One day more...

...until the the first day of the last week of school (whether you consider that as being Sunday or Monday depends on what you consider "one day" being taking into account the time I posted this as well as what you consider to be the first day of each week - so that is open to interpretation).

I am right now sitting at the dining room table, drinking cinnamon coffee and listening to jazz, ruminating these last four years.  The slope of a line can be begotten by this formula:

Pretty much, the difference between the first point and last point.  This formula could be applied to my high school experience.  I can look at how I began - on that first day of school - and compare it to how I am now and find the slope of my growth.  It is most definitely a positive slope.

That was a less illustrative analogy that I hoped for it to be.  

Okay, to get the point - that I've grown a lot and thank iPoly for a great many things - across, I will define the first point and the last point.

First Point (first day of school):

I was distrustful of people my age, believing them to be foul-mouthed, sneaky creatures.  Around the end of first semester, I was determined to be a Loner, thus preserving my innocence and calm of mind.  My self esteem was a bit low and ordering things on my own usually proved to be an ordeal.  Those cashiers, man - fierce and demonic organisms.  Social gatherings and generally mixing with people I didn't know were uncomfortable necessities to me.  I was pretty set on physical therapy or naturopathy as the make-up of my future.  There's this college in Florida that has a naturopathy major.  UCLA is ideal, though.  I mean, it's UCLA.      

Ah, Passport Approved...

Last Point:

People my age are foul-mouthed, sneaky creatures - and that's okay!  It adds zest to the goings on of my everyday.  iPoly has taught me to deal with stress by having a sense of humor.  That nearly-all-nighter during Passport Approved was pretty funny, come to think of it.  Whenever I look back on it, I always laugh.  :)  I've come to realize that cashiers are humans like me and are there to make money and, some, to get a promotion.  They are not out to sabotage me!  Meeting new people is fun, but hanging out with any group of people from this Class of 2014 is always funner.  Academic shtuff is still a joy to me - but I'm not so sure what I will focus on.  I like my humanities - morals, literature, organizational goodness - as well as STEM - molecular biology, ecology, marine biology, physics, nano tech, green chemistry, engineering, maths.  I shall be going to Pomona College - chirp chirp - which I feel is way better than UCLA. X)  I now know how to appreciate a research paper, make an effective pie chart, organize a research presentation poster, use a micropipette, "network", shake hands properly, use Pixlr, fold a tri-fold brochure, play badminton, use a piñata as a presentation board, among other excellent things.  Risks are many times fruitful, and every experience is an opportunity.  Thanks iPoly.   

Behold, a delicious pie chart.

This post has a lots of "I" in it, which makes me uncomfortable.  That's okay, though.  This is blog is about me anyway, right?  I mean, it's called "vmachucan..."... (whoa, double ellipses).  Am I sad to see my four years come to an "end"?  YES.  I try not to be, telling myself that there is no "end", just a continuation, that many of my friends are staying in the area.  I won't see them as often, though, and some are going out of state!  But hey, we'll stay in touch, and I know I'll be coming back to iPoly.

Where am I now?

I've ended my mentorship, but Manji made me promise that I'd stay in touch with and update him on any significant developments.  I may start doing research at Pomona over the summer - perhaps on nano materials.  I'll find out if I've been accepted to the program this Monday.  I could have chosen a research project that mirrors my senior project - with Crane, on carbonoclastic anaerobes - but thought I'd choose something fresh and relevant to my blooming interest in the nano world.  At Pomona, I hope to hone my chess skills and maybe get into fencing, volunteer at the organic garden, do as much research as early on as possible, join the anti-fracking campaign, work on establishing a stronger connection between Pomona and iPoly, among other things.  In particular, I'll look into connecting the chess clubs, diversity efforts, and physics goodness at both schools.  Hopefully these efforts will bear fruit.   

So, I'm not saying "goodbye" to iPoly.  Rather, I'm saying "see you soon".  

This post is too sad - so here's a photo of my amazing dog and good friend: Kaia.

      

Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of my activity.  My audience seemed to really enjoy it - a few attested to this afterward - and I feel I made a clear connection between it and not only my best answer, but all three of my answers.  What's more, only one beaker was broken (and by a senior nonetheless)!  For it, I had them make apple juice from applesauce - some with the aid of pectinase, some with preheated pectinase, and some without any pectinase at all.  As we waited for the juice to filter into the graduated cylinders, we came up with a hypothesis as a class and, once they wrote the volume of juice their respective batches of applesauce yielded on the board and calculated the average for each type of batch, answer questions regarding both the experiment and my best answer.  I was impressed at how many answered correctly - they were listening!  A few juniors and seniors congratulated me on the quality on my presentation after, and one even said she understood everything I said!  That's a big deal for me.  My main worries were my activity and the challenge of explaining the complexity of my project.
As for senior project in general, I am proud of my audacity.  Going into Freshman, I will admit to having been "afraid of cashiers."  Standing in line at a Starbucks was a stressful experience for me, and stepping up to the counter, mumbling over my order was painful at times.  I've come a long way since then - learned to see each day, each person I meet, each coming experience as an opportunity.  Going to mentorship, seeking out interviewees, presenting at SCCUR - these were all adventures out of comfort zone and into the wild stretches of the science community and of my professional future.  It was a blast.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

P+      

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE      

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What worked in my senior project...I feel I was able to score some very solid research, which added more than a helping of credibility to my iSearch paper, my presentation, and other tasks thrown at me during senior project.  My interviewees were also a great help.  Matthews gave me an insight into science, feeding me more encouragement and warning.  Manji painted the bigger picture of research for me, pulling from his years of experience to generate overreaching conclusions.  Mogul opened my eyes to another side of microbiology - astrobiology, soil crusts, etc. - sharing his opinions on my possible answers at the time.  Finally, Crane threw all sorts of information at me - from the fascinating history of the Salton Sea, to purple membranes, to Shewanella (which I mentioned in my second answer) - and helped me solidify my best answer as well as begin exploring branches of my topic which I might be interested in tasting.  I look forward to taking a class with him next at Pomona College.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I would have done more research actually.  Yes, everything I used was quality, but I don't believe I took enough advantage of the tools before me - of Plos One, the Cal Poly database, Google Scholar, Scitable, Research Gate, NCBI.  Part of me want to continue research on my senior project over these next few weeks to find the ultimate answer...part of me (the other part wants to do maths, yoga, art, catching up on book series [Dune, The Vampire Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus, Hitchhiker's Guide) and get into making raw vegan desserts instead).  I would have prepared for my presentation more - a common sentiment among us iPolians - and sought out more interviewers.  Senior project has taught me that it doesn't hurt to ask - whether for clarification on a concept, how to autoclave tip boxes (my grand mess up), or for an interview with even the most highly regarded of people.  I would love to have interviewed Kenneth Nealson, for example, considered by many to many to be the father of geomicrobiology and premier champion of Shewanella.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Senior Project has made me closer to fearlessness than I've ever been, I feel.  Because of it, I've gained experience in research, presenting that research at an event like SCCUR, interviewing those with decades more experience than me, seeking out answers in as many places as I can find them.  There's one opportunity in particular that has popped up.  Last week, I was invited to apply for the High Achiever's Program (HAP) at Pomona College in which I'd spend four all-expense paid weeks on campus taking a writing and math course and doing research in a project of my choice mentored by the professor in charge of it - by an expert.  I'd receive a $3000 and $500 for books, as well as connections for the rest of my four years at Pomona.  The projects are all quite exciting.  One involves exploring the aerodynamics of seeds, another stochastic modeling of cell division, another - and this is with Crane - on metal reducing microbes, and yet another on revertant - immortal - hydra.  I will be submitting my application shortly, spurring the wait for notification of my acceptance or denial on June 2nd.  Because of senior project, I feel absolutely comfortable applying for a program like this, and have that bit of experience to cite in my application.
What I will "be" when I grow shall ever be a mystery.  I do not fear what is to come.  The classes I take, professors I befriend, connections I make will all carry me somewhere, guided by my personal compass and a curiosity I look forward to feeding.  

Mentorship

Literal

·     Done.

·     Manjula Gunawardana

      (626) 817-0883

      m.gunawardana@oak-crest.org

Interpretive

I gained insight into science in general - the thought process behind, the community engaged in it, the challenges it poses.  Manji often gave me pearls of wisdom I will carry with me into college and the lab, and his positivity, his eagerness to turn an obstacle into a learning experience inspires me.  The interns and employees I met showed me that there are many roads to success, that it is never too late to follow a passion.  Some of them just discovered a love for science, years into college.  Most are going to PCC with the hopes of transferring into a UC.  Before Oak Crest, I was under the impression that to be successful, one has to enter the "best" college, and right after high school.  This is not so!  Opportunity lies everywhere.  

My experience here also aided in my college choice.  I was in love with Pomona College as junior, but continually heard how the UCs are ideal for research, how going to a UC would better my chances of getting into my graduate school of choice.  My mentor and some interns at Oak Crest told me otherwise, opening my eyes to the benefits of a small college like Pomona in research - less competition, more one-on-one professor-to-student learning, close-knit environment.  Furthermore, Pomona is solely undergraduate - so I won't be competing with graduate students for spots in labs.

Overall, I feel I have a greater understanding of what it takes to succeed in science.  It takes social capability, a forward-thinking mindset, tireless inquisitiveness, and perseverance.  There's more to that list, but those are the four I've found to be most important.

Applied

I found my second and third answer through mentorship.  When Manji first proposed the tar extraction project to me, we discussed the long-term goal of it - to isolate functional genes coding for oil-degrading proteins.  Why?  To apply to bioremediation of course!  Running through the extraction protocol I realized how hard it is to extract DNA from tar and looked up reason why, chancing upon keywords that would later help me with research on bioremediation.  Quite a bit of pharmaceutical work is done at Oak Crest, inspiring me to venture outside of environmental applications for extremophile research into organic synthesis of pharmaceuticals in particular.  When I asked for details on this, Manji pretty much gave me the reasons for my answer in a nutshell, guiding the relevant potion of my iSearch paper.  Mentorship helped me with a my basic knowledge as well, with gathering intuition and getting a feel for key concepts in searching for my answers - the basics of needs and functions of the average microbe, enzymes and how they work - I know these seem simple, but embracing a broader picture of my topic, of biology, of how things work in general helped me "logic through" my EQ and the answers to it.