What’s the most memorable experience Furman gave aspiring rocket scientist Zack Miller? The “Math and the Mouse” May X at Disney World? An award for undergraduate research in Chicago for work developing a computer model of how pulmonary cilia push fluid?

Nope. The Greek. Literally.

“Whenever I’m talking to a prospective student about why Furman’s been so great for me, I always bring up the research I did with my Greek professor, Christopher Blackwell,” he says. “It’s such a cool experience for a physics major to go to Germany doing ancient Greek research and something I can say for sure I would have never had the opportunity to do at another school.”

While it’s unlikely using digital tools to translate Greek texts will have an impact on his career, the fact that he had the chance showcased the reason Zack decided to go to Furman in the first place—even though he knew he wanted to be an engineer. Engineering schools often require students to select an area of study at the outset, and when Zack saw SpaceX land the first stage of Falcon 9 on a droneship in April of 2016 he realized material science was out, and rocket science was in.

This fall, he will start the Stanford School of Engineering’s master’s program in aeronautics and astronautics.

“That’s what has put me on the path to aerospace engineering, and I wouldn’t have had that chance if I’d gone to one of these engineering schools,” he says.