She Searches for Alien Life. Now She’s Bringing Science to Tucson Families

Dr. Karen Perez searches the sky for signs of intelligent life. Now she’s bringing science home to Tucson families. A 2015 Gates Millennium Scholar, Karen earned her PhD in astrophysics at Columbia University and is now a Welch Postdoctoral Fellow at the SETI Institute. With Caminos Científicos, she is building a Spanish-language lecture series that connects Hispanic middle and high school students, and their families, with bilingual scientists. Each scientist shares their journey, their research, and advice for navigating school and careers that may once have felt out of reach. The goal: Lectures reaching about students in Tucson, with recorded talks and plans to work with local TV and radio stations to reach even more. “When students see someone like them in science, they can begin to believe: ‘That could be me too.’” — Dr. Karen Perez Gifts to the Pay It Forward Accelerator support projects like this one. Contribute to this year’s Pay It Forward Accelerator (PIFA) projects: https://givebutter.com/pifa-2026 Follow SEN:   / scholarsequity   Caminos Científicos is a Pay It Forward Accelerator project from Scholars Equity Network (SEN). Learn more about SEN: https://www.scholarsequity.org 🔔 Subscribe for more changemaker stories:    / @scholarsequitynetwork   Featuring: Dr. Karen Perez Jonathan Jewell-Chatten, Black Pepper Studios www.blackpepperstudios.com #CaminosCientificos #PayItForwardAccelerator #ScholarsEquityNetwork #GatesMillenniumScholars