Imagine a nine-year old girl lying on her back and looking up at the stars and dreaming of being an astronaut one day so she could have an up close look at the universe to better understand where we came from and why we are here. Now imagine that this little girl dreamed those dreams when she was living in Cape Verde, an island country spanning an archipelago of ten volcanic islands about 350 miles off the west coast of Africa.

Imagine that girl today, twelve years later, as a Bowdoin College student spending the spring semester of her junior year at MIT, where she’s taking a demanding load of physics and mathematics courses and staying fit for the challenge by running six miles every morning, rain or shine or snow. Just imagine.

Alicia Lima’s journey from Cape Verde to Cambridge has not been without its struggles, but she has emerged strong and tall and confident. Indeed, as I think about Alicia’s story, I’m reminded of the lyrics of “My Shot,” a song from the blockbuster musical, “Hamilton.” (“I am not throwing away my shot. I am not throwing away my shot. Hey yo, I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry, and I’m not throwing away my shot.”)

Alicia left Cape Verde when she was just 15 years old to live with her great aunt in Boston and chase her dream. She excelled at Jeremiah E. Burke High School, becoming the salutatorian of her class. Along the way, she met Lisa McElaney and Abelardo Morrell, both Bowdoin College graduates, and eventually moved in to live with them. Lisa encouraged Alicia to apply to Bowdoin, which she did, but Bowdoin’s Dean of Admissions wisely suggested that Alicia spend a year at a boarding school and reapply the next year. Alicia took the advice, spent a year at Williston Northampton and then gained a coveted spot in the Class of 2019.

I had come to know Lisa McElaney when she served on the Bowdoin Board of Trustees, as I served as Assistant Secretary of the Board at the time. Lisa asked if Tina and I would be willing to serve as Alicia’s “Host Family” and look after her during her time at Bowdoin. We readily agreed. Alicia does not live with us, but we’re always there for her, during the good times and the not-so-good times. We consider her a daughter, of sorts, and she might now say that she has two homes — one with Lisa and Abe and one with Tina and me.

Alicia excelled in the classroom during her first semester, as is her wont, but she had some difficulties adjusting to the rowdy social scene. Her roommates were party aficionados, and they couldn’t understand why Alicia would rather spend some Saturday nights working on a philosophy paper, say, or studying for a physics exam then going out for a good time. She got all A’s her first semester, but slipped a bit in the second semester, as she spent more time on the social circuit — not always with good outcomes. She was also struggling with the fact that she was basically estranged from her family back home. She rarely mentions her home situation with us, and we never prod.

Alicia spent the summer after her first year creating courses for College Guild, a Brunswick-based organization,which provides free correspondence courses for prisoners around the country. She spent the summer after her second year, as a research assistant for one of her physics professors. Incidentally, she spent the spring semester of her second year at Harvard, earning all A’s save one B.

Alicia has changed her long range goals. She plans to earn her PhD in physics at a top university and then teach at Bowdoin — or a fine liberal arts college like Bowdoin

— and conduct her own research. She says, only half joking, that she hopes we stay alive long enough to see her win the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Alicia speaks three languages — English, Portuguese and Spanish — but her real “language” is physics and her real love is the universe. She doesn’t mind being one of the few women in her physics classes as the men welcome her keen mind and lively spirit, but she does admit that it would be nice to have a few more women around.

When I asked Alicia what advice she would offer to young people, she said, “You have to have a passion so strong that nothing will stop you from pursuing that passion. You have to care about the topic, not just about getting a degree.”

My mother used to say, “Hitch your wagon to a star, don’t fall off and there you are.” While Alicia Lima never met my mother, she does knows something about the stars in the heavens and her place in the universe. I’m betting on her to win that Nobel Prize someday. And even if she doesn’t, I’m glad that i’ve spent some time on this planet at her side.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary or suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns at [email protected].