TRAIN Scholar James Head's Blog

  Am I worthy to be in college? Am I worthy of financial aid? What makes it so? When I was in the military I suffered a brain injury that makes it very difficult for me to remember things. As a partially disabled veteran, the VA sometimes offers financial support for re-education. When I contacted them to ask for money to go back to college, the first thing they asked was what disabilities I had. After I explained my head injury the lady said to me "Don't you think an education would be wasted on you? Instead, volunteer for one of our business partners for a year, and if you do well, we will try to find you a paying job, like fast food." My reply was simple. "No, I don't think I am a waste of an education. Thank you for your time." I could not hang up that phone fast enough to silence the naysayers. I may not achieve the highest GPA in my class, but I certainly can learn enough to make a contribution to society. I am worthy. This semester I have one class t...

 I do not think my identity per se influenced my educational path. My age itself did, however. When I was younger I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had no roles models that I was trying to emulate. With time and experience I realized that I loved helping people, and wanted a career relating to the medical field. I also am very curious about how things work. While pursuing other degree paths, I was finally led to Biology, my one true love. It has everything I want. My identity has impacted my sense of belonging though. I am twice the age of most of my fellow students. I feel like a bit of an outsider at times, and certainly way behind everyone else. When they are my current age, they will be masters of their field. I am already older than many of my professors. When I enter the workforce again, people much younger than I am will have much more knowledge and experience.  It is something I am having to get comfortable with. I also feel like I will have much less t...

 Do you feel you have a more malleable/growth mindset, or a fixed mindset?      I am not sure how to answer this. I am very fixed with some things, and malleable with others. I am not afraid to learn when it comes to things like science, although I can get particular about knowing all the rules or expectations, and sometimes get stuck. I can go to a foreign city, or in the middle of a jungle, and feel very comfortable in unfamiliar territory. If I am fixing a machine, I see it as a challenge and growth opportunity when I don't find the problem right away. In other areas I definitely have a fixed mindset. Language, for instance, has never been easy for me, and I resist learning. I took Spanish for 4 years and it did not "speak to me." I didn't like it at all. Now I hear people telling me how I need to learn Spanish and I get upset. I say things like, "There are 450 languages spoken in the U.S.. Am I to learn them all, or should everyone just learn English?" I...

 I feel like I just binge watched the ending of several amazing shows. I loved everyone's  presentations. I have been anxious all semester to see the results of all these interesting  projects. There were several surprise endings, which I loved. They are all a good reminder of  how fragile and complex life is. I am off to ASU next semester, and I would like to thank all  of you for your support in helping me to get there. Thank you also for sharing your time and  knowledge, which has made my own life infinitely more interesting and fulfilling. Best  wishes, and may your journeys be spectacular.

  Plants also have an epigenome. Like our own, theirs can be altered by climate and microbes. Gene expression is changed to adapt to available nutrients, water, sun, disease, helpful microbes (fungi, etc.), immediate plant population (over-crowding), and more. Because some plants have more than one type of reproductive cycle, the parts of the epigenome that are passed on may vary. In humans, only the mothers epigenome is passed on. In plants, they may pass on both sets, depending on reproduction type. These changes can affect short term survival, long term survival of one plant, or long term survival of a population of plants. Understanding these processes could greatly impact our ability to grow healthy plants in a sustainable fashion. Here is an interesting article for more information: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/20/7457/htm. 

  Some cancers are believed to be caused via epigenetic mutations.  Cancer stem  cells, "CSC's", can be made and maintained through  the  epigenome  via altered histones and  methylations. This  reprogramming of cell  production changes not  only what type of  cell  is being made, the  gene  expression, but how  rapidly. Scientists  are  still working on  ways  to restore the epigenome  of these cells as a  way  to fight  cancers,  such as leukemia.