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.
