Justina Vidal

I think a combination of a really strong community around me, and just that I lucked out and found something that I really love doing, so it doesn't feel like work. I recognize that that's cliche, but my job satisfies a lot of my creative needs, my emotional needs. It fills my cup to do what I do. I really value the input from my school community, from my family, my friends, and I find having a variety of people around to hang out keeps me grounded and helps me maintain a balance, even when life tries to unbalance things.

I once had a friend tell me to be the change I wish I could see, and I've really tried to embrace that. Sometimes it's easier than others, but that aggressive sunshine spreading kind of feeds back into that. I want to work and be in a community where people are generally happy and satisfied with where they are, and they actively work to support each other and be good humans.

I think one of the most important pieces that you can have for yourself is to seek out a variety of information and a variety of perspectives. There is a lot to be learned, and it's just a matter of advocating for yourself and putting yourself out there to go find that information. For every barrier that you face, there is somebody there that's going to be willing to help you through it. You just have to be stubborn enough to keep going and keep pushing through to learn those things and learn those perspectives, and hopefully someday you wind up in a position where you can help somebody else succeed in the same field.

There's a perception that science is this very cut-and-dry, black-and-white field, but what I've found is that when you go to any science lab or visit people that work in STEM industries, you have people from all kinds of different backgrounds. Having some cultural competency, being able to speak multiple languages, and having soft social skills comes in really handy when you're working with such a diverse population. I'd like to see that get expanded both at my school and elsewhere. One of the things that I have noticed in being a STEM educator is that when you start talking about diversity in STEM and the importance of inclusion and representation, it's difficult to find materials for that. When you do, it's usually just like a poster of somebody, usually somebody who was alive a long time ago, and it's kind of like an afterthought. I'd like to see more of that expanded upon so that we can add more just more stuff, rather than just there's a bulletin board for Black History Month.

I think it's important to live a life where you are aggressively spreading sunshine and knowledge for the betterment of humanity. A lot of my life philosophy came from just seeing my students in class, from personal tragedy, and just realizing that if I'm going to feel better about things, then I am the only person in control of that. I need to do things proactively to try to help others and build the community that I want to be in. I once had a friend tell me to be the change I wish I could see, and I've tried to embrace that. I want to work and be in a community where people are generally happy and satisfied with where they are, and they actively work to support each other and be good humans.