- There's math in everything I do.

There's math in everything that everyone does all around us, because mathematics is the language of nature.

My name is Omayra.

I am currently a health analyst.

I do research into health insurance, working on improving different health outcomes.

[exciting music] In the summer of 2000, I was a student in the Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute at Cornell University.

And that was really a transformative experience for me.

I didn't even know math biology was a field.

You know, that I could take my love of mathematics and mix that with my love of health care and public health.

And so, after that my mind was pretty much made up.

And that has a lot to do with the career that I'm in right now.

♪ ♪ Both my mother and father immigrated from Panama to New York.

My brothers were born in Brooklyn.

I was born in Queens.

So, I spent--a lot of time was spent at the beach.

Otherwise, I spent my free time at the library.

The nerd has always been strong with me.

♪ ♪ When I was little, my parents made me do the folklórico of folkloric dances.

My least favorite part of the costuming was actually the hair.

You sort of look like this, like, gilded dandelion.

♪ ♪ I enjoyed it, but I didn't go willingly to these things, but I'm so glad I did them when I was younger because I know about my heritage now.

My mother was a flight attendant.

My father was a superintendant in a building.

I'm pretty sure that my brother Omar, my middle brother, was the first one in our family to go to college.

And then I'm definitely the first one to get a PhD in my family.

[all singing] I started training capoeria, I think, in 2008.

I really loved connecting with an art form that connected me with my own history.

Capoeria is a martial art that was created by the slaves in Brazil as a means to defend themselves.

They had to disguise their fights inside of the dance.

[all singing] It's an art form that also helps you become a better person.

You know, there's a lot of self-discipline in capoeria.

That is really what drew me to it.

♪ ♪ Most of the projects that are assigned to me are focus studies.

A given state would be interested in our pregnant women getting the dental care that they need.

That type of thing.

And so, you're looking at a very particular population.

So, the best part of my job, for me, is working on a team.

I really enjoy spending time with others.

I love talking with other people.

And I already love mathematics, so I have this opportunity to do mathematics with others in a collaborative way.

That is what brings me the biggest joy.

♪ ♪