Samantha Smiley

Biography

I am a sophomore student at DePaul University pursuing a degree in physics, with minors in community service studies, creative writing, and mathematics, and I will be graduating in the spring of 2020. I’ve always had many passions, and I hope to be able to merge them throughout my career. I want to be a PhD research physicist as well as a freelance science writer, but knowing myself, I won’t be able to give up my passion for community service. I’m very passionate about gender equality, especially in the field of physics, and I can see myself running or starting a non-profit at some point in my future. I regularly volunteer at two non-profits in Chicago, and I have learned a lot of skills that would be helpful if that path is what I decide to pursue. I’ve always been curious about the world and intrigued by math. I found a way to merge those passions when I took my first physics class. Last summer I conducted research on cataclysmic variable stars at DePaul University, and this summer I will be conducting computational material physics research this summer. I’m a very active member of DePaul’s scientific community. I served for the past year as SPS’s Outreach and Involvement Coordinator. I have just been elected vice president of SPS, president of Society of Women in Physics (SWiP), and president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in STEM (SACNAS). I am actually one of three founding members of SWiP. We founded this organization to build a supportive environment for women within the physics department at DePaul University. We aim to empower underclassmen with confidence and skills to help combat imposter syndrome. I’ve spent a lot of time working for these three organizations to further the professional development of myself and students around me.