Highlighting Native People in STEM: AISES Region 6
- Our Very Own Alexandrea Bowman:
Life is not really about end results. It is about the journey and the way we each choose to live our lives. We are shaped and molded by the people we meet, the things we learn, and everything that we experience. The entire Universe is filled with strange and wonderful objects just waiting to tell an individual story.
“The Road Less Traveled” by Robert Frost has always been one of my favorite poems, and I do think it really explains my journey through life. I took the path less traveled. I was always a good student, but I started to lose interest when I got to high school. My teachers didn’t seem interested in teaching, and many bright teenagers ended up lost in the system. When I went to college, though, I met wonderful professors who mentored me and advised me. I chose a career in Earth Science because my mentors were passionate about this subject in my classes. They explained what any one of us could do with a degree in Earth Science. And they made learning fun. Now, I am preparing for graduate school and what I hope will be a new and wonderful experience. And so my story does prove that anyone who has a dream can live that dream, if they are willing to work for it.
“The Road Less Traveled” is not an easy one. I have met people who have tried to discourage me from continuing on, but I have met many more who have been extremely supportive. And it is that support group that has helped me through the difficult times. Like anything else in life, science can be a very difficult field. It takes hard work, determination, and perseverance. I have accomplished many academic achievements while at Queens College, because I was determined and had a wonderful group of mentors who worked with me.
Finally, it is important for everyone to remember that Charles Darwin had a “C” average in college, and it was only a chance cancellation that got him his position on the HMS Beagle. And Albert Einstein actually failed the first entrance exam he took for college. What Darwin and Einstein both had in common, though, was a passion for learning that helped them meet their challenges. And indeed that is a scientist’s greatest asset. Anyone can become a scientist, if they want to.
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