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Dr. Salazar sat with his notepad in his lap, regarding Derek with an intriguing gaze. “What do you want for the future of this world?”
Derek stared at him for a long time, using one of his signature pauses, and then turned his eyes away to look at his knee. “In what regard? Environmentally speaking? Technologically speaking? Or do you want a straight-up fortune reading?”
Dr. Salazar chuckled at the joke. “Technologically.”
Derek went quiet again as he considered what to say. “In my world, things go fast until they go slow. It’s easy to come up with an idea but very difficult to execute it. It’s trial and error, failure after failure, and then what little success you have is usually minuscule compared to what you’re trying to achieve. So I think our future in technology will be much different in ten, twenty years unless…more people are involved. The pool of scientists, engineers, mathematicians is so small. People care more about being rich, being famous, being an athlete, whatever the case may be. But if you care about the progress of this world, you should consider one of these disciplines. Our society is obsessed with fame and fortune, but it’s important to have an altruistic world view, think about the next generation, to think about the world outside of ourselves.” He didn’t raise his voice, but he also didn’t possess a level tone, which he sometimes did when he was bored or annoyed. It was his tone that showed his interest in his discipline, and he talked about it with moving his hands, really getting into the conversation and the topic. “If nothing changes, I see us making progress as we go forward, but not enough progress.”
Dr. Salazar was quiet for a few seconds, as if he needed to process Derek’s words even after he was finished. “Enough progress for what? It sounds like you’re racing the clock.”
“Because I am.” Derek stared at his interviewer, those dark eyes a little lighter under the stage lights. When he was focused, he was so deadly handsome. He was serious most of the time, but so passionate about the things he enjoyed. He was passionate about his work, passionate when he was in bed. “I can’t do it alone. The rest of the scientists in our community can’t do it alone.”
“And you teach a course at NYU?”
He nodded. “I do. I have some very bright students.” There was pride in his voice, like their success was as important to him as what he was doing in his own lab. “But there’re only twenty of them. And of that twenty, there’s only one woman. We’ve got to change that.”
A round of applause filled the auditorium.
Derek didn’t seem to notice it because he was so focused on Dr. Salazar. “I’ve been working with my company to figure out a way to have an internship program geared toward all kinds of students, but especially women. Through scholarships and additional resources, we can get more women into this field. Since the dawn of time, women have been told that their place is in the home, and even in the twenty-first century, women don’t always feel welcome in this field. We’ve got to get these numbers up so that unease goes away for good.”
Another round of applause filled the audience.
I was mesmerized by this man, so proud that I worked for him, that he was my friend, and that he was my man…
“I think that’s a great goal, Dr. Hamilton. And I’m sure you’ll execute it.” Dr. Salazar looked back over his notes. “Some people may not know this, but your father is the Nobel Prize-winning oncologist, Dr. Deacon Hamilton. It seems like brilliance runs in the family.”
“And I think altruism does too. My father has always been committed to helping humanity. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your socio-economic status is, or where you come from, he wants to help anyone who needs help. I know that’s where my drive and ambition come from, and having such a strong role model like that really solidified my identity. My dad was my hero, and I wanted to be just like him. Obviously, I’m not a physician, but I’ve dedicated my life to something bigger than myself.”
I smiled at the way he described his father. As a parent, it was really touching.
“So, tell me what you’re working on now.”
Derek rubbed his fingers over his shadowed jawline for a few seconds before he found his words. “I finished a new prototype for a rocket. I intend to submit it to NASA, so they can consider using it in one of their upcoming missions. But my newest project is a collaboration with NASA for a rover that will be sent to Mars next year. My other departments are working on different things, like advancements in prosthetics and disability technology.”
