Genesis’ Scholarship Story

A Degree of Resilience

As Genesis reflected upon her journey to LSU – and reaching the milestone of graduation this spring – she noted that the journey has meant more to her and her family than she could have ever anticipated.

Genesis’ father is a Florida native, and her mother moved to the U.S. from Peru. Navigating a bilingual, multicultural house while growing up in Baton Rouge shaped her experiences and established close bonds within her family. Growing up, Genesis always planned to attend the flagship university just down the road from her family home.

Then, about 10 years ago, her mother was diagnosed with a rare, almost fatal skin disease called Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Managing her diagnosis came at a cost that hit the funding her parents had saved for her and her sister’s college tuition.

Genesis shared, “To help my parents, I consistently applied to as many scholarships throughout my undergraduate education as I could. The biggest impact they have had is financial freedom. We’re still paying off medical bills … so I’ve had to kind of cut corners through college. Being able to have the financial freedom to use some of the money I earned from working not going straight towards school has been like a silent blessing because it’s one of those things that you don’t think about how much like gas and food takes up, especially right now.”

Just before her senior year of college began, Genesis was notified she would receive not one, but two scholarships: the Basil Doles Scholarship in Animal Science and the College of Agriculture’s Venker Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Scholarship. Combined, the scholarships completely covered the costs of her final year.

“If you were just to take a quick glance at me, you might not have been quick to notice all the things I’ve been through, with all the things my family’s been through. You can’t see what someone’s gone through just by looking at them…It may not seem like such a big thing, but it’s pretty much changed my entire senior year and the direction it could have gone in or could have not gone in.”

Over the past year, with concerns about tuition out of mind, Genesis has been able to focus on pursuing scholarly experience like participating in undergraduate research. As a student researcher in College of Agriculture’s Dr. Jerome La Peyre’s laboratory, which focuses on oyster diseases, Genesis assisted with cryopreservation–the process of freezing and preserving biological materials–and 3D printing.

Beginning this fall, Genesis will continue her LSU education at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. With her firsthand lab experience, she aspires to combine clinical work with her own research.

As she considers her bright future, Genesis is inspired by her mother: “My mom, she came here with nothing, and to see how she’s made such a big life for herself and how well she’s doing now has been such a big motivator for me to keep (going) and make a legacy like she did … I feel like (my degree) is not only for me; it’s for both of us.”