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.
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