Senior spotlight: Kate Holwick

Kate Holwick is a senior at JMU completing a BS degree in Physics as well as minors in both Math and Astronomy. She is from Virginia Beach, VA and graduated from Frank W. Cox High School in 2016. She is currently doing research with Dr. Scully in high energy astrophysics and hopes to find a career in the field of cosmology or theoretical physics. She was interviewed by Piper Smith, another JMU senior physics major.

Smiles from Kate during the final exam in the
Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics class.

PS: What motivated you to become a physics major at JMU?

KH: I always knew that I would pursue a career in STEM but I first knew that I wanted to do something with physics when my sister mentioned that she thought she wanted to study astronomy. I thought that the idea sounded very interesting and soon I signed up to take a physics class in high school. I realized then that I liked physics so much more than biology and chemistry, because it could help explain a much larger and more fundamental range of the universe than biology or chemistry could do. I was specifically motivated to study physics at JMU, because of how much the department prioritized undergraduate research, which would give me an edge when applying to graduate schools.

PS: What are some of your favorite classes you’ve taken thus far at JMU?

KH: One of my favorite physics classes that I’ve taken as a undergraduate is ASTR221: General Astronomy II- Star Systems, the Interstellar Medium, and Cosmology. This class was a big contributor to me still pursuing a career that deals with space. Before taking this class I questioned studying space, because I was bored of stars and black holes, and up to that point that seemed to be the majority of what astronomers or other related people studied. This class introduced me to more fundamental things such as the early universe, the structure of the universe, and Grand Unified Theories (or GUTs), which intrigued me much more than stars and planets. 

Another one of the classes that I’ve enjoyed most at JMU is PHIL 311: Metaphysics. This course covered topics like universals and particulars, the nature of time, and properties. This course was fascinating because it discussed some scientific topics and challenges, but tackled them from not only a scientific standpoint, but also from a logical standpoint.

PS: What are you most proud of?

KH: I am very proud of still being a physics major. There have been a lot of challenging classes that I didn’t think that I could pass and a lot that weren’t my favorite, so I am impressed that I wasn’t discouraged from continuing the major.  I am also proud that I am continuing to take more math classes than needed for my degree, such as MATH 245 or MATH 341, simply because I want to be better at math and taking them will obviously help me with my career in physics.

PS: What about research most excites you?

KH: In general, one of the most exciting things about conducting research is getting to tackle a big problem over the course of a few months. The satisfaction of getting some information about the answer to your question is worth it. Another one of the most exciting, cool things pertaining to research is that depending on what is discovered, physics as we know it can completely change.

Senior spotlight: Piper Smith

 Piper Smith is a senior physics major, with minors in Math and Secondary Education. She is from Norfolk, Va, and graduated from Maury High School in 2016.  Currently, Piper is doing research with Dr. Ilarion Melnikov in the field of dynamics on asymptotically conical geometries.  Piper was interviewed here by Kate Holwick, another JMU senior physics major.

KH: What led to chose your major and what do you like about it?

PS: Since second grade, I’ve known that I wanted to be a teacher. And so, I spent the next years of my academic career searching for what exactly I wanted to teach, thinking that it was going to be math. When I found physics in my junior year of high school, I KNEW. It was a mathematically driven science with explanations for the world around me that made sense in my brain, and I was hooked. It was not always easy, in fact physics is college is the most daunting task I have ever tackled, but the awesome feeling of figuring out a particular equation or writing a lab report of an experiment that you are really proud of is an amazing feeling. 

KH: What values, experiences, and/or perspectives do you feel you'll bring to the next stage in your life?

PS: College has taught me so many important lessons. The importance of time management is a lesson that, 3.5 years of college later, I am still learning and implementing in every area of my life. I have also learned that the single narrative of the world that I possess is not a complete picture of how life is for everyone else. Most times, you have to step out of yourself and your perspective in order to effectively help others and meet them where they are at. Also, I will never forget that self-worth lies in so much more than quantifiable achievements; it can lie in how good of a friend you are to others or the multitude of intangible ways in which you make the world a better place.

KH: Where would you like to take your passion for physics? Where would you like your career to go?

PS: I want to spread my passion for physics through teaching! High school is a critical time for students looking to find what they would like to do in the future, and many turn themselves off to science and math because they truly believe that they are no good at it and will never understand it, but I know that that is wrong. Everyone has a physicist inside of them, and I would absolutely love to be a part of uncovering that. I believe that my excitement will carry over into the classroom in a productive way; students who know that their teacher loves the subject will be more inclined to also throw themselves into the lessons. Eventually, after getting many and many years of experience in a few different subject areas and several different student populations, I want to transition into educational advocacy, pushing for all students to have equal opportunity for success. 

KH: What are you most proud of?

PS: I am such a proud brother of Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed community service fraternity. Since the second half of my sophomore year, I have had the amazing opportunity of serving the Harrisonburg community through this organization. Not only that, I have been completely changed by APO, gained some amazing friends and new perspectives on life. Throughout my time in APO, I have served in a couple different executive positions, such as Vice President of Membership, and gained leadership skills that I didn’t know I could. Going out into the real world, I am so motivated to continue to find many ways to serve and get to know those around me.

Senior Spotlight: Matthew Almond

Matthew Almond is a senior physics major with minors in secondary education and mathematics. He came to JMU after attending Tuscarora High School in his hometown of Leesburg, Virginia. Here, Matthew is interviewed by Sean Christian, a fellow senior physics major with desires to become a planetary geophysicist and dog owner.

SC: What led you to choose physics? What do you like about it?  

MA: Since I was very young, I wanted to be a teacher. For the longest time, I struggled to settle on a subject I wanted to teach. In high school, I developed a passion for both math and science. Physics seemed to be a natural intersection of the two.

SC: What does it mean to you to be a scientist?

MA: Science is a way of thinking about the world. In my opinion, you don’t really need a science degree to be a scientist, as long as you have the right mindset.

SC: What excites you about science?

MA: I love discovery. It fascinates me that we can use tools like mathematics to explain our world to such a degree of accuracy. Human curiosity about our world is seemingly endless, and it excites me to be a part of human discovery.

SC: What are you most proud of?

MA: I am most proud of the development of my teaching skills. Understanding a complicated subject is important, but being able to communicate that knowledge to others is equally important, if not more so.

Senior Spotlight: Alex Federick

Alexandria Ebyni-Danyale Federick is a senior physics from Herndon VA, coming from Westfield High School in Chantilly.  She does research with Dr. Scarel on how radio waves effect the nervous system.  Alex is Air Force ROTC and will be commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in May 2020.  This interview has been prepared by our senior physics major Piper Smith. 

PS: Where would you like to take your passion for physics? Where would you

like your career to go?

AEF: I would like to take my passion for physics to meteorology, that has always been my career goal. While studying physics, and participating in the Air Force ROTC, I came to learn how interesting studying atmospheric physics would be now, in the space age and sounding rocket era. I hope to get my masters in atmospheric physics while continuing my active duty in the military. 

PS: What are some of your interests outside of school and physics?  

AEF: I am in Air Force ROTC and I also love color guard, I was in the JMU Color guard my freshmen year. Color guard in high school was an outlet for me to express my emotions and a stress relief for school. I am also involved in JMU Fitness Club, Arnold Air Society, and I work on campus at Madison Union as a building manager.  I love to stay active within the community and being apart of these organizations has allowed me to do that by volunteering.

PS: What are your longer term career goals? Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

AEF: My longer term career goal is to be a meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration while also being a reservist in the Air Force. I want to be able to participate in scientific discovery but also continue fighting for our country.  

PS: What are you most proud of? 

AEF: I am most proud of my ability to stay in physics and in ROTC. The two are very much time and energy demanding in their own way and most people find it very difficult to juggle the two, and sometimes one alone.  Although my performance was probably not at the highest level, I was able to make it to my senior year without dropping one of them.  Through all the obstacles that came through my four years at JMU I persevered and now I am very close (one more semester! and the hardest classes are now behind me!) to graduating with a bachelor of science in physics.  This was not an easy journey, and it has also taught me a lot about myself.