Defying Odds

KENYA STALEY | @KENYASTALEY

Hidden in the corner of what seemed to be a makeshift research center, Paul Ruiz and Reginald Sauls worked diligently on their project at the University of California, Riverside. The pair excitedly dove into the purpose of their work at UCR, studying six-million year-old tropical oysters with the help of their supervisor, Bridget Kelly.

Kelly, a third year PhD candidate at UCR, spoke highly of her two interns, citing she could not be luckier to have two students who are independent and driven. “The endgame is to understand the paleoecology of this ancient shoreline which represents the Gulf of California when it extended as far north as Riverside County, about 6 million years ago. We are ultimately interested in the growth of the species, one of our interests is conservation paleobiology, which is a way paleontologists can inform or predict any modern or future crises in biodiversity,” explained Kelly.

Kelly, Sauls and Ruiz all explained the vast importance of paleontology, and how research findings about the past could ultimately affect our future. The oysters hold a significant amount of information about the Gulf of California. Moreover, they hold the potential to give researchers a glimpse into the past and future of our climate, for example, evidence of significant long term changes in weather patterns in a specific region. Sauls and Ruiz both described how tedious and complex it is to detect these patterns. However, the work of paleontologists is vital to the work of other environmental scientists

Both Ruiz and Sauls both admitted they were quite nervous about the internship.

They yearned to acquire as much knowledge as possible. Everyone on the team exuded an immense amount of pride in the work they do. Sauls, who plans on becoming a middle school science teacher, said the internship has been great for networking and finding out what specific work they enjoy. “Bridget’s been great because if we show an interest in something she’ll show us exactly what we need to do and who to speak to to get further into that field and that’s exactly what you want from an internship - someone who’s there to support you and guide you to your own version of success.” added Sauls.

While praising the faculty in the science department, Ruiz confessed he was not always sure of his career path. Ruiz endded up in Chaffey’s STEM internship program after years of debate about which career path he wanted to take. Years after enrolling in Chaffey, Paul has finally found his niche as well. “I just had great professors at Chaffey, my faculty advisor was Anna Foutz and she was amazing. I sat with her over the course of a few days and I had so many questions but when you see a professor who loves teaching and what they do for a living it makes you think ‘Oh maybe I can do this too,” said Paul, who jokingly added that he would like to have summers off too.

Paul spoke openly about the struggles of being an earth science major. “The science field is rough because you have to take a lot of math. That’s kind of the hump for most students, getting over the difficult general education course. Unless you’re a math sauvant, these high-level mathematics courses. Unless are going to possess some sort of difficulty or frustration.”

This narrative is all too common for STEM majors, but Ruiz and Sauls are dedicated to defying the odds and overcoming their obstacles.