I chose this path when I was only 13 years old, back at the beginning of 1998. It seems like a lifetime now. In Italy High School is not like in the US. First it lasts 5 years (instead of 4); secondly, we have different "types" of high schools, specialized in different things. But we also have "general" high schools like the ones that they have in the US. One morning a school came and did a whole presentation about their program. It was about Chemical and Biological Laboratories. I got fascinated immediately. I remember going back home and telling my mother that "I had made a choice". That was how it all started. 5 years later I was a Lab Technician, then a Biomedical Scientist and now I am finally doing my Master's degree in research. I'm not lieing when I tell you that, apart from a lot of obastacles, it is the best choice I've ever made. I can't imagine myself not working in a lab. But this is who WE are. There is no Science without Passion. I think that - as my fellows researchers will probably agree - most of us choose this job because we love it. But a lot of things we like to do, are not so easy to realize. My dream as always been doing a Ph.D in the US. I used to love the United States, I love the people, I love the men (lol) and the research over there. But it's hard to get to the US. I bet a lot of people will probably agree on that. As long as I remember, I've always wanted to study in America and that was the motivation that made me work hard for a long time earning the highest scores during my 5 years of high school. That was the reason why I wanted to learn English. A lot of people might say: "Oh well, you speak English, just go there". See, that is the tricky part. You can't just "go there" unless you got a Visa or a Green Card. The US is not Europe. After I graduated from high school, I tried to go study there. It's pointless to say that it was the beginning of the end of my dreams. Soon enough I in fact realized that I needed $80,000 to earn a 4 year Bachelor degree from just an average University. My parents - who passed away - were not rich. We couldn't afford all that money - like a LOT of other American families - and we couldn't afford a loan either. I just had to put my pride away for a while and study where I could afford it. A lot of friends kept telling me to forget about a degree in the US and that it was a lot easier to graduate in Europe and go to America as a postgraduate student since there are a lot of scholarship options at a graduate level. Nothing more wrong. I did my degree, I graduated with honors and I did a practical dissertation on the KI virus. Perfect, I thought, now I will be a graduate student. I tried to apply for my Msc but no shcolarships were available (the woman on the phone told me that a lot of Masters in the US are self-founded) and a master would have cost me something like $60,000 if I'm not wrong. I laugh when I think how I could have self founded $60,000 out of the blue. Since I couldn't afford getting a "mortgage" to pay for a couple of degrees, again, I opted for the old - but still running -Europe. And that's why I'm doing now. Of course, since my parents are not alive anymore and I'm an only child, I had to support myself too, working hard. The idea of saving money and better my resume, brought me to Africa (Tanzania) where I worked on Malaria diagnosis and research; Dubai and now Spain. Of course, I worked in labs in Italy too. Working made me save some money and that's how I could pay my 2,000 Euros (about 2,600$) to get my Master's degree here in Spain. Of course, a much lower price compared to the 60,000$ I would have had paid in the US. Again, people told me to wait for the Ph.D to apply because Ph.Ds are founded for sure. Now, you would think, it's almost time for the infamous Ph.D application. Like I said, you would think. First, since I am an International Student I pay more in fees, secondly Ph.Ds are NOT well founded. Since I am required to apply for a student visa I have to prove immigration that I have sufficient foundings to sustain myself for the whole 3 or 4 years. Obviously the only way possible for me would be a Fellowshop.
In preparation for the application, I decided to start studying for the GRE. That was back in May 2011. I was planning to apply for the early 2013 entrance. You might say, too early but you know, it's never TOO early for a Ph.D application. I studied about 4 months and I took the test in September in Italy. I paid 190$ plus money to go to Milan since they didn't test in Rome. I turned out to score very low. I'm not gonna say here what was my score, but let's just say it wasn't enough to request a Doctorial Fellowship.Only very few doctorial Fellowships are open to international student only and other ones are open to both, US and international students. Because of the GRE I can't do my Ph.D. But this is a whole other subject which I am going to discuss later on.
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