Leading her peers through clubs and academics, senior Jessica Plate will continue to excel as she furthers her education at either Temple or Rutgers University next fall. 

During her spare time, Plate enjoys painting, drawing, and exploring the world of technology. 

“I think the more I know about technology, the more prepared I am for the future. It’s really cool to learn more about the possibilities technology could offer us, like the robot I built for TSA,” Plate said. “Aside from technology, I really enjoy painting and drawing mainly because it’s very stress relieving and lets me express myself through different mediums.” 

Embracing her love for technology, Plate has dedicated herself to the Technology Student Association (TSA) for the past four years and served as president for the past two. 

“I’m really the link between the advisors and the members,” Plate said. “Mr. Miller has to make a lot of the bigger decisions since he’s the main advisor, so my job is to really encourage everyone to participate and remind everyone of the deadlines.” 

In addition to TSA, Plate also leads her peers while being the secretary of Leo club and involving herself in class cabinet.  

“Leo Club is the school’s community service club, so we run the blood drives and really try to improve our school community in any way we can,” Plate said. “Within Leo club, I specifically do the minutes and make sure everyone is informed of the events we’re going to be doing.” 

To help prepare for the future, Plate will continue to play an active role within TSA as it strengthens her interests and broadens her horizons. 

“Being involved with TSA so much has really reinforced my interests, but I think in the future, I’m just going to – especially in college – try to be involved and refine my interests, so when I eventually get my degree, I know I didn’t make any mistakes with the path I chose,” Plate said.  

As her senior year comes to an end, Plates will take her tech savvy skills with her as she majors in Physics and minors in Astronomy at either Temple or Rutgers University. 

“Both colleges are kind of tricky because they both have really great programs and I feel like they would offer me the most opportunities,” Plate said. “I can’t really say I’m leaning towards one or the other yet; I’m not really sure what’s going to be the deciding factor for me.”  

Over the years, Plate’s interest for physics and astronomy sparked through courses and teachers. 

“I really gravitate towards astronomy particularly because I think space is really interesting and it’s one of the biggest mysteries to us aside from the oceans,” Plate said. “Ms. Evans taught me in both Honors and AP Physics, and I don’t think I’d be so interested in it if I had a different teacher. She really encouraged me to push through any problems I had in the class and I think it made me a better student.” 

Eventually, Plate hopes to work for a university or a privately funded company as an astrophysicist.  

“I’d love to work as an astrophysicist because I really enjoy the space aspect with the mystery and beauty behind it,” Plate said. “Physics stood out above all the different areas to study and it’s always been interesting to me.” 

To be a successful astrophysicist, Plate discovered that it’s necessary to be persistent, confident, and passionate.  

“Physics is a very difficult major and requires a lot of complex thinking, which can be frustrating, but being persistent makes it easier to work through your problems. That also relates to passion, because someone who doesn’t enjoy their field is not going to push through their difficulties,” Plate said. “You need to be confident in your work because there’s always going to be those doubting what you’re doing.” 

Overall, Plate wouldn’t be where she is today without the support and encouragement from her parents. She has looked up to them since childhood and aspires to be like them later in life. 

“I look up to my parents most. They are my biggest supporters. They always encourage me to do my best and make sacrifices, so I can have opportunities they never had,” Plate said. “They’re both very determined and hardworking. I aspire to be like them, not regarding career or anything of that nature, but with their personalities and mentalities towards life.” 

As Plate continues to dedicate herself to her interests and studies, we can expect many great achievements from her future scientific journeys.