Class of 2029: Leo Vought Jr., future chemist

Since Leo Vought Jr. was 8 years old, he knew he wanted to be a scientist.

His mom was a high school science teacher at the time. “I would regularly hang out in her classes, see the posters, the labs, the gadgets,” Vought recalls. “The little things fascinate you when you’re little.”

He learned from his mom — not just about chemistry (she holds a graduate degree in the field) but about perseverance and the importance of higher education.

“My mother is a huge inspiration to me,” he says. “She is the perfect example of someone who worked hard to be able to get a master’s degree. I’m amazed by her.”

This fall, Vought begins at FIU as a chemistry major in the FIU Honors College. He plans to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in radiochemistry at the university. 

When searching for colleges, Vought was delighted to discover that FIU had the exact Ph.D. program he was searching for. Everything fell into place from there.

Vought, who is passionate about both public education and Florida’s nature, says that studying at FIU, Miami’s research university, was meant for him. 

“Florida and public education are two core aspects of my being,” Vought says. “And FIU is the perfect intersection of those two things.”

The bonus: He realized that two video gamers — players of one of Vought’s favorite games, Street Fighter — represent FIU. “I just thought, ‘This is the coolest thing in the world.’”

An education rooted in nature

Vought graduated from the College Academy at Broward College, a program that allows students to earn both their high school diplomas and AA degrees simultaneously.

He earned hundreds of community service hours, thanks in part to his volunteering with his mom every summer at various science camps for years. He helped kids with projects (ranging from dissections to making dry ice) and during field trips to local parks.

Being in nature has always been important to Vought. “I love Florida’s nature, Florida’s environment,” Vought says.

During the early days of the pandemic, Vought and his parents would go out to the Everglades and take airboat rides, visit the zoo and engage with nature throughout Florida. Nature became his refuge.

“Watching the water move, the birds, just absorbing the environment, being at peace,” Vought recalls. “It was great.”