Filling the Classroom-to-Career Gap

When I graduated high school, I wanted nothing more than to be a mechanical engineer. I wanted to design and work on aircraft and maybe even find a job in motorsports. But as I began the spring semester of my first year of college, I found myself questioning my plan. It wasn’t the coursework itself that was the problem—it was the unknown. I began to waver. I was disappointed by the lack of guidance on what an engineering career truly involves. I had a hard time just trying to get in contact with my advisor, let alone arranging an in-person meeting to discuss feeling lost and uncertain.

At that moment in my life, I truly began to feel unseen—like just another piece of paper in the eyes of my advisors. So I decided to look at other majors. I wanted to find a home where I could get the challenge of an engineering degree but also feel wanted and valued. My heart leaned toward physics, so I met with the physics advisor and made the switch to becoming a full-fledged physics major. This was one of the best decisions I ever made. I found warmth and growth and care in the physics department, and most of all, I felt seen as a student.

I fell in love with physics. What really interested me was using math to solve problems. Eventually, I found myself wanting to seek out an internship or do research. I looked high and low for opportunities. Thankfully, after many rejections, I found success in the Lamar University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program, also known as SURF. Winning this would allow me to conduct research during the summer of 2025 on a topic of my choosing. Right around that time, a spot in physics education research opened up in the department. Hoping to have a career in the field, I gladly took it and found fun and a nice flow doing education-related work.

Shortly after I started, my research professors recommended that I apply for an SPS summer internship. I had no clue whether I would be selected or if the proposal I submitted for my SURF research topic would be approved, but I had faith. In the end, my SPS internship application and my SURF research proposal were approved—so I did both.

At SPS I served as the Careers Toolbox Intern. The toolbox is a resource hub created by SPS to guide undergraduates and early career physicists through career exploration and preparation. My main job was to modernize the toolbox so it meets students’ needs in the evolving job market. Currently, its static PDF format limits its ability to reach the audience that needs it most. I helped move the toolbox toward an internet-based platform that anyone can use at any stage of their career to search for exactly what they need and leave feeling accomplished and confident.

The toolbox fills the gap I experienced before switching to physics, when I felt unseen and clueless about how to translate classwork into career traction. Now I have the power to help physics students combat that uncertainty by giving them access to a resource that replaces that confusion with confidence. My wish is for the toolbox to become a central hub for those in need of career help—one they can use as their guide when they’re lost in the sauce of today’s job and grad school market.

This work has given me a new point of view on a career in physics education. I’ve discovered a passion for student career development and feel as if I’ve been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet amazing people, including my wonderful mentor and the director of SPS, Alejandro de la Puente. In the future I hope to find my footing in the field of physics education and attain not just a job but work I am truly passionate about.