I never expected to ask myself the question, “What does one wear to meet the pope?”
Yet this past summer, that was exactly the dilemma.
The answer, I decided, was simple: Cardinal red.
I stood in the Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, surrounded by gilded ceilings and frescoes that have looked down upon kings and queens for centuries.
But I wasn’t a dignitary.
I was there as a rising second-year Ph.D. student in earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – and as a student at the Vatican Observatory Summer School.
As I waited for the Holy Father, my palms sweating despite the cool grandeur of the room, I couldn’t help but trace the unlikely path that brought me here.
I am a scientist who researches protoplanetary disks – vast clouds of gas and dust that act as the birthplaces of planets.
I spend my days analyzing how the mass in these disks sets the stage for new worlds.
But looking back, the most critical “formation” in my own life didn’t happen in a lab at MIT.
It happened in Sarasota and Manatee counties – inside the offices and classrooms where UnidosNow taught me that my dreams were not only possible, but worth claiming.
Finding my roadmap
Before I was studying the origins of planets, I was just a student at Braden River High School in Bradenton and trying to figure out the origins of my own future.
Like many children of immigrants, I had the ambition but lacked the roadmap.
The path to an elite institution like MIT felt like a different universe – one I wasn’t sure I was allowed to occupy.
That changed when I found UnidosNow.
It started junior year when I joined the club at Braden River, but everything shifted during my senior year when I got into its Future Leaders Academy (FLA).
For one intense year, FLA did more than just help me edit essays or navigate financial aid forms. The mentors replaced my imposter syndrome with a tenacity I didn’t know I had.
They taught me that I belonged in any room I chose to walk into – whether that was a lecture hall at MIT or an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
Pull others up
The beauty of UnidosNow isn’t just that it helps students get into college; it builds a culture where you return to pull others up behind you.
After graduating high school, I didn’t leave the familia behind.
I served as an UnidosNow ambassador during my freshman year of college.
And for the last four years – right through the first year of my Ph.D. studies – I’ve served as an FLA college coach.
For seven years I have been part of this organization.
I have watched shy high schoolers transform into confident leaders, mirroring the same change I went through. And I tell them what my mentors told me: Your background is not a barrier; it is your superpower.
Embracing your superpower
That superpower is what I carried with me to Italy.
The Vatican Observatory Summer School brought together young astronomers from around the world to study the universe using James Webb Space Telescope data.
I was humbled to be the only American citizen there.
We debated planetary formation, hiked to waterfalls in Subiaco and ate lemon gelato while debating the intersection of science and faith.
When the pope finally entered the audience hall, the room went silent.
He spoke about the importance of sharing knowledge and the joy of discovery.
When it was my turn to meet him, I didn’t trip – despite the nerves.
I simply asked for a blessing for my family and friends back home.
There is a direct line connecting the student I was at Braden River High to the scientist shaking hands with the pope.
That line was drawn by the mentorship and love of my family, my teachers and UnidosNow.
They taught me that we are not just observers of the universe; we are active participants in shaping it.
So when young students from the ManaSota area ask me how to reach the stars – or how to meet the pope – I tell them the truth: You start by finding the people who believe in you until you believe in yourself.
For me, that began with UnidosNow.
Isabella Macias is a native of the Sarasota-Manatee area and a graduate of Braden River High School in Bradenton. She is currently a doctorate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researching protoplanetary disks. She is an alumna of the UnidosNow Future Leaders Academy. UnidosNow is a local, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization celebrating its 15th anniversary of empowering immigrant students and families to integrate into the full fabric of the ManaSota region. To learn more, visit www.unidosnow.org.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: What do you wear to meet a pope? From Manatee to the Vatican | Opinion
Reporting by Isabella Macias Guest columnist, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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