A Week to Be PROUD Of
As you all can tell, my second week here at the NASA Ames Research Center is now complete! It was kind of a weird week in terms of structured work time, but overall I really feel as if I've made some headway this week!
On Monday, our group of Smith interns gave a big presentation to our supervisor, Dr. Cagle. This presentation was the culmination of a project we've been working on for the past two weeks. Dr. Cagle wanted us, as a group, to design our own version of the product that she's been working on. Before Monday we had never actually seen the product as Dr. Cagle has engineered it. The point of designing our own prototype was to familiarize ourselves with the literature, and to get our creative juices flowing.
Dr. Cagle ended up loving all of our ideas! But when she unveiled the product as she created it, we realized that our prototype looked nothing like the actual product. Dr. Cagle was totally okay with this, though. She loved how creative and in-depth we had gotten with some of our research. She even wants to incorporate some of our ideas into the product as she further develops the design.
After Monday, the week was kind of loosey-goosey in terms of scheduling. We didn't really have anything concrete scheduled in terms of meetings or formal office time, so I spent a lot of time researching things on my own, putting things together for the musical I'm directing in the fall (come see Anything Goes Nov. 16-18 at Smith College!), exploring the NASA base, and catching up on sleep.
On Wednesday, a lot of my fellow Smith interns went to an event in San Francisco called Internapalooza. It's basically a huge event where interns can network with big companies (i.e. Facebook, Google, etc.) and other interns working in and around Bay Area. I decided not to go because I wasn't interested in any of the companies going, and I wanted to save money so I could go to San Francisco Pride that weekend (more on that later).
Instead, my roommate and I ended up attending a smaller networking event for women working on Wearable technologies. One of our supervisors, Erika, was going to the event and she offered to bring us along. We met lots of really cool women who work at Arduino, Intel, and more! They were all really nice and friendly, and were willing to converse with us about experiences that we each have had. This event definitely seemed like a better fit for me than Internapalooza would have been.
Thursday and Friday were pretty chill days. On Friday I met with my supervisor Erika, and she told me more about what it's like to be a Materials Engineer. Being a Materials Engineer is basically my end career goal, so I am really grateful to have a mentor in my field. She clued me in to some cool projects she's been working on. I am excited to keep up the conversation with her and use Erika as a resource moving forward!
Now comes the fun part: the weekend that I spent in San Francisco! I went back this weekend to visit my friend Freddie (a friend from Smith), her younger brother Abe, and the rest of her family. They were super sweet and welcoming when I got there on Friday evening. That night we basically all just chilled together and rested up for the big Pride weekend!
On Saturday, Freddie, Abe and I headed over to Dolores Park. It's a relatively big park in The Castro district of San Francisco, and it's literally right across the street from Freddie's house. There was a big rally there, and a lot of LQBTQ+ folks gave speeches, performed songs & dances, and kept the crowds entertained. It was really nice to see all different kinds of people come together and speak out against the oppression that marginalized peoples are facing right now.
Today (Sunday) was the big SF Pride Parade! Freddie, Abe and I took the train downtown to Market St. where the parade was happening. [Side note: I am still fascinated by the concept of above ground trains. Obviously I've used the LIRR and Amtrak, which travel above ground. But those are trains that travel from town to town, for hundreds of miles. The only local train that I've ever experienced is the subway, which is underground.] We had a prime spot right in front of the barriers, so we could see all the action. All sorts of organizations were marching: local SF schools, LGBTQ+ organizations, big corporations like Amazon, and local politicians and branches of government. It was a really incredible experience, again, to see so many people celebrating and being proud of who they are. I am so glad that this was my first pride. I feel so inspired by all the people I saw, and I am so glad that I got to spend it with two really awesome friends!
I headed back to the NASA Ames base this afternoon, and went grocery shopping with my roommate. Now we are winding down and getting ready for bed. We have a big week of work and research ahead of us!
On Monday, our group of Smith interns gave a big presentation to our supervisor, Dr. Cagle. This presentation was the culmination of a project we've been working on for the past two weeks. Dr. Cagle wanted us, as a group, to design our own version of the product that she's been working on. Before Monday we had never actually seen the product as Dr. Cagle has engineered it. The point of designing our own prototype was to familiarize ourselves with the literature, and to get our creative juices flowing.
Dr. Cagle ended up loving all of our ideas! But when she unveiled the product as she created it, we realized that our prototype looked nothing like the actual product. Dr. Cagle was totally okay with this, though. She loved how creative and in-depth we had gotten with some of our research. She even wants to incorporate some of our ideas into the product as she further develops the design.
After Monday, the week was kind of loosey-goosey in terms of scheduling. We didn't really have anything concrete scheduled in terms of meetings or formal office time, so I spent a lot of time researching things on my own, putting things together for the musical I'm directing in the fall (come see Anything Goes Nov. 16-18 at Smith College!), exploring the NASA base, and catching up on sleep.
On Wednesday, a lot of my fellow Smith interns went to an event in San Francisco called Internapalooza. It's basically a huge event where interns can network with big companies (i.e. Facebook, Google, etc.) and other interns working in and around Bay Area. I decided not to go because I wasn't interested in any of the companies going, and I wanted to save money so I could go to San Francisco Pride that weekend (more on that later).
Instead, my roommate and I ended up attending a smaller networking event for women working on Wearable technologies. One of our supervisors, Erika, was going to the event and she offered to bring us along. We met lots of really cool women who work at Arduino, Intel, and more! They were all really nice and friendly, and were willing to converse with us about experiences that we each have had. This event definitely seemed like a better fit for me than Internapalooza would have been.
Thursday and Friday were pretty chill days. On Friday I met with my supervisor Erika, and she told me more about what it's like to be a Materials Engineer. Being a Materials Engineer is basically my end career goal, so I am really grateful to have a mentor in my field. She clued me in to some cool projects she's been working on. I am excited to keep up the conversation with her and use Erika as a resource moving forward!
Now comes the fun part: the weekend that I spent in San Francisco! I went back this weekend to visit my friend Freddie (a friend from Smith), her younger brother Abe, and the rest of her family. They were super sweet and welcoming when I got there on Friday evening. That night we basically all just chilled together and rested up for the big Pride weekend!
On Saturday, Freddie, Abe and I headed over to Dolores Park. It's a relatively big park in The Castro district of San Francisco, and it's literally right across the street from Freddie's house. There was a big rally there, and a lot of LQBTQ+ folks gave speeches, performed songs & dances, and kept the crowds entertained. It was really nice to see all different kinds of people come together and speak out against the oppression that marginalized peoples are facing right now.
Today (Sunday) was the big SF Pride Parade! Freddie, Abe and I took the train downtown to Market St. where the parade was happening. [Side note: I am still fascinated by the concept of above ground trains. Obviously I've used the LIRR and Amtrak, which travel above ground. But those are trains that travel from town to town, for hundreds of miles. The only local train that I've ever experienced is the subway, which is underground.] We had a prime spot right in front of the barriers, so we could see all the action. All sorts of organizations were marching: local SF schools, LGBTQ+ organizations, big corporations like Amazon, and local politicians and branches of government. It was a really incredible experience, again, to see so many people celebrating and being proud of who they are. I am so glad that this was my first pride. I feel so inspired by all the people I saw, and I am so glad that I got to spend it with two really awesome friends!
I headed back to the NASA Ames base this afternoon, and went grocery shopping with my roommate. Now we are winding down and getting ready for bed. We have a big week of work and research ahead of us!
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| Freddie, Abe and I at the SF Pride parade!! |
Wow, Emily! It's so much fun keeping up with your adventures I California. Keep learning and enjoying these experiences, then put them to work on behalf of all of us. I think the world is going to benefit from your being in it!
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