Who am I if I’m not a #DevelopmentalBiologist? A (long) thread. Today for #BlackInDevelopmental, I would like to tell you how I got here. I am a #FirstGen college attendee and graduate. I was raised in a single-parent household. We struggled financially when I was growing up. 1/

I know what hunger feels like and have had the lights turned off. I know what it’s like to have holes in the bottom of my shoes from wear. I know what it is to love science. I have been a scientist since childhood. Collecting snails, thinking about how the world works. 2/

In spite of my parents’ inability to help me with schoolwork, I always did really well in school. I actually liked going. Partially for the normalcy it provided, partially for socializing, but mostly because I was curious and I was good at it. 3/

Growing up, my dream job oscillated between becoming a physician or veterinarian because I had no idea that there were other options in science. I didn’t know what a PhD was, and I had no idea that there was a thing called graduate school. I got into UCLA (dream school). 4/

I went there with so much hope and excitement for the future. At UCLA, I struggled to elevate my learning style to college level. I started skipping hard classes, I had to re-take 3 classes including, ironically, #MolecularBiology. 5/

I went from having a 4.25 high school GPA to a cumulative 3.0 undergraduate GPA. I felt like a failure. After graduation I worked for year to regroup, save money, and think about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted more, but I didn’t know how to get it. 6/

I was sick of being poor. I was sick of feeling like nobody. I applied to 3 grad schools (UCLA, UCSD, and Georgetown) without 1) knowing the difference between an MS and a PhD, or 2) knowing what was required of me to actually finish either degree. UCLA and UCSD denied me. 7/

I had a 3.0 and zero undergraduate research experience. Georgetown gave me a chance. They interviewed me and someone (likely @elenalab100) fought for me to be accepted. I struggled so hard in my first year and a half. 8/

I had #ImposterSyndrome, I was homesick, isolated, I couldn’t pay my bills, and I couldn’t ask my mom for more financial help. I had only read one primary literature paper before I got into grad school, and I was in way over my head. 9/

But I had grit, I was stubborn, and I wasn’t inherently stupid, I just didn’t understand HOW to learn to be a scientist. I rotated in an animal behavior lab, an immunology lab, and a #DevBio lab last. I started looking at Xenopus embryos under the microscope. 10/

I realized that I was watching life happen in real time, and I was hooked. It was #DevBio for me forever #DevBio4Life . At this time, I worked with my cohort to learn how to critically read papers and tried to learn the basic things I missed in undergrad. 11/

I started doing bench work (my real passion at the time). I attended my first @___SDB___ meeting early in my graduate career with a slightly embarrassing poster and crappy presentation style. Everyone was AMAZINGLY supportive. That society is a ride or die for me. 12/

I have never felt so accepted in the scientific community as I do at SDB. That meeting is where I made the connections that helped me to contact @BronnerMarianne and get a postdoc in the @BronnerLab to begin studying #NeuralCrest cells in chick embryos. 13/

That postdoc opportunity gave me the experience, skills, and connections necessary to move forward in academia. I got my first faculty position @CSUNBIO in 2016 where I learned how to teach, how to be a good mentor, and how to be a good colleague and team member. 14/

I brought undergrads to the annual SDB meeting every year so they would be able to develop their own community. I moved to @ucdavis in 2019 because I wanted the opportunity to expand my scientific trajectory, potential, and to be able to mentor PhD students and postdocs. 15/

I am #DevBio and the #AmericanDream personified. I am #BlackInDevelopment. @BlackinCMDBio @___SDB___ 16/