TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — She grew up in Hermosillo, Mexico and she’s a first-generation college student. Some might say Jocelyne Rivera has a few things working against her.
"It’s sometimes harder for us, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t," says Rivera.
And that tenacity is exactly why she’s here.
"I am very well-disciplined, I’m passionate about what I do. It doesn’t matter if it’s huge or something small," says Rivera.
You kind of have to be when you’re getting a major in Biomedical Engineering with a focus on Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems.
"We’re solving problems in medicine. That’s what makes me so passionate and so happy," says Rivera.
Solving problems, indeed. Each day, Jocelyne is working to target and treat the leading cause of death in both men and women: cardiovascular disease.
"I am here because I know, as a long-term thing, it will have a positive impact on a lot of patients’ lives," says Rivera.
And her grit and love for learning won’t stop after she graduates.
I’m going to work two years at the NIH and Oxford University in England and I’m going to pursue a doctorate in Biomedical Science," says Rivera.
So here’s to the future Dr. Rivera.
"I’m always Hispanic and I’m always Latina, but here, it doesn’t matter who you are," says Rivera. "You’re just a scientist and an engineer. It’s building up on new things that are going to come our way."
A young woman whose passion for science is paving the way for a bright future.
