Hispanic Heritage Month with Cristina Graciela Márquez

Every year, Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15-October 15 as a time to share the stories of Hispanic/Latinx people and honor how Latin American cultures have shaped the world. Anniversaries of independence for several countries are celebrated during this period. 

The UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is using this time to highlight some of our Hispanic/Latinx students. Thank you to the featured students who spoke about their culture, family, and goals with us!

Cristina Graciela Márquez is a second-year student in the B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences program.

“I grew up in Downey, a city with a very high Mexican population. I am half white and half Mexican and grew up surrounded by my culture,” she shared. “My mom is white and has also spent her whole life in Downey. My dad is Mexican, and he was born and raised in Mexico City. He grew up with eight siblings, the middle child of four sisters and four brothers. None of his sisters went to college or even finished high school, making me the first girl in the Márquez family to go to college.”

What was your inspiration for pursuing your undergrad at UCI?

“Even in my middle and high school education, when I was surrounded by peers who looked like me, my teachers often didn’t. Of all the science and mathematics courses I took at Downey High School, every single teacher was white except for my sophomore year Honors Chemistry teacher. Of my seven STEM teachers throughout high school, three of them were women and only one of them was Latina — Ms. Lara is the reason I am where I am today. She sparked my love for chemistry and inspired me to pursue a career with it. I had also always been interested in the medical field, so when I was researching different branches of chemistry and biology, I found pharmacology. It combined what I was curious about so well and was a way for me to help other people. There are also many opportunities for research in this field. From the middle of my junior year of high school, I knew I wanted to go into pharmaceutical sciences.

When researching universities to apply to and their pharmaceutical programs, I had a few on my list. UCI was my final choice for a number of reasons. Firstly, the pharmaceutical program here is one of the top in the nation — many students are successful and go into graduate programs. It’s also not too far from home, and it’s very safe. UC Irvine’s status as one of the safest — if not the safest — UC campuses was a big part in my decision to go here, especially as a Latina woman. The campus is also gorgeous. I’ve always loved nature, and Aldrich Park is beautiful. I love walking to class because it’s so nice and green. That’s something other campuses don’t have to the extent that UCI does. I was offered the Regent’s Scholarship here, which helps a lot for financial aid. Finally, I participated in the UCI California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS), where I got a taste of research and lectures in a subject I was greatly interested in. That experience helped me lean toward UCI in the end, and I committed.”

How has your culture influenced you? What makes you proud of your heritage? What are some cool things about your culture that everyone should know?

“This is an interesting question because I don’t really feel like I have been influenced by my culture, I feel like I am my culture. It’s an intrinsically beautiful part of every Hispanic or Latinx person out there, no matter how different our experiences and childhoods have been. Whether it’s having a Rosca de Reyes on Three Kings’ Day every year, or the food we eat for dinner that feels like home, every aspect of being Mexican has helped make me who I am today. The part of our culture that I am the most personally connected to is ballet folklorico, the beautiful Mexican traditional dance. I have been dancing since I was six years old, and my tías all danced (one of them teaches at a dance academy in Mexico!). Everything about ballet folklorico is beautiful to me, including the connections I’ve made with others through it. I found Ballet Folklorico de UCI (BFDUCI) at the end of my first fall quarter and immediately joined. The next quarter I was an instructor intern for the Jalisco region, and now I am the Outreach Coordinator for our organization. I love being in BFDUCI, because I’ve found so many people like me who share this love for dance and our culture. We’re performing at the School of Social Ecology’s Día de Los Muertos event on November 2nd, an event that is a wonderful way for the rest of the UCI community to interact with, learn about, and appreciate Mexican culture.”

What has been your favorite/most memorable class so far and why?

“Based on my experience at UCI so far, I’d have to say my favorite class was Bio 93 in my fall quarter. I’ve always loved learning about cell biology and genetics; in my COSMOS cluster we worked a lot with RNA-seq, which fueled my interest in cell biology. It was a tough class to have in my first quarter of college, but I enjoyed the content of what I was learning and I loved my professors. I had Professors Busciglio, Wood, and Green, and I remember walking into my first lecture and hearing Professor Busciglio talk with an accent that sounded kind of like my dad’s. He is Argentinian and actually has the same first name as my father. Seeing him as one of my first professors was really nice and relieving, especially in a lecture hall with a lot of non-Hispanic people who thought his accent was funny. Regardless, I enjoyed all the professors and the content of that class.”

What are your post-graduation goals? How do you hope to use your degree?

“After I graduate, I’d like to pursue a PhD, hopefully at UCI or USC. My dream is to go into research at a university. For some time I was considering being a high school chemistry teacher, as I’ve always loved helping my friends with homework and was a tutor for various subjects in high school. But when I attended COSMOS, I knew I wanted to do research. My thought is that being a professor at a university and doing research there combines both of the things I am interested in.”

Why should high school or transfer students consider studying pharmacy at UCI?

“For students who are considering studying pharmacy at UCI, I absolutely recommend it. Whether you want to become a pharmacist or a researcher, the program here is amazing. One of my favorite things is that since we are a rather small major, the academic counselors and staff do so much for the students. It feels like a much more personal experience. In your first quarter, in the new student seminar, they help with so many practical things, like creating a four-year plan and resume while also preparing you with general university knowledge. I really enjoy being in this major here, and I could not imagine if I had gone somewhere else.”