“The Particle Astrophysicist, Jalen Crump” is a statement that I yearn to hear one day.  I observed the portion of the African-American students, including myself, that had  the utmost ambition to succeed and make new breakthroughs in an academic field, but have had their aspirations repudiated by both society and our own race because of the idea that there are exact factors that grant success in the African-American community: athletics, music, and role models.  

What Does It Take to Not Only Be A Scientist? I do not only want to be a scientist. I want to be a person that retains their core human values as a scientist. Too many scientists today are either indoctrinated by their success or suffer from an overly prideful ego and have a terrible display of character. Because of this, they lose their grasp on one special value: Self-Respect. For all these years, I viewed the word character as...