Profile

• Time Zone

  Mountain

  
  
• Organization

  University of Texas - El Paso

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I'm an undergraduate student majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and I am interested in biodiversity and evolution of plants. I work on plants from the desert (family Polygalaceae) and the arctic (willows, birches, and sedges). I use lab techniques involving DNA and RNA to study plant evolution.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  This is such a hard question! There are so many interesting plants such as the corpse flower and carnivorous plants, but I would have to say it's the hammer orchid.
  The hammer orchid is a plant that only live in Western Australia. The labellum (the lower petal of the flower) of this orchid is shaped like a wasp to attract a single species of wasp that the plant relies on for pollination. To attract the wasp, this plant also makes chemicals that lure male wasps to come to the flower. I think this plant is an excellent example of how plants evolved to use insects and other animals as pollinators.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  Can you describe your attitude toward science when you were in high school?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

  I have always loved science, it has always been my favorite class in school. But when I was in high school, I thought that I was not smart enough to try to be a scientist. I thought that I could never be the one to discover a species or uncover new knowledge! In part, that may be because as an immigrant and woman of color I suffer from imposter syndrome. But as I have fallen in love with botany and started to become involved with research, I have realized that I am definitely worthy of being part of the scientific community.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

  My biggest piece of advice is to follow your passions. If you love science, you will find that one subject that you can't stop learning about. For me, it was botany! My next piece of advice is to talk to people who work with what you are interested in. I loved my intro to botany class and ended up talking to the professor about my questions about plants and how I would like to study plant evolution. My professor ended up becoming my mentor as I have become an early-career scientist. Professors really enjoy talking to students that genuinely have an interest in what they study. So make sure to share your interests! My last piece of advice is to always have a support system to remind you that you are amazing and worthy of being a scientist. Whether it's your family, friends, professors, or mentors- find someone who can help you get where you want and remind you that you belong in the scientific community!

  
  
• Availability

  I am currently available for mentoring, please send me team match invitations

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

THE 4 BROS PLANT PROJECT Hashel Denisse Orquiz Apr 12 at 07:17am

Hello group!

Since our hypothesis wasn’t supported (we thought the plant that received the least amount of water would have the lowest height) I would like you and your team to think of reasons why all of the plants grew to about the same…

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Hello group!

Since our hypothesis wasn’t supported (we thought the plant that received the least amount of water would have the lowest height) I would like you and your team to think of reasons why all of the plants grew to about the same height. 
I have two ideas, but I would love to hear what your group can come up with! 
When doing research, the hypothesis (your prediction) is not always correct. But this does not mean the experiment was a failure! It can either mean we need to adjust the experiment (such as using more plants or different amounts of water) or that there is a reason behind the results!  
When doing research, sometimes your first experiment is like a trial run and after it, you learn more and you can adjust your experiment to be better or more accurate. But sometimes that’s not the problem and the results are true and correct, which is fine! Carrying out this experiment is a way to learn something we didn’t learn before. So I would like you all to please think of reasons why all the plants grew to the same height despite different amounts of water! 
 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

- Hashel

THE 4 BROS PLANT PROJECT Hashel Denisse Orquiz Apr 12 at 07:12am

Hello Conner,

Thanks for the update! 
Although the experiment didn’t go as planned (this is VERY common in research!) I hope you all enjoyed carrying out the experiment!

I hope you and your group have a wonderful week!

THE 4 BROS PLANT PROJECT Hashel Denisse Orquiz Apr 12 at 07:07am

Oh cool! I actually did not know that.  What a useful plant!