Kristen DeLine left her home town of San Antonio, Texas and moved to Waco for one major reason: to discover the forces of the universe. At first glance moving to Waco may not seem like the best idea in order to pursue this area of study, but with Baylor's physics department Kristen found all that she was looking for and more. "After taking two physics AP classes in high school and realizing that nothing else interested me more than the forces in the universe," Kristen said. "I knew that I wanted to go to a fairly small school with a great physics department and Baylor was the only school I researched that offered both." Now, Kristen is studying astrophysics while conducting research and getting to know the close knit group of students and professors of the physics department.

Succeeding in Her Studies
While at Baylor, Kristen has had amazing research opportunities. During the summer of 2009, she was able to conduct research on dusty space plasmas with Dr. Lorin Matthews. "Being a freshman astrophysics major, I did not think that there would be any research opportunities available to me," she said. "But Dr. Matthews was kind to allow me to take on this challenge and guided me in learning the basics of computer programming and about dusty plasmas."

In addition to Dr. Matthews, Kristen has found that all of the Baylor physics professors have been willing to not only help their students, but encourage them to succeed as well. Though she admits to being a little timid about asking questions when she first came to Baylor, she quickly realized that there was no need. "The professors are as intelligent as you think, but they do not look down on students for not understanding," Kristen said. "They are all not just lecturing because they have to, but they are real people teaching that want you to succeed in your studies."

A Future at Baylor
Though Kristen still has five semesters left of undergraduate study at Baylor, she is already thinking about the future. When asked about her plans after graduation, Kristen said "Hopefully I will be able to attend the Baylor physics graduate school and figure out what I want to study from there. I know I should travel elsewhere but I just love it here so much!" But for now, Kristen is enjoying her studies and being part of the close knit group of students and faculty within the physics department and said she would definitely recommend the physics program to anyone who just had the urge to know how everything in the universe fits together.