By Melissa Randall
This spring, RHS alum Angel Muthemba graduated from Emmanuel College earning a degree in Neuroscience and a minor in Data Analytics. However, her journey into the STEM field started as student scientist through BioBuilder’s Apprenticeship Challenge at age 16.
The daughter of Kenyan-immigrant parents, Muthemba originally started college on a different path. “I was going to work towards becoming an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. I made the switch when I realized that I don’t want to give up the research component of my job responsibilities. I wanted to do something where I can work independently, on a team and be able to interact or chat with patients that I’m working towards helping. Before I declared my major sophomore year, I remember being in my Methods & Statistics II class (shout out Dr. Lin) and my friend Angelyna was talking to me about neuro engineering. I fell in love instantly. I then found out that there was a data analytics minor at my school, and it just felt like a match made in heaven. If my school had a data analytics major I would’ve double majored.”
Her experience with Biobuilder was extremely intimidating at first. “I was the youngest student in our cohort at the time and I hadn’t even taken chemistry yet. A good amount of foundational content taught was related to chemistry. I found lab math to be overwhelming — I wasn’t confident in myself. Dr. Kuldell along with Kate Schneider single handedly gave me the reassurance and confidence I needed to succeed through the program. By the end of my time at Biobuilder, I secured a full-time internship with a biotech startup in Cambridge. I remember thinking to myself “Wow, I think I’m actually becoming a scientist.”
According to Dr. Natalie Kuldell, the Founder and Executive Director of BioBuilder, “The BioBuilder Educational Foundation is a nonprofit helping educate a future-ready workforce that will solve some of the world’s greatest challenges by bringing tomorrow’s science into today’s classrooms. Since its founding in 2011, BioBuilder has worked with schools in over 55 countries and 49 states, impacting over 63,000 students, helping better match the skills of our future workforce to the needs of the biotechnology industry. By working with industry partners, such as BioMADE, Schmidt Futures, Ginkgo Bioworks, Niswonger Foundation, and Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, BioBuilder has matched its accessible and hands-on curriculum with the needs of the biotech industry in ways that excite and train the workforce of tomorrow. Through these programs and partnerships, BioBuilder is actively expanding into new geographies and communities to meet its dual goals of increasing the number of students prepared for college and careers in STEM and having a BioBuilder program in every high school in America.”
Angel credits her much of her academic success to her parents and siblings. “My parents were involved in preparing me to be the best student I could be. I remember during the summer on top of the math packets and reading assignments that Revere Public School would assign, my parents would give me additional books and math problem sets a grade above me. For example, if I was going into the 3rd grade, I would have to read books and complete math problems at a 4th grade level. I have found that the women in my life, specifically my three older sisters and my mom, have inspired me to be the ambitious and determined student and individual I am today. I wouldn’t have nearly as much strength or motivation if it wasn’t for the example they’ve set.” Next up, Angel plans to study Bioengineering working towards a Master’s Degree. “I plan to work in the industry for about a year or so before pursuing a PhD in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Neuro Engineering. I have aspirations of becoming a Neuroengineer to understand signaling projects to different parts of the brain. Ultimately, I’d like to work with a lab or company that believes in using brain computer interfaces (BCI) to induce electrical stimulation and deliver drugs to targeted regions of the brain manifested in a small implant. The reason is to provide patients with mood and movement disorders with a long term and biocompatible option that doesn’t interfere with their day to day lives.”
