Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of profiles about area students who recently were awarded platinum or gold scholarships through the Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund. Information for this profile was provided by the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation.
"More than the scholarship, it’s the honor of being chosen; it’s the recognition," said Lawrence Cai who is this year’s Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund Platinum Scholar.
Cai recognizes that the scholarship, worth $24,000, impacts his plans for the future. "It opens up choices. I can now consider a school like Stanford or Yale,” said Cai, who graduates next weekend from Los Alamos High School.
Cai feels strongly about the need for justice in the world. He participated on the Los Alamos High School Policy Debate Team and was a defense attorney for the Los Alamos Teen Court. The Los Alamos Teen Court is a program that allows teens to experience the workings of a courtroom trial with teenage attorneys and jury members.
However, Cai is not considering a career in law. Instead, he wants to bring justice to the world through medicine. He wants to become a surgeon and practice medicine in an underserved region of a developing country. "It’s unjust that somebody who’s poor cannot get the doctors they need. They die waiting on a list. But helping people when they can’t help themselves isn’t justice, it’s a duty,” said Cai.
Cai also is a classical pianist and tennis player. "I’m a cheerful guy, optimistic,” he said. "It takes a lot to get me down.”
The Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund drive continues through May 31. So far, more than $333,600 has been raised, including a matching contribution from Los Alamos National Security, LLC. This year, the campaign goal is $600,000. To make a contribution to the fund, go to www.lanlfoundation.org.
