LAC Peer Tutoring - Leadership
What?
I have been a peer tutor at UC's free Learning Assistance Center for two semesters now, helping students with math and physics classes. During the Fall 2015 semester I was able to utilize my job as a leadership honors experience. Besides my usual, required training and typical work with students, I took participated in additional seminars about leadership theories and did independent leadership research. The majority of my research was on Situational Leadership Theory (SLT), developed by Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard.
So What?
The extra leadership theory curriculum was not just busy work to crowd my semester. Rather, as I learned about new leadership styles and techniques I was able to immediately apply my discoveries in my next tutoring session. SLT's main concept is a cycle of differing leadership styles based on the audience's level of comprehension, so as I learned about how to identify and cater to a student's needs, I was simultaneously able to test and experiment with the new concepts.
Now What?
Tutoring is a large part of my life--at the LAC, privately, and as volunteering-- and the leadership theory I was able to study this semester has become an invaluable asset in my knowledge base. As I continue tutoring, or transition to other teaching roles throughout my life, I will carry this leadership theory information with me and continue developing as a leader and instructor.
Artifact
The culmination of this experience was a reflective essay based on the independent research I gathered about SLT, how it specifically applies to my present role at the LAC, and how I plan to use the information in the future. In the essay I explain SLT more thoroughly, give examples of how I have used SLT during my tutoring experiences, and discuss how SLT can apply to group situations.
WISE REWU - Resarch
What?
In the summer of 2016 I participated in a Research Experience for Women Undergraduates through UC's Women in Science and Engineering program. Under the supervision of Professor Rohana Wijewardhana, I worked on a theoretical physics research project for 12 weeks. Using mathematical models of quantum mechanical systems, we were able to analyze the stability (size and lifetime) of a condensate comprised of axion particles. The goal of this analysis is to determine the viability of axion condensates as dark matter candidates.
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So What?
This summer research experience was incredibly valuable to me because I have always been interested in a career as a research physicist. Working in an actual lab on a significant project exposed me to the realities and expectations of research, and gave me a veritable understanding of what it takes to work in theoretical physics. I learned how to cooperate with other scientists, and how to ask good questions. I was also able to extend my professional network throughout the physics department, and into various departments across campus.
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Now What?
Because of this program I am confident I want to pursue a career in theoretical physics, and that I have the capacity to suceed in the field. I am already looking ahead to another summer research program for summer 2017, and have begun to seriously investigate graduate schools. This research project will likely become part of my capstone project for graduation, and our research team is currently working on two papers based on ideas discovered in this summer project. Finally, this project made me eligible for the nationally competitive Barry Goldwater Scholarship, which I will apply for this fall.
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Artifact
Below I've included some photos of my lab group in our "lab"-- or rather the chalkboards in the physics atrium. Shown are myself; my mentor, Professor Rohana Wijewardhana; and graduate student, Josh Eby. I have also attached my final report for the WISE program. It explains the background of the problem we tackled, details my contributions to the project, and lists some conclusions we were able to draw from this project.
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