Dr. Kathryn Hall

Dr. Kathryn Hall is a lovely, beautiful woman who is an inspiration to the young minds of children. She has, experienced, and seen the things that we young people go through every day. Kathryn Hall was born in England in 1964. At the age of 1 she moved from England to the beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica. Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica she lived with her mother and father and her siblings, a brother and a sister- her brother Jason, who in now 34, currently lives in Jamaica while her sister Christine, 42, lives in Texas. When she was sixteen, her parents moved to Brazil, Mozambique and then Sierra Leone.

While growing up, Kathryn had some troubles in school. She went to a private school where she looked different from everyone else. Some children did not understand why she looked different and didn't like her because of it. As a young girl, Dr. Hall was very shy and quiet. Because she did not speak much, her teachers thought she was not a good student. A teacher one time called her "stupid" which made her think that something was really wrong with her. This made Kathryn feel really bad and wonder whether or not if she really was stupid.

While she was struggling in school, Kathryn became attracted to science. She became fascinated with the animals that lived around her house. In her spare time, she watched and studied them. She began to wish she was a doctor or biologist, and would spend her afternoons playing this. She didn't know it at the time, but this fascination and playing would some day help her achieve her dreams. At the time, however, school was still somewhat of a challenge for Kathryn, but that all changed when one day in the 4th grade Kathryn had a science test. She aced the test and even went on to skip the next grade, which was grade five. From then on she was no longer the "problem child".

After graduating from Immaculate Conception High School in Jamaica, Kathryn applied to the University of Miami. She told us that the SAT is a test that isn't difficult itself, as long as you study hard, learn the material, and have a strategy in taking it. She said the trick is knowing what the people who grade the test are looking for. She graduated from the University of Miami at the age of 20. While there, she majored in Biochemistry. After that, she earned her Ph. D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University. Kathryn said that the reason why she went to college was that she never forgot how much she loved watching the animals around her house, and she wanted to extend her knowledge of biology.

Her parents were her role models throughout Dr. Hall's life. Her mother was a high school teacher and her father was a botanist (or person who studies plants). Her mother taught her to never give up on her dreams. When she was 50 her mother went back to school to earn her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. Her mother showed her that she had to know what she wanted and also know what she had to do to achieve it.

Currently, Kathryn works at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in the Commercial Manufacturing Group. Right now her job is to build the Quality Assurance and Quality Control functions for the Drugs that the company sells. She is currently working with a drug called Integrelin that was invented to help with heart attacks. She enjoys how her love of biology as a child now helps her give back to the world and allows her to work with life-saving drugs. Dr. Hall continues to branch out into other areas. Not limiting herself to science, she is currently working on a documentary, and hopes to someday make a movie. Through her diverse interests, Dr. Hall continues to be an inspiration for young women everywhere. We hope it all works out well for Dr. Kathryn Hall!

Dr. Hall stressed that reading is very important, and it got her to where she is today. She said, "Reading is very important and should not be made into a chore," and that "Good teachers make big differences."