Headbang For Science

Rachel Louise Taylor CSHM Class of 2024 This Is How I Am Far Beyond Driven Being Rachel Taylor takes many pieces to puzzle me together. These pieces make me who I am, which is my passion for a multitude of activities. Being me is to love special effects makeup, practicing, and researching for years accumulating knowledge on this cryptic and horrific art. Another art in which I am passionate for is aerial arts, performing six feet up in front of crowds expressing my love for the music and my ability to contort to the production which I have been working on for years with intense pressure on my body and mind. My fixations don't stop with these, they continue through my enthusiasm for my vocation of Altar Serving, within the Catholic church, my fierce ambition for success within my academic career which I have greatly achieved at Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary holding many titles including a continuous Summa Cum Laude status and a 4.5 GPA, National Honors Society member, being an LA Archdiocese Christian Service Award Recipient, adventures with my loved ones, finding new experiences that allow me to appreciate new knowledge and getting caught in a mosh with my lust for metal music. I grew up in a family with an appreciation for all music but with an infatuation with metal. I was raised in the pit, so metal isn't just a genre of music I like but it is a part of me that has been with me since childhood, supporting me through the difficult times yet also empowering me with the joy it brings with every riff and breakdown. Evolving from falling asleep to Shroud of Urine by Exodus at a young age like a lullaby, to watching Gary Holt, five feet away in the pit of The House of Blues with some of my closest friends and family, metal is a piece of me; it pumps through my veins and arteries. I have met people who have encouraged my every desire solely because we met in the pit bonding by blood with metal. Metal is bound within my obsessions as it flows through everything I do. My academic goals are ambitious. I hope to get into college to study Forensic Sciences. Forensic Science especially focusing on crime scene investigation intrigues me to the core. The crime scene is where the secrets are unfolded. Studying the autopsy for suspicious factors as well as outside factors that can be found within the body or even the blood spatter is an enticing science that I want to delve into deeper. Both USC and East Los Angeles College hold fascinating curriculums which I may study through for four exceptional years. Following these years, my goal is to work for a team in which I can investigate the crime scene and file autopsy reports to produce answers and solutions using the biomedical understanding I will obtain from my extensive education. Working on a force to uncover the formula behind the scenes, acknowledging every piece with the aid of forensic and biomedical research practices. With my determined goals comes great expense. I plan to pay for my education with savings from my personal accounts as well as my inheritance my father has left me. These would pay for a decent amount of my tuition along with books and other necessities. With this, I will be using money from the changed income I will have from working and support from savings. The Headbang for Science scholarship would allow me to further my education allowing me to study the science I am truly passionate about, blood spatter analysis and an investigation fit for an autopsy, dissecting a crime scene through forensic and biomedical science. This foundation is truly made for a student like me, a student who has a desire to extend their knowledge to have the opportunity to become the scientist or Forensic Scientist they are driven to be all while having a deep passionate love for metal.

I always knew I would be a rockstar one day. I just didn’t know that it would be as a scientist. My first concert at 12 was Metallica, Candlebox, Suicidal Tendencies, and Fight at The University of New Mexico football stadium in 1992. Our parents didn’t allow us to listen to metal so we snuck out and got greyhound tickets to Burque.’ I am half Northern New Mexico Native American and half Spanish from Española. Growing up in the late 80’s, one of my elders introduced me to a band called Testament who is led by another native named Chuck Billy. They are the bedrock of my musical being (thank you Triple Thrash Threat for reinforcing that) along with Metallica. My books were covered in Testament and Metallica logos at school and I bribed my sister to pull out tapes like Souls of Black, Practice What You Preach, Blizzard of Oz, and …and justice for all. I started drumming in band at school and jamming in “Strangled Pussy” after. I was convinced that I would make it big one day. After High School if I stayed in NM, my life was set for nothing good. So at 17, I moved to Vegas, Nevada and got a job at The Hard Rock Cafe (1997-2003). The HRC was the spot in the late 90’s-2000’s for anything hard rock and I wanted to be in the middle. I worked as a buss boy for all the events at the Joint and served Motley Crew, Bill Murray…but it became clear that I was not going to make it as a musician. In fall 2008 at 27, I enrolled in my first classes at Northern New Mexico College back home in Española. I earned a two year degree in Renewable Energies. This is about the time I first remember a station called LiquidMetal that I would do homework to. Once I had a two year degree, I received an invitation from New Mexico State University to do a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology. In my 30’s by that time, I was older than most and it was the music that accompanied me through. In no way did I ever envision going to Purdue! But I applied and became part of the 3% of brown students there. I wrote a Masters Thesis on Botanical Air Filtration. Always wishing to work with NASA, in 2018 I got an internship with the plant science team at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That turned into a full time job as a horticultural scientist and I contributed to 17 space biology experiments including growing the first fruit on the International Space Station, Española New Mexico Chile from my hometown. I even talked to you Jose from the lab during a Social Media hang during that time. I spent 24 months working alone in a NASA lab during COVID. You were doing the metal ambassador thing (as always). Your positivity carried me through and I used that energy to build a community around the space chile mission. I started a Facebook page in 2020 and became Jacob Pepperseed sending Chile seeds to kids to participate in science. My dream is to finish school so I made a bold move in 2023 to leave my NASA role to start a PhD at UNM. So I am on my own again, applying for scholarships, fellowships for next year and have half of the $39K FAFSA determined as my need for this year. My fall back plan is to get student loans to fill in the difference. My research is a multi disciplinary effort through Engineering, Biology, and Humanities to inspire kids in the state that ranks 50th in K-12 education. Largely minority, the aim is to help kids love school through an idea of sending Chile to the moon. What science can they generate along the way? My vision is to do this representing Headbang For Science and show the world what a determined metalero can do.

Heavy metal music has helped build confidence in finding my identity. Working toward graduating with a Bachelor of Science in three years is no easy feat and I maintain my sanity by serving on the executive board for Quinnipiac University's student-run radio station, 98.1 FM WQAQ, for two years and simultaneously hosting two radio shows. As the only STEM major involved with my college radio, the only way I can relate to my radio station peers is through music. I am a radiologic sciences major in the College of Health Sciences, only about 20 students, and I truly try to infuse music into everything I do at school. Radiology and radio are two very different worlds. One is preparing me for my future profession while the other is my own passion project. One night a week you can count on finding me in the live room of the radio station on campus sharing all my favorite music on my radio show “The Witching Hour”. Being able to express myself and play the heavy music of Motionless in White, Bring Me the Horizon, or Spiritbox is truly a gift. It’s my radio show where I can play whatever I want, preview upcoming tours, share my own concert experiences, and introduce people to awesome music. The people I have met in the heavy music community have been nothing short of amazing. Not only am I an avid concert-goer, but I have had the opportunity to photograph incredible bands up close with my radio station media pass. I was recently photographing Avenged Sevenfold at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. This was only the third concert I ever “professionally” photographed and my first arena to do it in. The whole experience was surreal. Being able to see this incredible band live on their Life Is But A Dream Tour and represent the radio station was a dream. The pictures even came out better than I could’ve imagined. The next day I took a test on the skeletal structure and positionings of knees and got the highest score in the class: 103%. This past semester was full of new adventures for me in the realm of radiology and metal music. I completed my first clinical rotation at a Veteran’s Affairs Center in West Haven, CT, meaning I was working two full unpaid workdays every week. At the same time, I was taking seven classes. This academically rigorous curriculum is necessary to reach my professional goal of becoming a veterinary radiologic technologist. Graduating from this undergrad program will send me into the world prepared to take the radiologic technologist board exam and give me the opportunity to apply to Quinnipiac University’s graduate program of Advanced Medical Imaging and Leadership. In this program, I will graduate with a Master of Health Science and be certified in CT or MRI technology, a valuable skill in the veterinary field. In my professional career, I want to give a voice to the voiceless, providing quality imaging to treat these incredible creatures. This scholarship money would help pay for the extra expenses that come with being in this radiologic sciences program. This summer I am working in two 6-week clinical rotations in Connecticut. As a New Jersey native, this means I must not only pay for these credits, but I must also pay for my housing, food, and gas. Working unpaid almost 40 hours every week for this program provides me with crucial clinical experience but is expensive! I would use this money to pay off the tuition for this summer and towards my final year of undergrad work rather than relying on my parents to help pay for my education.

Have you ever heard of a cardiovascular researcher who’s also a metal head? It’s someone I’m bound to be known as once I graduate from medical school. This scholarship recognizes my love for metal along with my academic excellence, leadership roles, and my standing within my community. In my community, I actively volunteer for Luv Michael, VITAS Healthcare, and Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY). In high school, I was in National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Thespian Society, and Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society. I ranked #4 in my graduating class of 104 students and was in the Top 10% of my school. I was my school’s sophomore ambassador at HOBY Leadership and was also the recipient of the University of Rochester’s Bausch & Lomb Award for academic excellence in science and math. I was the recipient of College Board’s AP Scholar Award and Hispanic Scholar Award. Lastly, I was a member of Science Club (VP, President), Model United Nations (President), Best Buddies, Art Club and Drama Club (Stage Manager). In college at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), I plan to excel in their Dual Admission Program for Osteopathic Medicine to dive into my passion of finding cures for cardiovascular diseases and cancers. This opportunity motivates me to pursue my Bachelors in Science degree, my DO degree, and a PhD in Cardiovascular research. My future career entails conducting research studies by overseeing medical trials, collaborating with doctors who are recognized for their work in cardiovascular diseases and cancers, and making these cures and treatments affordable to people of all financial circumstances. It’s important to me that people’s health and happiness come first and foremost, even before their heavy metal needs. Apart from my work income and my parents’ financial contribution, college is still expensive for what I want to accomplish. The money will go towards my dream career I will pursue in the field of clinical scientific research, specifically in cardiovascular disease and cancer. Blood cancer, like Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and blood disease, like Sickle Cell Disease, are not common, yet they lead to death, intense chemotherapy, and diagnoses at any age. I will commit my professional life to discovering newly effective treatments that result in minimal to no symptoms and negative effects, and even a cure for cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Meanwhile in my personal life, I will commit to furthering my heavy metal journey. I was introduced to metal when my Aunt Adriana showed me Hard Rock, Thrash Metal, and Nu Metal. She took me to my first metal concert on January 14, 2014 at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale with an outstanding lineup—In This Moment, Devour the Day, and the Butcher Babies. I experienced many levels of intensity, lyrics, instruments, and showmanship of the bands that performed. Upon hearing the first guitar riff, the growl and scream vocals, seeing the pyrotechnic effects, and insane wardrobe the bands wore, I was hooked. This has become a family thing that now involves my parents, my aunt Adriana, and Uncle Rob. We have gone to Fort Rock in 2018, Earthday Birthday in 2019, Welcome to Rockville in 2023, SHIPROCKED in 2022 and 2023, and concerts throughout the years. I’ve even had the privilege of meeting metal icons like Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, Josh from Badflower, and Jonny Hawkins from Nothing More, all of whom I look up to. Heavy metal infiltrated my college essay, leading to my acceptances into top institutions like U Michigan Ann Arbor, CWRU, DePaul Univ, U Miami, and UF. For my senior photos, I posed with my vinyls and CDs of metal bands while wearing Slipknot and Avatar merch. Heavy metal keeps me grounded and focused on working towards my goals. Additionally, it has become a way for me to make friends, spend time with family, drum out the noise, and help me conquer my emotional setbacks. Heavy Metal saved my life, made me who I am today, and will now help me accomplish my career dreams.

My name is Zanon Gamache, and this scholarship embodies the two most important parts of my life. I'm a dually enrolled high school and college student about to graduate with my diploma and Associate Degree. Next semester I plan to go to CU Boulder to get my Bachelor's in chemistry. I want to continue my education through to a Ph.D. level and use my knowledge and skills as a chemist to enter the field of research. I work very hard to maintain good academic standing, as my chosen field is very involved with learning. I'm the #1 rank in my class in high school and am a multiple-time member of the president's list at my college. I've been invited to every significant honor society as I have a GPA of approximately 4.5. I also work at my college teaching college algebra and calculus. I've already taken math up through calculus 3 and chemistry up to college chem 2. I take my future career very seriously. Unfortunately, people often underestimate me because of how I dress, look, and portray myself. I love everything about metal, the intensity, the emotion, the complexity, and every minute detail. I've been listening to it since middle school, and almost all of my shirts are tour shirts from various bands that have come to my hometown of Denver, Colorado. I show my appreciation for bands such as Behemoth, Gojira, Dream Theater, Tool, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Megadeth, and many others in the way that I dress. I also play live metal shows with different bands, some paid, some just for fun. Because of this, people misjudge me as a delinquent or hooligan. This couldn't be further from the truth, as while I like to display my passion, I take my academic and professional life incredibly seriously. Currently, I'm applying for as many scholarships as possible because I won't be able to afford college without them. My parents have been gracious enough to give me an amount of money that will get me through my first two semesters of college. Unfortunately, the FAFSA has provided many scholarships I've applied to with a much higher figure for my anticipated family contribution. Because of this, most scholarships have disqualified me for not having a great enough need for financial assistance. I cannot stress enough that I do need scholarship money. This scholarship is for exactly the type of person I am, and it's allowed me to explain my financial situation. I won't be able to pay for my college past my first two semesters, so I desperately need the funds to do so. I'm the perfect candidate for this scholarship as I display a deep love of heavy metal music, powerful academic achievements and goals towards science, and strong financial need.

Metal music has always been deeply embedded in my identity and personality, especially while attending a performing arts high school as a guitar major and during higher education as a microbiologist. Metal music, like science, empowers people to think independently but also provides a means of community through connecting with others in a melting pot of perspectives. This breaking down of barriers is also seen in how metal evolves and innovates by incorporating other music styles and opening boundless avenues of expression. The importance of metal to my development is why, even throughout my academic journey, I’ve continued pursuing my love of metal music through composing for and performing in the Vegas-based melodic death metal band Volterrum, which I co-founded in my undergraduate. I began my undergraduate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 2016 as the first person in my family to pursue education beyond high school. I arrived with an open mind and desire to find a discipline that both empowered and drove me to use my mind creatively, much like metal music has done throughout my life. I found a passion for molecular and microbial biology and graduated cum laude with my Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. My research work with several labs during my undergraduate cultivated my passion for scientific research, which drove me to pursue graduate school and transition from merely a student of science to a contributor. I joined a molecular microbiology lab as a Master’s student studying the bacterial pathogen Shigella flexneri. In May 2023, I earned my Master of Science from UNLV for my thesis research, which used well-established molecular biology and biochemistry techniques to characterize the molecular mechanism by which an unusual regulatory protein turns on genes in Shigella that are critical to causing disease in humans. This work and my graduate program sharpened my laboratory skills and ability to perform scientific research, helping make me competitive for doctoral programs. I have recently been admitted to the Cell and Molecular Biology Ph.D. program at the University of Nevada, Reno, where I was serendipitously interviewed by a program director because of a shared love of metal music. In this program, I will be working in a virology lab that researches DNA tumor viruses and coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). My goal is to have a career in academia as a professor doing research and teaching – contributing to the scientific endeavor while imparting the next generation of students with a similar scientific wonderment that permeated me as a student. I am eagerly making progress toward these goals, as demonstrated by my research and work as a microbiology lab instructor, which I did during my Master’s program to pay for tuition and living expenses. I am continuing to teach microbiology labs at the College of Southern Nevada this summer as an adjunct instructor before beginning my Ph.D. program. Matriculation into this Ph.D. program entails my relocation to Reno, Nevada, and will be my first time living without family, a convenience that enabled me to afford education thus far. I intend to pay for my Ph.D. program predominantly through research assistantships and working as a lab instructor under a graduate teaching assistantship, as is common for graduate students in the sciences. These assistantships partially cover tuition and provide a modest stipend that inadequately covers living expenses. Consequently, support from the Headbang for Science scholarship will help immensely with my living expenses by supplementing my income. Funding from this scholarship would also help alleviate the expenses of professional travel, including trips to conferences/symposia to share my research and network with other scientists. These activities are important for professional development and will help me identify collaborators, as well as potential labs for post-doctoral research programs and future faculty positions. Your generous support will tangibly enhance my ability to succeed in this research program as I work toward my scientific and professional aspirations. I would like to extend my appreciation to the application review committee – thank you for your support and consideration.