Life After Mac: Real stories of alumni finding their way — Ben
I have been passionate about science and math since early in grade school. By grade 12, I was reading books like “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory” during my student-job lunch breaks and was dreaming of working at CERN one day. (CERN is the largest particle physics lab in the world, located in Geneva, Switzerland, most famous for housing the Large Hadron Collider.)
I enrolled in the Integrated Science program at McMaster, but soon realized that physics was my academic calling. I switched into pure physics for my second year with some goals in mind: I wanted to meet and chat with as many professors as possible, be open to all areas of physics, and do whatever I could to have any sort of physics research position in the summer. After much perseverance, I managed to land a position at TRIUMF, Canada’s largest nuclear and particle physics lab, and was elated to be able to take part in real physics research.
One connection led to the next, and soon I was attending (and organizing) physics conferences and stringing together different physics research positions, made possible by my enrolment in the Co-op program. Another passion of mine was (and still is!) science education, and so I filled my plate with numerous science outreach opportunities. Because of these time commitments, coupled with my personal requirement to play sports every day and still have time for friends on the weekends, I didn’t have as much time to complete assignments or study for tests, meaning that I had good, but not great grades, and was not able to receive the top governmental scholarships. This was worthwhile though — the joy of getting others excited about science and the connections I made along the way provided benefits that far outweighed a few extra potential grade points.
Once one gets started in research, it can be easy to get caught up in one subfield. I felt this pull, but I wanted to make sure that I said ‘yes’ to as many different opportunities as possible. I tried out multiple different fields of physics, from particle physics to soft condensed matter. Even while doing so many different things at once, I was always trying to go slow and enjoy my experiences. There was no rush to complete my undergraduate (I did a 5-year Co-op program) or speed through graduate school. I was excited to complete a MSc, but then took a year off after to pursue my passion for physics education by teaching first-year physics at McMaster.
Sure, I made some lifestyle decisions in my first year that unfortunately affected my grades but overall, I have no regrets. I would encourage everyone to follow what they enjoy, even as those passions change, and make sure to stay confident yet humble and have fun along the way; I am grateful that this method was successful for me.
During my undergrad and MSc, I grew to have some incredible mentors (and friends) who helped me complete my high school dream: I worked at CERN for my PhD in particle physics as a member of the ATLAS Experiment and Carleton University, which I just finished this summer. My science communication activities, that I of course continue to fill my time with, coupled with my research experience, led to my next unique opportunity: the Mitacs Canadian Science Policy Fellowship, working as a Policy Analyst for NSERC.
I don’t know where I will end up next after this one-year position ends, but I know that I will continue pursuing the things I enjoy most without being in a rush, and I will use the network that I have built to continue winding my way along my own road of science.
Ben Davis-Purcell
B.Sc. (Hon.) Physics ’15, M.Sc. Physics ‘17
The Office of Alumni Engagement will be featuring recent grad’s career stories to show career paths are anything but linear. If you graduated in the last 10 years and are interested, share your story.
If you are looking to get started on your own journey, take advantage of the resources available to recent graduates through our partnership with the Student Success Centre.
