After I left CFL, I attended Colgate University, a liberal arts college in New York state. I received a BA in Physics, with a minor in Applied Mathematics, and graduated in 2008. While at Colgate, I did research on laser optics and superconductor physics, and I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds houses for low- income families and helps rebuild after natural disasters. After Colgate, I joined Cornell University for a PhD in Applied Physics, and I study novel nanocomposite materials with a view towards alternative (solar and geothermal) energy applications, a field I hope to eventually work in.
CFL has been such a large part of my life, both at home and at school, that it’s hard to separate its impact on my life from everything else. I do think that CFL has given me the ability to introspect, the gift of emotional detachment, and the curse of having to say “Nothing, really” when asked what I’m thinking about when I become quiet.
Looking back with a few years of distance, perhaps the single most important thing I’ve taken away from CFL is not a lesson I learned at school, but the example set by the people who gave up their time, and in many cases otherwise lucrative careers, to fill a need they saw. Of all the things about CFL that may have changed the direction of my life, that may well prove to be the most significant.