U.C.L.A Bruin Talks STEM with City Girls

Today, the U.S. Embassy in Belize organized two informative and motivational talks with students in Belize City. In the first session, Rhea Rogers of the Ministry of National Security spoke with one hundred and eighty Saint Catherine Academy students about women, peace and security. The second talk saw Belizean biochemistry researcher and PhD student Aimee Flores talk to Anglican Cathedral College students about STEM fields. The media spoke with Flores after the session.

Aimee Flores

Aimee Flores, PhD Candidate & Biochemistry Researcher, UCLA

“I think it is really important for the students to meet people, you know, Belizeans who are out there doing different things; whether it is the Sciences or anything else, just to kind of encourage them to follow up on what they might be interested in doing. Seeing that Belizeans can do that and just really encouraging them to work hard and pursue whatever dreams they might have. I really enjoyed talking with the students and asking them what challenges they see, what they think is holding them back, who are interested in the Sciences.  There are students here that are really interested in the Sciences, really interested in STEM fields. But I feel like some of them just don’t know what they can do in the Sciences. Everybody feels like, if I am interested in the Sciences I can only be a medical doctor and if they don’t want to be a medical doctor, then they say well I can’t be interested in the Sciences anymore. So, I am here to encourage them to think about the Sciences like from a broad area – so you think about it, you have Genetics, Pathology, Botany, Marine Biology and you have what I do Cancer Biology, Stem Cell Biology. So, it is getting them to realize there are so many options out there for them but they really have to do research to find out what they want to and how they want to do it.”