Women Who Reign: Natalia Espinosa

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”- Anne Frank

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Tell us about yourself along with a fun fact!
My name is Natalia Espinosa, and I’m currently a sophomore at Duke studying Neuroscience and Computer Science. I am really interested in the development of Artificial Intelligence, and enjoy building websites as a hobby. I am the current webmaster for my A Cappella group and Duke’s Neuroscience Major’s Union. I am also pursuing a minor in Cultural Anthropology, because I like to explore technology in the context of different cultures. I feel so grateful that I get to conduct research in and pursue a diverse range of subjects, and I am passionate about bringing tech education to underrepresented communities. A fun fact about myself is that I was born on Christmas, and my name literally means born on Christmas, but the naming wasn’t intentional.

What # would define your life journey?
#PeroLike

Favorite website / app:
My favorite Website/App is Airbnb for when I travel, either on a road trip or abroad!

Someone who inspires you and knowledge they have imparted:
My mom, simply by being a strong and driven woman in my life, has been a huge inspiration to me. I really appreciate her for letting me explore what my interests are without pressuring me into fitting into any mold.

Song that makes you want to dance:
Most songs do, but currently: Herside Story by Hare Squead

Challenge you’ve faced and how you overcame it:
My biggest and most recent challenge has been, in short, integrating my interests. This wasn’t ever a problem, but as I got deeper into my college career, I started to get involved with research and had to decide which subjects I wanted to specialize in over others. It was sometimes hard to explain to others what exactly I wanted to do as a career. Fortunately, I have been able to do research in Neuroscience as well as in Cultural Anthropology, while still pursuing Computer Science as a minor. I’ve come to realize that I don’t always need to be in a super-interdisciplinary space: sometimes my interests have overlap, other times I am working on completely…