\u201cPalomar made it possible for me to pursue my dream of helping people through research.\u201d<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 When Joel Marroquin came to Palomar College at the age of 33, it was still difficult for him to walk.<\/p>\n
He had broken his back six months earlier in a workplace injury that forced him to re-evaluate the direction of his life, and ultimately led him here.<\/p>\n
\u201cPalomar has changed my life\u2014coming here opened a lot of doors for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Before Palomar, Marroquin had worked as a project manager for a company that installed water usage meters. One day, working on a ladder set on a damp wooden deck, he fell from 10 feet up, hitting his back on a water heater and fracturing two vertebrae. He would spend several years recovering.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had trouble walking,\u201d he said, \u201cand that\u2019s why I decided to use my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n
His initial plan was to pursue Kinesiology, and so he threw himself into his coursework at Palomar, learning about the human body\u2014and coming to understand his own injury better, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to help people, but I didn\u2019t know in what way,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThe exact goal was uncertain. Taking all of these courses at Palomar, I just fell more and more in love with biology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marroquin recently changed his major and is now pursuing cellular molecular biology, with plans to transfer to Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM) and then earn a PhD: \u201cMy ultimate goal is to do biomedical research,\u201d and he wants to focus on diabetes and cancer, he explained.<\/p>\n
Marroquin has nurtured a growing passion for biology while taking advantage of opportunities unique to Palomar College.<\/p>\n
The Bridges Program, for minority students majoring in science, has afforded him the ability to perform undergraduate research at CSUSM, while earning a stipend and laboratory pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think research was even a possibility for me, but there are a lot of things Palomar can get started for you,\u201d Marroquin said. \u201cThey even sent me to Indianapolis last year for the annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. I\u2019m also allowed to present research, and for me that\u2019s been a great networking opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
This past spring, Marroquin discovered Palomar did not have a chapter of the Society of Advancement for Native Americans and Chicanos in Science, or SACNAS. So he started one, and is currently serving as president.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it here at Palomar,\u201d he said. \u201cThe professors really care about their students. I feel like I\u2019ve gotten a very good education here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"