Jesus Perez, an applied physics major at California State University San Marcos, is the first in his family to pursue higher education. He began working at age 13 to help contribute financially to his family, at times working early in the morning, before class in middle school, eventually working a full time job while finishing high school and into his years at CSU San Marcos.

Jesus has a fierce work ethic and appetite for knowledge and experience. He recently completed a prestigious internship with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and is one of five MARC U*STAR (Maximizing Access to Research Careers Undergraduate Student Training for Academic Research) scholars. Jesus mentors high school students and through a Society of Physics Students grant, arranges educational field trips to Palomar College’s planetarium for middle school students.

Following graduation, Jesus plans to pursue a Ph.D. in plasma physics and become a professor, inspiring math and physics students who are struggling to dream big and work towards those dreams.