Ben Steinman
Murray 1693 Scholar
Hometown
Sellersville, PA (Pennridge HS)
Areas of Interest
Physics and Religious Studies
Why W&M
I wished I had a "dream school." Entering into my senior year of high school, I knew the academic environment I would thrive in at college: Ambitious to no end, but not cutthroat. Avant-garde, but down-to-earth. Diverse, but not disconnected. I knew I would need a greenhouse big enough to cultivate my wide palette of interests, and I knew I would need a garden intimate enough to set down a network of academic and social roots. The only missing piece was a college that would satisfy my often-contradictory checklist. I am tempted to throw in a Whitman quote about "contain[ing] multitudes," but perhaps I was just in over my head with expectations.
Promptly after catching my breath for the first time in weeks after submitting my final college application, I was met with a mysterious cypher card -- which hinted at an early acceptance to the College -- and an even more mysterious offer to participate as a semi-finalist for the 1693 Scholars Program. Between waiting on umpteen of other schools' admissions decisions, blasting through scholarship applications, and resisting senioritis in my final semester of high school, I was relieved just to have secured my spot at an institution.
Upon receiving good news from the other colleges I had applied to, I realized that each would fall short of my ideal. My "dream school", it seemed, really did only exist in a dream. However, progressing through the 1693 Scholars selection process, I saw myself forming those close connections I was searching for among the cohort of scholars and in other niches on campus. I saw an abundance of research opportunities and guidance opened to me through the program, the engaging faculty at William & Mary, and the $5,000 research stipend allotted to me to advance my academic pursuits. I also saw the financial freedom William & Mary uniquely extended to me for my undergraduate education. I am incredibly grateful to the program directors and to the College for investing in me and look forward to the adventures that await my cohort and me.
W&M Activities
- Wustholz Lab: Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy on Cultural Heritage Objects
- Summer 2024 research internship
- European XFEL and the University of Hamburg- investigated the photophysics of a novel spin-change coordination complex
- Society of Physics Students
- Williamsburg Buddhist Sangha
- Virginia Master Naturalist (2023)
High School Activities
- Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences 2021
- President of Philosophy Club
- Chief Science Officer
- President of Student Council (2021 - 2022)
- Treasurer of Student Council (2020 - 2021)
- National Honor Society member
- Link Crew Commissioner
- Volunteer Nature Camp Counselor
- County Student Board Member
- Students for Education in Pennsylvania Board Member
- English Tutor for Francophones
- Odyssey of the Mind
- Various graphic design projects
Awards / Distinctions
- National Honor Society
- National AP Scholar with Distinction
- Samuel A. Green Scholar
- William D. Mensch Jr. Award
- Perkasie Lions Club Math Award
- US Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence Award
