When Jaelyn Carr begins her freshman year at Boston University in the fall, the 17-year-old will major in neuroscience. It’s been quite an evolution for the young scholar, who a few years ago, despised the mere thought of science.
“I hated, hated science,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘This just doesn’t make sense to me.’ I thought it was so stupid. Why does anyone need to learn this?”
But for Jaelyn, her world view and aspirations changed after attending a workshop in the 8th grade sponsored by STEM NOLA, the New Orleans-based non-profit focusing on STEM education. The workshop presented biology “in a very digestible way,” she says. “It made me feel I could do it and really piqued an interest in the sciences.”
Then came the transformation.
Jaelyn went from hating science to adopting a career ambition to “figuring out what makes the brain work.” The STEM NOLA experience triggered the change.
The secret to STEM NOLA’s success is a hands-on approach that empowers students to learn through their own intuitions and actions. During her workshop, Jaelyn says she did a dissection, but what made it different is that the workshop had several college students as assistants and they were sounding boards for the students. “So, I was able to ask questions, lots of them and the college student next to me would answer them. They had an answer for everything that popped into my mind. They made me realize that like, it’s not, whether you’re good at science. It’s whether you are interested enough to take the time to learn it.”
After attending a STEM NOLA workshop, Jaeyln Carr was determined to excel in science and become a neuroscientist
The next year, when Jaelyn attended high school, she had a rude awakening. It was called physics! Again, she turned to STEM NOLA. Remembering one of her instructors, Jaelyn called to discuss how to survive physics. She was reminded that learning a difficult science was not a measure of her intelligence. It was an opportunity for her to take the initiative to explore the rules of science on her own. And Jaelyn was sold on what her career would be.
“I’ve had a lot of family members to be affected by Alzheimer’s, depression and anxiety,” she says. “I think that neuroscience is like the perfect mix between psychology, which was one of my first loves, and biology. It makes the most sense to me. It makes me feel like I will have the ability to make a difference.”
Still, she recognizes how different things could have been if her eyes hadn’t been opened to the wonderful world of science and biology. “I literally would not be where I am today,” she says. “I probably would’ve done something in English. I’ve always been good at English, but I wanted to challenge myself. That’s what I will get opportunities to continue to do.”
Jaelyn, who was raised in Uptown, New Orleans and now lives in the Gentilly, gets plenty of support at home. Her father is a lawyer and her mother’s organization advocates for reproductive justice. “STEM NOLA supported my daughter in achieving her dreams,” says her mother, Ashley Hamilton. Outside of science, Jaelyn has many hobbies that keep her busy. She does yoga, likes to write and enjoys caring for plants. She also plays the piano, enjoys photography and reads topics like quantum physics.
“My parents are happy for me and proud of me,” Jaelyn says. “They see that I have a passion for what I want to do. This really feels like the way that I can help change the world.”