Lesley Vestal

Biography

I have always been curious about physics, which has continually driven me to further my education. I am a Physics Major attending Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. I transferred to Wofford in January 2012 from the University of British Columbia. By the end of the semester, another physics major and I had started working on reviving Wofford's inactive SPS. By the end of this year, we hope to have established a chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma on campus as well. It has been a privilege to be involved with this group which has fostered a greater sense of community within the department, with activities such as an outreach teaching elementary students as well as stargazing on campus. Monthly, we have hosted speakers working in physics and engineering, many of whom are alumni. Past speakers have discussed their educational experiences and careers at companies including Millikan, General Electric, and national labs. After being Vice President this year, I feel well prepared for next year as SPS President. During the summer following my sophomore year, I participated in an NSF REU at Baylor University. This was a wonderful experience and I loved being involved in research; I have since presented this research at multiple conferences. This semester, I have enjoyed working as a Teaching Assistant for an Astronomy lab course, and learning General Relativity as part of a research course. In the fall, I hope to attend more physics conferences with my fellow SPS members. After graduation, I plan on attending graduate school and pursuing a PhD in Physics, concentrating on theoretical physics.