WEBVTT

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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INSTRUCTOR: All right, Paula, here's
the crazy butterfly puzzle.

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Let's see what you can do.

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PAULA: OK.

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PAULA: Nanotechnology
is what it sounds like.

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It's basically technology
on the nanoscale.

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I'm obsessed with butterflies. 
[CHUCKLES]

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Nanotechnology is creating
really, really tiny materials,

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or devices, or structures
to produce technology.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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I feel like nanotech is very
elegant.

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INSTRUCTOR: Is your
butterfly in there?

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PAULA: My name is Paula Kirya.

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I go to school at
Pasadena City College

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and it's my third year here.

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I have another
name, Nansamba.

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That's Ugandan.

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My parents are from Uganda.

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I was born in Toronto, Canada.

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My whole life was spent in
Canada and the United States.

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In high school I
showed up to class.

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I was going through the motions,
but I couldn't find something

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to be interested in.

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So when it came to applications,
I applied to all these schools

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with different majors, but I was
like I don't want to do this.

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Am I really going to go
into debt for something

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I don't even know I want to do?

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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In community college the
goal is to learn, grow,

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and to just become better.

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My first year here
at PCC I wanted

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to dip my foot into everything.

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JARED: To get students
more interested in science,

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we introduce research
within our classes.

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VERONICA: Our focus is how
we can incorporate science

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into the early
experience of students,

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hopefully inspiring them
to want to do research.

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JARED: This is where
we came up with what

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we called the Early Career
Undergraduate Research

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Experience.

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PAULA: Dr. Ashcroft-- I was
taking his Chemistry 1A course

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and he invited me to participate
in this research project

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about morpho butterfly wings.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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JARED: The project that
we've been working on

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with butterfly wings is why do
the blue morpho butterfly wings

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have that cool,
iridescent blue color.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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PAULA: We're imaging
these butterfly wings.

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You're seeing these
nanostructures

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and it's basically telling
us the colors you see--

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they don't come from pigment
like the melanin in your skin.

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They come from
these nanostructures

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interacting with
light to produce

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colors of certain wavelengths.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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I've never heard of
anything like this before.

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I was like this is some
voodoo, like this is something

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I would like to research.

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JARED: Once you can get
that passion and that love

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of science, I
think that what you

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see as students start actually
performing well in class.

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VERONICA: The National Science
Foundation distributes grants

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to advanced technical
education and one of the grants

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came to Pasadena City
College for the Early Career

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Undergraduate
Research Experience,

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so the ECURE program.

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JARED: The ATE program really
promoted undergraduate research

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and using the undergraduate
research is ideal.

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VERONICA: Our undergraduate
research experience

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builds a pipeline from
course to internships

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at our partner institutions.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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PAULA: I was able to participate
in the undergraduate research

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internship with Dr. Radwan Siddique.

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RADWAN: Just making the
size of any material

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in the order of nanometers,
you can change the properties.

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The visible light will
start interacting.

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JEFF: When you're moving
on as a researcher,

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you have to cultivate
your sense of wonder

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and take it into
a creative realm.

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That's the only way to do
things no one's done before.

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RADWAN: Passion and
motivation, this

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is the driving
force for science.

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You will end up with
something like this.

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Can you can see
the color change?

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PAULA: Attending Pasadena
City College, this

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is the best decision
I've ever made.

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Absolutely 100%.

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The opportunities
I was able to get--

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I didn't even think
that was possible for me

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to participate in
research as an undergrad.

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If I went to a
big institution, I

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wouldn't have had professors or
mentors as engaged and involved

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in me.

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I really look up to my
community college professors

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who helped me so much.

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And it would mean
a lot to me if I

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could do that for
someone else, help them

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the way I've been helped.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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I want to continue
my education and get

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a PhD in bioengineering.

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I've been thinking about
a career as professor

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and pursue research as well.

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Took a while, but
now I finally have

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a sense of what I want to do.

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VERONICA: So you have to
come back and tell us

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all the great things
you do in the future.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]