What advice do you have for others interested in following down a similar path?
Doing research and work you are passionate about is the most important step towards winning a prestigious scholarship. One of my mentors told me that the work you are doing should be done for the sake of solving the problem rather than towards receiving an award. The awards are a product of the work you do, not an end result. With that said, it is important to put together a competitive application for these different prestigious awards and to apply to as many as possible. Key components to a competitive application are highlighting the parts of the work where you made a unique contribution, giving your letter writers materials that outline what the award is looking for and examples of how you have shown characteristics that fit the award’s criteria while working with them, asking past winners for guidance [and] if you can see their application, and starting early.
What research and internship experiences did you have while at UCF?
High Energy Density Physics Program Intern at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL): I worked to design a physics target package through simulations for an experiment to see if magnetic fields suppress Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Rayleigh-Taylor instability is the leading degradation mechanism preventing ignition in a fusion reaction from being achieved. If this instability can be suppressed, we would be closer to using fusion as a viable energy source.
National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at the Soft Materials Research Center: This was at the University of Colorado-Boulder. I was a research team member in a pilot study on the effect of PGE2 on osteocytes. PGE2 has potential as a treatment for osteoporosis because it is released under mechanical loading to give bone remodeling effects. However, in other concentrations it is inflammatory. I grew osteocyte stem cells and tested the impact of PGE2 concentration through treatments.
I [recently] finished my Honors Undergraduate Thesis, which was a collaboration between UCF and LLNL, continuing my summer research on Rayleigh-Taylor instability. I will be interning again at LLNL this summer remotely, which has been serendipitous; because since I did the thesis as a collaboration, I am already set up to work remotely and have the opportunity to finish the project and produce a paper with my mentor [there].
What activities do you enjoy outside of academics?
Right now, my current favorite hobby is doing triathlons (swimming, biking, and running) with Tri-Knights at UCF. I like the triathlon provides 3 events to improve and master. The triathlon community is very supportive which makes events fun to compete at. Many of the courses are at cool places. Our Florida Conference championship was hosted at the Miami Man triathlon [which] goes through the Miami zoo, so I got to see giraffes while running!
What will you be doing next? How has receiving the Astronaut Scholarship helped you towards these goals?
I am going to attend Stanford’s mechanical engineering Ph.D., fully funded for the duration of my Ph.D. I also received the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education Fellowship from Stanford. The Astronaut Scholarship gave me a competitive edge for admission by showing that my research and potential in the field of STEM was recognized at a national level.