Young Professionals

Paloma Mas

Industrial Design engineering and product development

Biography

Paloma Mas Serrano

Industrial Design engineering and product development

Regarding your choice of studies:"Nothing is definitive"

Personal Profile:

Paloma Mas Serran was born in Santiago de Compostela on April 28th, 1997. She lived in Santiago until her family moved to Brión when she was 3.

Education

She went to primary school at CEIP de Pedrouzos (Brión) and secondary school at IES de Brión, and then completed her college preparatory studies at IES Rosalía de Castro (Santiago de Compostela).
She chose an Engineering degree in Industrial Design and Product Development in the University of A Coruña, although she studied her third year abroad, in Lisbon.
She had considered studying in Madrid, but the Ferrol campus seemed more attractive to her, since it was more familiar and the groups, which were smaller, focussed more on the artistic aspect of the degree than the scientific one.
She studied Portuguese in the months leading up to her Erasmus year, and won a scholarship to spend the summer in Oporto improving her knowledge of the language. While she was on Erasmus, she discovered the Erasmus Students Network and upon her return to Ferrol she joined as a volunteer to help orient Erasmus students from abroad who were going to study at the same university she did.

Projects

She began working before finishing her senior thesis, which she postponed until February 2020. She currently lives in Madrid and is working at Estudio GD. She has not considered the possibility of pursuing a Master’s degree at the university as she prefers to further her studies with more specialized courses.

The research institute that she is working for is involved in a great number of projects related to graphic design, web design, the design of museums and exhibitions, as well as architectural reforms. She is currently working on two exhibitions for the Prado museum and she feels very proud of all she is accomplishing at such a young age.

Interests and Inspiration:

Her interest in design was sudden, as she had always thought her interests lay purely in science and she hadn’t entertained the possibility of being interested in an artistic field. It was during her college preparatory studies, with Technical Design, that she realized she was also interested in art.

At first she considered studying Architecture, but decided against it due to the housing crisis and chose instead to pursue something that would offer more job opportunities at that time.

She learned about her degree thanks to her father and neighbor who was studying the same degree she would end up choosing. Until she began her degree, she had never realized that what most interested her was design. Her only regret is not having finished her degree before starting to work.

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  • Linkedin: Paloma Mas Serrano in Linkedin
  • Instagram: @cerveixa
  • Pinterest: Mas Serrano
  • Estudio DG
  • Interview

    Entrevista

    1. ¿Cuándo tuviste claro que querías estudiar algo relacionado con las STEAM?



    2. ¿Qué factores fueron decisivos en tu elección?



    3. ¿Modificarías algo de tu elección de estudios o lugar de cursarlos?



    4. ¿Qué destacarías de tu trabajo actual?



    5. ¿Qué nos recomendarías al alumnado indeciso en la elección de estudios?



    6. ¿Tuviste alguna referente próxima o histórica que te inspirara?



    7. A la hora de elegir los estudios, ¿crees que afectan los roles de género?



    Antía Pazó

    Chemist

    Biography

    Antía Pazó Vicente

    "During your university years you are surrounded by people who share your same interests. Thanks to that communication, we all keep learning from each other outside the classroom."

    Personal profile
    She was born in Santiago de Compostela on June 24th 1996. She lived in Brión throughout her youth until she moved to Santiago in her second year at university. She lived in Oviedo for a year in her fourth year at university, but she’s still living in Santiago currently.

    Education
    She did her primary and secondary school studies in the CEIP de Pedrouzos and IES de Brión respectively, and completed her college preparatory studies at La Salle high school, in Santiago.
    Upon completion, she went on to get a degree in Chemistry and her Master’s in Organic Chemistry “Peptidic Nanotubes based on alfa-beta-amino acids”
    From her university education she would highlight the time spent in the lab, both during her degree- when she felt more in contact with what she was learning in class- and during her post graduate and post masters thesis. She did all this in the Juan Granja lab in the CiQUS in Santiago. It was in this lab where she started enjoying and learning more about chemistry.
    She would divide her Chemistry degree into organic, inorganic, analytical and physical chemistry. Physical Chemistry was the one she was least interested in and the one in which she has the hardest time applying herself. She didn’t really like the duality between chemistry and physics, since she was never interested in the latter.
    Another thing she would highlight from her years at university would be the fact that you´re surrounded by people who share your interests. She believes that this is a very reinforcing element, since you have the opportunity to learn from your peers and not only in class.

    Projects
    During her last year at university she took English classes and got her B2 certificate. She wants to resume those classes and continue to learn more English to increase her level.
    At the moment, she’s studying two courses through UNED that are related to chemistry: “Food chemistry and analysis” and “Drinkable water: control and quality processing”.

    Interests and inspiration
    When she was in highschool, she was sure that she wanted to study Biology. It wasn’t until her last year that her chemistry teacher Raquel made her change her mind with how she taught her classes. Antía really enjoyed how she approached the subject and the way she treated her students. Even though she started to be interested in Chemistry, it wasn’t her first choice when applying for university. Because of her marks she didn’t end up getting into a Biology degree, but got into a Chemistry one, something she’s really grateful for now.
    When she was choosing her degree she wasn't inspired by any historical figures. Her chemistry teacher in her last year of highschool was a key person that influenced her decision, as she mentioned earlier. Sometimes teachers don’t realise that they are our closest influence when we’re choosing what to study, and her teacher was completely unaware how essential she was in this process.
    She got a good response from her family environment when she made the choice to study a scientific degree. She believes that this stems from her always showing interest for science since she was young- it wasn’t a decision that surprised anyone. Currently she does notice people are often surprised when she says she’s a chemist.

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  • Linkedin: Antía Pazó Vicente
  • Interview

    Entrevista

    1. ¿Cuándo tuviste claro que querías estudiar Química?



    2. ¿Qué factores fueron decisivos en tu elección?



    3. Qué destacarías de tu etapa en la Universidad?



    4.¿Qué materias fueron más complejas durante tus estudios?



    5.¿Qué nos recomendarías al alumnado indeciso en la elección de estudios?



    6.Tuviste alguna referente próxima o histórica que te inspirara?



    7.A la hora de elegir los estudios, crees que afectan los roles de género?



    8. ¿Cómo fue la reacción de tu entorno, ante tu decisión?



    Erica González

    Biotechnologist

    Biography

    Erica González Castro

    Biotechnologist

    "What's most important not whether you're a man or a woman, but rather to choose a field of study that lies within each person's particular interests."

    Personal profile
    Érica González Castro was born in Brión on April 30th 1997.
    She lived in her parents’ home in Brión until she was 18, when she moved to León to study for her university degree, which took 4 years. After finishing university she moved to Madrid, where she’s living currently.

    Education
    She did her primary school studies in the CEIP de Pedrouzos, and did both her secondary and college-preparatory studies at the IES de Brión.
    Biotechnology degree and High Honours on her post-graduate thesis, and then went on to complete a drug discovery Master’s degree, “Structural study of the Nop7 subcomplex”.
    From her university education she would highlight how interdisciplinary her degree is, and how you can learn about different fields in it. It’s composed of a strong physics and mathematics base that works really well with the biological aspects. The common denominator of all the subjects in her degree is without a doubt the importance of scientific advances and the enormous potential of scientific research.

    Projects
    Talking about her achievements, she would highlight receiving High Honours on her post-graduate thesis. This was something that gave her a lot of satisfaction, since it was a hard project which was completely experimental, based on investigating in a lab. This can end up being an infuriating process, but it’s very satisfying when you start to get results, both to confirm or refute your initial hypothesis. While she was studying for her degree she spent most of her free time studying, but she was always in contact with English. She hasn’t had the chance to do any voluntary work, but she wouldn’t rule it out in the future.
    Since February she has been working on GSK Consumer Healthcare.

    Interests and inspiration
    She always knew that she wanted to study something related to science. She was really interested in the potential and the reach that science had from the moment that she was taught about it. You can investigate or discover something that can end up being a breakthrough or having a big impact on a lot of people..
    In general, she always leaned towards Maths and Science. When she started to delve into Biology- when this subject is separated into a single subject in the third year of highschool- she knew she wanted to study something related with health sciences, without leaving the pure sciences like Mathematics aside. This is when she discovered Biotechnology, a degree in which all of her interests complemented each other.
    She thinks that her degree is made for people who are really committed to studying it or are really interested in it. It’s a degree that requires a lot of effort, as they’re really demanding studies, both in time and dedication, and can end up becoming quite difficult if you don’t like this field. Talking about her Master’s, these studies gave her a very general and complete vision of the entire process from the time when a drug is first conceived to its actual development. She learned the importance of organic chemistry and technology in this field.
    During her degree, Molecular Genetic Engineering and Molecular Techniques Applied to Genetic Improvement were two of her favourite subjects but also among the most complex and difficult ones. She saw that they could have a very positive impact on society and have actual implementations that could entail big breakthroughs on a global level, even if a lot of the concepts were hard to understand.
    She never had a specific role model, but there are many women in the history of science that are worthy of admiring. They lived in an era that was much more difficult for women, but they continued to believe in their discoveries and kept investigating, even if said discoveries would never have their name on them.
    Her family was very pleased when they knew that she had found something that she thought she would enjoy, and even more so when it was confirmed that she really liked her degree. They have always supported her.

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  • Linkedin: Erica González Castro
  • "O noso futuro atópase no CIMUS" Tecnoloxía na rede, 2013
  • "Visita a centros de investigación" Tecnoloxía na rede, 2014
  • Interview

    Entrevista

    1. ¿Cuándo tuviste claro que querías estudiar algo relacionado con las STEAM?



    2. ¿Qué factores fueron decisivos en tu elección?



    3. ¿Qué destacarías de la Biotecnología?



    4. ¿Qué materias fueron más complejas durante tus estudios?



    5.¿Qué nos recomendarías al alumnado indeciso en la elección de estudios?



    6.¿Tuviste alguna referente próxima o histórica que te inspirara?



    7. A la hora de elegir los estudios, ¿crees que afectan los roles de género?



    8. ¿Cómo fue la reacción de tu entorno, ante tu decisión?



    9. ¿Tuviste alguna dificultad a la hora de comenzar a trabajar por ser mujer?



    10. ¿Qué propuestas crees que podrían intentar aumentar la participación femenina en la Química y en las STEAM en general?



    Nerea Lago

    Biologist

    Biography

    Nerea Lago Baameiro

    Biologist

    "Key factors that led me to decide to study Biology were the interest conveyed by my high school teacher and the experimental lab work I did."

    Vida personal
    Nerea Lago is 26 years old, she lives in Brión, the town where she was born and where she is currently still living.

    Education
    She studied primary school and most of her high school grades in Brión except for the first years of secondary school, which she studied in Viceso. She graduated in biology and went on to receive a Master’s degree in Biomedical Research at the University of Santiago.
    Regarding the Biology degree, she highlights the practical lab work, both that of the subjects studied in the degree, as well as the subsequent ones in the Research Institute in which include month-long sessions. In her opinion, these practical sessions are very useful because they help you see how what you are studying applies to life outside the classroom and how it plays out in real life. She also mentions the final degree project and the final Master’s project, which can be given either an experimental or a bibliographic approach.
    The subjects that she liked the most in her degree were those related to microbiology, especially the clinical diseases electives that she took in her 3rd and 4th years. Studying those subjects she really began to enjoy her degree more, since the first years were very basic, with core subjects shared by many other degrees.
    Regarding her college years, in addition to learning biology she also developed personally by leaving the group of people she had spent so much time with in highschool and meeting new people. She also noticed that the relationship with her university professors was more distant than it was with her highschool teachers, especially during the first years.

    Projects
    Once she finished her Master’s degree, she decided to continue working in the laboratory of IDIS (Santiago Health Research Institute), in which she carried out her latest study, to research obesity.

    Interests and inspiration
    At first, in High School, she didn’t have a clear idea about what she wanted to study, but she did know that her favorite subjects were Biology and Chemistry. Then in her college preparatory courses, the lessons with her biology teacher, the practical lab work, and her participation in the Biology olympics nurtured her growing interest in biology and laboratory research, all of which finally convinced her to pursue a degree in Biology. In addition, she knew that she wanted to go into the health sector, but not as a doctor or a nurse; she believes there is a great mental toll that comes from helping patients when you deliver news, both good and not so good.
    She mentions her Biology teacher Laura as a source of inspiration, because of how she passed on her interest for Biology and showed her important practical applications of her subject. She is mainly interested in laboratory research because of how its clinical applications can greatly improve patients’ quality of life.
    She advises us to study whatever we want to, whatever we think we will enjoy, without letting ourselves be influenced by comments like “Study this because you’ll have better job opportunities” or “Study that because it’s more worthwhile”. She says that, “In the end, you have to study what you like, because you’ll study it with real interest and supposedly, it’s the field you’ll want to work in in the future.”
    As far as gender roles in education, she feels they affect the choices we make because there are degrees such as Engineering in which there are very few women; and, conversely, there are others, such as Medicine, in which there are fewer men than women. This is why she thinks that gender roles do affect us because of certain preconceived societal notions and stereotyped ideas about what degrees are more masculine or feminine, though she would like to think that this is beginning to change. She mentions that the lack of visibility given to female figures in more masculine fields is one of the reasons why fewer women study them.

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  • Linkedin: Nerea Lago Baameiro
  • Instagram: @nee.lab
  • Grupo Obesidómica
  • IDIS
  • "La justicia da la razón a una investigadora gallega que fue discriminada por ser madre" La voz de Galicia.2021
  • Interview

    Entrevista

    1. ¿Cuándo tuviste claro que querías estudiar Biología?



    2. ¿Qué factores fueron decisivos en tu elección?



    3. ¿Qué destacarías de tu etapa en la Universidad?



    4. ¿Qué materias fueron más complejas durante tus estudios?



    5. ¿Qué nos recomendarías al alumnado que estamos indecisos y confusos en la elección de estudios?



    6. ¿Tuviste alguna referente próxima o histórica que te inspirara?



    7.A la hora de elegir los estudios, crees que afectan los roles de género?



    8. ¿Tuviste alguna dificultad a la hora de comenzar a trabajar por ser mujer?



    9. ¿Qué propuestas crees que podrían intentar aumentar la participación femenina en las STEAM en general?



    10. Nerea nos habla sobre su trabajo en Obesidad en el IDIS.