Prize Recipient

Laura Salguero

Background:

My name is Laura Salguero. I'm originally from El Paso, Texas and am currently attending New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM in my sophomore year of physics. As a little girl I moved around a lot. My Dad is a United Methodist minister so every one to four years we found ourselves in a new home and a new school, so it was in Denton, Maryland that I discovered physics. The instructor was a chemistry teacher and hadn't wanted to teach the physics class. He often told us how much he hated physics and teaching in general. It really turned me away from physics, so you can imagine my chagrin when I moved to Lubbock, Texas before completing the school year in Maryland and was required to retake my unfinished classes. There I had the opportunity, however, of retaking it with a wonderful instructor. He had the unique ability to take all these lofty and difficult concepts that I had found impossible before the summer began and explain them in terms such that even the ones that struggled the most in our class at least understood the concepts, if not the calculations. I still refer to my notes from his class today to give me some perspective on how all this stuff works in layman's terms. He remains a very close friend and supporter of mine and is my inspiration. When I graduated and went to college there was no question of what my major would be. Since my experience in Lubbock I had decided to dedicate my life to understanding and helping others understand how our world works through physics. I feel that physics is a very valuable science. I wish that more people had the courage to take at least a basic physics course, they'd be surprised how much they get out of it. I'm so appreciative of all the help I've received. Without scholarships like this one I would be working full time, going to school part time, and be years away from any sort of degree at all. Thank you for all your kind support.