Alumni News: Building a Future in Science

For Viviana, a passion for science has grown into a journey of discovery, research, and new possibilities.

She joined Make A Difference Now in 2022 and, with MAD scholarship support, attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she majored in Biology and minored in Microbiology, graduating in 2024. Today, she is taking exciting steps toward becoming a researcher and scientist.

While exploring graduate school opportunities, Viviana discovered that many of the programs she is interested in won’t begin until September 2027. Rather than waiting, she decided to use the extra time to gain research experience and contribute to scientific work already underway in Mexico.

Through a professor she met at a conference, Viviana secured a three-month research stay at the Center of Genomic Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she is contributing to research focused on the conservation of axolotls and their protection against Bd fungus.

“I have been having a lot of fun here!” Viviana shared. Her research experience has also given her the opportunity to travel and see axolotls in the wild, connecting the scientific work she is doing in the lab with the animals she is helping to protect.

And her journey is continuing to grow. Viviana is still exploring graduate programs and considering where else she may apply, but already, she is seeing exciting possibilities come together.

Viviana’s story shows that a scholarship is about more than earning a degree. It can give a young person the education, confidence, and opportunities to build a future they once only imagined.

Your support can help the next student reach their own “what’s next.” Give today and help open the door to a future that can impact not just one student, but the communities and fields they go on to serve.