Abdul-Malik Zekri said he was “freaking out” during the application process for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which supports students pursuing a career in research. 

Zekri, 19, was one of 441 students nationwide chosen to receive the scholarship this year. 

Zekri and three other USF students – Benjamin Barrera-Altuna, Taylor Rand and Peter Alspaugh – were selected from a pool of around 5,000 college sophomores and juniors nationwide. 

Out of all the schools in Florida’s State University System, USF had the most Goldwater recipients selected. It is also the first time four students – which is the maximum number of students a university can nominate, not including transfer students – from USF were selected.

The “trick,” Zekri said, is to embrace opportunities despite the fear. For him, this meant overcoming fear by applying for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship.

“You’re gonna be scared, but you gotta do it anyway,” said Zekri, a junior computer engineering and mathematics major. “And the only thing I can say is it worked, because that’s what I did.”

The scholarship will cover tuition and other costs, such as books and housing, for the recipients up to $7,500 per year. 

When reviewing applications, reviewers look for students who show “exceptional promise” to become leading researchers in their fields, according to the scholarship’s website.

Students must want to pursue a career in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering in order to apply. 

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For Benjamin Barrera-Altuna, 20, pursuing computer science in college was a last-minute decision. 

Although his current research area is in applying artificial intelligence to real-world issues, it wasn’t until his senior year of high school that he began working with computer science.

Barrera-Altuna was part of MIT’s CubeSat Program in 2022, when he was a senior in high school, which introduced him to “the world of computer science.” 

The program gives “workshop-style courses” for high school seniors in areas, such as “AI technologies” and “radars and satellites,” according to its description.

He was studying at a performing arts high school at the time and never stopped playing the violin despite his new passion for AI.

“I never really gave up music performance, and now I have gotten exposed to this entire world of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and software development within a relatively short span,” said Barrera-Altun, a junior computer science major.

To Barrera-Altuna, the scholarship brought relief — it was a confirmation his work is worth recognition.

“I feel happy that I’m on the right track,” he said. “Everything I’ve been doing so far is being recognized, so if I continue working in the same style I am now, I think I should be fine.”

The award is “more of a stepping stone than a final destination,” Zekri, whose research focuses on computational neuroscience, said.

He said the joy in research is not in achieving something specific, such as a scholarship, but the joy found in everyday work.

“There’s always more to explore,” he said. “[The scholarship] will help me by getting me to that next step, but there is always another step, and that’s the love of the game.”

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Peter Alspaugh, a USF recipient who does research on algebra, said the scholarship gets him closer to his goal of being a “real mathematician.”

“The motivation behind a lot of academia is you just want to keep learning and figuring out new stuff, piecing everything together, and that’s what I want to do,” he said.

Alspaugh, 21, said the scholarship unlocks “interesting networks,” such as the Goldwater Scholar Community, through which students can connect with researchers who have also received the scholarship.

“It just opens up more doors to get involved and meet other people,” said Alspaugh, a junior mathematics major. “You gotta just keep working your way along down the line, and this award helps in that trajectory.”

Taylor Rand, a junior biology major, said the scholarship is a “good signifier” she can execute a research project. Rand said the scholarship will also look good on her upcoming graduate school applications.

Although Rand, 21, has “a mixed bag of research experiences,” she said her true passion is entomology, which is the study of insects.

At first, she said she felt there was “absolutely nothing” for her at USF, since the school doesn’t offer an entomology program. However, Rand didn’t let that stop her from pursuing research in the area.

Rand said coming to USF ultimately felt like the right choice because it allowed her to be “a leader” on campus when it comes to entomology.

This is because she founded USF’s Entomology Society and has the opportunity to do research at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Virginia.

Rand said students should not let curriculum limitations stop them from pursuing what they love.

“If your university isn’t custom-made for you and you can’t find a lab, or you can’t find a professor or a class that aligns perfectly with your interests, it’s not over,” she said. “You just have to make the most of what you have.”

Rand said most people in research, herself included, can think science is “not for them” and suffer from imposter syndrome, which is when despite success, one still feels like a “fraud” who will eventually “fail.”

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“Pretty much every day, I wake up and I think I can’t do this,” she said. “I just keep doing it. If I’m not meant to do it, I’ll find out. There’s no point in stopping myself early.”