"Be brave. Ask your questions and take advantage of your opportunities."

Myria Perez started out as a volunteer at the Houston Museum of Natural Science when she was twelve. She pursed her undergraduate degrees in Geology and Anthropology at Southern Methodist University while working in the fossil labs on campus. During her collegiate years, she conducted research and was a part of a Smithsonian Institution exhibition on Cretaceous marine reptiles from Angola, Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola's Ancient Seas. She currently works at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the Deep Time Fossil Lab, cleaning fossils while inspiring young women in STEM as a AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador.