It is fitting that David Do’s reaction to being named one of only 50 Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team Gold Scholars for 2016 was borderline anti-gravitational – as in walking on air. He is, after all, pursuing a career in astrophysics.

“I definitely jumped for joy when I got the email notification,” Do said. “My head was spinning. I was just ecstatic.”

Do (pronounced DOE) is a physics major at Amarillo College. For his prestigious selection by Coca-Cola, Do will receive a $1,500 scholarship and a special medallion. He will graduate from AC in May and can use the scholarship next fall at Texas Tech University, where he has been accepted to continue his study of physics.

Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society, of which Do is a member, administers the Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program that recognizes 50 Gold, 50 Silver and 50 Bronze Scholars annually.
An independent panel of judges considers outstanding academic rigor, grade point average, academic and leadership awards, and engagement in college and community service in the selection process.
When Do received word that his application to the Academic Team had been met with a thumbs up – more than 1,500 apply annually – it validated once more that his personal countdown to landing a dream job studying the universe, possibly even at NASA, remains in proper sequence. 

In January, Do was among an exclusive group of scholars accepted into the National Community College Aerospace Scholars Program, and he remains in the competitive running to attend an expenses-paid, three day workshop at a NASA center this spring.

“I would love to work at NASA and do research to expand our knowledge of the universe,” Do said. “With the NASA opportunity I’ve got coming up, and now this (Coca-Cola scholarship), I feel like I’m getting there, achieving the goals I set for my career.

“AC has definitely helped my progress,” he said. “What I’ve been able to do so far has been because of AC.”

Do, who as a freshman visited India as a participant in AC’s Presidential Scholars Program, says he thinks community colleges too often are unfairly judged.

“You really should attend a community college before you make judgments about them,” Do said. “It’s all about having relationships you can build with your instructors and everyone else on the staff. We’re not babied here, as many seem to think. We’re actually challenged at a high level, but what we have at AC is an excellent system of support that I think universities are sometimes too large to provide.”

March 3, 2016