Where Karina’s curiosity began
For Karina, some of the earliest memories of learning begin with math homework and a father who took the time to sit alongside her. Those moments nurtured a love of math and an appreciation for discipline that Karina carries today. Today, as a mother of twins, Karina hopes to pass along that same excitement for math and science to her children.
In eleventh grade, that curiosity found a new direction in Mr. Jan Patrick Mongoven’s genetics and biotechnology class at San Marcos High School in Southern California. The late teacher made science exciting through hands-on activities. Karina was fascinated by DNA, bacteria, how insulin is made, and the processes happening around and within us that we cannot see with the naked eye.
“I loved the idea that you could investigate something unknown, potentially be the first to discover something, and then share that knowledge with others.”
Mr. Mongoven recognized that enthusiasm and helped connect Karina with a research opportunity at California State University San Marcos. It was the beginning of a path that would lead to bachelor’s and master’s degrees at CSU San Marcos, followed by a Ph.D. in Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Harvard University.
Looking back, Karina remembers the teachers and mentors who recognized that potential and helped open doors. Many of those relationships continue today.
“People saw potential in me, told me about opportunities, opened doors, and then we continued to stay connected,” Karina shares.
A mentor who stayed
During her first year of graduate school at Harvard, Karina experienced a difficult personal transition. It was during that time that she met Dr. Sheila Thomas in a course she was taking. Sheila, a former faculty member and dean at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, became an important mentor in her life.
“She supported me not only as a student, but as a person. She made sure I had a community around me and continued checking in even after the immediate challenge had passed.”
That relationship continued to grow. Later, when they worked together professionally, Dr. Thomas gave Karina space to put her ideas into practice and bloom as a leader. She trusted her to develop and implement initiatives for graduate students, undergraduates, and postbaccalaureate trainees.
“She invited me to share my perspectives and become a thought partner, and she advocated for me professionally as my responsibilities grew.”
Through that trust and responsibility, Karina had the opportunity to offer other students the kind of support that had mattered so much in her own life. Sheila’s mentorship helped her navigate a difficult period, then opened space for her abilities and leadership to grow. That experience helped shape her decision to pursue higher education administration and the mentor she wanted to be for others.
“I would not be where I am without my mentoring village,” she says.
Karina has carried those lessons into her own partnerships with faculty, students, and staff. At Harvard and Yale, she helped students build connections early in their training. Meaningful initiatives included opportunities to become oriented before starting a Ph.D. program, get to know other students, and participate in shared experiences that helped create community.
What makes her proud is what that work can mean for an individual student.
“When someone feels welcomed, supported, connected, and confident that they belong, they are in a stronger position to focus on their education, contribute their ideas, take intellectual risks, and ultimately thrive.”
Bringing a scientist’s mind to student support
“As scientists, we learn to ask questions, analyze data, think critically, troubleshoot, and remain curious when something does not work as expected,” she explains. “I continue to use those skills as a data-driven and strategic thinker.”
At the Graduate School, she applies those habits to identifying gaps, understanding students’ changing needs, and developing programs with colleagues. Her work now brings her into contact with scholarship across a wider range of disciplines, giving her new opportunities to learn from students and the people around her.
She is intentional about making time for that learning. She also carries a lesson from science into leadership: new information may require us to reconsider our assumptions and adjust our approach.
For Karina, the future of innovation raises a question about opportunity as well as discovery.
“What excites me is not simply what new technologies or discoveries will emerge, but who will have the opportunity to contribute to them.”
Bringing people with different experiences and areas of expertise together can broaden the questions being asked and the solutions being considered. Karina wants students across disciplines to know that their ideas have a place in that work.
Making room for the life she has chosen
Karina moved from Guatemala to the United States with her parents when she was 11. As the first in her family to navigate college and graduate education, she followed a path that was not always easy for her family to understand. Questions about when she would finish school, get married, or have children accompanied her progress.
“I understood where those questions came from, but I also had to remain focused on the path I had chosen for myself.”
Karina also reflects on how to be present for her twins and family while continuing work she cares deeply about. The expectations placed on women, and mothers in particular, can make that balance difficult.
“I have learned to be intentional about what matters and to give myself permission to care deeply about both my family and my work,” she shares. “My children know how much I love them, and they also see that I love what I do.”
She hopes that example helps her children understand what is possible in their own lives. The same belief informs how she thinks about representation. Seeing women from different backgrounds conducting research, leading teams, and shaping decisions gives young women and girls more ways to imagine their futures.
When Karina was in ninth grade, her biology teacher called her “Dr. Gonzalez.” She had not yet earned a degree, but someone already saw a future scientist in her. Years later, she still remembers those two words. They helped her imagine a possibility she did not yet know how to envision for herself.
Shaping the future
“I hope to give back what so many people gave to me.”
She hopes the students she supports will eventually have seats at the tables where decisions are made, with the confidence to use their voices and influence their fields and communities.
Her advice to young women interested in STEM or AI reflects her own experience. Work hard. Share your interests. Ask questions and seek guidance. She encourages them to think of mentorship as a network of relationships, with different people offering support for different needs and stages of life.
“I also encourage young women to build a mentoring village rather than expecting one person to provide everything they need. Different mentors can support different parts of your educational, professional, and personal growth.”
“And when something feels difficult, don’t automatically interpret that difficulty as evidence that you do not belong. Challenge yourself. Ask for help when you need it. Keep learning, and continue moving toward the things that genuinely interest you.”
She also has a clear message for women considering an unfamiliar field or a new opportunity: “It’s an opportunity for growth, and you belong in the conversation.”
For those of us who care about mentorship, her story is an invitation to act: share an opportunity, make an introduction, or keep checking in. Karina hopes that those who receive that support will extend it to others.
“I encourage people at every stage of their careers to build their mentoring village—and to remember that as we progress, we also have an opportunity to become part of someone else’s village.”