Meet Taylor: a self-described math girl who’s as passionate about her healthcare career as she is about the L.A. Clippers and our troops overseas. I’ll let Taylor explain.

Thanks for reaching out to us, Taylor! We’re psyched to have the opportunity to interview you in our quest to playfully challenge stereotypes. Before we get started, congratulations on being on the cover of Shape magazine! So, we hear you’re a dancing CT/MRI technologist. Is that right?

Taylor: That’s right! After dancing for the Los Angelos Clippers, I decided to travel the world with the Sweethearts for Soldiers to cheer on the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard. I’m hoping to meet healthcare workers overseas so I can sharpen my skills and share my experiences as a CT/MRI Technologist.

Tell us about that. What turned you onto that field?

Taylor: My father is a radiologist, so he is the type of doctor who reads the scans. I take the scans–using Xrays for the CT scans and magnetic fields for the MRIs–and a radiologist interprets them. It’s because of him that I became interested in this field.

What’s it like having one foot in the pro dancing world and the other in the field of health care?

Taylor: In my case, I believe my looks and career as a dancer results in people questioning my ability…whether it’s other technologists, physicians, administrators, and even patients sometimes! I have had to prove myself time and time again. I am confident in my capabilities and have to show that I am just as good if not better than anybody else.

Favorite school courses?

Taylor: Calculus! I enjoy math and really like calculus. As far as my radiologic sciences courses, I’d say that my favorite class was probably pathology.  It’s interesting to see weird things the body does to itself and how it is visualized through imaging.

So you’re a math girl at heart! Any words of wisdom to share with young girls who may feel conflicted about following one dream (cheerleading, dancing, even acting or modeling, etc) often associated with being an empty shell and following another “smarty career” such as science, math, engineering, technology, etc?

Taylor: My advice to middle or high school girls is not to be torn between dancing. etc and pursuing the sciences.  There is definitely a tightrope you have to walk to be accomplished in both, but it can be done. I’ve done it and I continue to do so over six years into my health care career and as a 2010 Sweetheart.  You have to develop a thick skin and be sure to maintain your confidence, which can be tough. Bottom line, when all is said and done, it is possible to follow your dreams, both professionally and personally.  Use your scientific interests to break that stereotype of pro cheerleaders and dancers. I would march into Clippers games and appearances proud to be a dancer AND a healthcare professional; and I enter work proud to be a healthcare professional AND a pro dancer!

Check out more Pro Cheerleaders-Turned-Scientists!

Meet Rachel: A former Washington Redskins Cheerleader who enlisted in the Navy and now has her sights set on becoming an anesthesiologist. How does she synthesize these seemingly different worlds? She’s here to tell us.

Tell us about your job in the Navy and how science prepared you for that role?
I commissioned as an officer in the Navy out of college as a Registered Nurse in the Navy Nurse Corps.  I started out on a Surgical/OIF/OEF injury ward at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD for two years and switched to the multi-service Intensive Care Unit for the next two years.  In that time I was deployed to a small firebase in Afghanistan with a Forward Surgical Team operating alongside Army Special Forces.  Science and medicine go hand in hand.  Learning all we can about the different sciences from biology to physics has assisted me and continues to assist me in understanding –and staying committed to–evidence-based practice.

Tell me about your current field of study? Why did you choose it?
I am currently in graduate school for Anesthesia.  I fell in love with taking pain away, not only as a nurse, but when I worked at Bethesda on the wounded soldiers coming back from overseas.  We used the newest technology in pain control and I had a chance to see how much I could help control someone’s pain.  When I was deployed to Afghanistan that solidified my passion for anesthesia as I was able to “shadow” the CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) for the eight months I was there, while I was also applying to Anesthesia programs.  Putting people to rest, pain control, managing trauma, all were amazing amounts of autonomy and adrenaline rushes to the max for me.  It has been a great challenge applying to and getting into my program but I couldn’t be more excited about where I am now.

Do you find that your looks (or being a former cheerleader) helped or hindered your professional experiences? (Were you taken seriously?)
That is such an interesting question.  I was often called into different patient rooms when one of my fellow nurses or Navy corpsmen (similar to a civilian ‘’tech’’, but they are amazing and so capable of just about anything!) would slip about it to a patient and the patient wanted to meet me (or joke with me about their rival team).  It was great fun and most people just wanted to know what it was like.  I was surprised at the respect I received because we all know the stigmas associated with dance teams and cheerleaders.  I knew I had to prove that I belonged in the military and I could be taken seriously.  When I was deployed to Afghanistan I was quite firm in making sure I didn’t let it slip because I didn’t want to lose any respect I had gained.  I left the blow-dryer, the hair products, the make-up, all at home.  I figured if I looked au naturale no one would second guess me.  I wasn’t able to keep the secret for long, it leaked from a few places and ended up spreading like wild fire.  I suppose I had either proven my capabilities or folks were less superficial than I had suspected.  It turned out to be a great morale booster in the end!

Tell me a little about some of the favorite courses you took to prepare for your professional career.
I’m in a course right now that I am really enjoying.  It’s “Chemistry and Physics of Anesthesia.”  We’re learning about how all of the pressures and every symbol on the planet affect the vessels and body. Another great one was my Advanced Pharmacology course last semester.  I’ve taken several Pharmacology and Physiology courses before but this one was not simply rote memorization.  We learned more about drug interactions and drug metabolism, which I found very interesting.  The other that sticks out in my mind was Human Anatomy.  I was blessed with an undergraduate nursing program that utilized cadavers and that was an incredible way to learn the human body.  Learning about CT scan slices and every little muscle, tendon, bone, and organ I found incredibly fascinating.

Do you have any advice for middle or high school girls who might feel torn between following one dream (cheerleading or dancing) associated with beauty and dummy traits or following another (science/engineering) usually associated with, well, geeks?

Children can be so mean I must admit, it’s somewhat disappointing.  I was teased about everything as a child, and yes I was in that “ugly duckling” for years!  You have to stay true to yourself.  I projected myself in so many different directions as a child to find what my true love was – it was dancing.  If it is what you want to do, do it.  Being smart is sexy, you’ll find that out as you grow up.  It makes you confident and makes others know you respect yourself.  The only way others can be confident in you and respect you, is if you do that for yourself.  Take up a challenge, you’ll feel awesome afterwards!  Academia has never been an easy task for me, I have to work harder than others to make sure I’m taking everything in, but I feel so accomplished in the end the challenge is worth it.

Anything you’d like to add that you want people to know?
Try not to judge a book by its cover, because everyone has a story.

“Most awesome” experience as an officer in the Navy?
My deployment was actually my “most awesome” experience in the Navy thus far.  It was such a hard time to go through.  Very isolating, very difficult, very scary at times, but I wouldn’t change a moment and yes, I would do it again in a heart beat.  Most can’t imagine why we love to “go back” despite the hardship it causes our lives, but you don’t understand until it’s you.  I found out a lot about myself during that time as well as discovering what I’m truly capable of not only as a Naval officer but as a nurse.  I was able to do so much over there that was technically out of my “scope of practice.”  I had the chance to see and do things a very small percentage of nurses, let alone people, ever get a chance to experience.  It was simply gratifying to overcome the challenge, to help or change others’ lives.  I look forward to graduating and being able to get back on another deployment!

Anything memorable worth nothing during your RN schooling or now, as you continue your education and heads towards a PhD?
I still can’t believe I am where I am some days.  I have to pinch myself to know I am in Anesthesia school.  This is what I’ve been working so hard for for years.  I will graduate in May of 2012 (the program is 32 months straight).  After that I would very much like to continue on for my DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice).  The PhD will continue to be in the back of my mind.  I may go for that one day.

Thanks, Rachel. Something tells us, you’ll earn that Ph.D….

Check out other Professional Cheerleaders-turned-Scientists and Engineers.

This is Regina, our latest addition to our collection of Sexy Scientists and Engineers. Sure, she cheered for the Washington Redskins but she’s also held a beating heart. True story (read on).

Regina graduated from college with a major in Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She won a scholarship from the National Institutes of Health to spend summers doing biomed research at Stanford and Yale. She was a Molecular Biologist at the National Institutes of Health researching the genes that cause rare skin diseases (she found a few and had papers published in Nature Genetics, Human Genetics and The Journal of Dermatological Science).  Then she went to law school at Georgetown University while she was a Redskins cheerleader (Georgetown rescheduled her final exams so she could participate in the swimsuit calendar photo shoot!)   Also during law school she competed in a few pageants and was 1st Runner-up to Miss D.C. USA. Oh, she’s licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia as well as the United States Supreme Court. She worked as a patent attorney until science called her back to medical school. She earned an M.D. and took up a surgery internship in Texas and now she’s putting it all together by earning a LL.M., an advanced law degree she plans to someday apply to a career in health law as in-house council at a hospital. She’s also an adjunct professor teaching anatomy and physiology to nursing students and has her sights set on competing in pageants and trying out for another professional team this year.

I had a chance to interview Regina. (Thanks to Laura Eilers at Going Pro Entertaining for letting me know about Regina! Laura and I are coproducing a Stage Show at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in October in Washington, D.C. Watch Pro Cheerleaders-turned-Scientists perform on stage then chat with them in the Science Cheerleader exhibit and learn how they bridge two seemingly different worlds.)
Regina, tell us what turned you onto science.  I have been interested in science as long as I can remember.  When I was 4 I would dig around in the backyard looking for worms and insects and then bring them in and look at them under a microscope I got as a Christmas present.  My grandmother was also a nurse so that also gave me the inspiration to pursue a science related career.

Do you find that being a cheerleader helped or hindered your professional experiences. Were you taken seriously? I don’t think being a cheerleader has hurt my professional experience and I have always included it on my resume.  I can be a very shy person in person so people are often surprised to find out that I was a professional cheerleader.  It helps break the ice and most people find it different and interesting.  When I was in medical school they put my Redskin Cheerleader picture in the admissions catalog.  People do tell me that “I don’t look like a Doctor” which occasionally hurts my feelings (what exactly should a doctor look like?).

How did you balance two seemingly different worlds of science and cheerleading? The balance has been pretty easy for me.  People always tell me that I am the queen of multitasking, I am always doing multiple unrelated things at once.  Although they are seemingly two different worlds, I have learned things from each that help the other.

What are typical reactions you’ve received when people learn about your cheerleading days? They are usually surprised (especially when they see the pictures).  People that know me when I was younger (even in college), know that I was extremely shy.  When I was in my early 20′s I decided to start competing in pageants to help me break out of my shyness and become more comfortable speaking in public.  That is how I got involved with cheerleading.

What were typical reactions when folks learned about your science/law studies, when you were a cheerleader? Actually when I was a cheerleader there were 2 other law students and 1 lawyer on the team.

Tell me a little about your favorite courses you took to prepare for your professional career. My favorite courses would have to be anatomy and health law.

Why science AND law? When I was working at NIH and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do long term as a career my boss would give me articles about alternative science careers.  That is how I became interested in patent law.  There are so many ways that science, medicine and law are entangled and I love being apart of all of these field.

Do you have any advice for middle or high school girls who might feel torn between following one dream (cheerleading or dancing) associated with beauty or following another (science/engineering) usually associated with, well, geeks? My advice to girls would be to do both (follow both dreams) and, although it may be hard, to ignore the negative comments.  Cheerleading, dancing, pageants are all fantastic activities that you can learn so much from (teamwork, public speaking, fitness, etc.).  In addition to that there are so many interesting careers in science, medicine, engineering, etc.  Study hard, but continue to take dance lessons, continue to be a cheerleader or continue to compete in pageants.  Don’t let anyone talk you out of enjoying cheerleading or pageant activities and don’t let anyone talk you out of any career in the sciences.  I am prime example of someone that can be a so called “geek” yet still be a cheerleader, etc. at the same time!

Best “cheerleading” moment? It would have to be a tie between running out of the tunnel for the very first time and being asked to autograph my swimsuit calendar picture for the first time.

Best science moment? The first time I touched a beating heart (it makes you realize how fragile and precious life is).

Meet Sandra, a former Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader who’s now an emergency room registered nurse.

Tell us about yourself, Sandra:

I’ve always loved science. I remember receiving a telescope and microscope science kit when I was in elementary school. I think all sciences are fascinating!

My favorite classes included Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology. In fact, while in nursing school, I took a microbiology course that I loved so much, I almost quit nursing to pursue a career in microbiology.

Unlike, Michelle, the former New Orleans Saints cheerleader-turned-chemist, I wasn’t as “into” chemistry and physics compared to biological sciences.
Some people think of  Cheerleading and Science as two worlds. In my opinion, I think being a former cheerleader may have helped my career.  As cheerleaders, we are ambassadors for our organization and we must have people skills. These also happen to be terrific qualities in nursing because we are so hands-on with patients, we stand behind the hospitals we work for, and it’s important our patients feel we are rooting for their recovery.

Whether someone is considering a career in science or not, nothing in this world is more empowering than to do what you love (dance/cheer) and back it up with a good education and awesome grades. Being smart IS beautiful and dancing/cheering will give you an outlet! I’ve danced and cheered with some of the most brilliant women in this world who have gone on to become doctors, engineers, science and math teachers, and nurses.  Nothing geeky about that!

GOOOO Science!

Signed,

Sandra from Atlanta

I’ll be in sunny Florida for a few days so let me wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day now.

A Science Cheerleader reader (and member of the newly launched Sexy Scientists and Engineers Club) posted the following on her blog observationsofanerd.blogspot.com

Thanks, Christie!

“See which male or female scientist would be a good date for you.”

“Are you happily in love and feeling pretty good about it? This article provides a good synopsis of a lot of research explaining how being in a relationship actually makes you healthier. So make sure you do something nice for your love this weekend! They’re really worth it!”

“National Geographic put out a pretty interesting video on the brain chemistry of love, if you feel like incorporating some science into your love life.”

And finally, “if you think you’re pretty romantic, check out this cephalopod. Now that is love.”

Thanks, Bart, for letting me know about this clever video. Future engineers!

Speaking of engineers, a friend who works at the National Academy of Engineering suggested I ammend the title of Science Cheerleader and Science Debate to include the word “Engineering” because “science and engineering are not one-and-the-same” and many of the issues I address are, in fact, engineering matters. Although I’m not planning to change my name, I am making a point of singling out sexy scientists AND engineers, right here on ScienceCheerleader.com.

But I digress. Here’s a persuasive argument on behalf of engineers: Want to Engineer Real Change? Don’t Ask a Scientist. 
 
(Reprinted with author Henry Petroski’s permission.)

Sunday, January 25, 2009; B04

“We will restore science to its rightful place,” President Obama declared in his inaugural address. That certainly sounds like a worthy goal. But frankly, it has me worried. If we want to “harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories,” as Obama has decreed, we shouldn’t look to science. What we need is engineering.
To be fair, Obama’s misconception is a common one. Most people who aren’t scientists or engineers seem to think that science and engineering are the same. They’re not. Science seeks to understand the world as it is; only engineering can change it.
That’s not what most high-school teachers or even college professors tell their science students. But the truth is that full scientific understanding isn’t always necessary for technological advancement. Read full story.