SoCaltech: Jamie Tijerina

“I grew up in Highland Park. When I came back to Los Angeles in 2015, I saw businesses I’d frequented closing suddenly. Legacy Latino businesses were being forced out through drastic rent increases and other means.

 “So, in 2016, when the neighborhood council was looking for a new board member, I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Highland Park should have the same access to beneficial places, cultural activities, and recreational facilities as any other city or neighborhood. For example, our pool is deteriorating and is not open year-round. Yet it’s across the street from a clinic that sees a massive number of patients with heart disease and diabetes. I’m working with the council office on this issue; after hearing about it, they secured $1 million toward renovating the pool and recreation facilities. Another example: I sing in a community band where people of all ages make music every week and am on the board of the nonprofit that runs it. When I was growing up, this activity wasn’t available. You need people to do the behind-the-scenes work to build up our community institutions.

 “It’s easy to get involved, but it can be hard work. Community work and Caltech research have some common skillsets: They both require intrinsic motivation to manage your time, your workload, and all the working parts of a project and then see it through to completion. Whatever you’re interested in—sports, music, art—the first step is to show up.” 

In 2024, Caltech staff researcher Jamie Tijerina received both the Pioneer Woman of the Year Award from the Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women/LA Civil Rights and the Excellence in Cytometry Award from the Southern California Flow Cytometry Association. Since 2016, she has conducted research in Caltech’s Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility while engaging in civic pursuits on evenings and weekends, including serving as President of the Highland Park Heritage Trust. In January 2025, she will begin a geology PhD at Southern Methodist University, exploring the intersections of human health and environmental economics. 

#SoCaltech is an occasional series celebrating the diverse individuals who give Caltech its spirit of excellence, ambition, and ingenuity. Know someone we should profile? Send nominations to magazine@caltech.edu.