Rudy Christmas
“You're not corny for liking STEM. There's also nothing wrong with being one of the smart ones in the room.”
I used to play semi pro football. I became a dad at 19 years old. I like really nice things. I haven’t finished my college degree yet, but that hasn’t stopped me. I work with animals finding a cure for cancers and various diseases. I am an in vivo pharmacologist.
There are many steps between scientists creating a medication to help treat a disease and actually releasing it to the public. We have to do initial studies to make sure that it’s safe, works well, and doesn’t have any unintended consequences. My job is an important part of that process, although it isn’t always people’s favorite part. I work with specific types of mice to test how new potential treatments impact their cancerous tumors. Once the tumors are big enough, I introduce a therapy that we’re hoping will eventually help human patients. I measure changes in the size of cancerous tumors, and collect blood and tissue samples to determine what doses are safe, what side effects are present, and how effective the treatment was. It’s tough work that requires close attention to detail and a willingness to keep learning, but it’s also rewarding in more ways than one.
We all want our loved ones to live for as long as possible, but that means we need to find cures for the diseases that they may develop. I had a few family members who lost their battles with cancers, so working in this area hits home for me. Too many people are dying at young ages from these diseases, so I’m hoping to apply my brain power and work ethic to help other families around the world. I also wanted to build a life for myself where I could afford the things I enjoy, like nice cars. Working in biotech was a way for me to serve a greater purpose while having the financial security I needed to live the life I wanted.
I grew up on a small island in the Caribbean. When I came to this country at nine years old, we moved to a neighborhood with a lot of violence, but I was determined not to be part of it. I was placed one grade behind my peers, which I took as a slight, so I made it my mission to excel and prove what I was capable of. Science and math came naturally to me – the people who knew me best called me a “human calculator” – but it wasn’t until my middle school teacher, Mr. Wells, showed me how fun it can be that I decided I wanted to be in science.
When I was a senior in high school, I had my first daughter. It was an unexpected challenge on my path, but I vowed to be a better father than I had. After high school, I started juggling multiple jobs to support my family, played semipro football for a while, and took classes at night to continue my education, though I didn’t finish my degree. It wasn’t easy, and I had to overcome a lot of obstacles, but I was determined to make the most of my situation – to make my mom, my kids, and myself proud.
I got an opportunity to work at a biotech company and realized that, if I built up my skills, there was no limit to what I could accomplish in this field. I was often the only person in my department with my skin color, and faced a lot of scrutiny for not having a college degree. But science requires a lot of specialists who are experts in one specific part of the process, so I picked a specialty and got so good at it that people started coming to me. As my expertise grew and I saw the value I brought to my teams, my confidence grew. I’m proof that if you work hard enough, you can be successful no matter what life throws at you, and I recently enrolled in school to finish what I started.
I love sports – watching sports, playing sports, fantasy sports. I also love hanging with my buddies, trash-talking, having a good time, going on weekend trips to the casinos, going out dancing, playing cards, and listening to great music. I’m also a big believer in giving back to my community. Good mentorship had such a positive impact on my life, it’s important to me to be that role model for kids in my neighborhood as well.
Despite taking my career seriously, I definitely don’t take myself seriously. Science is my job, not my life. I like math and science, but I’ve always been just as excited about football and cars and having a good time. Most of my friendships are about joking around and enjoying life. Science is an amazing part of my life, but it’s never been the thing that defines me.
Whatever your situation is, there’s a way to make the most of it. STEM has so many different roles and specialties, you can find something that you enjoy that can also help you achieve the life you want. You can make good money young and it gets even better as you get older, especially if you get more advanced degrees. One thing I learned along the way is how valuable it is to listen to the people already in the field you’re pursuing. They’ll tell you the easiest way to get to where you want to be. And if you have the right person training you, you can accomplish anything.
