Urban Plunge - Leadership
What?
June 2015 I had the privilege of leading three weeks of a mission experience called Urban Plunge. As the Urban Plunge intern I hosted different age groups (high school, 7th and 8th grade, 5th and 6th grade) of about 20 students each in downtown Dayton, Ohio. Students spent the trip with limited technology, serving at various organizations all over the city while immersed in a culture vastly unlike their own. Service projects ranged from soup kitchens, to donated clothing closets, to community gardens, to food pantries, to job skill programs for homeless youth.
So what?
Through this experience I had the opportunity to not only research various leadership theories and methods, but also practice them to become a more confident and flexible leader. Entering this experience with knowledge of leadership characteristics I wanted to develop provided me a much fuller understanding of leadership in theory. This experience was somewhat comparable to being thrown in the deep end of the leadership pool, and cultivated in me an appreciation for the good parts of leadership, seeing students enjoy the trip and have "a-ha!" moments, but also the difficult parts, resolving conflicts and showing "tough love".
Now what?
Because of this trip I am considering a teaching license as part of my undergraudate education, and looking into opportunities to shadow or volunteer in Cincinnati Public Schools to research a career in high school education. I also plan to implement my new leadership skills as a peer tutor at UC's Learning Assistance Center. Finally, I will continue sharing and disseminating about my experience with anyone who will listen, especially future Urban Plunge interns, in an attempt to inspire, encourage, and empower other leaders at UC and beyond.
Artifacts
Below is a gallery of photos from serving and exploring Dayton, Ohio on Urban Plunge!
Study Abroad: Ireland - Global Studies
What?
Spring semester of 2016 I studied at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. I went with the goals of growing academically, as a global citizen, and socially. I took physics, history, sociology, and two math classes while there. When I wasn't going to class or doing homework, I was traveling Ireland and mainland Europe. I visited nine cities in Ireland and 11 other European countries. I made a lot of friends from all over the US and connections with other travelers from all over the world.
So what?
Although I did not meet all my goals exactly as I planned to, I grew an incredible amount in all the ways I expected and in ways I hadn't even known were possible. Exploring the world and experiencing other cultures humbled me. Making new friends and meeting so many people emboldened my social audacity. Spending a great deal of time alone and reflecting on my own personality and motivations prompted me to live unapologetically. I have returned a happier, healthier, more focused person, and I know I will rave about this experience for the rest of my life.
Now what?
Academically, I discovered the importance of a strong and thorough educational support system. I hope to exapnd and fortify my current network while preparing to build a network from scratch when I transition to graduate school. As a global citizen I gained new perspectives and I will seek to understand others' motivations as a path to efficient cooperation. Socially, I am less afraid to connect with new people and better at finding solutions and staying relaxed when plans go awry, charactersitics I will continue to develop in various areas of my life.
Artifacts
Below is a video compilation of photos and videos I took throughout the semester. The rest of my travel photos and some blog entries written during my time in Ireland can be found at leembrmn.tumblr.com.
SULI at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
What?
During the summer of 2017 I spent 8 weeks living in Stanford, California and working as an intern at the Kavli Institute of Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. Under my mentor, Tom Abel, I worked in Python to create an animation framework which could model the time-evolution of a quantum mechanical system. I applied this project to previous research projects by modeling the time-evolution of Bose-Einstein Condensates with cosmological parameters. This related to work I completed during the summer of 2016 as part of UC's WISE REWU.
So What?
This was a special experience because I was able to work with physicists at one of the top universities in the world. I learned a new programming language, and because I had less direct supervision than in previous research experiences, I gained a new level of scientific independence. It was incredible to work at a national laboratory with such a rich history and vast array of experiments. However, I came to appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of a university, and was reassured that I want to pursue a career in academic science, rather than private- or government-funded laboratories.
Now What?
Perhaps the most influential part of this experience was the community of interns. I was apprehensive about living with 30 other young scientists for 8 weeks. I feared the atmosphere would be unfriendly and ultra-competitive. Instead, the interns supported and encouraged one another, spurring each other to be excellent and think deeply. My most profound takeaway from this experience is a desire to break the cycle of hyper-competition in academia. As I finish my undergraduate degree, then (hopefully) move on to graduate school, I have decided to prioritize collaboration and positivity. Physics and science in general are historically competitive, and occasionally hostile, fields. My aim is to be part of a more inclusive future for science and academia, and my time as a SULI intern has encouraged me to immediately begin fostering a supportive attitude and mindset.
Artifact
Here I have included two examples of animations I created using Python. The first animation displays the time-evolution of a one-dimensional simple harmonic oscillator-- one of the most fundamental and well-studied quantum mechanical systems. The plotted line is called the wavefunction of the system. The wavefunction determines the most likely position of a quantum particle. The second video is a two-dimensional system with a basic Newtonian gravitational potential. In this system, we can imagine a collection of many particles which exert gravitational forces on each other. This gravity keeps them bound to one another, although their kinetic energy would normally cause them to disperse. Yellow corresponds to high particle density and blue indicates a low density. In both simulations, the total energy and momentum should be constant. The counters in the frames confirm that energy and momentum of the closed systems are conserved.
Simple Harmonic Oscillator
