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.