Each candidate for the SACNAS Board of Directors was provided five questions from members and asked to select three to which they would respond. Responses were to be kept to 200 words.

5. What other profession would you have pursued if you had not chosen to become a scientist?

The following candidates chose to respond to this question:

• Christopher Andronicos
• Elma Gonzalez
• Rodolfo Jimenez
• Nazune Menke

I worked in the restaurant business in Albuquerque starting when I was thirteen years old. At my first job I made fifty bucks a week, cash under the table, for washing dishes five nights a week. I thought that was a pretty good deal back then because we did not have much. I kept working in restaurants until my junior year in college. At that point I was the head chef of a pretty good place known for steaks and French food. If I had not gone to college and found geology, I think I would have kept working in restaurants. It was all I knew, and I could always find a job with my skills behind the stove. It is funny to think about, but when I went to college I did not know that being a geologist was even a possible profession. I really owe my wife and my mom for encouraging me to go to college instead of just hanging out and working nights. I still make pretty good tamales, green chili, and chocolate mousse. Some skills serve you well, even after they are not part of your profession.

It is hard to know the answer to this question because my world view and available resources were quite limited at the time I was growing up. I was a research technician for 3 yrs before going to graduate school but I doubt that I would have made that a lifetime career. While receiving my baccalaureate I also earned certification for teaching high school biology and chemistry and I might have gone into teaching had I not found a job as a research tech. However, I probably would have continued to quest for something else. Knowing what I know now, I think I would have been quite happy studying horticulture and moving toward landscape architecture and garden design. But, honestly, research was my first love and I would have continued my attempts to get the necessary training for a research career (not as a research technician but as someone who could select the problem or question to be studied.)

Growing up I knew I always wanted to have a career in the science field. But as I went through college and became more aware of civil rights and liberties, I feel that had I not chosen a career as a scientist I would have pursed a career as a lawyer. In becoming a lawyer I would have fought for the rights of anyone who feels that they are being discriminated against, from undocumented workers to gays/lesbians that feel they are being targeted. After hopefully doing all that I could as a lawyer, I would then consider a life in politics. I would want to enter politics so that instead of aiding those that are persecuted at the judicial level, I can help them at the parliament level. This would entail of me trying to get laws passed that would protect the persecuted, rather than them having to go to court to fight for what is lawful.

Pursuing an advanced degree has always been a personal goal of mine. During my undergraduate education I considered law school as a possible career path but ultimately decided that my interest in biology was greater. I completed most of my science courses as a post-baccalaureate student where I had plans of going into public health or medicine. Each internship, course and opportunity fine-tuned and shaped the outcome of my chosen career path as a scientific researcher of industrial pollution and traditional foods in Alaska. What I think is unique about my eventual choice was that I decided to pursue an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. which allows me to complete scientific work by collecting and analyzing tissue samples in Alaska and yet also allows me to conduct education about pollution regulation to local communities. In this way I am able to fulfill my desire to influence policy and law as well as to conduct meaningful scientific research. I encourage each SACNAS member to continue searching and refining their own personal goals and mission statements on a yearly basis. It is important to remember that your career path is unique and that you can create your own success and opportunities by following your heart and passion, academic or otherwise.