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# A natural disaster changed how one graduate student shared her life at work
- URL: https://research-pop.com/a-natural-disaster-changed-how-one-graduate-student-shared-her-life-at-work/
- Published: 2026-09-20T20:25:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-20T20:25:10.000Z
- Author: ResearchPOP
- Tags: Career

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/7c/5e/7c5e0911-739b-4a35-94eb-3e810bf78ba7/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-20-at-22.22.04.png)

Source: [https://www.science.org/content/article/i-used-keep-my-family-life-private-grad-school-natural-disaster-changed](https://www.science.org/content/article/i-used-keep-my-family-life-private-grad-school-natural-disaster-changed?ref=research-pop.com)

For years, Daniela C. Molina Palacios kept her family life separate from her work in the laboratory. Originally from Venezuela and now an M.D.-Ph.D. student at Dartmouth College, she rarely spoke with colleagues about the experiences that had shaped her or the worries she continued to carry for relatives back home.

That separation became difficult to maintain after a devastating earthquake struck Venezuela. Molina Palacios was in the lab, waiting to learn whether her family was safe. The uncertainty brought back memories of living through a dengue outbreak when diagnostic testing was difficult to access, and of watching her grandmother receive little medical attention during a heart attack.

Building a more stable life in the United States had not erased those experiences. At times, it left her feeling guilty about the distance between her own circumstances and those of people she loved. She managed that tension by compartmentalising. Venezuela and family belonged to one part of her life, while research belonged to another.

After the earthquake, a labmate noticed that something was wrong and asked about her family. Molina Palacios chose to answer honestly. Her colleagues listened, expressed concern and made space for what she was carrying. The conversation could not change the situation in Venezuela, but it changed how alone she felt while facing it.

In this *Science* Working Life essay, Molina Palacios reflects on how that moment changed her understanding of vulnerability at work. Sharing what she was experiencing did not weaken her resilience or professional identity. It allowed the people around her to respond with care and reduced the pressure of acting as though events outside the laboratory had no effect inside it.

She now tells her labmates and principal investigator when she needs time to regroup. Her account is a personal experience rather than a universal prescription. Its central message is that researchers bring whole lives into the workplace, even when much of those lives remains unseen. Being open during a difficult moment can create space for support without diminishing a person’s commitment to science.

**Author:** Daniela C. Molina Palacios  
**Source:** *Science* · Working Life  
**Published:** 17 September 2026  
**Original article:** [I used to keep my family life private in grad school. A natural disaster changed that](https://www.science.org/content/article/i-used-keep-my-family-life-private-grad-school-natural-disaster-changed?ref=research-pop.com)

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## Research POP Notes

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