I'm Gustavo Javier Rico. I was born and raised in Mexico City, and came to the United states when I was thirteen. Without speaking any English, and with too much time on my hands the age of thirteen, I became obsessed with translating every single lyric from the Beatles' songs. Yes, I learned to speak English because of the Beatles.
As I got older I developed a passion for science, which had always been inside me, but I never truly fully explored. Then I realized that some, or most, of the great scientists I admire also grew up and lived adverse circumstances. To name a few, Michael Faraday grew up poor without formal education, and Albert Einstein fled the anti-Semitic climate of Nazi Germany.
Coming from a poor immigrant family, and having made it this far in academics, it is very important to me to continue because I want to lead the way for my younger siblings and my future generations to pursue higher education. The road of academics is a hard one and a jealous one, but it has been tremendously rewarding as well, so much that if I had to do it all over again, I would choose what I am and what I do right now.