[11-13; 152-155; 158-162; 165-167] The spring semester started in January. Since I needed to apply for a lot of summer internships, I spent a lot of time writing cover letters and editing my resume, which required me to concentrate less on school. The school has a career service where they can review your resume and will help you with improving your resume. I went there a couple times, which also took time from my calendar, but I think it’s worth it. Then, right after the session in career services, I fixed what they told me to fix, and then I sent the revised resume to the company. Usually the company calls back and asked to schedule an interview or request additional information such as grades. Yeah. And then, I needed to find some time in my calendar where I could have the interview with the company. I prepared for the interview by viewing their website and reading information about the company such as their goals, what they’re doing, so I would be prepared and know something about the company before talking with them.
Tag: round2
[29-31; 13-14; 34] In addition to applying for internships, I’m taking a course in machine design, materials, heat transfer, vibrations and bio fluids. I received some good scores on my exams in vibrations and materials.
[42-45; 48-52; 54-55; 116-118] In vibrations, we are learning about calculating different frequencies, when, for example, a bridge is vibrating. So, if it’s really windy outside the bridge can start to vibrate, so it can collapse. Of course, you don’t want that to happen. The professor uses PowerPoint presentations, and sometimes he may start to show a YouTube clip with a bridge that’s vibrating. And then, he’s breaking down this bridge into simpler components, use like a square or something like that. And then, he says this has a mass, and you have a spring component that is this value, and then you can get these vibrations, looking at these equations. We also completed about seven quizzes throughout the semester and a small project about water towers. For the project, we had to calculate what the maximum diameter or the minimum diameter you can have for the water tower not to break while vibrating.
[59-67] The professor for the materials class also uses maybe 50% PowerPoint and the remainder of the material is shown on the board. He’s refers to a lot to real life scenarios in class. For example, although a material is really good, in some cases the company won’t be able to make money. So, therefore you can use this alloy instead. The lab is first it starts off with one, and a half hour lecture, so he’s just talking different materials, and different composites. And then, we’re going down in the lab, and we’re in the lab for maybe one hour. So far, we have done foil, and yeah. I don’t know what others, but it was some plastic, and epoxy and stuff.
[104-109] With the heat transfer class we’re working mostly with specific temperature, heat flux, and convention. We just finished a Matlab project where they wanted to find the temperature distribution. If you want to use convection, or heat temperatures the Matlab program that we coded would enter the temperature distribution of it.
[74-79] In this [materials] class, we have a project where we are going to analyze failures. We were told to pick an object, determine why the object broke, and what can we do about it. So, my group decided to analyze a cleat, like a soccer shoe, so it cracked on the bottom, so right now we’re working on why it happened, why there’s so much stress there, and what can we do to reduce the stress concentration at that specific spot.
[81-86; 88-92; 95-102] We’re building a CAD model of it to determine the material. First, we contacted the company, but they didn’t want to tell us so then, we need to figure it out for ourselves. By burning the materials, it can say like oh it did not get a lot of smoke from it, those kinds of properties. So, then we can determine what kind of plastic it was.
In addition to the CAD model, we have come up with a description that informs the user how many steps you have to take during a practice and how much you can use the cleat. Also, we determined the material. So, basically where we’re left to do is to come up with a solution for the problem, what can we do for the cleat to not break. Working with my teammates has been good. We have been working a lot independently. So, we started off by deciding from the beginning what everyone was responsible for, and then we made the time plan, so for this day this person is going to finish this task. So then, everyone got a couple tasks, and you had days when it’s supposed to be due. So far, everyone has done what they’re supposed to do. It’s the one person doing a lot more than everyone else. I think he’s really interested in this class, and a really good student, so he’s taking more even though we know he’s not supposed to do it.
[167-170; 174-181] Towards the end of March and beginning of April, the companies start to contact me with offers. I received a couple internship offers, so then I had to decide what I wanted to do and during what time periods. So, I decided to take two different internships. I’m going to do one straight when I get back to Europe. They’re trying to develop balance by designing an app, so they need to collect a lot of data from people that experience balance. They’re putting a person on a force plate, connecting the person with a lot of sensors, and connecting the sensors to a computer, then you will get out different data, like the aspiration, displacement. From that, they’re going to try to build this app. The two main groups for data collection involve people who are retired and athletes.
[184-187] I’ll be responsible for collecting data. So, I’m going to put the sensors on the athletes, and then I’m going to record it, and then in Matlab I am going to retrieve the data, and by Matlab I will be able to see some aspiration, for example. So, it’s just data collection.
[189-195; 199-202] Then, the second internship is only a month long. So, after that I’m going to go back to my hometown, and then I’m going to work with a company which is trying to produce oil from trees. So, the main purpose of the company is to produce paper, but when they’re producing paper, they’re getting a lot of residual product, and so they will now try to come up with oil, so they can start selling oil as well. For this internship, I think I will have a really free role, they will just give me a task, like we need to make this production more cost effective then I’m just going to try to come up with a solution.
[170-172; 219-224; 226-230; 235-240; 242-244] Now everything is decided, and I know what I’m going to do during the summer, I don’t need to spend more time on finding an internship. This semester I’ve started to have more connection with my professors. It started with me have to ask one of my professors for internship assignments, so I got a really good consult with him. And then, he introduced me to another professor that is in charge of a lot of different research projects at school. So then, I started to talk with him, so now I’m involved in some of his research projects. The main project involves hip replacement. When some kids are born, they have problems with their hips, so when they’re getting older they need a hip transplant. But, to avoid this, we can fix it in this early stage when they’re born. The project is with some professors from our school, some PhD students from our school, and also some professors and doctors. So, they’re really, really smart compared to me. I’m not a huge part of that project. I’m more there just to listen, and learn, and try to understand, and maybe in the future start to work on it, like next year if I want to stay at school. But, right now I don’t contribute anything. I’m just there to learn.
(6-9) So when the semester began I got to see all my friends. You know, I got to see the people who I had missed over the break. I also was excited for the start of the new classes.
(16-17; 19-20) Then I had a bad grade on a thermo exam. And it was a 78 percent, which for me is a fairly low grade, the teacher did tell me that I was in a fine spot, she told me it wasn’t a big deal, so once I got over my own personal opinion on it I was able to look past it and continue the semester.
(279-283; 294-296) With that thermo grade, it really wasn’t that difficult for me to overcome it because when she told me it wasn’t a bad grade, I kind of went what do you mean that’s not a bad grade? Because to me it is. But when she told me that I was fine, and that I had four more exams to make up for it, I just took that to heart and I just committed myself to say okay, well now I know. You know, I’ve got to make sure I’m on top. It’s kind of just a mental commitment more so than anything. It is more studying, I think a little bit more. But I think it’s more so asking questions and making sure I understand the concepts in a deeper sense.
(24-28) And then [in thermo] I felt like I started understanding more, so I felt like it started getting higher. And we had the strength class that I had, we only have two exams in the semester. And our first exam, I ended up doing very well on. So that really boosted my confidence as long as with doing well in these other classes. And that was right before we went on winter break.
(34-38) And then right when I came back, the classes almost unexpectedly have just seemed like a whole bunch more work, and not just in the classroom but outside the classroom with extracurriculars, seemed to be increased. So it kind of took a fast down slope. And I had multiple exams, I had two or three weeks where I had an exam or two every week. I was constantly walking around stressed. It was just a very difficult time. And obviously made it through it, and I did relatively well, but some of the grades weren’t as good as I’d like them to be. But it was still a stressful time.
(306-310) So the low point, I’d say was mostly because of stress, not because of any grades I was getting. Because I just felt like with all of the things I do on and off campus, and all my classes, I was constantly going somewhere and doing something. So I would feel like I don’t have any time in the day to relax, which is bad for me, because if I don’t have time to relax, then I’m just burning myself out day after day after day.
(311-312; 336-337) . . . the way that I got through that was through a combination of committing—It was more, what’s the word? I planned out more so, when I was going to do my work and how I was going to do it, than just going along and seeing what would happen. It’s having everything in the Google calendar and being able to look ahead and say this is when I can afford to take a break, this is when I have to do my work.
(176-177; 179-183) So the [mechatronics] practicum, he—well, so we are usually working in groups of two in class when we do labs, when we do projects, anything like that. When you come in he gives you, basically a lab sheet like you would with any other thing, except you’re expected to do it on your own. So we basically start with a hundred, and then every time you have to ask for help or you get something wrong, he deducts points. And you’re based on your ability to build and test a circuit without the assistance of the professor.
(145; 201-203) . . . right now we’re also working on a design project. I only have one team member. I know my team member from last semester. And this semester we have a lot of classes together, so we’ve gotten to know each other a lot better, so we work together well. But it’s very low stress environment. We’re both very open to the other’s ideas, and if we don’t understand, we’re honest about it.
(434-436; 438; 446-450; 439) I don’t interact with all of my peers, but the peers that I do interact are pretty much the same ones that I see day to day and that I interact day to day and it’s a very helpful environment. And I mean not everyone likes everyone. I’m not saying this is the case, but I might be a quiet introverted person and someone might be loud and extroverted, and I don’t want to be around them. Or they might be rude and obnoxious and I don’t want to be around it or vice versa. Someone may consider me rude and obnoxious. Or when I answer the questions in class, people might consider me a teacher’s pet, but we can put aside our differences to help each other.
(398-402; 390-392) I walked into class for an exam last week, and I think I asked her a single question before the exam started. And she said yeah, you were definitely at my office enough asking questions. And I didn’t say anything, but it made me feel bad for going to her office and asking questions, when I feel that kind of behavior should be encouraged. I don’t say anything to her because she’s a professor and there’s a certain level of respect between the two of us.
(361-364; 367-369; 370) I’ve only ever had a few bad experiences with faculty members. The professor I have for my math methods class is very rude and short at times, when you ask questions, and it almost seems like she doesn’t want to help or that she feels that the questions I’m asking, I shouldn’t be asking. It’s frustrating when faculty members treat you like a child and act like you’re dumb for asking questions on things they think you should know, when they’re the one with a doctorate and you’re the one going to school. But I’d say those experiences are very far and few between.
(230; 501-502; 506) So I still don’t have a co-op. I actually have an interview today at 1:30, a phone interview at 1:30. I didn’t include it on the journey map, I forgot to. But part of that last up curve I’d say was procuring the phone interview I have today. Slightly nervous, very confident.
(259-262; 264-267) So with this one, this company that I am interviewing with today, they design and manufacture pipe fittings. And my dad was a sprinkler fitter for 35 years. And when I told him that I applied at this company, that they want to interview me, he said that he worked with their products. So that’s one thing that I will plan to be using as an “in” into the company, to say hey, I know your products are good, I have primary source knowledge of this, and I want to be a part of that process.
(106-111) I definitely am not ready to go into the workforce as an engineer. I would say I’m getting closer. This summer I’ll be going through my first co-op internship. So I think once that happens I’ll feel a lot closer because I’ll start to get work experience in. I feel very confident in my problem solving skills and my ability to work on a team. So in that sense of an engineer, I feel very confident.
(476-480) I was not very involved before I came to college. I never considered myself a leader. I considered myself a follower. But since I’ve come to school I think I’ve developed the leadership and communication skills necessary, not only to succeed in my field, but also to move forward in life and be able to interact with the people I meet in my daily life and in my professional life in a way that we can collaborate efficiently and cohesively.