Roots and Wings

Last month I published my first corresponding author paper, and last week I represented Marie Curie postdoctoral fellows at the European Research Executive Agency monitoring visit to University of Copenhagen, two milestones that I feel especially meaningful in my journey. Today, as we celebrate the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, I found myself reflecting on when science first became a path I could truly imagine myself. In that moment, I wrote a small symbolic story*:

Roots and Wings

“Growing up, Mille had strong roots.

She saw the world a little differently and often stayed quiet, watching and wondering.

Some paths felt already chosen.

Others felt unseen.

In quiet moments, she discovered science —

a place where curiosity could grow.

Slowly, colours appeared where she once saw only limits.

Mille opened her wings.

She realised her roots were never boundaries.

They were beginnings.

And she flew.”

Perhaps this story says more than I can explain directly. My journey has never been defined by a single destination… I never imagined I would end up working in the sub-Arctic, yet life seems to guide us toward the places we need to be. Choosing science required courage: the willingness to step onto paths that had not yet been walked.

From the heat of La Guajira in northern Colombia to sub-Arctic landscapes, my life has taken me across environments I once never imagined possible. I did not dream of these places because I did not know they existed for someone like me. But when opportunities appeared, I was ready. I learned that you build your luck — you prepare, you grow, and when the moment comes, you step forward.

I come from a lineage of strong women, a strong father figure, and a family shaped by two single grandmothers who carried resilience into everyday life. Their strength — especially my father’s — taught me that courage is persistence, and that being different does not make you less worthy. As a child, I often felt there was a path already laid out ahead of me, lessons I needed to learn in order to fit. And I tried to fit — I straightened my hair, I avoided the sun. Around the age of sixteen, I chose something different. I learned to believe in myself and in my roots.

At times, I felt like a rebel — stepping outside what was familiar, challenging expectations, rewriting what others believed my future should look like. Pursuing science felt like rewriting the rules. But in science, I discovered something powerful: you are allowed to write your own story and build your own wings.

Along the way, I have moved between countries, climates, and communities. I have changed locations and surroundings many times, but one thing has remained constant: support. Mentors, colleagues, friends, students, my family, my parents and my husband… strong people who believe in me — sometimes before I fully believed in myself. I was never completely alone, and that has made all the difference.

As a microbial ecologist studying tiny organisms that shape our planet’s climate, I am constantly reminded that diversity strengthens systems. The same is true for science itself. Science needs diverse women — not only their results, but their journeys, their perspectives, and their ways of seeing the world. When we overlook the paths people take to arrive here, we risk losing voices that expand what is possible. Sometimes, remaining in science means insisting on being heard — and creating space for others to do the same.

This piece is not about telling every detail of my journey. It is simply a reminder that there is more than one way forward. You do not have to follow the expected route. You can choose the unexplored path — even if it feels rebellious — and find people along the way who will walk beside you.

To my mentors, my family, to the strong people who supported me, and to those who continue to open doors for others: thank you. Your belief creates space for new stories to exist. I hope to help open doors and forge new paths for more women in science, women with strong roots and lifted by beautiful wings.




*AI was used in the editing of this story.