When we moved to New York City, I went into discovery mode. The amount, and spectrum of art on this island is crazy. I realized, that if I want to try to go from lab work to a job where I can engage more with my creative side it would have to be here. Shillington happened by chance, but it was a very rewarding, and door opening educational step in my life.*An intense 486 hour curriculum of study in Graphic Design.*In a room full of creative people from all over the world, and different professional backgrounds, we learned how to read a design brief, and all the steps from beginning with a mood board to a finalized design product.

When I was a little girl I spent a lot of time outdoors, gardening or playing with the cats, and dogs. Becoming a Zoo vet would have been perfect, but then again I didn't want to get eaten by a big cat. So I was looking for something biological in a safer environment. During school I did an internship in a cancer research lab, and I fell in love with science. For my doctoral thesis I found an exciting opportunity in Neurobiology: I studied the effects of mitochondrial dysfunction on astrocytes and adult newborn neurons in a mouse model system.I learned how to plan, organize, and execute my experiments. How to analyze, and re-evaluate my data, and approach. How to present my results in a small group meeting, as well as on big conferences in posters, and talks. I learned from mistakes, and dead ends in research, when to change course or try new ideas, as hypothesis is not always reality, but more a possibility, which is also the exciting thing about science.

I wanted to live abroad, learn a new language, meet new people, and earn my own money, before starting my studies. It was a very welcoming atmosphere in a multicultural setting, where I learned to communicate with different types of customers and colleagues alike. Living the french way while working for an american organisation taught me to focus on details, and the overall picture at the same time.It didn't hurt to have Paris right in front of my doorstep, I spent as much time as possible there, drawing at the Louvre, or the Musée d'Orsay, and exploring everything the city has to offer.