Published 16:48 IST, November 22nd 2019
Sundar Pichai praises woman who scored 0 in quantum physics exam
Google CEO Sundar Pichai applauded an astrophysicist for turning around the early failure, of scoring zero in quantum physics, into a remarkable success.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai applauded an astrophysicist for turning around the early failure into a remarkable success. Sarafina Nance, an Astrophysics PhD student, shared her story on Twitter which started a chain of reactions from users with their own story.
Pichai's reaction to the story
The 26-year-old student took to Twitter saying she scored zero in a quantum physics exam four years ago and wanted to quit Physics, but now she is in a top tier astrophysics PhD program and has published two papers. “STEM is hard for everyone - grades don’t mean you’re not good enough to do it,” she said referring to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Google CEO praised Nance’s tweet saying it is an inspiring story.
4 years ago I got a 0 on a quantum physics exam. i met with my professor fearing i needed to change my major & quit physics. today, i’m in a top tier astrophysics Ph.D program & published 2 papers.
— Sarafina Nance (@starstrickenSF) November 20, 2019
STEM is hard for everyone—grades don’t mean you’re not good enough to do it.
Well said and so inspiring! https://t.co/qHBwdv3fmS
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) November 21, 2019
Users share their story
The tweet created a storm on the micro-blogging website and users started sharing their own story. A user said that she failed in Chemistry twice in undergrad but now she has a PhD in science education and has presented her research at international conferences.
So true! I bombed a class in undergrad and the prof told me not everyone had "the brain for science." 4 years later I have a science degree from Stanford, double-digit publications (in not shabby journals) and love my job making science more accessible and understandable :)
— Natalie Deuitch (@nataliedeuitch) November 21, 2019
“This reminds me... I really struggled with English for several years and still remember getting a 5 on a scale from 4-10. Now I'm doing a PhD in Oxford (ironically, the oldest uni in the English-speaking world) and I think most of the time people understand what I am saying,” tweeted a user. "Not quite STEM academics, but when I got to silicon valley I applied to 100+ jobs, rejected by all but the one that hired me. Six years later I’m a PM at Google doing *exactly* the kinds of products I love," replied another user.
16:04 IST, November 22nd 2019