Your best comes out of the blue

5 AM alarms. 3-hour practices. Ice baths. Repeat. Scott Matlock has overcome a lot—including the loss of both parents when he was young—to get where he is as Boise State’s defensive tackle and a social sciences major. It hasn’t been easy, but he’s determined to succeed. “It’s a challenge every day. I have to be physically ready and get in a certain mindset. But I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t keep going.”

For patients in need of new body tissue—like ears, a nose, or knee cartilage—Dr. David Estrada is changing the game through bio-printing. A Boise State professor working in nano and biotechnology research, Dr. Estrada’s goal is to solve problems that have no regard for human-constructed boundaries. Despite setbacks (like bio-printers going haywire), he pushes forward to change lives all over the globe.

Boise State volleyball player Kayly Pau’s unrelenting spirit helped her power through a cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy. With strength, stamina and a love for the game, the outside hitter crushed it on the court and in her criminal justice classes even while battling leukemia, emerging victorious on all fronts. Kayly: 1 Cancer: 0

Not a lot. Unless you’re majoring in music, physics, and math, like Pangaea Finn. A concert pianist and biophysics researcher, Pangaea’s Boise State journey began when she enrolled as a 13-year-old student. Today, she’s a Goldwater Scholar. While becoming an accomplished musician and scientist hasn’t been effortless, with many educational challenges along the way, Pangaea determinedly plays on.

NASA intern and Boise State transfer student, Ally Almaraz, researches how to stimulate stem cells to simulate exercise—tech that astronauts desperately need, as space takes the density out of bones and mass out of muscle. While the lab comes with its own trials, Ally also tackles the challenges of being a working student, balancing her studies as a materials science and engineering major with three jobs. It’s not easy, but for Ally—it’s worth it.