Maeser Flake

Name: Maeser Jay Flake
Major: Physics
Minor: Mathematics
Planned Graduation Date: April 2026

Briefly tell us about yourself: I am from Snowflake, Arizona, a town which was founded by my great-great-great-grandfather and some other pioneers, so the name is derived from his name, William Jordan Flake, and the apostle Erastus Snow's last name. My parents both attended BYU and lived for a little while across from a school named after Karl G. Maeser.

Why did you join the Honors Program?
My parents named me after Karl G. Maeser, and that is honestly probably part of why I joined the honors program. I also love learning, and I love the idea of interdisciplinary connections.

What is your favorite part of the Honors Program?
My favorite part of the honors program so far has been the leadership development experience. It gave me an opportunity to work on a project I had envisioned soon after returning from my mission: building an app to teach the Hmong language. I had served a mission in Sacramento, California, speaking Hmong, a language from Southeast Asia associated with an ethnic group in those countries.

What is your future plan?
I am a physics major, and I absolutely love anything related to physics. I hope to go to graduate school for a Ph.D. in physics, and my dream is to return to BYU someday as a physics professor. I love that BYU encourages us to connect our academic studies to our spiritual growth, and I want to encourage that for others.