Graduate Research Assistant
Alexa describes her path from the University of South Florida to Hillsborough Community College to NASA to graduate school.
What biotechnology program did you attend?
I attended the Biotechnology program at Hillsborough Community College (HCC) in Florida.
What degrees or certificates have you completed?
I completed a Bachelors degree in Psychology at the University of South Florida and the Biotechnology Associates degree HCC.
Are you working on more advanced degrees?
Yes. I am currently enrolled in a PhD program at the University of South Florida.
What can you tell us about your career path?
After college, I worked at a restaurant and we had a brewery tour. I became interested in yeast fermentation and that led me to the biotech program at HCC. From there, I did an internship at NASA and went on to graduate school.
What do you do for your job?
I am studying methods for waste treatment so that waste from the astronauts could be used to grow plants on the Moon and Mars.