Veteran Journalist Pursues Passion for Science

Sera Gonzalez was 14 years old when she decided what she wanted to be when she grew up.  

“I wanted to be a journalist, connecting people to information. Along the way, friends told me I should have gone into biology, but I thought they were joking.”

Sera graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2004 with her bachelor’s degree in journalism. She spent the next 14 years working as an editor in a newsroom until she discovered something new.

“In my mid-thirties, I discovered edutainment. I almost exclusively watched shows investigating life, like Blue Planet, Veritasium, Brain Games, The Nine Months that Made You, Cosmos, etc. I widened my reading material to include scientific articles and books. So, when my husband told me I should have gone into biology, my curiosity was piqued. Maybe I should give this biology thing a try.”

Sera enrolled in a chemistry class at a community college. She was 37 years old.

“I felt out of place in a room teeming with youth. In one class, we worked in groups. I was partnered with a 17- and 18-year-old. During a lull in lecture, my group members were looking at their phones. I asked if they were reading the news, and they looked at me like I was crazy. No, they were watching videos of people flipping their shoes. I’ve never felt so old and removed.”

Sera transferred to UT Dallas in 2020 to pursue a degree in biology. She also changed jobs, giving up her position as an assistant newsroom supervisor and starting over as a part-time technician in a pathology lab.

“I was supremely vulnerable, and I hated it. I didn’t know how to not be in charge; I didn’t even know I liked being in charge until I had given it up. I also discovered I didn’t know how to learn and give myself grace when embarking on a challenge.”

In 2022, Sera joined Dr. Kendra Seaman’s Aging Well Lab as a research assistant where she discovered a lot of other nontraditional students like herself.

“Here, I am not lost, not a misfit; instead, I bring experience and diversity, a background rich in different thought processes and methods. I can be a scientist and a journalist, a bridge to the world outside of academia. This makes me an asset, not someone going through a very expensive mid-life crisis.”

Sera will graduate in December with her bachelor’s degree in biology. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. with an interest in the effects of nutrition. She says while it’s been a struggle to balance education, work, and life, it was worth it.

“It was hard; there were lots and lots of tears, but it was so totally worth it, and the grin I’ll have on my face when I walk the stage on Dec. 19 is going to prove it.”

You can read more about Sera in the Aging Well Lab’s Blog.