A Little Snapshot of Rida's Life as an MCD Biology Student

“As an MCD Biology major, the workload and commitment becomes an overload but CATS, yes cats, (chuckles) are my biggest de-stressors” Rida Khan proudly noted with dignity.

Rida Khan, a freshman majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at UCSC, a biology genius, and a research enthusiast, is ambitious about everything biology and is locked in to go after research.

Prior to the interview, Rida settles in the brown, wooden chair in the DL lobby, adjusting her posture in the process. The DL lobby was cold, forcing goosebumps on my skin. Nonetheless, the coolness formulated a relaxing atmosphere before the interview. A Tahiti logo embroidered on Rida’s white T-shirt along with a flowy olive-green skirt made it seem as if she had just returned from a sabbatical in the Polynesian islands. I, on the other hand, was all ears and sat across with my laptop prepared, awaiting to speed type all of her responses. Multiple laundry machines were going KLANK and KLACK here and there, which led to making an awkward smile at each other. With a try-not-to-laugh smile ready and a few cracks on my knuckles, I said in a professional tone-

“Let’s get started, shall we?”

Rida replies while moving a strand of black hair from her face and relaxing her shoulders, “Yeah, whenever you are ready.”

Starting off sweet and simple.

“Looking back at your younger self, was biology always your top choice or were you interested in something else?” 

Rida makes eye contact with the ceiling and furrows her brows to lasso out her thoughts from the past. “As a child, I had childish ideas… you’re going to make fun of me, but I wanted to be a taxi driver,” she answers. Before I could comment on her response, she raised her index finger in the air while jokingly being serious to defend her response. “In high school, I started to do a project internship related to biotech. But then, I took other bio courses, which got me super interested in DNA, genetics, and cells.”

Peering out the window beside us, Rida and I noticed a few people chit chatting their way up the million stairs at Rachel Carson. The weather was quite pleasant; it seemed like the sun wanted an invitation to the interview as the gleams and glows persistently slashed through the window. Speaking of the sun’s gleams and glows, Rida discusses her gleaming future of what she plans to pursue after her undergraduate studies. She aims to go to grad school as the next level and achieve a PhD, in hopes to obtain a senior position in the lab for her career. “Maybe I could work for a biotech company, become affiliated with a certain university, or perhaps carry out a research project here at UCSC.” Out of curiosity, I wondered what deems her worthy to succeed in her route of study.

“What attributes do you have that are valuable for your major and future career?” 

Passion. And. Passion. Passion is her key to not only enjoy her work experience but to also thrive exponentially. Rida briefly explains the idea of passion in a presidential demeanor. In addition to that, she is academically strong in the math and science field, encouraging her to implement her knowledge into real-life work.

Rida glances over at the same window and watches as a few students enter the DL building; they were heading to their dorm rooms in a random, questionable hurry. A lightbulb appeared above her head, figuratively speaking. She added, “Collaborating with other people, communicating, being honest and open about your work is a strength of mine that I have, which can be extremely beneficial for research.” 

Her carefully plucked words shine encouragement into me. I felt a sensation of motivation rush through my veins after hearing “communicating, being honest and open about your work.” I thought to myself Well, that is a solid point and something I should highly build upon because as someone who wants to pursue dentistry, communication is a beneficial skill set to acquire.

As Rida explains the importance of networking with others, her voice raises in dedication and sealing it with a warmth spirit in her tone. Something floated in my mind and I was practically on the edge of my seat to satiate my Curious George-like mind.

“As of now, what kind of research are you planning to do here at UCSC?”

She had a flabbergasted reaction to my question and seemed more than happy to answer as if she had been waiting her whole life for someone to ask. It made me smile– more like a giggle in merriment. 

“Well… as of now, I am trying to join a lab related to gene regulation or DNA transcription.” A very intricate topic, indeed. Rida’s love for genes has nudged her to gain an interest in the microscopic effects of cancer. I smirked in astonishment and thought how mind-boggling it was for Rida to chase after this study. Her open hand gestures, excitement in her eyes, and words overflowing with confidence, seasoned the entire DL lobby with unimaginable positivity. It certainly made other students smile walking past us. 

I placed my hands on my lap and switched gears to discuss how she handles stress with all the lab, studying, homework, and deadlines.

 “Cats!” She exclaims. I raised my eyebrows. Silence. Resume. “I totally agree with your answer,” I shot a response back. Rida explains how her orange cat, Simba, takes the load off her as he cuddles and just acts cute. She clasps her hands together to emphasize that cats can solve all your problems. It made me laugh and even wish I owned a cat even more.

The interview closed off to a success with wonderful responses plus how much cats can ease the life of Rida– an MCD Biology major, biology genius, research enthusiast, and even a cat lover.

Grace Nguyen