Jada Carter at Stamford Beach in Connecticut tagging near-threatened horseshoe crabs. June 28, 2021 By Walter Ryce Jada Carter, who recently graduated cum laude from CSUMB with a degree in biology, embodies an impressive range of diversity in their personal life, academic path, and future career in science — while reconciling it for themselves and others. “Others try to create the illusion that a scientist can't be queer and black and a womxn all at the same time,” Carter said. “But I think harmony among my identities is innate. Though that societal pressure can infiltrate the psyche, I fight it off by surrounding myself with people who understand my experience and have had similar experiences.”