Growing up, I moved back and forth between Ecuador and the US. I earned a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy at UMass Amherst until graduate studies brought me to College Station, Texas. Having to adapt to different school systems (and languages) made it difficult to navigate higher education, but I was always curious about the world, and the Universe and interested in mathematics and physics. 

In my freshman year of college, my RA suggested I take an astronomy course that I discovered I could pursue a degree in astrophysics. I remember sitting in my first astronomy lecture listening to the Professor speak so passionately about astronomy and I could not contain my excitement afterward. It was the perfect combination of the two subjects I've always enjoyed in one discipline! That first day of class I said to myself: "This is it. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life".