By Isa Gutiérrez - NBC News
Three Latinas in lab coats work in the capital on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic.
Monica Mann,
34;
Elizabeth Zelaya,
36;
and Connie Maza
, 33, test COVID-19 samples daily to track the spread of the virus and, more recently, to identify mutations.
The three scientists are part of a small team from the Public Health Laboratory Division of the Department of Forensic Sciences in Washington, DC
"Every day I reflect and say to myself: 'Wow, this is probably going to be in a history book," Zelaya said.
"You know that what used to be the field of medicine, the field of science, the field of laboratories was run by white men? Now, it's turned into this beautiful rainbow of colors," Mann said.
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Zelaya, Mann and Maza call themselves
"the three musketeers
.
"
They started working together early in the pandemic.
After years of quiet work behind the scenes, his laboratory suddenly became the center of attention when his team analyzed and reported the first positive cases of coronavirus in Washington.
"The pressure we had is unbelievable. We were under a microscope at the time," Maza said of the first few months of the pandemic,
"I'm usually pretty calm
when I do the tests, and I mean my manual dexterity skills are pretty good. But at the time, when I was testing COVID-19, I have to admit that it made me very nervous. At first it scared me. "
More than a year later, and as new variants of the coronavirus spread, the trio and their colleagues are still keen to identify and analyze mutations in the virus.
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"There is little to no margin for error, so that makes the job much more stressful," Zelaya said, "but we are proud of the service we provide and the results we offer the public because we know there is one human to the other. side of that sample. "
Not many women
"Sometimes that happens to me when people ask me what I do," Zelaya said, "I tell them I'm a scientist and they say, 'Really? What? It's like,' Yes, of course I am. I can talk to you. of some DNA if you want to learn. '
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Despite the fact that
women make up about 50% of the American population
, in 2017 only about 30% of the science and engineering workforce was female, according to the National Science Board.
It is even less for Latinos, especially women.
Hispanics represent more than 18% of the population of the United States, but only about 8% of the workforce of STEM (an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
In 2016, only about 2% of all STEM degrees were for Latina women.
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Growing up, the lab was not a place where these three Latinas visualized themselves.
"I didn't expect there to be a lot of women in the science field," said Maza, who grew up in Texas, "I probably didn't think it was an option."
Monica Mann, Elizabeth Zelaya and Connie Maza are part of a small team in the Public Health Laboratory Division of the Washington Department of Forensic Sciences, DCNBC News
Building on their mothers dreams
"Growing up in Uruguay in a low-income family, my mother wanted to be a nurse. That was her dream," says Mann, "unfortunately, life did not give her that opportunity. She married at 18, had her first child at the 19 and four more later ".
Mann said his mother, however,
never stopped being interested in medicine
.
"She had that passion, and now she's very proud of me," she said.
Maza said that her mother, who is from Mexico, put her career aside to raise her and her siblings: "She wanted to finish school here in the United States, but she couldn't," she said, "so she dedicated all those years to us to that we had a better life. "
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Zelaya, for his part, did see his mother initially dedicate herself to science: "She has a
degree in biology
, so she grew up loving science and having a passion for science," he said, "but never had a career in science. science".
Zelaya knew she wanted to do things differently: "I didn't want to be a stay at home mom. I wanted to go out, have a career, work full time and be a professional."
The laboratory is "a home away from home"
Today, "the three musketeers" look to each other as a source of inspiration.
They attribute to their bond having overcome some of the toughest days of the pandemic.
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"We are all hard workers here, so we go in and stay late to finish work," Zelaya said, "and we are all the same.
We have the same work ethic
."
"We grew up the hardest and we continue to apply that every day," Mann said.
When the three of them are together, the laboratory is not the cold and unwelcoming place one might imagine.
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"The laboratory is, without a doubt, our home away from home," says Zelaya.
Maza adds: "I always joke with Liz. I tell her: 'The one that doesn't go away."
And she admits: "I never go away."
When it comes to advice for young women, especially Latinas, Zelaya said hard work and dedication always pay off.
"If you like it, master it," he said, "
know everything about it
."
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"Be persistent," Maza said, "a lot of mistakes are going to happen, and try not to let that get to you."
"
Keep knocking on doors
," Mann said, "some will open. And fortunately, we live in a country where you can start over from scratch, as far as your career is concerned, at any point in your life."
That is not to say that Maza, Mann and Zelaya have not become used to rejection and people who did not believe they could achieve their goals.
"It's actually
more motivating
," Maza said, "if they say something like that in a way, it makes me work even harder. It's like it's going to prove them wrong."
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Although it seems that the end of the pandemic is in sight, busy Latina scientists have not finished writing their chapter in history.
"I think we are going to carry on with this forever," Zelaya said.
"Maybe a vacation day?"
Maza said to the others.
"Vacation together? Yes!" Zelaya said, because "this is going to last a lifetime."