Liberation In History: Pioneer June Alameida

The CDC is reporting very high levels of COVID-19 in over half of the United States. According to their report, the pandemic is now endemic year-round.

Decades before the pandemic hit, one young woman without a college degree, June Alameida, identified the first Coronavirus as a lab assistant. She received no recognition for her discovery. The image she captured of a newfound, mysterious cell surrounded by spikes was dismissed by her superiors as just a blurry photo.

When Chinese lab workers first noticed a novel virus, now known as COVID-19, they used Almeida’s pioneering work and techniques to confirm it as a new Coronavirus. Recognized now as a scientific pioneer for her breakthrough achievements made over 50 years ago, June Alameida can finally rest in peace.

June Alameida passed away in 2007, but today we celebrate her as a liberator. Her story reminds us that we are all here for a unique purpose, one that may even help heal the world. Alameida, however, understood that to pursue her purpose she would first need to liberate herself from the odds she faced.

To start, she waved off her incapacity to fund and attend college by seeking work as a lab technician where she could learn much more. Then she rejected the notion that no woman could ever succeed as a scientist—in her day only men were taken seriously. Finally, this lab technician who was ultimately rewarded a masters degree and a Doctor of Science by the University of London, shows us that if we hope to liberate others, we can and must liberate ourselves first by overcoming obstacles placed in our way, much as we are challenged to do in the games we play.

To learn more about June Alameida here.