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2025 Black in STEM

Undergraduate Students

Jaden Jones.

Jaden Jones

 

Major and degree pursued: Forensic Science, bachelor of science

Prospective graduation year: 2025

Experience: undergraduate researcher, Environmental Contaminants Analytical Laboratory, Penn State Institute of Energy and the Environment; undergraduate researcher, with Michael Kusluski (FRNSC 494: Research Projects), Penn State Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Connect: LinkedIn | Instagram | Email

 

What motivates you to do science?

My mother is who originally lit my fire towards science and especially medicine. Helping her through nursing school as a young child showed me the miracle of the human body. After school and before she went to work, we would watch crime shows, and through this I discovered the exact kind of science I wanted to pursue, the science of justice through medicine. It didn’t help quash this interest by having nearly every forensic pathologist on screen be a Black woman, so the representation truly mattered. Many people through medical programs, research, and education continue to push me and give me the faith that I can be like those women on TV but actually help my community and bring justice to the departed and closure to the living.

What does Black History Month mean to you?

Black History Month is a time for learning and also a time of celebration for me. Every single Black History Month, I learn of the contributions and strides made by the diaspora and get to discover history as well as future doors being opened by my peers to follow in their footsteps. But rather than always looking back or forward, it’s also a time to give the innovators their flowers and appreciate them for the work they do and have done. It is not enough to enjoy the contributions and tell the history; it is just as important to celebrate the accomplishments over the years with those who have made them in order to continue the legacy of Black excellence.

Learn more about Jaden