S-Stem Scholar Jaira Munoz Zavala's Blog

For my class I connected with a mentor and attended NCUIRE symposium.  I learned that networking is approaching people first by asking about their work before asking for help. Also, the two most important aspects of networking is to listen to the person you connect with and to keep in contact with that person.  Personally, I prefer to connect in person. In person, the conversation flows more naturally. Also, one doesn't have to wait for an answer for few days. However, the major reason why I dislike connecting online is because is harder for me to communicate through an email/text. I overthink my words, and I might not see grammar errors. Finding the balance between a long email and a pretty short one is complicated. It makes me wonder if the person might feel bored or confused about my words.  In April, I attended a conference in Seattle. There, I was able to network with multiple people. However, I found it harder to connect with people close to my age. Mostly, I felt l...

Something that I learn about cultural intelligence and cultural responsiveness is to first have cultural openness and cultural awareness. From what I understood one has to be open to learn about other people's culture with an open mind. However, this doesn't mean to be invasive or assume somebody's cultural background.  I like the definition of  Business professors P. Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski about cultural intelligence. They define it as “an outsider’s seemingly natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures the way that person’s compatriots would.”  This means to have the ability to relate to people from other cultures by empathizing and actively working to understand customs and norms of other cultures besides our own  ( What Is Cultural Intelligence and Why Is It Key to Business? – Nationwide , n.d.). Now, according to the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST), “cultural respons...

   TRAIN MIXER, AND ASU OPPORTUNITIES This semester there were not many transfer train students at ASU. I was sitting on the Forensics table with Dr. Weidner and a classmate. I believe only three or so students were transferring. Thus, I didn't have the opportunity to talk to them. The only person I talked with, who was planning to be a TRAIN student, was a computer major. When I attended this meeting and was a community college student, there were other students interested in forensics science. I was surprised there were none this time. Back then, I was nervous about finding a professor to work with. When I first enrolled at ASU, I was an Arts student in Tempe. I saw how competitive it was just to be noticed in a normal class. I was overwhelmed, and believed that it would be impossible to get an opportunity--for anything. At ASU West, it is way easier to receive the help you need, and it is easier to approach professors.  For people interested in working in research, in ...

SPRING 2023, FINALLY A SENIOR! I've been an undergraduate for a looong time. When I first decided to do two majors, I thought time would fly, but now I feel anxious. I want to graduate already! This semester, I'm taking too many classes (+18 credits). Two of them are studio classes: Foundry and Art & Science. I enrolled in Foundry to work on my honors thesis. Some of the pieces that I'll be presenting will be made out of metal. Also, I needed to pay the fee to use the studio during this semester. The second class focuses in science communication. We will be sculpting the research of some professors.  In West campus, I'm taking required classes for Forensics. The one I'm excited about is Forensic Toxicology. Even though I hate Chemistry, I find Forensic Toxicology really interesting. I'm also taking a DNA typing class. This one is not required, but I will be learning the material taught in Molecular Biology. Now, I'm not enroll in "Forensic Science S...

Databases Before I started this class I believed that a database was the same as a spreadsheet. Like many people I used the term interchangeably. Spreadsheet is  data stored in a cells, so technically it is an organized collection of information. However, they are static documents (excel) while databases can be relational.  Databases are flexible and they can contain "relation data" which is data that can be connected across more than one table.  At the beginning of this class we learned some functions in excel. We learned functions like if, countif, vlookup,  named ranges; also, we learned to used for  multiple worksheets in one workbook. From there, we moved on to learn how r elational databases and how they differ from spreadsheets. We learned about attributes and primary keys. From there, we started working in our ER diagram. We obtain our clean data from a website called CORGIS. We had to find the entities, attributes, primary keys and relationships. T...

End of Spring 2022   For my Mental and Physical Health: From this semester, I learned to leave one day of the week for myself—either for cleaning, resting, reorganize, or do something for myself. I didn’t do that in this semester, and that took a hit on my grades. I have to learn to say no. If it affects my health, it is not worth it. For my career goals: Now that I’m close to finishing my two majors, I noticed that I haven’t work in what I originally wanted. I started to keep an agenda (an actual book). In cases where I don’t finish items of one day, I work on them the next day. I’m keeping a note to remember to make time for: –        Practicing sculpting faces –        Studying for the MCAT –        Look for opportunities about Forensic Anthropology. I will continue working in the Forensic Entomology lab because I like it, but I’m aware that it is not my end goal. However, hav...

 Factors influencing participation of underrepresented students in STEM fields (and my own influences) According to the article, there are multiple factors that affect the participation of students in the STEM field. These can be intrinsic psychological and external environmental variables. The article, focuses in the intrinsic psychological factors. It mentions that the academic mindset are keys beliefs of a student. For instance, it was already discussed before the different between a growth mindset and fixed mindset. A student with a fixed mindset will most likely fail to achieve the goal because they will fail to try after failing once. On the other hand, a student with growth mindset will continue trying, and learning from mistakes. Another factor is the feeling of belonging in STEM. Having this feeling will have a positive impact on academic achievement and retention in STEM . I believe that my identity affected my mindset. My parents always reminded that they work hard so ...

 Fixed and Growth Mindset  For today's blog I read two articles. One of them is "Students' Mindsets for Learning and Their Neural Underpinnings." The other one is "Problems in the pipeline: Stereotype threat and women's achievement in high-level math courses" by Good, Aronson and Harder.  They both talked about the fixed and growth mindset. The first article explains how "entity mindset" (or fixed mindset) limits an individual in many areas of their life. They focus in explaining this idea in the education area. People with an entity mindset believed that their intelligence is fixed, and they cannot be more intelligent. They believe that they cannot improve with effort. Consequently, they don't handle failure well; they avoid challenges and risk-taking challenges; they adopt maladaptive strategies.  On the other hand, people with "incremental mindset" (or growth mindset) believe that they can increase their abilities, intelligence...

These are the college experiences that I had during college. I re-write them as how I will have them in a resume.  Experience 1: Under Research/Independent Project I participated in the decomposition project this summer, and this winter. Assisted in a research studying insects activity during decomposition. Collaborated with other students to identify of different insects' order. Consulted with lab partners, lab supervisor and professor to design experiments Experience 2: Under Work Experience I worked in the school library. I work at the desk, helped in cleaning, and assisted in some projects Performed regular cataloguing of new acquisitions. Maintained organized library collection as well as staff/faculty copies. Built a string knowledge base of library materials and Workflows system. Answered phones and directed phones calls to the appropriate recipients. Responded numerous references questions daily basis Referred students to appropriate resources. Experience 3: Under Research/...

 Humanitarian Forensics My goal is to do Humanitarian Forensic. I want to focus working near the border, where people come to the US. I would like to sculpt faces for the bodies that are found in the desert. This is because DNA is not possible. especially if there is no one looking for the person (to get a mtDNA test). Most of the time is because people are afraid to get in trouble. I would like to help creating a source open to the public. There, they can see the pictures of the faces of the people found. That way, it might be easier to step in and help to bring closure.  So far, I've been looking into the Red Cross for this job. The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) requires people to have a minimum of a Masters to be an intern or work there.  At the moment, I will look for a forensic technician after graduation or similar. I might get my Masters right after college, but I'm not sure yet. For the time being, I was accepted to volunteer in Investigatio...

  Reflections on my current and desired on-line presence After creating my website, I have been posting more regularly. The major reason is because there is a challenge in October called "Inktober". Unfortunately, I stopped last week because of finals and midterms. From the science part, I haven't post anything. I'm working in a decomposition research and insect identification. This information still remain private. However, this week I started a class called "On Walking", an art class. The main project is to keep a journal (online or paper). Art here is not the main goal, but part of the process. Our teacher explained that it can be related to something of interested. For me, I'm focusing in collecting insects for the research, so I can write down about that. The second important part of this class is to post our journals in any platform we feel comfortable. I feel comfortable using Instagram. I prefer to write down in a notebook, and then posting the p...

 Current Online Presence  As of now (09/03/21) I don’t have too much online presence. Thanks to the galleries’ shows I’ve been in, one can search my name and find some information about me—mostly about my art pieces.  I have an Instagram. At the beginning, my goal was to only post about my Art work. However, I barely post anything. At the most once every few months. I mostly use it to communicate with friends. Likewise, I ignored my Facebook account and page for awhile. My excuse is that I’m not photogenic nor I have anything to share about.  I created a LinkedIn account few years ago because a friend insisted on it. I think I opened it once or twice. He was the only contact I had.  Also, few months ago, one of the galleries invited me to open a Alignable account. I don’t have much intention of creating a small business, but I haven’t taken advantage of the things this website offers.  In one of my semesters, I was required to create a Handshake account. I ...

 MY MAJOR: FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST TOPICS IN FORENSICS: Three years ago, I did not know much about my career. I knew that involved autopsies. Also, I knew I needed to have a strong stomach—primarily because of the smell.  I just started to take forensic classes. So far, I’ve taken two courses: Introduction to Forensic Anthropology and Sociology of Murder. The laws behind every procedure are what surprised me (and also scared me). For instance, I taught an autopsy is an obligatory procedure in every death. However, there are different types of autopsies. In clinical autopsies, an autopsy is performed in a specific part of the body (not all the body).  Before I started this Major, I wanted to go to Medical school for Forensic Pathologist. However, I learned that now forensic anthropologists are being trained more. They don’t just work with bones but also decomposed corpses. After learning about this field, I decided to switch to this one. I thought that just identifying eve...

  Gratitude letter and past self advice People I'm thankful to:  I’m thankful to multiple people for helping me to get where I am today. First, I’m thankful to God. As a Science major, it is sometimes hard to defend my beliefs against some science facts. However, believing in a greater power is what helps me to move on in life.  I’m thankful to my parents, who gave me an education, home, and support. In Mexico, my parents enrolled me in private schools. My friend’s parents paid for everything they needed it. For me, it was normal to have parents who pay for everything. When I moved to America and enrolled in Independence High School, I realized how lucky I was. Most of my friends and cousins worked from an early age. My cousins started working when they were in elementary school. For most of them, it wasn’t an option. Their parents did not help them, and if they did, they had to pay their parents back. Once I started college, my parents wanted to pay for my education...

The future My Goals: For the last three years, my long-term goal was to be a forensic pathologist. Also, I wanted to do humanitarian forensics on the border of the country. I was hoping to use my art skills to do some forensic art in the absence of DNA for identification.  Nevertheless, during the pandemic, I started to doubt these plans. I feel more burnout. I realized that I needed more balance between school, work, and my personal life.  I should be graduating either in the Fall of 2022 or Spring of 2023. I’m almost done with my art classes for my Sculpture Bachelors. I still have more classes to take for my Forensic Bachelors.  1 YEAR GOAL: For the last couple of years, I’ve focused on surrealistic art. Most of the themes I used are the human body and plants. However, they are not accurate.  This past summer, I took a class on sculpting anatomy. I learned multiple skills to sculpt the body muscles and face. Now, this semester, I finally sculpted a real baby. My s...

This semester, I'm focusing on CHIT1.  CHIT1 is a gene and encodes a protein called Chitotriosidase-1, and is a member of the chitinase family. This is selectively expressed in activated tissue macrophages. As a biomarker  (it indicates the  severity or presence of some disease state) is the best  to monitor Gaucher disease from the three most commonly used. Also, it is a marker for macrophage activation in acute ischemic stroke. Chromosomal location  Cytogenetic Location: 1q32.1. 1q    = The long (q) arm of the chromosome 1 32.1 =  It is the position in the arm. Molecular Location: base pairs 203,216,079 to 203,229,673  Data and Picture Reference: Genetics Home Reference.  August 17th, 2020. CHIT1 gene, Chitinase1. Retrieved from: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/CHIT1#resources Function:  Chitinases wo rks in both innate and adaptive immunity.  They are necessary for the following functions: Degrades chitin, chitotriose and...

On Saturday, February 8th, we worked did a second DNA with Sample 14.  These are the results of the DNA isolation done on 2/7/20. The results were not good, so we decided to do another DNA isolation of Sample 14.  We decided to use another kit different from last time. This one was the DNeasy UltraClean Microbial Kit. The steps in this kit were different from the Wizard Plus SV Miniprep. We continue using the same culture from Friday, thus now it was a 48hrs. We have used this kit multiple times. We usually repeat the first step (centrifuge 1.8 ml of microbial culture in order to have a pellet), However, this time we only worked with 1.8 ml instead of 5.4. We worked with only one bacteria culture, so we had to balance it with the same tubes but with distilled water instead.  These were the results of this DNA Isolation: