in transit with is a series in which we follow along on someone's everyday journey, whether they are on their way to work, running an errand, or taking a coffee break, to find out how they get around, what keeps them busy, and what they love about where they live.
Latasha Wright’s adventurous spirit has carried her from her childhood in Mississippi to her current home in the Bronx. She first arrived in New York City as a Ph.D student and now she teaches young students about the joys of science as the Co-Founder of BioBus, a mobile science education program — she has an infectious laugh and a clear passion that’s bound to convince anyone how wonderful science can be. When she’s not at work, you might spot Latasha at one of her favorite brunch spots, walking in the park near her apartment, or heading to a Broadway show. Latasha invited us aboard the Harlem-based BioBus to chat about listening to Beyoncé on the subway and at MetLife Stadium, learning to twirl fire, and the funniest thing she’s seen on her commute.
⌨ latasha’s last google maps search | ♫ listen to latasha’s playlist
on her morning routine
I changed my routine just recently, in the last couple of months, because I'm going on a vacation to Machu Picchu. There's will be a lot of hiking, so I want to get ready for that. Now, I wake up at 6:00 am and I go for a walk around my neighborhood. I'm in the South Bronx by Yankee Stadium, and there are stairs that go up to the Metro North Station. I've been doing those stairs to make sure that I can handle it — I don't want to be in Machu Picchu huffing and puffing. I don’t want to be like “leave me here, I can see it from here.” Then I come back home and take a shower, have breakfast, and start my day.
on her commute to work
I usually work from home when I’m not working here on the BioBus. When I work here, I get in around 9:30 or 10:00 am. My commute is about 30 minutes long; I take the D train from 161st Street to 122nd Street. Sometimes I’ll read, if I have a book club coming up, but usually I just listen to music on the way. More than half the time, I listen to Beyoncé. There’s a Beyoncé song for everything. I'd say Beyoncé is a ritual. I was just on Cowboy Carter because I went to the show. But I really love Renaissance; that's my favorite album. “That Girl” and “Cozy” are my favorites. And also “Energy.” That's totally my vibe.
on finding community at concerts
The Cowboy Carter show was amazing. I'm sad that I've only seen two of Beyoncé’s concerts. I don’t know why she wasn’t on my radar for a long time, but I feel like I missed out on some of the early stuff. Now I wish I could go back in time and see all of her concerts.
It's the energy in the room. She's an amazing performer, and she also has amazing fans. Everybody's singing her songs at the same time. It's fun. Everyone’s dressed up. For Cowboy Carter, everybody was in blue jeans. I had on blue jeans, a cowboy hat, and a kind of crazy cow sweater. When I was at Penn Station on the way there, everyone was like, “Oh, you’re going to the concert?” I was like, “How did you know?” I'm from the South, so I'm used to seeing so many people in cowboy boots — seeing it in New York, it was like, New York became Mississippi for the first time.
It was just so fun. I think it's kind of a community. Of course, you talk to the people who are beside you. There was this woman; this was her second time coming to a show. The first time she went with her husband, but her kid was really mad that her mom and dad got to go, so the kid came this time. They were from Philly, and we were talking about the commute and asking how they got there. Everybody gets to talking. There was a guy behind me, and he was like, “I'm from Germany. It was just so fun, just talking about it, like, "Oh, what part of Germany?" And he was like, "Oh, you know, Berlin." And I was like, "I've always wanted to go there." And he's like, "Come visit me, girl." I'm like, "Yeah!" I wouldn’t really go visit him, but it is a fun thing, right? Because everybody's sharing this love of Beyoncé. And the sound is immaculate because she can sing. Even if you don’t get front row seats or anything, it’s a good show. I wish I’d come to every concert before.
on her evening commute
I finish up work around 6:30 pm. A lot of times, on my way home, I’ll stop by the deli and pick up a sweet treat. I like cupcakes. There’s a bakery nearby named Make My Cake and sometimes I stop to get a cupcake from there.
on growing up in mississippi
I grew up in a really small town near Biloxi, Mississippi. At the time, around 2,000 people lived in my town. My mom and dad were really religious. My dad was a deacon, and my mom was the person in church who would do the programs and organize things. My mom would make me memorize pages and pages of religious scripts and poems when I was very young. There were plays at church all the time, and she would always build these crazy sets. My dad was more the star; she was backstage, getting everything all set up. She was the orchestrator of all of the events, and then she let everybody shine. I think if my mom grew up in New York, she definitely would’ve been a Broadway stage designer, an award-winning stage designer. It's just a different life, you know.
I have a big family — it’s me and five brothers. I’m the youngest by six years; my oldest brother is eighteen years older than I am. I was kind of an…oops! baby. At school, everybody knew me because they knew my brothers. They were all big football players, so everyone would be like, “Oh, you’re Clayton’s sister” or “You're Michael’s sister,” and I was like, “No, I'm Latasha!”
Our house was the go-to spot for everybody in the neighborhood. My mom was a good cook. At church on Sunday, everyone would be like, "What did your mom cook today?" And then later they’d come by and be like, "Oh my goodness, I had to stop by for some reason,” and get food. We had a pecan tree in the yard. My dad had made a playground for me when I was younger, and we had a basketball court and a baseball field. People would come on back to mess around on the baseball field. My mom would be the baseball pitcher all the time, and she would strike out all the kids. She was like, "You gotta learn, baby. You gotta learn. You gotta learn how to lose." No trophies over here. We're all competitive. I think they were supportive of me going into science; they were always about us doing what we wanted to do. Now, were they supportive of me moving to New York — that’s more complicated!
on the start of her interest in science
My science career started in high school. Before high school, I was more drawn to math — I thought I would be a math teacher when I grew up. I was a math girlie. I really loved math a lot. I still do. Math is logic; it’s a way of thinking, which was fun. It’s like a puzzle. But science is more exploration, and I realized that in high school, thanks to a really great science teacher I had. He inspired me to be a scientist. He endorsed my creativity. He endorsed my desire to do experiments. He was like, "What do you want to do? Do it." Through him, I came to understand science as a practice and not just something that was given to us. Thank you, Mr. Pursley — we're still friends on Facebook. Then in college, I double majored in chemistry and math. I went to Tougaloo College, and I was in a fellowship called MARC — Minority Access to Research Careers —and that really opened my eyes, and I started doing undergraduate research.
While I was in college, Joel Oppenheim, who was the Dean of Biomedical Science at NYU, used to come to Tougaloo to recruit students for graduate study. We were doing some sort of role-playing exercise where he was the student and I was interviewing him, and I was pretending to be this kind of snobby person. It was funny, and we really hit it off. He gave me his card, and after that, when I’d see him around, he’d ask how I was doing. So, then, when I was applying to graduate school, I ran into him at a conference, and he asked if I was planning to apply to NYU. I was like, “No.” He was like, "Why not?" And I was like, "Uh, I don’t want to go to NYU. I just don't want to." At that time, I really wanted to go to Emory or UCSF. But Joel was like, "Here is an application, you don't have any reason not to apply." I was like, "Okay, fine." And so I applied to NYU. The first time I landed in New York City to interview for the program, I was like, Whoo! What's happening here? I was like, I need to go to a Broadway show, I need to eat at really great restaurants. I’d never done anything like that.
I also interviewed at Emory and didn’t have a great experience with that, and I interviewed at USCF and didn’t have a great experience there either. There were a lot of microaggressions at both. I think it was about 15 years ago. But when I came to NYU, there were zero. Because it was so international, at NYU, it felt like the real minority was anybody who was from the States. I felt like at the other schools, if I went there, I would be looked upon as the affirmative action person — the one black person that's there. And here, it felt like nobody would be thinking about me like that. It felt like I could be here and be who I am and figure things out without that added stress.
I got into Emory and UCSF, but I’d already decided to go to NYU. After my interview, Joel called me and he was like, “Everybody loves you and they really want you to come here,” and I was like, “I still have like four more interviews, I feel like I have to go to the interviews.” He was like, “They’re not going to be better than this, you're gonna love it here.” I was like, “Nah, I still have an interview at UCSF,” and he was like, “It's gonna be terrible.” I went to UCSF, and it was terrible. So, I called him after that, and I was like, “You're right. Guess what, I'm canceling all my other interviews. I'm coming to NYU.”
on working in science education
I originally went to graduate school thinking I was going to go back to Mississippi to teach in a college or something like that. Then, once I came to NYU, I became really close to Joel; he was my mentor. So, I decided one day I’d be dean too, I’d be Joel Part II. Then, after grad school, I did a postdoc at Weill Cornell, and I was finishing that up, I realized I didn’t want to teach college anymore, so I was trying to figure out what I’d do next. I did a lot of recruitment outreach for NYU, and I was really good at it. But I understood that, in doing that, I was only talking to people who were already interested in science and convincing them to go to NYU instead of going to Harvard or wherever. I didn't feel like I was really making a difference — I wasn’t making people want to be scientists. That's what I wanted to do, and I felt like the place to do that was in the K-12 space, because by the time you’re in college, you’ve already made that decision. I wanted to work with younger people and get them excited about science and help them start thinking that they're a science person. So, I was already volunteering a lot in that space.
And then, at that time, I was really into yoga. And my yoga teacher was like, “You're a scientist. I know a scientist who's doing something cool.” And she introduced me to Ben Dubin-Thaler. I went to a fundraiser he was hosting, and it was amazing. It was so fun. There was pulled pork and jazz. I was like, all right, I can get down with this. And then I went to The Anderson School with him on the bus, and I was completely hooked. I saw the kids reacting to science and being excited about science, and it made me remember why I felt so excited about science.
Ben, Sarah, and I are co-founders of BioBus, and this is our 16th year in operation. I’ve been doing this for a long time. We started off with just one bus that would go around to schools and communities. We bought an old bus on Craigslist for $10,000, then upcycled it. I love what I do now. I feel like every time I meet with a student, I have the opportunity to change a life. I didn’t get that feeling when I was in academia. I love sharing science with people who think they don’t like science — I like to show them that science is awesome and to see that little spark in them when they realize that.
on her day off routine
When I'm not working, I go to the gym in the morning, and then I usually hang out with some friends. We’ll get brunch — I’m a brunch girl. Sometimes I want something sweet, sometimes something savory. When I'm tired, I want something more savory. But if I'm energized, I want something sweet to keep me going. If I'm thinking savory, then it's definitely a spinach and feta omelette, maybe throw a little tomato in there, and of course, bacon. Because bacon makes everything better. If I want something sweet, I like pancakes with blueberry compote and some maple syrup on top, with a side of bacon. Maybe a little whipped cream on top to really embellish it. And a little cocktail — I like a Bellini, but sometimes I’ll get a mimosa.
After that, we’ll try to go do something fun, to take advantage of the city somehow. I love Broadway, so I go to a lot of Broadway shows. The last show I saw was Othello. It was great. I am a big Denzel Washington fan, so I went for Denzel, and I did love Denzel, but Jake Gyllenhaal was also amazing.
on letting students lead
Right now, I do education research, which is thinking about what learners need. It’s different than what I was doing in academia, but it’s still research — I’d never go back to academia. Now, I’m thinking about how people are thinking about science in their communities, and thinking about how we can change or adapt what we're doing to be able to augment things that are happening already.
I think a lot of scientists feel like they have been to school and they’re an expert. It can be hard to let the students lead — let them ask questions and decide what they want to do. You're like, oh, I know what I want to do, but that doesn't necessarily translate to what they would like to do. Sometimes you have to take a backseat — that can lead somewhere you might not have taken it, but somewhere that’s really interesting.
on her new habits
I'm not a good sleeper. I just got an Oura ring. My friend got it for me for my birthday, and we share our data with each other. I feel completely judged by the ring. It sends you a little note — it's like, "You should start winding now," And I'm like, oh, okay. The ring tells me what I should do. It makes me go to bed. I'm addicted to TikTok, so I used to be in bed scrolling TikTok a lot. Now I can’t do that because I’m like, the ring will know. Because it can tell how long you've been in bed versus how long you're actually asleep. To turn off my brain before I go to bed, I always play the New York Times games — Wordle, Tiles, the mini crossword.
I sleep four hours every night. That’s normal for me — I’ve just never been a sleeper. Now I’m trying to sleep more, but I actually feel more tired if I sleep more. I’m groggy if I get six hours. I feel fine when I get four hours, but I’m getting peer pressured into trying to sleep more. By the ring! The ring tells you your sleep score, and mine’s always “fair.” It’s like, "Hey, ring, why are you telling me? Why are you doing this? Why are you making me feel like this?"
“I go on the subway all the time. The subway is a great equalizer. You can see anybody on the subway, and I think that’s kind of fun. You always see something interesting. There are a lot of people who have different styles, and it’s interesting to see that. On Halloween or a holiday, it’s always fun to see other people dressed up. You can see different fashions, and how different people put things together. And it’s just a joy to see different walks of life that you don’t always see. It’s a way to try to see other people’s lives.”
on finding her apartment
I live in the South Bronx now. I used to live in East Harlem, but I went away on a road trip, and when I came back, there were a bunch of people standing outside my apartment. I was like, “What’s happening?” and they told me the building had been condemned. It was a problem with lead. They had given people a couple of days to get their stuff, but I was away and they couldn’t get in touch with me. When I got back, they were about to close the door. I had like 15 minutes to get all my stuff together.
After that, I lived with a friend for three months because I was hoping the building would be un-condemned. They did provide a place where you could go, but I went to see what it looked like, and it was like, you have a room, and then the bathroom was down the hall, and there were a lot of sketch people there. It was not good. So I stayed at my friend's house. Luckily, I had a friend who had extra space in her apartment. Don't cry for me, I lived in Gramercy Park for three months for free — it was okay! But eventually, I was like, okay, I need another apartment. And BioBus was based in the Bronx, so I figured I would get a place there so I wouldn’t have to wake up so early to get on the bus to go to work.
I called a realtor to show me places in the area, and she took me around to see apartments in a car. She showed me an apartment that was only five or ten minutes away from where we parked the bus. It was in Castle Hill. I thought it was great. But when I moved in, I realized that if you walk, it takes an hour to get from the apartment to the bus! It’s so different when you drive versus when you walk. And that was before Uber. I ended up in Castle Hill for three or four years or something. I had a friend who lived right in the neighborhood that I live in now. Her apartment was amazing — she had a view of the Empire State Building, it was overlooking a park, and it was near a bunch of trains. I was like, get me over here. Because my old apartment was only near the 6 train, ugh. Now I’m by the B, D, and 4. That's one thing I love about my neighborhood — I can go anywhere very easily. That is a key part of my apartment. Also, everybody is super nice. Everybody takes care of everybody. During COVID, they put up a list of everybody who was elderly, and we would all take the time to check in on them, get groceries for them, and things like that. José Serrano, a state senator, lives in my building, and we do our laundry at the same time. And Althea Stevens, my councilwoman, lives two doors down. I see her a lot.
on the secret to making life as cool as possible
I think my trajectory is a mix of preparedness and serendipity. You have to be prepared to take opportunities when they’re there. I went to this talk with this lady, and her thing was, always say yes. When you can, say yes. And I was moved by that. I find myself in crazy awesome situations that have been so amazing because I said, Yes. For example, I was asked to be a speaker at this conference. I’d never heard of it, and when I looked it up, I thought, ooh, it seems like a weird conference. And I thought, yes, I’ll do it anyway. I went there and I ended up being on the stage with an astronaut and the creator of the I Fucking Love Science Instagram page. I met Bill Nye the Science Guy there. I was like, "Oh, hey, what’s up? Oh my god, I love you." I’d had no idea what this conference even was, and then the next thing you know… So, my advice would be to say yes to yourself and say yes to the things that come to you. I was always adventurous and outgoing. But even so, it can be easy to be like, Oh, I have other things to do, I can’t say yes to this. But you should — it’s better. It’s made my life as cool as possible.
on learning to twirl fire
I used to go to Earthdance. I haven't been there in a long time. They had an artist's residency that I started, and I was there as an artist and scientist. I would bring my microscope. It was my first time creating visual art for other people to see or performance art for other people to see. That is when I started thinking about performance art. I did it for three years, and then I became a curator there for five years. One of the people who came was a fire twirler. And so I started twirling fire, which I really loved. I used to do baton when I was younger, so I just learned how to do it with fire. I really enjoyed being on fire. It makes me feel alive, and it’s beautiful.
“I like to be busy. That’s what my therapist says. We’re working on that. She’s like, ‘Why do you have to be so busy, Latasha? This is like session 404 that we’ve talked about that.’”
on her most memorable commute stories
Once, I was on the 6 train going uptown, and I saw this woman who had silver and light blue hair in a bob. It was shiny and beautiful. I could only see the back, and I wanted to see what it looked like from the front, so I followed her to get a look. I stopped her and told her I really liked her hair — from the front, it was a really sharp bob. She said thank you, but she must have thought I was completely crazy. I was like, I’m not going to shoot you, I just wanted to see your hair!
Another time, I was on a commute, and the subway car was kind of crowded. This guy was sleeping, and he fell down and his head ended up in another guy’s lap, and then he started snuggling that guy. He had a messenger bag, and I think he unconsciously thought the guy’s lap was his messenger bag, so he was snuggling up to this really macho guy. It was the funniest thing.
on what’s in her bag
Lip gloss. I’m a lip gloss fanatic. I have all these different lip glosses. This one is for when you’re just dry. This one is for when you want a hint of color; this one’s like, “she’s a boss.” I also have hand sanitizer, AirPods, my wallet, and chargers. I carry it all in my backpack — I’m a backpack girl.
latasha’s favorite spots in new york city
My favorite place is the park next door, Franz Sigel Park. It's an old school park. It’s part of my walk in the morning. I go there all the time. There’s a Cuban restaurant, Zona de Cuba, above the post office on 149th Street, it’s really cute. I love Laut, which is in the East Village. It's really delicious. That's one of my go-to spots for lunch and dinner. And La Dong is a Vietnamese spot that’s really, really good. And of course, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which is right in the neighborhood.
