Kristyn Spears

My story

I am most passionate about applying the numerous aspects of physics to real-life problems, specifically climate change and earth sustainability, or what we can do to preserve Earth for the future. My future plans include receiving a bachelor’s in physics at my current university, learning what aspect of physics I want to focus on, and attending graduate school focusing on my specialty. In the summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to travel to Brookhaven National Laboratory and learn about and from the sPHENIX detector. The detector collides heavy ions to study the quark-gluon plasma. Being at a national laboratory was very insightful and eye-opening regarding what life after college can be.

Receiving this scholarship award has encouraged me to continue actively pursuing physics. My mind is my greatest enemy and tricks me into believing things that are not true. This scholarship award shows me that I am valuable even when my mind disagrees. I will not take this scholarship award for granted but instead will use it to positively impact the physics community.