Last updated on March 22, 2025
Let’s start at the beginning—can you share where you started and where you are now?
I grew up in a very underprivileged and violent area near Mexico City called Ecatepec. Many of my childhood classmates ended up in unfortunate situations, yet I was lucky to have a strong support system. My parents worked tirelessly, commuting an hour each way to Mexico City for work. While they were gone, my grandparents, aunts, and uncles helped raise me.
When I decided to move to the United States, I worked in Cancun for a year to save enough money to pay for a cultural exchange program. I lived in a tiny, dingy apartment and barely spent any money outside of food and transportation. Then, when I arrived in the U.S. as an au pair, I saved nearly everything I earned because I needed thousands of dollars to transition to a student visa.
Once I reached that goal, I transferred to Dallas College to pursue an associate’s degree in computer science. I’m currently the president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos, Hispanics, and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).
Last semester, I joined the STEM League, and I’m also a member of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). I’m really proud of maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Throughout my journey, the women around me have given me strength and encouragement. They’ve pushed me to believe in myself, even when I doubted my abilities.
Why did you choose to study science?
My elementary school didn’t have a formal library, but we had books donated by parents and others. I remember reading entire science books for kids in one sitting and then excitedly telling my parents everything I had learned.
Later, I was accepted into a UNAM high school, which was a huge deal because admission is highly competitive. That school changed my life. It introduced me to subjects I had never had access to before, like logic, anatomy, and Greco-Latin etymologies. I even learned to speak Italian there. That experience opened my world and showed me how much there is to explore.
Every career assessment I took in school pointed me toward science, but I kept telling myself I wasn’t smart enough. It took me a long time to accept that I was capable of succeeding in this field. Now, I fully embrace it. Science challenges me and constantly pushes me to learn and grow. Today, I’m thriving in it—excelling academically and taking on leadership roles that once felt out of reach.
Can you tell us more about your Native American heritage and how it has influenced your journey?
Yes, I am Otomí. I didn’t fully understand my racial identity until I moved to the United States. In Mexico, everyone is just “Mexican,” regardless of skin color or heritage. It wasn’t until I had to fill out race information for my Social Security number that I started asking more questions about my ancestry. My grandparents and uncles shared stories about our roots in Otomí and Tlaxcalan communities. Learning about my Native identity has been a profound journey.
If you had to define your legacy, what would you want it to be?
I want to succeed not only to give back to my family—who have given me so much—but also to support others. There are so many girls like me—girls who fear science, who doubt their abilities, who feel overwhelmed by the world. I want to show them that if I, a self-proclaimed scaredy-cat, can do it, so can they. I’m already trying to make a difference through my clubs, but in the future, I hope to do something even more meaningful. I want to inspire young girls to believe in themselves and pursue opportunities they never thought were possible.