A new interview with another one of our awesome and fearsome seniors, by Maeven Ludke:
Name: Nicole Voce
Year: Senior
Majors/Minors: Physics & Math majors
Hometown: Great Falls, VA
High School: Paul VI Catholic High School
ML: What are some of your interests outside of school and physics?
NV: I really enjoy being active and I especially like being outdoors. I grew up spending summers and winters in upstate NY, so I’ve been hiking and skiing since I was a baby. I also enjoy camping and traveling, both in the US and abroad.
ML: What challenges and obstacles have you faced in your career?
NV: I’ve faced the standard sexism that most females in Physics deal with. Alongside of that, when I was growing up, I was told by my female teachers that women should pursue subjects like English or History or “softer” sciences, like Psychology and Biology. Not only was I discouraged from seriously studying Math and Physics, my teachers also reinforced the idea that I, as a female, would never understand Math or Physics as well as my male classmates. I went to high school with my brother who is a year older than me. I would always have the same STEM teachers that he had and every single one would compare our performances. I cannot count the amount of times a teacher expected me to understand a concept just because my brother effortlessly understood the material. Most of the time, they implied that I wasn’t as good as my brother in these STEM fields because I was a female. All of this has led me to having a bad case of imposter syndrome.
ML: What values, experiences, and/or perspectives do you feel you'll bring to the next stage in your life?
NV: I decided to double major in Physics and Math to prove to myself that I could do something difficult and succeed. During my time at JMU, my definition of “success” has changed from having good grades to learning as much as I can as well as I can. I still care about grades (only because I want to go to graduate school), but my focus has shifted from doing anything to get an A to actually absorbing and understanding the material presented to me. One of my main takeaways from college is that success is relative, and it doesn’t matter if other people consider you successful as long as you are confident that you’ve done the best you can do.
ML: What are you most proud of?
NV: I’m most proud of the fact that I was able to balance school, work, research, and life fairly well for my four years here. Academic wise, I’m most proud of my research and all of the work I’ve put into it. My project is my baby.
