Kevin Leong

Unexpected Mary Wash

Kevin Leong

Unexpected Mary Wash Episode Three: Kevin Leong

“WHEN YOU COMPLETE A TASK IN THIS ROOM YOU FEEL LIKE A MAD SCIENTIST.”

Kevin Leong, a senior physics major at the University of Mary Washington is seated on a spinning chair in Jepson 449, the Physics Research Laboratory. The room is windowless and cluttered with miscellaneous wires from past projects, on the fourth floor of the science building. There’s a distant whirring coming from machinery in the back of the room, and a whiteboard covered in physics equations. Sitting in front of the prototype for his research project, Kevin might truly be able to pass as a mad scientist, if a mad scientist were going undercover as a level-headed senior college student in an Under Armor t-shirt.

Kevin and I met the first week of freshman year, in class for our freshman seminar (FSEM), a 9 am class called Creating Arts and Ideas. I remember asking Kevin if he played soccer and asking him about the tattoo on his forearm. Then, it was a stick and poke; now it’s a real one. Despite the fact that our paths hardly crossed since that first class freshman year, Kevin was (unknowingly) one of the primary inspirations for this project. I viewed his Instagram story one day that pictured him and his award-winning research presentation. That’s Kevin from my FSEM who never came to class and always acted like every assignment was as painful as pulling teeth, was my first reaction. My second reaction was this is insanely cool, and I wonder if he’ll let me tell his story.

“Playing college soccer in general was just a dream of mine,” Kevin says, “I loved having my parents come down for games every weekend, even if I wasn’t playing.” After four and a half semesters of playing for UMW’s varsity men’s soccer team, Kevin put the dream to rest and turned his focus solely to physics. Whereas many people in his shoes may be bitter about this change of course, Kevin reflects on his time with the team without a hint of bitterness, saying: “College soccer is exciting… you’re representing something a lot bigger than yourself. The program is way bigger than any other player, coach, person.”

The fall of our freshman year, the team won first place in their conference, and Kevin recalls the memories he made with those teammates. “It was building around the team, that atmosphere, but the moment that made it click, where I was really like this is where I should be, was when I met or started to get close with my best friends now, my roommates.”

It’s 6 o’clock on a Wednesday when Max Brown, Kevin’s former teammate and current roommate arrive at the Campus Rec Field at UMW. The two do a quick warm-up before we attach mobile microphones to their shirt collars, and they take the field. “I think every athlete learns the physics,” Kevin says, when I ask him about how his studies related to his upbringing in soccer. “As a physics major, I look at it, see it, and I understand what’s happening. I don’t think it gave me an edge, exactly,” he laughs, “but I think that’s a really cool thought to have.”

Whether or not his understanding of the laws of physics gave him “an edge” in soccer, it’s clear to see the love both he and Max share a common love for the sport. We spent an hour on the Rec Field while they shot goals, balanced the ball on their heads, and volleyed back and forth. While they both originally attended Mary Wash for the soccer team, Kevin, Max, and their third roommate Kris have all since left the varsity team.

In the Spring of 2022, Kevin went to his academic advisor Dr. Varun Makhija, and asked about internship opportunities for the summer. Dr. Makhija recommended UMW’s Summer Science Institute, a 10-week summer research program. Kevin then contacted Dr. Desmond Villabla, a physics professor at UMW who was mentoring students for the 2022 SSI. “It is a huge accomplishment to have a physical object in front of you that you created from scratch,” Kevin motions to his solar array, the prototype for his research on solar powered phone charging stations for the homeless population. During his research, he learned to program with Arduino, 3D print, and solder.

While originally under the impression they were simply there for research, the students of SSI were surprised halfway when the faculty announced they’d be competing for scholarships. “As an athlete, I was definitely trying to hold back my competitiveness,” Kevin laughs, “I’d been out of soccer for a while, my family was coming to hear my presentation, so that was definitely a good feeling.” Kevin won the Perkins Scholarship for his research poster presentation; next time you’re in Jepson, go to the 4^th floor. The award-winning poster itself hangs outside Jepson 449, the mad scientist room.

In addition to his research, Kevin coaches a local youth soccer team, and went on to win the league the first season he coached. “It was definitely cool, seeing them grow and apply what I was teaching.” I ask if they called him Coach Kevin and he lets out a laugh. “They did call me Coach Kevin, and it was weird, it’s a weird feeling.”

“He’s one of those guys who works differently than the rest of us,” says Max Brown during our interview, regaling me about Kevin’s night-owl work ethic and “serial addiction” to Monster energy drinks. The last time we filmed for this project, I brought Kevin a Monster as a thank-you gift. “This is really funny,” he says, opening the door to his minivan. An identical Monster can sits in the cupholder.

Max calls Kevin “cool and down-to-earth,” and I have to agree, with a few additions. When I met Kevin in class freshman year I mistook him as an uninterested student athlete, and I see now how wildly incorrect that was. You can see, without a doubt, the light in somebody’s eyes when they tell you about something they’re proud of. Kevin’s love for physics and pride for his prototype, winning poster, and youth soccer league’s success is evident from a mile away. He is respectful when recalling his time with UMW’s soccer team, and humble when speaking about his research, saying his family “definitely turned [his] presentation around a lot” the week before the science symposium.

While reflecting on his experience at Mary Wash, Kevin catches himself in his cliches (“I’d like to thank my family first”) but ends with a genuine thesis to encapsulate the essence of his college career:

“The thing I want to take with me from this school is definitely… you have physics, you’re gonna get a degree, cool. You have soccer, maybe win some awards, have a good time. But definitely the memories and the friends that you make are what last afterwards.”

And, he has a prototype.

For questions, please contact tesswilhelm@yahoo.com