My name is John Carlo Jadormeo Combista. I was born in the Philippines in Queen City of the South and Cradle of Christianity, Cebu Province. Cebu is where I learned to explore my passion for singing and charity work, and compassion towards the children, minorities, disadvantaged, and vulnerable groups. I am a licensed pharmacist by profession, yet I always have this dream of mine to become highly recognized and respected in the field of medical sciences, but I always have this barrier in me that makes me wonder if I am really capable of doing so because I am a person of color from a third world country, the Philippines. It is like an invisible barrier that hinders me from taking the first steps towards reaching my goals in life but that dream of mine is just so big enough that I took chances to apply for scholarships to pursue my further studies abroad. Indeed, I was blessed enough to be awarded full scholarships to study in China and Israel and received some fellowships to attend some research schools in India and Germany.
Having these kinds of opportunities is a privilege but it is also not without any challenges. In fact, every time I get awarded with scholarships and fellowships, I always question or even doubt myself if I am worthy enough to receive such and it was during those times that I heard, for the first time, about “Imposter Syndrome”, a certain feeling of being like a fraud which is a common feeling among graduate students and academics of all levels. I am grateful that I have come across the NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education (NIH-OITE) because they discuss issues like and other common issues that are encountered by graduate students and academic professionals in an academic environment. It really helped me navigate my life as a graduate student. I highly recommend everyone to check the webinars and training offered by the NIH-OITE through their website https://www.training.nih.gov/home .
After 2 years of doing full-time research in Israel, I realized that failure and hardship are inevitable in the life of a graduate student. I did feel burnt out several times in the middle because as a graduate student, I needed to juggle a lot of responsibilities such as doing lab work, attending required courses, presenting in lab meetings as well as writing a research proposal and a thesis—all of this in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and the traumatic May 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict while being far away from my loved ones. It was scary: I still vividly remember being in the lab doing experiments when the rocket firing happened, but I needed to be strong for myself and move forward.
Whenever I feel down, frustrated, and scared I always resort to singing and listening to music because it uplifts my soul and inspires me to go on with my life. It may seem weird, but it was Ed Sheeran’s “Divide” album that saved me from depression.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3T4tUhGYeRNVUGevb0wThu?si=qeuSmdyWRqSNFUNbA-r-YA&utm_source=copy-link.
In fact, I sing these songs in Karaoke sessions as well as in singing competitions abroad. Check out his new album, “Equals”, too.
https://open.spotify.com/album/32iAEBstCjauDhyKpGjTuq?si=Gqul-8hfSHmeYE62aM47qw&utm_source=copy-link
It was while studying abroad in China and Israel and exploring science classes in research schools in India and Germany and through meeting people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems that I realized that there is a big world out there filled with individuals in need of care, support, and understanding. These experiences shaped my belief that there is much that one person can offer to others, and that we must learn from each other. We are unique, deserve to be respected and be given equal opportunity in every aspect of life.
So, if you feel like you are left out, discriminated against, and have nothing great to offer to other people in the field of STEM, always remember that there are a lot of STEM organizations out there that are made by BIPOC for BIPOC that you can ask help from. They are the ones who are very willing to lend a hand to you whenever you need it and are willing to mentor and introduce you to a community where you can be fully accepted and be yourself. I have attended some workshops from some of these organizations and it helped me gain a sense of self and belonging. Please check out these STEM organizations below,
Disabled in STEM https://twitter.com/DisabledStem?s=20
Queer STEM https://twitter.com/QueersInSTEM?s=20
Black and STEM https://twitter.com/BLACKandSTEM?s=20
Out in STEM or oSTEM Organization https://www.ostem.org/
Reclaiming STEM Institute https://www.reclaimingsteminstitute.org/
Women in STEM (INWES) https://www.inwes.org/
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) https://www.sacnas.org/
Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) https://www.saseconnect.org/
National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering & Science, Inc. (GEM) https://gemfellowship.org/
I am very much grateful for those experiences because those shaped the person I am today and taught me so many lessons about life that made me become resilient.