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.
