Chiara Scopice

Effervescent is one of my favorite words. Technically it describes the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release, but most people use it as a way to describe someone as bubbly, spirited, and outgoing. Not only do I think these are great qualities, but I like that the word can be related back to science. If I am being honest, I also just think the word is fun to say.  

 

Since moving to college station, I have moved to a new apartment nearly every year, so  unfortunately to save space I don't have too much on my bookshelf aside from cookbooks,  textbooks, and my MCAT books. However, in the past year I’ve been able to read January First, The Professor and the Madman, and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.  

 

Several of my closest friends were shocked to hear me speak Spanish for the first time. It is something I rarely bring up when meeting someone, so there have been countless times where a friend was taken aback after I answered a phone call from my family and spoke in Spanish.  After hearing me speak Spanish they were surprised to learn that not only was it my first language, but that I was placed in ESL classes in grade school to help me learn to differentiate between the two languages.  

 

I graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a Minor in Public Health.  

 

I could not imagine a better place to get another degree. The supportive and collaborative environment is one among many reasons why I chose Texas A&M for my graduate program. A phrase my family uses, and coincidentally I’ve heard faculty say is “Your success is our success”.  This is part of the reason that Texas A&M has and always will feel like home to me.  

 

I would like to meet Dame Janet Maria Vaughan. She is a lesser-known female scientist, but without her contributions to the field of hematology, the storage of blood for the purpose of transfusions would be impossible. She grew up in a world where women were told that they could not be scientists, but as an aspiring physician she never let this discrimination deter her.  She would go on to graduate from Oxford University and contribute vastly to the world in more ways than one. Prior to World War II all blood transfusions were done via a vein to vein transfusion between two individuals, due to the limitations in technology and logistical issues with storing blood at the time. However, it was through the dedication and research of Janet Vaughan, that the European allied forces were able to plan the Emergency Blood Transfusion Service, where it was recorded that in 1945 they had distributed over 22,000 bottles of blood from just a single blood depot. Despite all this, Janet Vaughn would go on to aid holocaust survivors on site of a concertation camp after the war, by studying how to best combat the effects of starvation. She is an amazing scientist and I wish more people knew her story and contributions not only to science but to the world.  

 

Cooking is definitely a passion of mine. Growing up with parents who immigrated to the United States from South America, I was always excited to share my favorite traditional Argentine and Uruguayan dishes with friends who had not had it before. It wasn’t until college I started to venture out into different styles of food and learn to cook them all myself. Particularly during the quarantine this past year, I have really enjoyed trying new recipes every week. Some of my favorite foods that I've learned to make from either my parents or grandparents are paella, empanadas, tartas, and Dulce de Leche filled panqueques (crepes).