Early graduate and first-generation student on her path to medical school

April 24, 2020

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2020 graduates.

Genesis Navarro is a junior and first-generation student in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences who will be graduating a year early this spring 2020 semester as a biochemistry major. Genesis Navarro is graduating with a degree in biochemistry from the School of Molecular Sciences Download Full Image

Navarro attended the ASU Tempe campus her first two years but is now remotely attending ASU from her home state of California. When she was on campus, she was involved in the Youth Life Group, a part of the Catholic center choir and joined Greek life. In her free time, she likes to skateboard, work out and spend time with her family.

Being an out of state student, Navarro was drawn to ASU because of the innovative aspect and the diversity it offered. She knew that she had great opportunities lined up for her at the School of Molecular Sciences. Through hard work and effort, she set a goal to complete her bachelor's degree in biochemistry, kept a positive mindset, took classes throughout her summer break and took on 18 to 21 credits per semester in order to achieve her early graduation desires.

It was at times stressful for her, especially being a first generation student, because she had to learn how to do a lot of things on her own. On top of that, her workload was also very heavy and at times became overwhelming.

Navarro like many other students faced a big obstacle: time management. She struggled balancing her time between her academics and social life. Being an online student comes with more responsibility and learning how to manage one's time is more difficult. Despite these challenges, Navarro has been able to find some helpful ways to balance both her social and academic life. She uses planners and calendars in a way that she found benefited her the most.

Navarro emphasized the importance of believing in herself and that everything she is doing is for her own benefit and will help her determine what is to come in the future.

Question: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?

Answer: I would say to put your all into school, after all, it's your priority and no one else's. What you put in will definitely determine what you get out of it, so do not take it for granted.

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?

A: Danielle Lucero, my justice professor, has helped me uncover a passion for criminal studies. Through this class I learned that there are a lot of corrupt things in the world and we can’t do a lot to change them but we can definitely influence them.

Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?

A: My favorite place on campus was the Starbucks by the Memorial Union. I would sometimes go there just to hang out because the environment was very welcoming, lively and peaceful.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A: I am planning on attending medical school. In May I will be taking the MCAT exam and seeing where my path leads me from there. I am planning on applying for an FBI internship, since it takes up to a year for the process. Ultimately, I have come to love both biochemistry and criminal studies, so I am going to see how everything turns out for me. However, I do know that I have a lot of options to choose from with my biochemistry degree.

Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?

A: Money will not change everything … in fact, I'd say it makes things worse. One thing I would use the money for would be to distribute it out to the less fortunate students who need money to come to college. If someone has the dream to come to school but cannot because they cannot afford it, that is not fair. I would give it to students who are passionate about learning and moving forward, more first-generation students, like me.

Written by Mariela Lozano Porras, School of Molecular Sciences communications assistant. Jenny Green contributed to the story.

ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration celebrates 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

On April 24, 1990, aboard the space shuttle Discovery, NASA launched and deployed the most significant advance in astronomy to that point, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Over the last 30 years, HST has been integral to Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and the world, allowing scholars to study the cosmos and sharing the beauty and wonder of our universe.�...

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ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration celebrates 30 years of the Hubble Space Telescope

April 24, 2020

The impact the HST made in helping us understand the universe was even greater than imagined, and NASA scientists knew it would to be a useful operation to maintain as long as possible. Hubble Space Telescope. Photo by NASA Download Full Image

Today, HST is one of NASA’s longest-running observatories. It has changed how we look to the stars and made discoveries we could never have imagined. Technological advances and upgrades to this telescope have transformed the way researchers have been able to capture images throughout the universe.

HST has not only answered some of the biggest unknowns about the universe, like determining its age (today it’s approximately 13.8 billion years old), it has also challenged planetary scientists, astronomers and astrophysicists to ask the biggest astronomical questions about the mystery of space.

The telescope has played a major role in providing both scientists and students at the School of Earth and Space Exploration research opportunities to study the relationship between galaxies and supermassive black holes, star formation, exoplanets and stellar evolution.

Scientists at ASU have been part of HST’s 30-year journey and continue to advance space telescope research, through both data collection and images. The implications and interpretation of HST's data have laid the groundwork for the James Webb Space Telescope, due to launch in 2021, that will further our understanding of the universe.

As HST celebrates its 30th anniversary, we highlight some of the discoveries made by scientists at ASU:

Eagle Nebula,1995. Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Hester and P. Scowen (Arizona State University).

Hubble Ultra Deep Field, 2014. Credits: NASA, ESA, H. Teplitz and M. Rafelski (IPAC/Caltech), A. Koekemoer (STScI), R. Windhorst (ASU), Z. Levay (STScI).

The Central Region of the “Star Burst” spiral Galaxy NGC 3310. Credits: NASA, Rogier Windhorst (ASU), and the Hubble mid-UV team.

Crab Nebula. The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 8222: J. Hester and A. Loll (ASU), W. Blair and R. Sankrit (Johns Hopkins University), and P. Scowen (ASU). D. de Martin (skyfactory.org, Venice, Italy) also helped in the creation of this image.

Photo of Mars taken when the planet was 50 million miles from Earth on May 12, 2016. Credits: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (ASU), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute).

This image shows the light echo around a variable star designated V838 Monocerotis. It was composed by a team of scientists including ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration professor Sumner Starrfield. Image credit: NASA, European Space Agency and Howard Bond (STScI)

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