![]() ![]() This year, as a senior, she worked in the research laboratory of chemistry professor Robert Iafe As Jenny got older, though, the cartel violence grew worse. And on my dad’s side, I had all my cousins there, so I enjoyed all of it. “On my mom’s ranch, we would milk cows in the morning, jump in the manmade lakes, help my grandpa farm. Every summer, the girls would pile into their dad’s truck for a road trip to Mexico, where the family would spend several weeks each at a ranch in Jalisco owned by Esperanza’s father and with Juan’s relatives in the city of Zacatecas, more than 200 miles to the north. “I’ve never heard of anyone being kidnapped for being a biochem major,” she said, “but I wouldn’t want to put myself in that position.” Or, as Jenny wrote in the commencement speech she submitted, “Whenever I do visit my family in Mexico, I don’t speak of my major, I don’t speak of my accomplishments associated with my major because you never know what ears are listening or what mouths are talking.” Jenny grew up in Ventura, one of four daughters of Juan and Esperanza Veyna, who both immigrated to the United States and met while working for the same agricultural company in Ventura. She knows that an American university student who happens to know her way around a chemistry lab might be of keen interest to Mexican drug cartels. But when Jenny visits the families of her parents in their native Mexico, she doesn’t exactly shout out what she has done from the rooftops. A senior biochemistry major, Veyna will become a first-generation college graduate later this month, and she even tried out to speak at commencement on May 18 (she was picked as a first alternate). ![]() ![]() Jenny Veyna works in a lab at Cal State San Marcos (Photo: Niky Matousek) The Quiet Path to a Biochemistry Degree Fear of drug cartels keeps Jenny Veyna silent when visiting Mexico By Brian Hiro CSUSM NewsCenter Photos by Nike Matousek Jenny Veyna is justifiably proud of her many achievements at Cal State San Marcos. Get paid to exchange your working gas-powered lawn mower for a new electric mower. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2022
Categories |