I am Abigail Whitman, astrophysicist-to-be. Saying those words to describe myself still feels weird, even though I have settled on astrophysics as a career for more than a year now (and thought about a space career for much longer). I never could have dreamed when I was little that I would truly commit to a task so gargantuan. It’s taken years of self-growth and confidence-building to believe that I really can be an astrophysicist. I always thought “I’m simply not smart enough to do that.” But, what is the definition of ‘smart enough’? And is ‘smart enough’ what’s important, or is it ‘committed enough’ that makes a good astrophysicist? I decided to be an astrophysicist because I am passionate about space and math. I can’t tell you exactly why I love space so much. I just naturally have a deep and profound appreciation for it. It’s vast and complex, just like humans are. I feel that to really understand our world, we need to reach outside of it. Earth is simply a part of a whole. To understand the parts, you must understand the whole of the parts. I also truly enjoy math. I’ve always been a problem solver and a logical thinker, and math appeals to those aspects of me. It also grows my self-confidence. Each new concept I learn makes me realize I am more capable than I give myself credit for. Math has forced me to trust that I can do difficult things (it just might take a bit of time and frustration to succeed). So, I feel that math not only exercises my mind but also gives me a medium for self-growth. Astrophysics combines two of my most favorite things, making it a perfect fit for me. It’s a career that I believe will be very fulfilling and entertaining for me, and will also provide me with a life purpose. I am going to make a difference as an astrophysicist by not only helping in various research efforts, but also by furthering women in STEM. According to NASA (who I would like to work for in the future), as of 2021, only 35% of their total workforce is female. I don’t feel that enough women are encouraged into exploring STEM fields, and I would like to use my status in the future as a female astrophysicist to promote women in STEM. I’m thinking perhaps I will make a children’s YouTube channel where I can talk about women who are doing groundbreaking work in the space field, and in other fields too, and teach relevant science and math concepts. I’d probably learn new things myself! The reason I will achieve my dreams is because I believe in myself. I’ve got two wonderful parents who support me, and I’ve had many lovely teachers who have expressed great trust in my ability to do something amazing. I don’t have anything to prove, and I feel very assured that I can do anything as long as I’m fully committed.

Technically, I did not become vegan; I was raised vegan. My mom became vegan when I was about 1 year old or younger, so everyone in my immediate family is vegan, including me. Growing up as a vegan in a small town in Georgia was… interesting, to say the least. My family and I received quite a bit of judgment from family members and peers. I recall being in middle school and friends telling me that I was unhealthy, I would die, I was underweight and needed to see a doctor, etc. Now I’m 17 and still healthy as ever. I never did understand why people turned their noses up at my veganism since it doesn’t harm anything (in fact, quite the opposite). Some of my family have told my mom, “When she (referring to me) grows up, she’ll start eating meat, you’ll see.” And while no, technically I didn’t choose to be vegan, I don’t think I will ever not be vegan. I was raised knowing about the horrific conditions in slaughterhouses and knowing how factory farms bred, raised, and brutally killed their livestock, and so I grew up with a deep empathy for animals and a passion for protecting all sentient life. Being vegan is important because there is so much violence in the world today that affects not just humans, but animals too. I feel it’s my duty to not support violence of any nature so that I may not add to the suffering that continues to build up in our world. I also believe that the life of an animal is worth just as much as the life of a human. Why would I support the slaughter and consumption of cows if I wouldn’t support the slaughter and consumption of my fellow humans? Additionally, eliminating factory farms would free up more food, water, and land. Mass producing meat means that you have to keep a lot of animals and keep even more food and water to sustain them all. In a world where food and water can be scarce, it really doesn’t make sense to continue pouring resources into sustain life just for it to be killed soon after. I am working toward a Bachelors/Accelerated Masters in Physics and a Ph.D in Astrophysics. Using my reputation as a scientist, I will do my best to dispel myths about veganism and educate the public on what really happens in slaughterhouses, likely doing so through an online platform. Perhaps I will also collaborate with other vegan scientists, or share stories of others who turned vegan. However, my approach will be gentle. While I agree that veganism and animal rights are important topics, too many people are militant and condescending when trying to educate others, furthering public disapproval of veganism. I believe the best way to talk to others about the vegan lifestyle is to be non-judgmental, polite, and loving. After all, it’s easier to convince someone if they’re not angry at you. I believe in a vegan future, and the only way to get there is being kind to others as we are kind to animals. I thank you deeply for your time and consideration. Love and light to all, and here’s to the future of veganism.

Ms. Jackson is my art teacher and my best friend. I was put in her Art 1 class for the first semester of 9th grade. As an artist, I was pleased. The first thing we did in her class was to take a prompt she gave us and make a creative sketch. Ms. Jackson gave us all a chance to express ourselves artistically, something I never got to do much in previous art classes. She taught us a lot, such as color theory, perspective, how to make dynamic compositions, and how to achieve high contrast in shading. When we were learning technical skills, we were given small guidelines for our drawings. The rest was whatever we wanted to draw, giving us lots of control. This allowed me to develop greatly as an artist. On top of allowing for artistic expression and flexibility, Ms. Jackson was supportive of me from day 1. When I was unsure if I could execute something, Ms. Jackson expressed full confidence in me. I went from being nervous of making mistakes to being less fearful of taking risks. I took Art 2 the next semester. At the end of 9th grade, when schedules were being made for the next year, Ms. Jackson urged me to apply for AP Art 2D. I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. Despite this, I applied and got accepted. AP Art 2D was difficult. In AP Art, you are required to pick a topic to explore in your art through ideas, processes, and materials, and create 15 images packed with symbolism. The theme must also develop, so you have to find different angles through which to approach your theme. I learned quickly that discipline was essential in AP Art, as I struggled with time management and perfectionism. Thankfully, I improved towards the end. Ms. Jackson provided me with indispensable advice and support, and I was never scared to ask her any questions. She would always tell me she was my number 1 fan. My 2D portfolio received a commendable 4. I subsequently took AP Drawing in 11th grade. I tried to hit the ground running, but unfortunately, I couldn’t settle on a solid theme. Also, Ms. Jackson seemed to want me to move away from drawing subject matter (people, objects, etc.) and try something different. I switched themes in the middle of the semester, which meant I had to scrap the pieces I already made. My new theme was to explore factories through abstraction. Abstraction was something I had never tried, but I decided to take the leap. Ms. Jackson loved my first abstract piece, so I kept down that avenue. I started to like making abstract art too, although ideas were difficult to come up with. My portfolio was submitted a month early, thanks to me having learned my time management lesson from 10th grade. I made some of the best art I’ve ever done, and I received a perfect 5 on my portfolio. Ms. Jackson insists that she wasn’t part of the reason I did so well, but if it wasn’t for her pushing me, I would have never experimented and branched out. Ms. Jackson has taught me to be confident, to always try new things no matter what, and to take risks regardless of doubt. I intend to apply these lessons throughout my life. I recently moved to another state, so I sadly can’t be in her class anymore. But, she is still in contact with me, and I will always be grateful for her and for the experiences her class provided me with.

Hello, I’m Abigail Whitman, and I am a girl in high school who aspires to be an astrophysicist. It took a while to really settle into that decision because I’ve always doubted if I was smart enough. However, I am changing that narrative. I am going to make myself into an example so that my fellow women can feel inspired to follow their dreams, no matter how crazy they sound. Once, my school put on a movie called “Hidden Figures”. It’s a true story about three brilliant Black women (Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson) who fought against all odds to work at NASA, and even helped to launch John Glenn into orbit. It was so inspiring to see strong women assert themselves in such an organization during a time when women, and especially women of color, were ignored. I began to become interested in a space career. But still, I wondered. I wasn’t confident in my abilities in math and science, even though I was naturally gifted. I thought NASA was “too smart” of a place for me. I had also heard that boys were naturally better at math than girls, and unfortunately, I believed that stereotype some. Could I still do what those three incredible women did? The answer is yes. I deserve to follow the path I choose, and it’s unfair to myself to doubt my ability to become an astrophysicist before I even try. I finally became determined to follow my dream after reading two physics books by Michio Kaku. Honestly, I couldn’t understand 60% of what I read. But, what I could understand, I was in love with. From then on, I vowed that I would learn enough to understand it all, and I will. I have the drive to commit to college so I can learn about what I love, no matter how difficult it gets. When I get my Astrophysics PhD, I have decided to work for NASA. They will provide me many opportunities because they have amazing technology and scientists who are always pushing the boundaries. I would like to research dark matter and energy, wormholes (yes, they’re scientifically possible), black holes, and the Big Bang, among many other phenomena. But, the gender barrier is, unfortunately, still largely intact. Astrophysics is a completely male-dominated career. According to Data USA, it could even be around 83% male-dominated. NASA is also composed of around 65% men. This can seem like I’m at a disadvantage. Instead, I’m taking it as a challenge. During my career, I am going to advocate for myself, as well as fellow female scientists of the present and the past who deserve recognition. For example, the brilliant Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who devised a formula to calculate the distance of a Cepheid variable star based on its changes in brightness and size, therefore being able to know the relative distance of objects around it. This was revolutionary because it was our first taste of how big the universe really was. I will give seminars to spread my knowledge to everyone, especially girls and women. Knowledge about our world is for all, regardless of gender. I want to brighten the path so that other girls and women can be inspired to follow me, and I want to put all of the biases against women to rest. I want to give young girls a role model to look up to if they are interested in a science career, and I want to show that yes, in the end, women and men have equal capability to be good at math.

The true definition of success can mean something different to everyone. Success, to me, comes in two parts. The first part is simply to use your life to do good. The second part is to be happy with where you are in life. Success isn’t measured in quantity. Rather, it is measured in quality. There are billions of humans here, and the goal of all humans, as my mom says, is to “increase happiness and decrease suffering.” I think this holds some weight in deciphering the meaning of success because it is a true statement about the nature of humans and how they spend their lives. TV actors or rockstars can be wealthy and famous, but none of that matters if they dislike their life. In the same way, a small, local florist on the street corner may not be wealthy and famous, but as long as they are happy with their life, it will not matter to them. Personally, I will achieve my vision of success by becoming an astrophysicist and working for NASA. It will help me do good because I would like to uncover the big mysteries of space, which could have major implications on how we understand the world and fill in the gaps in our collective knowledge. I also want to give seminars and do interviews so that I can introduce the beauty and complexity of outer space to all people because I wasn’t taught much about it in school. Being an astrophysicist will also get me to a spot where I am happy with my life because I am an ambitious person. I am a person who wants to constantly be learning throughout their career, and I also enjoy solving problems and being productive. And, I think that space is simply amazing. There is so much out there, and the physics that govern space are so complicated. We still don’t completely understand black holes, the beginning of our universe, black matter and energy, negative matter and energy… the list goes on. Researching space would feel like solving the most intricate and beautiful puzzle. For these reasons, I feel that being an astrophysicist would make me feel fulfilled as a person, and therefore successful. With my career in astrophysics, I aim to contribute not only to the scientific community, but to the whole world. I would like to research many things, including wormholes, black holes, and dark matter and energy, as well as helping to finish the Theory of Everything. The Theory of Everything will unite all the fields of physics, and its completion could be the biggest achievement in science this century. I’m sure there are many other things that I’ve never heard of that I will end up studying as well. I also want to use my career to spread my knowledge. I want to give seminars and perhaps have an educational YouTube channel so that I can introduce astrophysics to all ages, but especially to children. We spend a lot of time in school learning about our planet only, at least where I grew up. My peers and I were never introduced to the wonders of outer space. We weren’t told that things only heard of in sci-fi were actually proven possible by physics. For example, there may actually be other dimensions according to string theory! I want to educate not only myself, but others too. Science is for everyone! And finally, I want to advance women in science during my career. Astrophysics and astronomy is a completely male-dominated career, and according to Data USA, it may be as high as 83% male-dominated. I want to brighten the path so that other girls and women can be inspired to follow me, and I want to put all of the biases against women to rest. I want to give young girls a role model to look up to if they are interested in a science career, and I want to show that yes, women and men have equal capability to be good at math. If I am awarded this scholarship, it will help me so greatly. To become an astrophysicist, I will need to not only get my Bachelor’s degree, but my PhD as well. To do so requires a lot of money. I need support so that student debt will not hinder me as I learn, research, support fellow female scientists, and spread my knowledge with the world. I have a little financial support from my family, but I will rely a lot on scholarships and loans to help me achieve my definition of success. Choosing me for this scholarship is choosing to support learning, choosing to support young girls with dreams, and choosing to invest in the future of modern science. Thank you for your consideration.

Hello, my name is Abigail Whitman, and I have an extraordinary mom who saved me from experiencing generational abuse. My mom was born in the 80s. She had one sister, C, a mom, Mrs. B, and a dad, Mr. P. In family pictures, they looked like a sweet, simple family. But behind the scenes, my mom and her sister were horrifically abused. There were constant physical and verbal assaults since they could remember. I could fill a 600 page book recounting each atrocity, but somehow, I must fit this into 600 words instead, so let’s start from the beginning. My mom’s household could be described in one word: unstable. It was emotionally unstable. It was unstable because of constant moving. It was unstable because of drive-by shootings. It was also unstable because of divorce. Mr. P and Mrs. B divorced when mom was 4. Mr. P remarried once, and Mrs. B remarried twice. The constant instability, verbal and physical abuse, and neglect took heavy tolls on mom. She developed C-PTSD, panic disorder, depression, and an eating disorder on top of the OCD she was born with. This impacted my mom heavily in school and caused her to have serious abandonment issues when dating. She also experienced addiction. She smoked her first cigarette in elementary school and when she got older, she became an alcoholic, which runs in her family. But, mental health and generational abuse were hardly ever touched upon when my mom was a kid. She believed her experiences were normal. The sad thing, too, is that my mom, no matter how horrifically treated, still did not want her parents to be punished. She didn’t even call the police when Mrs. B threw a fistful of cutlery at my mom, causing a fork to become lodged in her forehead. As a career, my mom began working in the medical field, where she was often treated poorly because she was young. She used to want to be a teacher, but Mrs. B said that only dummies became teachers. Eventually, mom made friends and climbed the ranks, gaining a stable job. She even started college and had a boyfriend, R. One day at work, she discovered she was pregnant with me, and she quit smoking. Mom and R married because she didn’t want to be abandoned with me, and so R became my dad. My mom quit her job and her college degree to raise me. Despite having abusive pre-conditioning, she wanted to make sure I had a good life. She was always worried about being a good parent, she never wanted to send me to daycare, and she even went to the extent of enrolling me into a private school so that she was sure I had well-behaved peers. Mom underwent extensive therapy when I was around 6 because she began noticing how she would often lash out at my dad and she didn’t want to end up abusing him or me. She did therapy for years, started medication, and quit alcohol, which drastically increased her quality of life and her emotional stability. She is still a good mom that I enjoy living with. I personally have struggled with chronic anxiety, depression, and OCD, but these were genetic, not inflicted on me. She has always helped me with mental issues and never made me feel like I was wrong for having them. I still feel sad seeing the rest of her family remain in dysfunction, but I must focus on making the best of my own life, because my mom set me up well. I can’t waste it now.

Hello, my name is Abigail Whitman. I’m entering my senior year, and I have decided to commit to the rather ambitious undertaking of achieving a PhD in Astrophysics. This scholarship will help me immensely to reduce my worries about student debt and put more of my attention on research and enjoying my career. I have excelled in science since I was young, as well as school in general. All of my report cards were straight As, and my teachers would often commend me for my good work. My mom wanted me to be a marine biologist growing up. However, I was not interested in studying the science of our planet because it bored me. I didn’t care for biology in school because it was too easy, and I never had to work to understand any of the content. Chemistry in 10th grade was a challenge, but I just did not enjoy the work, however fun the experiments were. Toward the end of 10th grade, my mom pulled me aside and had me look through possible college majors. Previously, I wanted a degree in animation. To my dismay, I learned that I would have to work another job on the side to financially support myself, which I was not wanting to do. She brought up the possibility of a science career again, and I shrugged. We poured through the list and she asked me one by one, “How about ___?” I was uninterested in most, but I remember among one or two other careers that something lit up when my mom mentioned astronomy. My mom and I ended up doing a lot of research on astronomy careers. I checked out a book from my school which broke down all of the major astronomical achievements since the beginning of recorded history. I was amazed to say the least. My search history was then filled with questions such as, “What is a Cepheid variable?” and “How to calculate parallax?”. It was all downhill from there; I had been sucked into a space spiral. Afterward, my mom bought me two books by the brilliant scientist Michio Kaku. In the books, he discussed mind-melting topics such as string theory, Kaluza-Klein theory, quantum physics, and non-Euclidian geometry. I struggled to make sense of any of it because a Google search of one physics equation was explained by 10 other concepts that were brand new. The simple physics I learned in the beginning of 11th grade didn’t touch the surface of what I had read. But, what I could understand was amazing. I learned about the symmetries between physics fields, how there has perpetually been a missing link to combine them all, and about how string theory might be the answer. Thanks to Dr. Kaku, I became interested in astrophysics specifically. I wished I was taught more about the intricacies of space earlier in school. But now, I am coming up on my college years, where that is possible. I am certain that we need to reach beyond our planet to gain a better understanding of it. I want to commit my life to understanding astrophysics and advancing it so that we may be able to arrive at a full understanding of the world. But, I can’t do so if I am hindered by student debt. Even though my parents are middle class, their wages can’t support me through a bachelor’s degree and a PhD program in these expensive times. So, every scholarship I am awarded is an investment in the future of science, and I would be honored to be chosen for this one.