Meet Kaleb Harrison, a member of the Goodnight Scholars Class of 2026 and a double major in physics and mathematics. During his time at NC State Kaleb has made unforgettable memories from freshman year side quest, speaking at finalist interview day, and participating in a co-op experience.

1. What is one of your most unforgettable college memories?

My freshman year, I was living in Wolf Village, and in the late hours of the night/early hours of the morning (2 am), I got bored and felt like climbing a tree. I was told about a book that was hung from a high branch in one of the trees in front of Bragaw that people were signing for the end of the year. Thus, I decided to walk from my apartment at Wolf Village to the Bragaw tree, climb said tree, and sign the book. Little did I know, I wasn’t the only person that had this idea, and I ended up finding three other people sitting in the tree. We all decided to sit in the tree together, talking and listening to music for about an hour, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I went on to climb that tree on several more occasions.

2. What’s your major, and what inspired you to pursue it? (I went in depth here.)

Double Major: Physics (concentration in mathematical physics) & Mathematics

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t plan on pursuing a career in science. Growing up, my mom always called me her “little Einstein,” but I never really knew what Einstein did. My love of science grew with every class I took, and I remember in 8th grade science learning about electrolysis of water, where electricity is used to split water molecules into the constituent hydrogen and oxygen. I later learned in chemistry that you could calculate the energy density of different molecules and found that hydrogen has one of the highest energy densities. At that moment, I thought “why aren’t we running cars on hydrogen?” It could be done by splitting water molecules, capturing the hydrogen, and using it as a fuel source. I would later find out that hydrogen fuel cell cars already existed (though they utilize hydrogen differently), but my place in science was affirmed.

I didn’t decide on physics until my junior year of high school. Biology had always been my favorite subject, but it somehow became boring to me since (at least at the introductory level) it depended solely on memorization. I was good at chemistry on paper, but I hated it, and the experiments hated me, so I had to redirect my career aspirations. At the same time, I was becoming interested in more fundamental questions about the universe. In an English course, I decided to write a documentary review about a documentary on quantum entanglement, and I was completely hooked by physics. I had the urge to push myself to take the hardest courses available to me, which included the calculus series, linear algebra, differential equations, and physics. For the first time, I had some difficulties understanding concepts from my courses, and I think I took that as a bit of a challenge. A challenge that I continue to face now.

3. What GN engagement has been the most impactful to you?

Last year, I had the opportunity to give a speech to the finalists on interview day. Writing the speech gave me the chance to reflect on everything Goodnight has done for me, but the real reflection occurred on the stage, standing in front of all of these students. They were all in the same position I had been in three years prior, but from my perspective, there were fewer students, the room seemed smaller, and my words seemed to matter to them. I had moved from a high schooler in that very audience, to taking courses on topics I’d never heard of, conducting research in fields I knew nothing about, traveling to more countries than I thought I ever would, and somehow wound up on that stage.

4. How has your co-op experience transformed you? Did it change or solidify plans for the future?

I actually took this internship as a bit of a mental health break from school. I was struggling in my course work, unsure if I would recover, and questioning if my future plans and career were even possible for me to pursue. During my internship, I gained a strong appreciation for learning and doing so in a structured way like taking courses, so I knew that I wanted to return to school and try harder this time. This experience solidified my desire to pursue graduate studies in physics and helped me realize that even though computational physics is incredibly important and interesting, it might not be for me.

This experience also gave me insight into career choices that aren’t the undergrad, grad school, post-doc, professor path that so many physics majors hope to pursue. This path remains my current goal, but I am open to so much more now and therefore less likely to be met with disappointment in the future.

5. What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

It’s always difficult to determine what secrets I have left to share. I try my best to be an open book–if you want to know anything about me, my thoughts, my feelings, my experiences, just ask and you’ll get the full story. Maybe that has somehow remained my big secret: I am an open book.