EB News: Thoughts on Graduation

I know this is late, but I wanted to say that yes-- I did graduate! I am now the proud owner of a degree in physics from Rhodes College (it's currently sitting in a bin with other miscellaneous papers until I figure out what to do with it).

The whole graduation thing has been such an emotional conflict that I'm really only just beginning to sort it out. I think it's no secret that I have absolutely loved my time at Rhodes, and the physics department especially. I've taken advantage of my free time in the past few days to reflect on my college experience and how much it has shaped who I am today.

So here I am! Of course, we go to college more than anything to learn, so here are just a few of the lessons I learned in my time at Rhodes:

I learned that it's OK to trust myself.
I learned that 9 times out of 10 people will respond favorably if you ask for help, even if they don't know you. This is especially evident as I continue my search for a job; the number of people who have agreed to chat with me or introduce me to someone else is just staggering and I am incredibly grateful for it.
I learned to appreciate a home-cooked meal.
I learned to think about fear not as something to suppress or avoid, but at an indicator for what I need to work on. Some of my best experiences and opportunities for growth were the ones that scared me most, so I started actively taking on new tasks that made me uncomfortable. Giving a mini-presentation has my heart pounding? Time to volunteer for lectures at astronomy night. Sending a cold email makes me break out in a cold sweat? Guess I should make lots of new connections!
I learned that if a physicist starts talking about Raspberry Pi, I shouldn't get my hopes up for dessert.
I learned not to be a control freak.
I learned that it's better to do one or two things really well and be reliable than to have a finger in every pie but be undependable.
I learned quantum physics. Enough said.
I learned that it's OK to stand out from the crowd, and not to overthink it. At the same time, I learned that it's also OK to let someone else take the reins-- it's all about the situation.
I learned to read Greek. Well, almost. I learned lots of Greek letters at least.
I learned that many things are worth learning in their own right, whether or not you know how to apply them. On the flip side, I learned that nothing exists in a vacuum and it's all useful some way. An example? I've just finished re-reading De Rerum Natura by Lucretius, and all through the margins I found annotations where I'd connected his natural philosophy to the physics concepts I was learning in class. It turns out that a Latin poet from two thousand years ago helped me understand friction just in time for a test. Go figure.
I learned that man cannot live on pizza alone, but he can try.
I learned that it's better to get things over with right away than to procrastinate. It *might* have been a dynamics homework and an hour of sleep that led me to this conclusion.
I learned that you can never predict where a given opportunity will lead.
I learned that there is nothing more powerful than the words "How can I help?" This simple question is what led me to get started in outreach, which got me started in leadership positions, which had me take on more interesting and original projects, which landed me an internship at the Capitol... plus all of the offshoots of that encounter (making friends who advised I do research, which took me to Australia, for example). I didn't know it at the time of course; I just wanted to do something useful over the weekend, but things snowball rapidly.
I learned the value of being intellectually curious.
I learned that 4:00 on a Sunday is the worst possible time to do laundry in a dorm.

Yes, there are countless projects I wish I had gotten to. I had so many ideas and somehow only seemed able to accomplish a fraction of them. Even so, I can't help but feel satisfied when I reflect on the past four years. I've been in the most wonderful relationship I could imagine with an absolutely stellar young man for three years. In some way, I have reached thousands of people through physics outreach. I have published two articles. I built relationships with other young physicists from across the country. I mastered a variety of classes and graduated summa cum laude. I met a Nobel laureate. I spent a summer in Australia.

Despite all of the I's in that paragraph, it really boils down to a felicitous union of fortune and circumstance. More than anything, though, it's because of two very important sets of people in my life: my professors and my support network. I am firmly convinced that had I landed in a different department, my college experience would have been drastically different. From the beginning, all of my professors were open, willing to share advice, and incredibly kind. At times, their input was the only positive feedback I would allow myself to hear. As I got to know everyone better, I was grateful to be able to call my professors both friends and mentors, and without a doubt they will be what I miss most about Rhodes.

And to everyone-- friends and family-- who supported me emotionally and financially through these four years: thank you. You gave me the chance of a lifetime, and I ran with it.

Now for the photos! All courtesy of my wonderful Granddad.