There are tons of opportunities around Martinos to showcase your great science, but what about the other amazing things you do? Maybe you’re a stellar cook, a ball room dancer, love working on old cars, collecting stamps, or practicing martial arts. If you’re really into something, I want to hear about it and give you a platform to share your passions.
I’ve had the pleasure of getting to learn about the hobbies and interests of a couple of people around the center, and I’m looking for an excuse to learn more!
I got a chance to talk with Josué Llamas Rodríguez, a research tech in the Augustinack Lab, who specializes in histological staining. I found out he’s a ballroom dancer, and how he got into it. In his words he was ‘tricked into joining the dance team’ while at Tufts, and apparently, he liked it, because he still frequents ballroom events today!
I also heard about some physicality of a different variety from Jessica Kelemen, a project manager, who’s also been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for years. It was hard not to appreciate the confidence as well as the sense of respect and community she has as a result of it. And fun to hear how she managed to train through quarantine when her gym was closed!
I didn’t know how important facial expression is in a dance competition; I didn’t know that ‘rolling’ was the correct term for ‘sparring’ in jiu-jitsu, but I had a blast finding out! It’s fun to learn new things, that’s why we do science! I want to find out the things that makes this community special, other than its scientific endeavors. But you’ll have to tell me about it, in a video interview! And if you’ve got pictures, videos, diagrams, bar napkin doodles, you want to show off to go along with it, all the better!
Contributed by: Jackson Nolan
Additional Sources: Cartoons from Jingyuan Chen are featured in the video interview with Jessica Kelemen. Check out our feature on Jinguyan to learn more about her and see more of her awesome work in her InsideOut gallery.
