作者:布里安娜·古道尔
Brandon Velasco earned his Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics on May 4, 2024, as part of only the second cohort to graduate with this major from bet8体育娱乐入口. He wasn’t sure if he could afford college or handle the rigorous academic setting, 但是有一些经过深思熟虑的选择, 他跑到了终点线.
Raised in a primarily military family, Velasco lived all over the South. 他十几岁的时候大部分时间都在雷福德度过, North Carolina and graduated from Hoke County High School in 2018. Affordability was the driving factor for Velasco to pursue college at ODU. To his surprise, because his grandfather lived in Virginia he qualified for in-state tuition at ODU. “我在高中时并不是最博学的人, and I really didn't know what I wanted to do at all for a major, 但我只知道我喜欢科学和数学,贝拉斯科说。.
他被ODU录取了, 贝拉斯科最初选择了工程专业, 和很多学生一样, 有些事情没有按计划进行. “So, during my first year here I was still figuring a lot of things out because I really didn't know how to be a student properly,贝拉斯科说。. “我休息了一年.在离开期间，贝拉斯科重新评估了自己的目标.
In 2019, during his time away from ODU he worked as a cemetery director. In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic hit, and his job became all encompassing. When most people were quarantined because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Velasco had to be the support for families during their hardest times of grief and loss, 这改变了他的想法. “That job had its highs of helping families get the help they needed in a very hard time period, 但也有一些非常低的低点,贝拉斯科说。. “它让我回家, 绝对不想做任何事, and the only thing I could find enjoyment in was going on Wikipedia and looking at things, 只是想学点东西，让我不去想这些事.” Velasco experienced some eye-opening moments that left him unfulfilled, and he realized he “wanted to learn about the dynamics of the universe and everything that happened.”
In the fall of 2020, Velasco returned to ODU with a fresh start and with a new attitude. 他承诺回到ODU，并做了一些改变. “I’m not going to school just because my friends are going to school, 我要为我自己做这件事,贝拉斯科说。.
在他一年前, not only did he immediately change his major from Engineering to Astrophysics, 但他被诊断出有学习障碍. “当我回来的时候, I still definitely had a lot of figuring out to do and got diagnosed with ADHD and that explained a lot of my problems with school,贝拉斯科说。. 但从那以后, it's just been trying to figure out little steps that can make my learning just a little bit easier every year.”
His love of learning continued to expand through his curiosity for space and the celestial bodies. “This is around the time in which ODU had introduced astrophysics, so I never heard of an astrophysics degree being offered at a bachelor's level,贝拉斯科说。. “我一看到这个机会就想, ‘I have to take it’ as long as I can keep staying in this field, 我会很开心的.”
贝拉斯科非常喜欢了解宇宙, and it was through switching to astrophysics that he became more connected and got involved in research with faculty in the Department of Physics at ODU. Velasco worked with physicist and Jefferson Lab researcher Ted Rogers, Ph.D. on computational sciences which focused heavily on data analytics, math, and programming. For his senior thesis project, he worked with ODU Associate Professor Balša Terzić, Ph.D. 并将在整个夏天继续和特齐奇一起做研究.
与这些知名教授一起工作, Velasco became interconnected with more physics opportunities outside of the classroom. Perry Nerem, chief departmental advisor, introduced Velasco to the Society of Physics Students (SPS). 也, 贾斯汀•梅森, director of ODU’s Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium has been the pillar of his education, 极大地引导着他, 也为他提供了拓展知识的机会. 涅里姆教授对贝拉斯科的发言给予了高度评价, “Brandon dedicates himself to his passion for astrophysics and works relentlessly towards understanding the universe.”
Through SPS, Velasco found a community that 分享d the same interests and experiences as him. “SPS has given me crazy opportunities for presenting research or scholarship opportunities,贝拉斯科说。. “我的一些最亲密的朋友是严格通过SPS的, people that are in different universities now completely across the United States, 我们仍然每天聊天, 所以我交了很多好朋友.” Velasco speaks highly of the students who take part in SPS noting that students there help one another, create funds for projects and establish an awarding environment based on their achievements. “Having a completely student-led organization where students worked on projects has just given such a unique experience of everyone working with camaraderie, but also how to solve a problem and not just immediately go to your advisor or your faculty,贝拉斯科说。.
虽然他承认他最初对在ODU的不确定, 贝拉斯科很感激他的经历. “As I grew here I realized ODU definitely cares about wanting students to grow.” He explains “a bad grade or just one bad test cannot define me or you, 所以重新站起来，继续生活, 这是ODU教会我的最好的东西.” Velasco took advantage of ODU’s plethora of different resources such as the writing center and math and chemistry tutoring centers through the Science 辅导 Centers.
Velasco plans to attend graduate school back at ODU in the fall of 2024 to obtain his master’s degree in physics.