I started loving science when I was nine years old. It started when I was helping my father plant in our garden. I collected leaves from different trees and took them to my room to compare their shapes, colors and textures. In fifth and sixth grade I spent most of my free time in the library reading children's science and adventure books. The most exciting moment in my childhood was when in the ninth grade. I entered the city's science fair contest. I invented a live model elevator with electricity and a small motor. Winning the contest made me feel like a genius. From that day I knew that I wanted to have a career in science.
When I got my High school diploma I applied to many colleges. I was happy that I got into my top choice college. I chose to major in biotechnology and genetics. During my four years at the university I worked in researches, experiments and had a couple of internships. The research that I was very interested in was an HIV research during my senior year. It allowed me to apply most of the advance molecular biology techniques I learned during the first three years of college in this research. I worked with the immunological professors in different researches too.
I wanted to expand my education and advance in my learning and career. I decided to come to the United States since it is known to have so many advance technological and scientific inventions. What I did not know is that foreign degrees are not very welcomed in the science companies and even universities. After trying many different options and applying to different researches, I decided to go to the University of Minnesota to get a another bachelor degree in order to reach my initial goals. Getting a second bachelor degree is not what I planned to do and is not what I really want to do right now, but I guess it is what it is and i have to do it in order to advance later in the science field.
Foremost—-I like your memory. Very sweet. Reminds me of my own childhood. Also, congrats on winning a science fair...pretty much every kid-who-grew-up-watching-Bill-Nye’s dream : )
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting how you labeled the simple childhood act of “[collecting] leaves from different trees...[and comparing] their shapes, colors and textures” as ‘science.’ It makes me wonder whether someone with a similar experience would term it something else...‘observation,’ maybe...’curiosity’? My point is: you have a scientifically geared mind. You interpret through this lens. Somebody else may have seen it differently.
To be frank, it sucks you had to ‘start over’ when you came to the United States, but it also serves to prove a point: as much as Dawkins likes to believe science is as innocent as the memory you shared, it is not a level playing field. “What I did not know is that foreign degrees are not very welcomed in the science companies and even universities.” And how could you have known that when you came to America, science suddenly came to stand on a different (and evidently, higher) plane? Granted, the skill set from your first degree may not have provided you with the all the necessary tools needed to undertake a career in Biotechnology and Genetics in the U.S., but starting all the way back at square one? Really, America? The absence of inequalities and biases is the reason many turn to a career in science-—unfortunately, the contrast this background provides only serves to highlight these deficiencies when they are present.
Keep your chin up, science fair winner.
Nice, Jake. What he said.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Omran is going to find dental PRACTICE engaging enough? Seem like a theory / problem-solving guy.