of this project led me to join the Clarke lab and pick up the New World Vulture project. The project is focused on uncovering the morphology behind New World Vulture vocalizations using a variety of methods from diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) and CT segmentation to cryostat histology. One of my favorite parts about this research is just how often things change and evolve when we learn new things. I am inspired every day by my work and that of others in my lab group to continue to pursue a career in this field. After my undergraduate degree, I plan to attend graduate school and continue paleobiology research.

A tissue sample from a New World Vulture.