Celebrating Success: Joe Pollaco

Joe Pollaco (2017, Physics) has recently achieved outstanding results in his university final exams by obtaining a first and placing third in his cohort across the whole university. Joe is also the winner of the Cleobury Prize, an award given to students who have performed exceptionally well in their science finals.

We asked Joe to share his experience as a student at Pembroke as well as his next steps in academia.

 “I was fortunate enough to be admitted for an integrated master’s degree in physics, and matriculated in 2017. Over the past four years, I have had the immense privilege of studying how the universe works; my desire to understand the underlying principles that govern the world around us has been motivation to keep going through the many difficulties that studying for an undergraduate degree presents.

None of this would have been possible without the support I’ve received at Pembroke. The Physics tutors have been immensely supportive and helpful not only with teaching and academic matters, but also in assisting with career development and application support. They have also provided opportunities to develop key soft skills which will be vital for me going forward. College has also supported me with academic and Rokos scholarships over the past three years, which I used to support gaining research experience in various summer projects.

My work consisted of either tutorials and lectures, and independent study, or days in the physics practical labs. Generally, the workload was high, but manageable. A particular strength of the physicists at Pembroke is how well we worked together. I am greatly indebted to the other, incredibly talented members of my college cohort for the many conversations we had that helped to further my understanding. I think this collaboration is a key reason why as a cohort we achieved very highly this year.

Outside of work, I kept up several extracurricular activities, one of which was singing in Pembroke’s chapel choir. Singing in the choir was a great way to get involved in college life, and I have happy memories of many conversations with college members that I met through chapel.

I am now starting my DPhil here at Oxford, as part of the Interdisciplinary Biosciences DTP. I am extremely grateful for the support I received during my time at Pembroke and look forward to applying the academic foundation I have developed to complex, biophysical problems.”