Dave Picardo

Dave Oswald Picardo

River Hawk Scholars Academy (RHSA) Peer Leader

College
Kennedy College of Sciences

Biosketch

  • Name: Dave Oswald Picardo
  • College: Kennedy College of Sciences
  • Major: Biological Sciences
  • Hometown: Kuwait
  • Favorite hobbies: Drawing, writing poetry, reading books and playing video games.
  • What is your favorite thing about UMass Lowell (UML)? That Dunkin’ is smack dab in the middle of North Campus. Donuts for lunch? Sign me up!
  • What are your future goals? To obtain a PhD in Biochemistry or Organic Chem.
  • What has having been involved with the RHSA meant to you? Being able to form a support group consisting of kind, caring and compassionate people who want to see me succeed and thrive while I am in college.
  • Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself in your first year of college? You didn’t have to change who you were and act in a certain way for everyone to like you. Be true to who you are, and soon, you will find yourself surrounded by the right people who like you for you.
  • What advice would you give fellow students? UMass Lowell provides a huge number of opportunities to you, available right at your fingertips. Regardless of whether you know what you want to do or not, seize them as that’s the only way to find out what you dislike and what you love doing.
  • Why did you choose to attend UMass Lowell? The various laboratories on campus and opportunities for undergraduate research caught my eye instantly, and that is one of the major reasons I applied.
  • What does it mean to you to be a first-generation college student? It means taking a huge step in furthering my education and opening up new doors, not only for me, but members of my family as well.
  • What inspires you to want to help first-generation students in the RHSA? Starting out in my first semester, I was anxious about going to college and often wondered if I made the right decision. But because of the help and support provided by my peers and advisors, I was able to feel confident in myself and get rid of the fear I had about going through the rest of my college years. I was encouraged to do things I never thought I would do which were out of my comfort zone. Because of all this, I want to be able to support first-generation students that come to this university, just as I was supported when I started out, hopefully being a peer who can provide them with opportunities and help them thrive in university.