I was born and raised in Tangancicuaro, a small town in southwest Mexico. In 2010, at 17 years old, I moved to the U.S. to pursue a college education. I began attending community college and after learning English, transferred to UC Davis where I found my passion for food safety. After obtaining my B.S. in Biological Science, I attended Virginia Tech where my master’s project focused on investigating the prevalence, persistence, and diversity of Listeria in produce packing houses. After that, I attended UC Davis to work with Dr. Linda Harris investigating the genomic and phenotypic characteristics of Salmonella strains found in pistachios. In July 2023, I received my Ph.D. in food science and shortly after I started my current position as the assistant director of Kern County's Public Health Laboratory.