A conversation with Kais Karowadia '19, a biochemistry and genetics double major.

The most important lesson my parents instilled in me? Work hard. I was born in India, but my family now lives in Houston. On the day we arrived, my dad began working at a Marble Slab Creamery owned by my great uncle. Both of my parents have always demonstrated the value of hard work.

My younger brother inadvertently taught me responsibility. Most of my summers were spent babysitting him. Even in high school, I helped my parents by picking him up from school and bringing him to orchestra rehearsals with me, where I played the viola. Now, I mentor children and teens at my place of worship. Being of service to others has become part of who I am. It’s part of the Aggie Spirit.

I never imagined receiving so much support for my education. During my senior year in high school, I qualified for the Robert and Shelia Templeton Endowed Opportunity Award at Texas A&M. Deep down, I knew that my parents hadn’t saved enough money for my college education, so I’d be faced with many loans. After thinking it over, I made the decision: I was going to Texas A&M. It was the best choice I could have made.

Aggieland was foreign to me, but after interacting with the people here and learning all the unversity's nuances and traditions, I was just blown away. Now in my junior year, I’m the treasurer of the Texas A&M Biochemistry & Genetics Society and hold a research lab position, where I study how a specific family of proteins has evolved and catalog protein reactions. It’s the ideal research opportunity for my future career in medicine.

The crazy part about the field of medicine is that it’s always changing. Many technologies and developments happening right now will be extremely outdated 50 to 100 years in the future, if not sooner, as our body of knowledge expands. Even so, our achievements thus far in the medical field are remarkable. Think about it: We as a human race have solved problems that occur by chance, such as genetic mutations, which provides the path to longevity. The idea of helping people by learning more about how we “tick” fascinates me. I’m keeping my career options open, but I am considering an ophthalmology specialization.