Where I Hope to Go
I seek a position that will allow me to hone my strengths and serve my community. I was initially drawn to the medical field as a means to achieve this goal, however, through my research in early life adversity, I encountered the need for teachers in STEM. I am a passionate individual that’s excited to share what I’ve learned with anyone that’s willing to listen, and I believe I have the skills to share the knowledge of science with others.
Learn more about the systems and codes I’ve built my portfolio!
Where I've Been:
My Journey to Neuroscience
I was born in Bacolod City, Philippines into a close-knit community and a relaxed way of life. My childhood was filled with simple joys like feeding chickens and stepping on my older relatives’ backs.
As I approached schooling age, my family immigrated to Singapore where we would live for 14 years. While Singapore is well-known for its rigorous and competitive education system, I believe its commitment to holistic learning contributed to my success in later life. Amidst my academic pursuits, I was given room to explore various art forms* which nurtured my innate curiosity and sense of adventure.
In my final two years in Singapore, I became part of Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Biomedical Engineering (BME) program. I ranked third in overall performance in my first year before my family chose to pursue the American Dream, and I embarked on a new chapter in the United States.
* click these links to see/hear some of my performances! dance event in 2014, dance event in 2015, band performance where I played the clarinet
Where I am:
Everywhere All At Once
My journey through the American education system began at Mt San Antonio College (Mt SAC). Unlike my more structured experience at Ngee Ann, Mt SAC offered me the freedom to select my courses–a “luxury” I later found out was typical in the American college system. When faced with a class catalogue and the task of course selection, I found myself overwhelmed. To counter this uncertainty, I decided to embrace it. I decided to enroll in Everything.
Several transformative years at Mt SAC followed, during which I eagerly seized every opportunity that came my way. I was active in clubs, participated in student government and even choreographed for Mt SAC’s annual lip-sync battle fundraiser, Puttin’ On the Hits. Upon transferring to the School of Biology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), I had amassed three Associate’s Degrees and a goal: to delve into the complexities of the human brain and harness this understanding to improve the lives of others.
I studied neurobiology at UCI over the pandemic, unsure of what my future would hold. My passion for the human brain and behavior grew as I learned from leading experts in the field of neuroscience. This prompted me to apply for the Obenaus lab, where I am now responsible for processing MRI data, training researchers to process their data, and optimizing an automated processing pipeline to for the Preclinical and Translational Imaging Center at UCI.