Kristina's Bio

Meet the CEO!

My fascination with the cosmos extends beyond a single lifetime. As a kid, I grew up watching the science channel, finding excitement, fascination, and obsession in shows like “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman”, and “How the Universe Works”. My late grandfather and I would spend hours watching these programs, and I believe he truly ignited the spark in me that loves astronomy.

My mom would take us to the local community college every now and then to attend the open observatory nights at the campus observatory. I don’t remember much about it back then other than feeling so excited about being in the little dome with the dim red light and the (what felt like then) enormous telescope. This observatory would soon be a huge turning point in my life in high school when I once again visited and that same spark ignited even brighter. I left the observatory exclaiming to my mother that “I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!”

Senior year was the hardest year of high school for me. The pandemic stole so much from me, and on top of that, I lost my beloved grandfather. I also suffered two concussions, which left me feeling more lost than ever. To make matters worse, I had a guidance counselor who told me that pursuing astronomy wasn’t realistic for "a student like me". Because of that, she pushed me toward community college and easier majors, which discouraged me heavily. But astronomy was always the dream, and I wasn’t going to let it go, even if the path felt impossible.

At this point, I didn’t care much about college. Everything seemed out of reach, but I decided to apply Early Decision to a university on a whim for astrophysics, with the thought that "If I was accepted it was meant to be". When I was rejected, I laughed because deep down, I had already convinced myself I didn’t deserve to be there. I thought maybe my guidance counselor was right and I ended up applying to random schools with random majors. One of those was Siena College, and I honestly only applied because they sent me a fee waiver. I was accepted with a scholarship and ended up committing there, but at first, I wasn’t exceptionally excited about it because I committed as a psychology major after facing intense discouragement.

I started at Siena very unsure about my future, so I switched my major to general sciences in case I wanted to explore other fields. But when I saw that they offered an astronomy elective, I decided to take it. Due to it being the COVID-19 pandemic, the astronomy elective I signed up to take was exclusively online, and I knew this was the course I wanted to get the most out of. After reaching out to the professor about my interest in the subject, he forwarded my email to the head of the physics and astronomy department who excitedly suggested I switch my major to physics with a minor in astrophysics. It felt like a huge leap, but I decided to go for it; I figured, worst case, I could always switch again!

Right in the beginning of my sophomore year, Siena made astrophysics an official major. After being the overly-enthusiastic-astronomy-obsessed freshman, the same professor that convinced me to switch my major to physics offered me the privilege of being the first student to officially transition into the astrophysics major.

And just like that, I became the first astrophysics major at Siena College. From there, everything snowballed, I participated in academies with NASA, traveled to the Canary Islands with my professor to conduct research, and spent summers researching black holes and exoplanets at the University of Florida and the University of Texas during REU programs.

When I learned that there were no incoming astrophysics majors at Siena my junior year, I took it as a personal challenge. I worked closely with admissions to promote the program, became a student ambassador, and was proud to help increase the number of incoming astrophysics students. By my senior year, I was overjoyed to hear that the program had doubled in size.

In my senior year, I spent my first semester studying abroad in Australia, something I had always dreamed of but never thought would actually happen. It was truly life-changing, and I was incredibly proud to represent Siena at one of the top universities in the world, especially as the only Siena student studying in Australia that semester. While I was away, I entrusted the Astronomy Club to my peers, and I was thrilled to see how they continued to grow the program in my absence. Watching from afar as they organized events and carried on the club’s mission reinforced just how much of an impact we had made, and it was rewarding to see the community we built continue to thrive.

During my last semester, I worked as a science policy intern for the American Physical Society, an experience that reshaped my understanding of the relationship between science and society. More than anything, this experience reinforced how crucial outreach and science communication are, not just within academic circles, but for shaping public policy, education, and societal progress. Seeing the broader impact that effective science communication and community can have solidified my commitment to making outreach a central part of my career.

I graduated in May 2024 with my degree in Astrophysics and have chosen to take a gap year, so I could have ample time to commit to passion projects such as NOVA. But, I am incredibly excited to share that starting Fall 2025, I will be pursuing my PhD in Physics! As I take on this next chapter of my life both with NOVA and my PhD, I’m eager to take what I’ve learned from my academic, research, and outreach experiences and apply it to contributing meaningfully to both the scientific community and the public’s understanding of astronomy.

Looking back, I’m still in awe of how everything fell into place. The universe really does work in mysterious ways, and I’m grateful for every twist and turn in my journey. I’m proud of who I’ve become and the work I’ve done. More than that, I’m proud to give back to my community, both locally and globally. It’s been an incredible ride, and I’m excited to see how this new chapter unfolds.

Ad Astra.