Joelle shares the good and bad of her four years at NC State. Engaging in undergraduate research and benefiting from a cast of female mentors have been her motivating force. She excelled in research studying the effects of BPA on the brain and was selected for summer research at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, which ranks first in the country. But, during that time, she had no possibility of securing housing when she returned to campus – making her homeless. Joelle not only shares more of her experiences excelling in school while being food and housing insecure, but offers solutions. Moving forward, Joelle is going to continue with a career in research – to find the answers to the problems she experienced.