TAURUS Scholar Profile: Andrew Cancino

Cross-posted from the TAURUS Blog (Director: Prof. Caitlin Casey, UT Austin)

This is the second of six spotlights on the 2017 TAURUS Scholars.  Adolfo "Andrew" Cancino is a senior at Missouri State University where he majors in physics.  His advisor in the TAURUS program, talked to him about his experience, background, and aspirations for the future.

When you meet Andrew, the first thing you will probably learn is that he likes to be called Andrew. Shortly after that you may learn that he's lived all over the country—as a self-proclaimed army brat—and in fact he's even travelled all over the world, too. But it's family, not geography, that determines what's the closest thing to home for him, and that's why he landed at Missouri State University, even though he went to high school in California and briefly considered UC Irvine for college.

The road that would eventually bring Andrew to Austin this summer for the TAURUS program probably started in his senior year of high school. He decided to take an AP class for the first time that year (well, actually, four of them), and this was looking to be a bad decision. The worst was AP Physics. But fortunately for our story, he had an awesome teacher that helped him turn the tide by meeting with Andrew during lunch breaks and after school. Not only did she simply get him through it, she sparked Andrew's interest in physics for the first time. 

By the time he arrived at MSU, Andrew was determined to pursue a degree in physics. It still wasn't the subject that came easiest to him, but it was the most interesting, and Andrew had become used to overcoming such challenges through hard work and persistence. In fact, when I asked Andrew to give one piece of advice to a starting physics/astronomy major, he simply said "put in the work." For example, he says he's bad at coding, but he's found that when he has kept trying things pay off. When he had to choose a concentration for his physics major at MSU, he didn't have previous experience in astronomy, but that's what he choose because it sounded the most interesting. So far he's really enjoying it. He successfully applied to the NASA Space Grant Consortium and has also been working for Prof. Peter Plavchan on exoplanets and circumstellar disks. This is what has kept him busy since last summer, when he isn't taking classes or at his regular full time job outside of school.

While Andrew has only been here with us in Austin for two weeks, his experiences here and at MSU have already left him with a greater appreciation of astronomy research endeavors. For one, the idea that there is still so much that we don't know, and that he could be the first person to discover something that hasn't even been imagined yet, is deeply inspiring. But the first thing Andrew actually said that he's come to really value is the incredible network of people that make up the astronomy community. He already felt connected to so many people through his work at MSU, and now at Texas this is growing wider. It's not surprising then that Andrew's favorite part of the TAURUS program are the weekly seminars led by students and postdocs. It's not just that he says he's learning about a dizzying array of topics that are instrumental to astronomy, many of which haven't been covered in his normal classes, but that it's a connection to peers and mentors here at Texas who are choosing to spend their time to share their knowledge and experiences. It's a great source of encouragement.

With nearly seven weeks of the TAURUS program ahead of him, Andrew has big plans. He's really looking forward to the trip to McDonald Observatory. He is also curious about being part of the process of writing a paper, from start to finish, for the first time (as well as having his name immortalized in print, of course). Beyond that, Andrew is hoping to get a thorough background on all things astronomy in Texas, as he's heard the same rumors I have that there is more to astronomy than exoplanets [citation needed]. Above all, Andrew hopes to make lasting connections with people that will buoy him in the years to come, no matter what path he follows.