story by David Hoffman
Camila Gasparin has always had an interest in science, ever since she was a young girl growing up in Brazil.
She doesn’t know the exact moment this interest started, but the earliest inspirations she remembers came from the TV shows she used to watch growing up.
“Beakman, and the scientist brothers Tibio and Perônio from Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum, were the ones to make me want to do what they did. I was around eight or nine years old when I first thought of science as my future profession,” Gasparin said.
She is a strong advocate for women’s rights in science, and the journey that led her to become a doctoral student in Georgia State University’s College of Education & Human Development highlights that.
Growing up, Gasparin wanted to be a physics researcher with her own laboratory in a big institution. She enrolled in a bachelor's program in Brazil to get a degree in physics; however, once she began classes, she faced setbacks because of her small-town origins and a lack of respect for being a woman in science. This didn’t stop her from pursuing a career in science and taking physics teaching courses.
“I met new people, professors and colleagues, and a much more welcoming and understanding environment,” Gasparin said. “It helped, making amends with my feelings towards physics.”
Gasparin graduated with a teaching degree and master's degree in Brazil before deciding to study abroad for her doctorate. This decision was driven by her desire to live in a different environment and meet new people.
She chose Georgia State’s science education doctoral program in particular because it was located at one of the top innovative universities in the U.S. and one of the few to exceed in her research field – science education for deaf students.
Throughout her time at Georgia State, Gasparin has gotten to enjoy a different culture from the one she grew up in. She likes to discuss the similarities and differences between education in the U.S. and Brazil. Although she is no longer in Brazil, she is still a strong advocate for how women across the globe, like her younger self, deserve the right to learn about and pursue a career in science.
She can list example after example of people who have inspired her to continue working in science. Other successful women in science, high school professors, her mother and grandmother. It’s these people who have helped motivate Gasparin to achieve her goals.
“I say that my grandma taught me to be the teacher I am, and my physics teacher's example made me choose my science,” she said. “Never admit to anyone and say there is something you can't do, that something is out of your reach, or that you aren't capable of learning or doing something.”
Gasparin plans on graduating at the end of 2026 and intends to become a professor. There is plenty that she hopes to achieve in her lifetime, including publishing more books, academic works, organizing outreach projects and research, volunteer work and getting a postdoctoral fellowship. Specifically, she plans to pursue her livre-docência, a very prestigious title in Brazil.
“Only two or three universities in Brazil award this title and it is the ultimate title for professors there. Of course, I would want that very rare title,” she said.
This month, the United Nations will celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, recognizing how women can make an impact in the field. Gasparin sets a strong example for other women considering careers in science.
“There's no reason for a female not to do anything she can dream,” she said. “It is important that women take up every possible career in the world.”