FELLOW PROFILE

Valencia Williams
Field Application Scientist
Stratagene
La Jolla, CA

What is your current academic (or professional) affiliation (where do you work – go to school, etc.), and what is your current research area?

I am a field application scientist for Stratagene, an Agilent Technologies biotechnology company, located in La Jolla, CA.  My territory includes the Western Region of the United States.  My job duties include traveling to different research institutes, universities, and companies that are customers of the company and giving seminars on QPCR-related topics. 

 

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Swainsboro, GA, and raised in Summertown, GA, a small community outside of Swainsboro.  Both are very small, so I grew up in a very close-knit community where everyone either knew me or knew my parents or grandparents.

 

Where did you receive your undergraduate and graduate degrees?

I received my Bachelors Degree in Biology from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA in May, 2001 and I received my Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, Riverside in December, 2006.  My thesis research focused on examining the effects of a molecular mimic of phosphorylated prolactin in the male reproductive system.


What was your favorite subject in grade school, middle school, high school?

My favorite subject in grade school and middle school was English and history.  I used to have a very intense love for writing, which has dwindled over the years, due to having more academic and professional responsibilities.  However, I used to love to write short stories and poetry.  From time, to time, I still write poems, but not quite as much as before.  In high school I’d say that US history and World history were my favorite subjects.  I love learning about people and events that happened before I was born.  While in high school, I also loved acting and although I never officially took an acting class during high school, I did take a class during college and loved it.

 

Who was your favorite K-12 teacher, and why?

Mrs. Neator White was my favorite teacher.  She was my 6th grade teacher and held each of us to very high standards.  I can remember being very intimidated by her in school, but only because she made me want to show her that I could do my very best.  She stressed the importance of carrying ourselves with dignity and pride, and infused in us an eagerness to learn more about our history as African Americans.  I went to visit her recently to tell her just how much she inspired me and to let her know that she was my most influential school teacher.  I share my degree with her as well as my other early childhood mentors and family members  who inspired me to do my best.

 

What would you say is the MOST important characteristic of a great mentor?

Communication and compassion are two characteristics that I feel makes a good mentor an even greater one.  As a mentor, you must learn to effectively communicate with the person or persons you are striving to mentor.  However, with the fast-paced lives that so many of us have in today’s society, it is very easy to lose connectivity with those around us.  Therefore, I feel that mentors must make an extra effort to ensure that those under their tutelage are not lost among all of their other daily duties/responsibilities.  Therefore, being a good communicator (whether it is through personal contact via phone; face-to-face meetings; internet, etc.) means that a great mentor must utilize many different levels of communication.  Compassion is also another important characteristic a mentor must have, which I feel also goes hand-in-hand with being a good communicator.  Having empathy for others, and being able to understand what they may be going through in their lives on a “human” level, can make all the difference in the world to someone in need of mentorship.  For me, these characteristics are what exemplify what a mentor/mentee relationship is all about.

 

If you could choose one other career (something other than science) what would it be, and why?

As with all disciplines, a career in science can be very grueling, tiring, time-consuming, and one that you must be sure that when times are hard and your research is not going well, you’re able to have enough passion, inner strength, or whatever it is that drives you to continue on in whatever you were setting out to accomplish.  During the course of my graduate studies, I was faced with many challenges that went way beyond the laboratory bench and there were countless times when I really questioned whether or not I should continue, or even if I wanted to.  It was only my faith in God and the moral support of prayers and phone calls from my family and friends that helped to sustain me through those challenging times of self doubt and at times, self-pity.  Therefore, my first piece of advice to younger students would be to really undertake serious soul searching and make absolutely certain that a career in science is something that they truly want to pursue.  Once they’ve come to the decision that science is their career choice, they must have strong faith in their abilities because they will have to call on that faith during  challenging and difficult times.

 

When you graduate, what do you regard as the MOST important contribution you can make to society?

I strongly believe in the concept of “each one, teach one.”  With that in mind, the most important contribution that I feel I can make to society is to give back to my community whether it be through mentoring programs, volunteering at community  centers, or even mentoring to the younger generations in my family.  No man OR woman is an island to him or herself.  There have been many people who’ve helped me in my life’s journey from kindergarten through graduate school, and I know with absolute certainty that I would not have been able to succeed if they had not been in my life.  Therefore, I want to invest in the next generation’s future by giving my time, money, and support to encourage, uplift, and motivate not only  youth but other adults as well break free of whatever they perceive as obstacles in their paths and to truly succeed

 

When you turn 50 years old, what do you MOST want to be able to say about your life?

When I turn 50 years old, I would like for people to say that I was a woman of faith who trusted God and the call He put on her life, even though at times, she didn’t always understand it.  I’d also like to be remembered as a kind and compassionate person who always tried to uplift those around her and encourage them in all of their endeavors.