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Sandra Ríos is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at the Medical College of Wisconsin (8701 W. Watertown Plank Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53226; srios@post.its.mcw. edu) in the laboratory of Henry Miziorko. She obtained her B.S. and M.S. in biochemistry at the University of Concepción, Chile, and her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame under Thomas Nowak.

It has been a great experience to come to this country to learn not only my chosen field of expertise but also to compare cultures. I came at an age at which I thought that my ideas of the world and who I was were firmly ingrained—but they have changed for the better.

Graduate school at the University of Notre Dame was my first stop. The first year in the biochemistry program was similar to graduate school in Chile, so the primary difficulties came from learning English, and to a lesser degree, from cultural differences. Now that time has passed, the two cultures do not seem so different, but let me tell you that my first football game at Notre Dame was something that I will remember forever.

Part of the graduate student curriculum was to teach full time, at least in the first year. My assignment was to teach a general chemistry lab for freshmen. You can imagine how nervous I was the day classes started. I had taught in front of a class before, but never in another language. Little did I know how the experience would grow on me—I taught the whole time I was at Notre Dame. I increasingly enjoyed teaching; and by the end of my program, when I was instructing senior biochemistry majors, I decided that I wanted to devote part of my professional future to new generations of students.

The research part of the program was very challenging and exposed me to a life quite different from that in the classroom. My work was in physical biochemistry, enzymology, and molecular biology. I studied the reaction mechanisms and roles of amino acids at the active site of the gluconogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase from Ascaris suum (a roundworm found in swine). I had the privilege of doing the molecular biology part of my research project at Pharmacia and Upjohn in Kalamazoo, MI. The experience opened my eyes to a world that fascinated and intrigued me. The working environment, the focus of the research, the goals, and the interactions with co-workers were new and invigorating. I realized that I wanted to learn more about industry and that it might be the path to my future professional life.

I also immensely enjoyed some of the extracurricular activities “required” in graduate school. There were the late nights with my classmates discussing the difficulties and triumphs of our lives that bound us together toward our final goal of obtaining our doctorates. I made great friends whom I still treasure today.

My final year at Notre Dame was full of expectations, excitement for the future, and sadness for leaving graduate life. The graduation day celebration with my friends—and most importantly, my family—was unforgettable.

I am now in my second year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin. My work has focused on the elucidation, at the molecular level, of the function of mevalonate kinase, a key enzyme in polyisoprene and cholesterol biosynthesis. This work involves a multifaceted investigation that includes the use of recombinant DNA methodology, protein engineering, kinetics, mechanistic enzymology, and biophysics. This position has also provided me the satisfaction of teaching and training new graduate students who choose to do their required rotation in our laboratory—and I am realizing both of my goals.

These past years have been invaluable. I’m thankful for all I have learned professionally and about myself. As a foreigner living in another country, I can say that everyone could benefit from this experience to some extent. I learned what it means to develop a respect for people that goes beyond just being polite. It’s about learning who people are and appreciating what it is to be alive and around friends.