Nobel Prize recipient and Howard Hughes Medical Institute president Dr. Tom Cech addressed Utah Valley University (UVU) students on Nov. 29 during the “Finding A Place for You in STEM” panel discussion luncheon hosted by the UVU College of Science and Underrepresented Students in STEM (USIS).

Other speakers at the event included Harvard Medical School professor Silvi Rouskin and UVU Chief Inclusion and Diversity officer Dr. Rasha Qudisat. The event aimed to promote inclusivity in STEM fields and help students connect with their professors to forward their academic careers.

“Some people may go by the theory that you do not hold the keys to your success,” USIS co-founder and UVU student David Parker said. “That is very untrue. Not only do you hold the keys to your own success, [but] if you approach [professors], they know where the doors are.”

“What motivates you is what you hear inside,” Dean Horns added.

Dr. Qudisat spoke of her own personal journey as an engineering student in Jordan and how she came to be UVU’s chief diversity and inclusion officer.

“Today you will have a great opportunity to walk your extra mile to reach out to all these amazing people and identify what it is exactly that you need,” Qudisat said. “I encourage you today to fill in the blanks. … All you need to do is reach out to these tables and be specific. ‘This is what I need for support.’ And believe me, you will have an army of resources at your hands for you to be successful.”

Dr. Rouskin, a native of Hungary, reminded students that success goes beyond their academic records.

“You must believe in yourself because sometimes no one else will,” she said. “I hope that you will find people who will support and inspire you.

“I just had two examples of friends of mine who have gotten into [Harvard] without a perfect GPA. They are extremely bright, extremely great, amazing researchers and are doing absolutely fantastic in Harvard. This is just for you to know if you don't need the perfect GPA to do great research and to be very successful.”

Dr. Cech ended the panel discussion with his remarks on the importance of pursuing your passion.

“You want to be motivated to work,” he said. “I always tell beginning graduate students, you do not want to be in graduate school just so that you can have the three letters ‘PhD’ after your name. You want to have some passion for it.”

Dr. Cech won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research in ribonucleic acids (RNA). He teaches chemistry at the University of Colorado.