Are you not even sure what your future goals are – professionally or otherwise? Alumna Ivey Knebel will return this May to inspire the graduating Class of 2024 at Lone Star College-CyFair, where she found support, resources and a foundation for success, an exciting career path and her husband Marcelo Carrizales.
Knebel and Carrizales agree LSC-CyFair is the place to start exploring your interests, learn about yourself and your passions, creating friendships and maybe even falling in love.
“(At LSC-CyFair) I made my first real group of friends, met the love of my life, had experiences allowing me to grow into the student I had longed to become and realize which career I wanted to pursue,” said Carrizales, who followed in his brother’s footsteps choosing to stay close to family while pursuing an education.
Wanting to develop her research skills, Knebel’s decision to enroll at LSC-CyFair was great impacted by the abundant offerings of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) opportunities, such as the independent STEM research and well-developed lab classes.
Transitioning from their online Honors chemistry class to in-person classes and extracurriculars, Knebel and Carrizales found their personal interests, and academic paths toward careers in the medical field, were aligned.
In fact, he was an Honors College Merit Scholar, she was an Honors College Chancellor’s Fellow and Barry Goldwater scholarship recipient and they were both semi-finalists of the highly competitive Jack Kent Cooke (JKC) Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. In addition, they participated in National Model United Nations, The Honors College at LSC-CyFair Leadership Program and Honors Engineering Team, as well as Rice University internship and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) offered through LSC, San Jacinto College and Rice University Take Flight STEM Pathway, just to name a few opportunities they took advantage of while at LSC-CyFair.
By the time these two graduated in May 2022, she with an Honors Associate of Science and he with Highest Honors Distinction, they had also become a couple. She was attracted to his hard work ethic, desire to grow as a leader and determination. He was drawn to her passion to learn and captivated by her uplifting personality that encouraged those around her.
“Marcelo proposed to me at a haunted house. Most people would think that’s creepy, but now every time I go to a haunted house, I feel romance in the air. It was the perfect proposal for both our personalities,” Knebel said.
Now a married couple, they are both planning to graduate by the end of the year. Knebel is majoring in Molecular Genetic Technology at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center School of Health Professions. She is passionate about genetics and wants to become a medical laboratory scientist, specializing in oncology. He is on a pre-med track majoring in Biology at UT Dallas with a focus in forensic pathology in pursuit of becoming a medical examiner.
Don’t wait any longer to explore all the fields of study available at LSC-CyFair and to find your true love – professionally with a new career and maybe personally, too.
Registration for May mini-mester or summer classes is underway. For information, go to LoneStar.edu/cf-mini-mester or LoneStar.edu/regcyfair.