For Weli Alamillo ‘18, academics came first.
Alamillo has been playing since he was 4 or 5, so the chance to keep going at the collegiate level was appealing.
鶹Ӱ’s NCAA Division III program was more appealing.
“Division III has more of an academic focus, and that’s what I wanted,” Alamillo said. “I knew it was a good fit for me.”
With about one in five incoming under鶹Ӱs hailing from Hawai‘i, Alamillo also knew Pacific would be a good fit culturally.
“I knew I wanted to go away to college, but I wasn’t sure I’d fit in,” he said. “I had friends here and I visited, and I instantly knew I could live here.”
At Pacific, he joined Na Haumana O Hawai‘i and danced in the annual Lu‘au. But the highlight, he said, was exploring his academic future.
Originally interested in healthcare, Alamillo was encouraged to explore physics by a professor.
“It was so interesting to look at things and explain everything,” he said. “It’s interesting to learn and you can still do a lot: medical physics, engineering.”
While at Pacific, he spent a summer studying biophysics during an internship in Texas, taking particles from plants and finding ways to put them into electronics.
Following his graduation in 2018, Alamillo continued his pursuit of science. He earned a master's in electrical and computer engineering, launching a career at Intel.