Mary Mckay

I majored in science because it is what I love. I am passionate about my work and hope to be part of a team that discovers new things and changes the world for the better. I knew from a very young age that I loved biology, it was always my favorite class as a kid, but I never had the confidence to pursue a career or consider science as a major because science is for smart people and I never thought I fit the bill. When I took a required biology course in college, I remembered how much I loved science! I had the highest grade in my class and my professor asked me why I thought a career in science was not right for me. Four years later, I still cannot learn enough about genetics, biology, human anatomy and physiology, molecular mechanisms, neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and physics.
Everyday I learn something new and I add it to my skill set, with the hope that someday I might stumble upon something brilliant! I enjoy the dynamic atmosphere that goes along with the scientific community and I admire the attitude of scientists to renew and replace old thoughts and ideas with new ones as we discover better methods, understandings, and approaches. To quote Carl Segan: "In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a
really good argument; my position is mistaken," and then they would
actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them
again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should,
because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it
happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that
happened in politics or religion."
Of all the things I have learned in school about the way things work, it is in the field or in the lab or any setting in which real life is allowed to become part of the equation, it is then that my understanding of the things I have been told by my professors and read about in books really emerges. The simple complexities we run into on a daily basis intermingle to create a dynamic that contains multitudes. The concept for me sometimes becomes quite daunting, to a point where I find myself in a state of awe and gratitude for having the opportunity to be part of a community of people trying to understand it.
Each new acquaintance we meet is a new opportunity to learn something you might never have known. Through team work and networking we share ideas and discover things we didn't know know about ourselves, and in many ways we enrich each others lives.

"Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't" - Bill Nye