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Maria De Jesus Contreras always knew she wouldn’t be content earning just one degree.

As a high school senior in Frisco, she applied to universities that would allow her to simultaneously pursue a pair of degrees in seemingly unrelated subjects: music performance and biochemistry. This fall, she’ll graduate from UNT with bachelor’s in both — the former with a concentration in harp, the latter in forensics.

“Whenever people heard what I was doing, they’d say, `Wow, those have nothing to do with each other,’ and I’d say, `You’re telling me,’” Maria says. “But I really didn’t want to give up either because they are two very strong interests of mine, so I figured I could do both.”

A harpist since middle school, in 2020 she auditioned and was accepted to the College of Music. For the last four years, she has been a member of the chamber harp ensemble, the UNT HarpBeats, and also has performed as part of the UNT Symphony Orchestra, the UNT Concert Orchestra and the Jazz Strings ensemble.

“I love playing with all of my friends in a group,” she says.

Jaymee Haefner, professor of harp and director of graduate studies for the UNT College of Music, has worked closely with Maria and says she has demonstrated “exponential growth” in her musical abilities.  

Her “innovative” harp arrangements often serve as the closing number at HarpBeats performances. “She has tackled some pieces that would even be challenging for graduate students,” Haefner says.

In 2021, Maria interviewed and was accepted into the Forensic Science program in the College of Science. She began taking courses her junior year. 

“I like the fusion of biology and chemistry together. There’s a big part of forensics that has to do with biology,” Maria says.

Charlie Williams, faculty advisor for UNT’s Forensic Science program, describes Maria as “relentless in the pursuit of her goals. I am constantly inspired by her tenacity and creativity when faced with a challenge.”

But balancing the coursework and commitments that accompany a double major hasn’t been easy.

“There have been classes that have overlapped and schedules that have interfered and I’ve had to navigate those situations,” Maria says. “It’s kind of like performing schedule triage, where it’s like, `What’s most imminent? What’s most important? How can I make compromises and still be able to do both?’ I think in a lot of ways, I’ve been more successful than other people thought I would be.”

During her sophomore year, she added a job to her busy schedule — serving as a student assistant with President’s EDGE, a UNT program that assists its staff in earning high school equivalency certificates, learning basic computer skills and resume building. Other courses include English as a Second Language, Conversational Spanish and preparation for the U.S. Citizenship Test.

Maria, who has previously worked as an academic and music tutor, says she was well-suited for the position. The daughter of Venezuelan immigrants who came to the United States to earn their doctorates, she knows firsthand the impact an education and citizenship can make on one’s life.  

“One of the things I really want to do is have the capacity to help people in whatever form I can,” she says. “At President’s EDGE, we help people who have been in this country 20 or 30 years but haven’t applied for citizenship. We help them with those forms and the process. Sometimes, that’s overwhelming for people.”

Kemper Rao, program director for President’s EDGE, says Maria has assisted UNT employees in completing their online applications for U.S. citizenship and helped them prepare for the interview and civics portions of the exam. She’s also customized lessons and activities for the staffers she taught in ESL courses.

“I have always admired her sense of responsibility and willingness to accommodate the sometimes-variable schedules of the UNT personnel she works with,” Rao says.

At the start of her UNT career, Maria opted against setting a limit on what she thought she could accomplish as a student — a decision she credits to having watched her parents turn their academic dreams into reality.

“People told them they were crazy for going to America to get a degree. But they pushed past the expectations that people set for them. Growing up, they always told me, ‘Don’t limit yourself. Understand that there are so many opportunities for you to explore and pursue.’

“I’m pretty happy with the experiences that I’ve had,” says Maria, who is considering her post-graduation plans and weighing options for her future. “I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to do so many different things.”

The College of Science's commencement ceremony will be taking place in the UNT Coliseum at 8 a.m. on Friday, December 13, 2024.

For more information about UNT Commencement, please visit https://www.unt.edu/commencement/

Learn more about UNT's Great Grads