Jonathan Valyou 22C
While I marveled at the marble buildings and the Atlanta skyline in the distance, the most impressive aspect of Emory was the people I met that week. There was an opportunity to sign up for a tour of a particular part of campus. Several options filled up rather quickly. I decided to take a road seemingly less traveled and signed up for a tour of Emory’s WaterHub. I met Dr. Ed Goode who wasn’t initially on the tour but ended up coming with us. During the tour, we had an interesting conversation about the optimization of the solar panels that in-part powered the WaterHub. I questioned if the panels were capable of moving throughout the day to capture the best angle with the Sun for optimal energy capture which Ed was not certain. The next day, Ed comes up to me and tells me that he asked around and found out that the solar panels do not currently track the Sun. While my mathematical brain thought that this was a missed opportunity for solar power optimization, I was more so astonished that he remembered and took the effort to find out the answer for me. This moment illustrated the supportive nature of the Woodruff Scholars staff and how they truly encouraged our inquisitive nature.
Scholar Staff at the time like Ed Goode, Lydia Soleil, Catie Miller, Abby Holst, Margaux Cowden, and Janet Gonzales would go on to impact me during my time at Emory and even beyond. During that week, I also got to see what the future of the Woodruff legacy held in my fellow finalists. The conversations we shared in those few days gave me a glimpse into my next four years. Pushkar Shinde and I started discussing pure versus applied mathematics outside the Silverbell Pavilion. Jane Wang and I traded stories of our times as Kumon employees and compared the heat of Florida vs Arizona. Amin Al Asri got my camera-shy self to pose for some photos for the montage he created of our Finalists’ week. These interactions along with many more from that week that are too numerous to list still come back to me. Today, the community goes beyond Emory. Many of us keep up with each other over text or social media. I try to visit those from my Woodruff Cohort if I find myself in their town.
The location never matters because the people are the most meaningful part of what makes the Woodruff community as rich as it is. The most valuable aspect I take away from being in the Woodruff community is the friendships forged that live on to this day and continue to define my Woodruff Story.