My first instinct was to buy a

plane ticket home. I didn’t want

to neglect my academic work, but

before I’m a Ph.D. student, I’m a

Puerto Rican. I have a responsibil-

ity to get involved in what happens

there. But the tickets were too ex-

pensive. I couldn’t go.

I remembered when Hurricane

Maria hit Puerto Rico 2 years ear-

lier. I was not home to help my

family and community—I had left

for Vermont a month before the

storm. Since then, I have sought

counseling to deal with my feel-

ings of isolation and helpless-

ness about being away, and I have

worked on building meaningful

relationships with friends and col-

leagues in Vermont. But it only

took the first protest to remind

me that I have one foot here and

another in Puerto Rico. I was desperate to participate in

this historic moment.

I tried to focus on my dissertation proposal, but it was

no use. I pushed myself to go to work every day, but even

reading scientific articles was hard.

Speaking with my counselor helped me figure out the

way forward. I realized that I was focused on what I

wanted to do instead of what I could do. There were still

ways I could help from Vermont.

I got in touch with my friend and colleague Bianca Valdés,

a Ph.D. student at the University of Puerto Rico, whom I

know through an initiative to train scientists to get involved

in policymaking called the Puerto Rico Science Policy Action

Network (PR-SPAN). We came up with a rapid, feasible way

for me to contribute: write an online letter in which Puerto

Rican scientists could express our support for Rosselló’s res-

ignation. We wanted to emphasize that, although Rosselló is

also a scientist, he does not represent the Puerto Rican

scientific community or the values

needed to govern.

After a daylong flurry of writ-

ing and editing, and with the help

of former PR-SPAN member Jesús

Alvelo, who is currently a science

and technology policy fellow with

AAAS (which publishes Science), we

had the letter posted. In just a few

hours, it got about 100 signatures.

It was even picked up by the press.

I also teamed up with a few

Puerto Rican friends in Vermont

to take pictures with signs urg-

ing Rosselló to resign, which we

posted on social media. We wanted

to show our support for the pro-

testors back home as well as make

non-Puerto Rican members of our

networks aware of what was hap-

pening there. I had thought of

trying something like this before

my meeting with my counselor but had not pushed hard

enough. Now, I decided to just set a time and make it hap-

pen. Only three of us were able to make it, but it was still

great to feel that sense of community, and I was happy

about our small contribution to the cause.

Perhaps counterintuitively, taking these actions also

helped me get back on track with my academic work. I

felt I was doing my part—however minor—to support the

people of Puerto Rico, so when I was at work, I was able to

focus on my science.

As students and scientists, we cannot alienate ourselves

from the issues that matter to us. We must be engaged.

And the many of us who are far from home to pursue our

scientific research can find ways to engage from afar. j

Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz is a Ph.D. student at the Uni-

versity of Vermont in Burlington. Do you have an interesting

career story? Send it to [email protected].

“The first protest [reminded]

me that I have one foot here

and another in Puerto Rico.”

Between two worlds

I

sat alone in my room, glued to my computer screen, watching events unfold 3000 kilometers away.

Back home in Puerto Rico in July, thousands were marching to Old San Juan, demanding that Gover-

nor Ricardo Rosselló resign, and I was proud of them. I, however, was in Vermont, pursuing my Ph.D.

I had left Puerto Rico because of the academic opportunities available elsewhere—a trade-off many

scientists make as we pursue our training and careers. But I still feel deeply connected to my home.

I stayed up late following what was happening and talking with friends who were marching, includ-

ing one who suffered violence at the hands of the police. I was furious at myself for not being there.

By Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz

ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER

946 30 AUGUST 2019 • VOL 365 ISSUE 6456 sciencemag.org SCIENCE

WORKING LIFE

Published by AAAS