Thread by @AnaPdeFaria1

I was born in the 1980s, in the suburbs of Divinopolis, a small city in the Minas Gerais state, 🇧🇷 (right in the middle of the country, so, no beaches there). I’m the oldest of 4 children. I was a happy child who could play in the streets and climb trees.
#IWS #IWSvoices

I also watched a lot of 📺and this helped to develop my passion for science. One of my favourite shows was Beakman’s World. I wanted to be a scientist like him. But I had never met any scientist. I wasn’t even sure if this profession really existed in 🇧🇷.
#IWS #IWSvoices

My passion for biology started in high school, because of one very enthusiastic teacher. I’ll never forget my first lab class and she saying: “look at those mitochondria, how beautiful they are!” I decided that I’d be a biologist.
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I knew I didn’t have the money to go to university (Federal Universities in Brazil are free, but there is a lot of competition to be accepted), so I started working. I worked for 3 years to get the money I needed.
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Going to university required passing a test and each university had its own test. I took 9 tests and was approved in 3 of them. I chose to go to @ufsjbr, a relatively new university (only 18 years then) with a brand-new biology program (my class was the second).
#IWS #IWSvoices

In my first year, I received the best advice I received in my life. My organic chemistry professor said: “If you don’t speak English, learn it.” That was decisive in my life. Only 5% of the 🇧🇷 population speaks English. Even in academia, we have people who don’t.
#IWS #IWSvoices

At the university, my favourite topic was botany. I always loved plants. I got that from my mom. I grew up near a Cerrado (🇧🇷 savanna) area and Cerrado plants are so amazing! I wanted to study them, but @ufsjbr wasn’t a research pole in biology then. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

My first research project was a floristic survey. I also wrote an essay on the 25 years of the “Talking trees hypothesis” as part of the requirement to earn my B.Ed. degree. It ended up being published as a review paper in 2008. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

After my graduation, I went back to my home city and became a supply science teacher for public middle and high school. Because I had just graduated, I only found a job in the second half of the school year. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

I found out that I loved teaching! I always tried to make my classes fun and engaging. Unfortunately, at the end of that school year, I was laid off because the state government approved a law that cut the jobs for supply teachers for the following years. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

I still wanted to be a scientist. I decided to apply for a Master's Program & I chose the most prestigious university in the state where I’m from, @ufmg. I was approved and started to work on drought tolerance in castor bean, a biodiesel source in 🇧🇷. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

After earning my master’s degree, I decided to pursue a Ph.D., working on plants’ responses to climate change. My Ph.D. wasn’t easy. I started working at a facility at UFMG, but the PI responsible for it asked me to leave in the middle of my experiments. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

My supervisor didn’t support me as I needed it. I thought I wouldn’t finish my Ph.D. After the fateful conversation, I talked to the technician in-charge about my dilemma. He sympathized and decided to help me. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

A few weeks later, he called me saying that he found a professor in another institution that agreed to receive me as a visiting researcher to finish my Ph.D. Coincidently, she was my supervisor’s colleague when they both did their Ph.D. in France. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

I moved to Sao Paulo, to work and live at the Institute of Botany (IBt) for 6 months. I had many issues with equipment, plant cultivation, and so on. And I was very lonely. I had a hard time making friends there. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

@IWS_Network One day another visiting researcher arrived there. She was decisive in my life then. Because of her, I could finish my research. But when I went back to UFMG, I had a #burnout and that evolved into #depression. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

@IWS_Network Even so, I successfully defended my dissertation, earned my Ph.D., the 3rd place in the Department of Botany Best Thesis Prize & had 5 papers published. I met the man that today is my husband. We moved together after one year of dating. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

Ten months after my graduation I got a postdoctoral fellowship at @UFU_Oficial to study nitrogen deposition in a Cerrado area and he got a job as a software engineer in the same city. We spend 2.5 years there. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

I still had signs of my #mentalhealth issues though, and I didn’t enjoy my experience as a researcher. I realized that being a scientist maybe was not for me. And I suffered so much because that was my childhood dream. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

But I loved being a lecturer. I was also involved in science outreach & #scicomm. My supervisor was very supportive. She also enjoyed being the bridge between academia & the general public. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

@IWS_Network Meanwhile, the 🇧🇷 government had an economic crisis that resulted in a political crisis and the president’s impeachment. The new government froze the budget for education, science, health & security for 20 years. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

Even if I still wanted to be a scientist, that wouldn't be possible. My partner has a friend who already lived in Toronto and used to say wonders about Canada. Maybe that would be our chance. We decided to move to 🇨🇦 and we got married to come. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

@IWS_Network In December 2017 we received the invitation & we landed in June 2018. He got his job in July & I started volunteering for the #OnYourMark Academic Program, helping kids and parents from Portuguese-speaking backgrounds as a #SiteSupervisor & as a #tutor. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

I also got a position as a volunteer researcher at @UofT, working at the #RSageLab on C4 photosynthesis evolution. Six months later, COVID-19 happened and I had to stop my research. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

This whole situation was very challenging. I started to see a therapist, meditate & exercise at🏠, to not get crazy. I also started to look for people to build my network, mostly on LinkedIn. I found Nathalia Batista there. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

@IWS_Network She introduced me to a group of 🇧🇷 scientists in 🇨🇦 that is being very helpful in so many aspects & to @IWS_Network, that I start to follow. I also found @S2BAcademy & their #professionaldevelopment course, which I highly recommend. #IWSvoices

Through this course, I learned about #InformationalInterviews (we don’t have this in 🇧🇷) & how welcoming people are here. I started to reach out to people. I met many very interesting people, including @Anjanagrajan. I found her #inspiring story on #IWSvoices. @IWS_Network

@Anjanagrajan @IWS_Network She was the first #immigrant #PlantScientist outside of academia I met here. We talked and she told me about the amazing job @IWS_Network does! Nathalia is also there. That inspired me to be more involved & I volunteered for the IWS Comm. & Mark. Committee. #IWSvoices

@Anjanagrajan @IWS_Network Through that course, I also learned about other #career #possibilities & I found out that my real passion was #scicomm. I finally understood why I liked Beakman’s World when I was a kid. I wanted to be like him, but not exactly a scientist. #IWSvoices @IWS_Network

I wanted to make people interested in science in a fun and engaging way. Now, I’m on my way to make the difference. I started to volunteer for @RCIScience and @IWS_Network as a writer. That will help me to get my dream job in the future. #IWSvoices

@RCIScience @IWS_Network My advice for all #immigrant #WomenInSTEM in Canada: Be brave! Follow your dreams! It’s never too late to start. And we from @IWS_Network, @SCWIST and other amazing organizations are here to help you.
#StrongerTogether #IWSvoices