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My internship with JP Morgan Chase & Co. for Summer 2021 was an amazing experience and made me significantly excited to start my career as a software engineer. I would love to do it with JP Morgan Chase & Co. unless I get outstanding job offers that I deem would be better for my situation. I wasn’t just “an intern” and I wasn’t given an intern “pet project’ (something to do on the side and the senior engineers help me with outside of the work that they do on actual products that will be used by JP Morgan Chase & Co.); rather, I was integrated directly into the full-time engineering team, comprised of nine senior engineers, five junior engineers, and one other intern, and given work that I would do as if I were a full-time engineer. This experience showed me what I enjoyed, and what I would be doing whenever I take my engineering experience to industry.

This past summer, I had the pleasure of being a part of the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. My hopes for this summer were to sharpen my laboratory, scientific writing, and communication skills. With high hopes of achievement and the chance to utilize all of the techniques I learned in class, I did all that and more.

I joined Dr. Justin Leung’s lab investigating the DNA damage repair pathway in the Department of Radiation Oncology for the summer. Although I had been eager to start, the truth is, I was so nervous the first day I mistakenly mixed two of the wrong reagents in a reaction and had to redo the experiment the following day. After the first week, I started getting familiar with the protocols and took pride in writing very detailed notes. I asked questions – lots of questions. I also did a lot of reading and independent study. I wanted answers to my questions, and as I said, I had a lot of questions. Before July started, I had nearly run out of pages in my notebook. The more I learned, the more questions I would have. I was an inquirer, many times, going down rabbit holes as I would go through papers and their references. As I started to understand the individual reactions and how they aligned with the project, I was finally speaking, writing, and doing science. 

The goal of my project was to dissect the molecular genetics of the histone variant, H2AX, c-terminal tail and investigate its biological functions in the DNA damage response. Alanine mutagenesis was used to evaluate the contribution of individual amino acids on the H2AX c-terminal to the DNA damage response pathway. One at a time, we substituted each amino acid to alanine to observe its effects. We analyzed the recruitment of DNA damage response associated proteins with each mutation to determine its contribution. This process was neither always easy, nor always challenging. It did, however, take some time to learn. .Some days we risked contamination, or our experiments did not work, and we were back to square one, but every day I was proud of the work I was doing and had done. 

As the program came to an end, I got the chance to showcase my project. Through the INBRE program, I produced my first publication and had the opportunity to present an oral presentation on my project. Again, I did this nervously, but if I have learned anything this summer, it is to step out of my comfort zone. This summer, I got the chance to push my abilities to new heights. I embarked on this journey with a few minor goals, but I accomplished way more. I developed new ways of thinking, learned lots of new techniques, and got the chance to be a part of an amazing group of people making memories that I’ll forever cherish.

My work this summer learning to write humorous stories for performance fit with my goal of building a skill I could use for Honors events.  I  ended up performing one polished piece at our sophomore retreat and another one for a move-in open mic night.  I suspect using pieces of this style will make my future presentations more engaging, and I feel comfortable enough with the new style to try integrating it into assignments. 

In order to improve my writing and concentration of humor, I had to share my work verbally with more than just my deaf dog (see picture).  Suddenly, the family gatherings I usually dreaded became opportunities to test material.  With my improved attitude and humorous pre-written lines to slip into conversation, I found myself actually enjoying them and not getting in trouble for discussing my homosexuality, gender experiences, or autism!  In addition to writing, I wanted the Honors Junior Seminar course “Experiential Learning” to help me navigate and communicate with the world around me, and I’d say thriving at a family gathering is a sign I met this goal.  I’ll just have to see if I can carry these skills over to interacting with peers at school.

 As a result of working on the project, I also began to follow The Yarn radio show’s Facebook page and am looking forward to attending a live performance.  I wish I would have known about them sooner so I could have written that into my original Experiential Learning plan, but I’m glad to know about them now.  Sharing a story with them will be another post-class goal to consider.

Despite the limitations of remote work, my internship allowed me to establish professional connections with a number of NASA scientists asking intriguing questions. Most connections are centered in Goddard Code 600 (Solar System Division), although a few scientists and engineers hail from other divisions. I hope to return to Code 600 in person next summer to meet and work alongside these scientists and engineers.

Halfway through the internship, my mentor recommended I add a new goal: presenting at the Titan Through Time V conference in addition to the standard Goddard intern symposium. I was able to present my work, discuss it with Titan specialists and non-specialists, listen to others’ presentations, and gain more perspective on my work over the summer. Although I’ve presented at small poster sessions and meetings, Titan Through Time V was first true presentation at a conference!  I was nervous and grateful for the experience.

I met most of my goals for this project, adapted those that became infeasible, and took on new opportunities as they arose. In retrospect, I wish I had developed my programming skills (especially Python and terminal!) before beginning this internship; I believe I could have been more scientifically productive with just a bit more experience. Being able to chat with other Goddard interns helped me immensely over the course of the summer; I struggled with imposter syndrome and concerns about lagging progress, but sharing stories and burdens with others in similar straits mitigated those worries. I’m hopeful that, if I can return to intern at NASA next summer, it will be in person and with a more adept skill set.

This past summer, I took on the challenge of earning my private pilot’s license through an online flight school and with the help of a certified flight instructor. Over the course of the semester, I went from knowing basically nothing about aviation to being able to fly completely on my own. Every bit of the experience was incredible, and from it I’ve gained a lifelong skill that I’ll be able to use for fun or maybe even a career with a little more training!

I had initially planned on focusing the first half of my semester (roughly five to six weeks) on ground school training, which consisted of roughly twenty to thirty hours of video instruction, and then spending the rest of my semester doing practical flight training. My goals for the course were to graduate from my ground school and complete my ground school test, log twenty or more hours of flight time (including solo flights and cross country flights), and finally to cap off the course by taking my practical flight test and earning my private pilot’s license. Of these goals, I was able to completely and successfully complete the first two, but time constraints and unforeseen circumstances prevented me from achieving my final goal of obtaining my private pilot’s license. I was, however, able to earn a student pilot’s license, and I plan on following up with my instructor to finish the last bit of my flight training intermittently throughout the fall semester, with hopes to earn my private license by the end of the year.

In terms of what was realistically achievable, I don’t believe that my original plans for the course were unrealistic by any means. I consulted with my flight instructor ahead of time to make sure that what I planned to do was feasible in the timeframe that I set out to do it. I likely would have met my goals on schedule had things run perfectly, so I guess that my biggest shortcoming in this course was failing to plan for the unknown and the unexpected and allotting myself enough time to recover should something major happen. Most notably, I got appendicitis the second week of the course and had to undergo emergency surgery that put me out of commission for a few weeks, but I put in some extra work once I started to recover in order to catch up on some of the time that I had lost. However, the surgery did prevent me from being able to get my flight physical done and take my practical flight test, which requires a physical for administration, at the end of the semester as I had hoped to do.

In hindsight, I wish that I had begun the practical flight training a little sooner. I expected the ground school work to almost act as a prerequisite for the actual flight training, but after doing each, I think it would have been more beneficial to me if I had begun both at around the same time (perhaps begin actual flight training in week three or four as opposed to after finishing the ground school work). Beginning the practical flight training sooner would likely have helped me to understand how to apply the material that I was learning in ground school to real situations a little better because the learning would be occurring simultaneously.

The coursework and in-flight training themselves were rather challenging, and no part of the learning process was easy by any means. Every bit of the course required my full attentiveness and effort. 

Photo Credit:  KAIT8 News

Note:  ABC News interviewed Mary Beth about this experience as part of a national story on the pandemic-related challenges faced by children who are English Language Learners. Her interview starts at minute 5:00 at this link:   https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/ell-students-left-amid-covid-19-virtual-learning-72340561

At the beginning of May, I proposed a project that would include me teaching English to Hispanic children through the Hispanic Center of Jonesboro. At the time, COVID-19 had caused schools to be shut down, so the children from local elementary schools were being sent packages of work to do each week for the rest of the regular school year. I had the idea of helping teach Hispanic children the content, since most of their families cannot understand the instructions or the content. I contacted the Hispanic Center of Jonesboro with hopes of being paired with someone to help, and they were able to assign me a little boy who was finishing up Kindergarten. In my original proposal, I had thought I would be paired with two little boys, but the other’s father did not have the time outside of work to arrange our tutoring sessions. However, this summer session has been wonderful with the one boy I did get to work with, and I am very glad that I was able to spend so much time with him!

Normally, the Hispanic Center would be open for the children to get tutoring in the building, but because of COVID-19, we had to work together virtually. We began by speaking over the phone, but hoped that an IPad would become available for him to be able to Facetime. An IPad was finally available, but they are still trying to raise money to get Wi-Fi. Therefore, all of our sessions ended up being over the phone. My original goal was to meet with this little boy twice a week for around one hour each day. The other days of the week, I planned to prepare for our sessions and come up with activities for him to use during and outside of our sessions. I was able to achieve these expectations. Some of our sessions ran shorter than others, either because of lack of planning enough or because of the little boy losing his attention. However, every session was at least forty minutes, so in my opinion we had a good amount of time put in each time we met.  I used the dual-language method to teach during all of these sessions, which means we used about 50% English and 50% Spanish. This method has been proven to be very effective, and I believe it truly was in this case as well. 

Outside of our sessions, I planned for our next meeting and made materials that would be helpful for his learning. When I began working with him, I was able to figure out where his skill level was by seeing what he knew and didn’t know from the packages his teachers expected him to practice. From there, I was able to make activities such as an interactive calendar, an interactive hundreds chart, and a rhyming words folder. I also found worksheets online and a couple short stories that were around his skill level. One of the best materials I used over the summer with him was a phonics workbook that I bought. This was extremely helpful for him, considering the English language is extremely different from the Spanish language when it comes to phonics. 

My biggest obstacle was having to meet solely over the phone. Because of this, I had a duplicate for everything, so we could both see the materials and work with each other. Also, it can be difficult to explain some things without using visuals, so I have had to learn how to explain things really well in Spanish and know how to be fully prepared for each session. The first couple of weeks were pretty difficult, considering I have never tried to teach someone without visuals, but I was able to adjust and it ended up being very successful!

For my summer experiential learning project, I was able to create a small volume of poetry based on my experiences working on the Student Government Association Executive Board, being a college student during a pandemic, and being a black woman in America. (You can read one of my poems  at the end of this blog post). Sometime ago I stumbled across a quote that said, “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” (Anaïs Nin). To me this means that writing can act as a healing mechanism. It can help you relive moments in your life that may have been pleasant or unpleasant, but this time you are the author of those moments. This gave me the courage to start writing again. My work, just as I hoped, ranges from my thoughts while having to adjust to the new sense of normal during this pandemic, deals with challenges that I might uncover while being a liaison for the student body to SGA, and also deals with mental health while trying to focus on university life. Participating in the special project gave me an escape from the world and also served as a creative release for me.

My poetry has acted as a way to work through past traumas that I have experienced. Releasing my emotions on pen and paper really helped me to fully grow from my experiences. If I could change anything about my initial proposal, it would be to center my poetry more around the racial tension being experienced in the country right now. My poems did speak on the other topics I listed above also but mainly had a focus on race. I am very grateful for this opportunity to participate in this learning experience, and I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities we have as honors students. Below is my favorite poem that I wrote during this experiential learning journey.

“I Too” Share the Blues

“I Too” share the blues of Langston Hughes

Just like Langston I too never knew the America that “Let America be America Again”

The only America I never was filled with sin never a grin

For anyone whose skin was darker than tin but we still rise as early as mother hen.

“I Too” share the blues of Langston Hughes

Just like “The Negro (who) Speaks of Rivers” I too share the same thought that the mark of my

dark complexion is not a omen but an amen because this blackness has been

the guiding force for all men from even way back when.

“I Too” share the blues of Langston Hughes

Just like Langston Hughes I know all about “The Weary Blues”

The blues that are marked by deceit and pain

The blues that are heavy as rain.

The blues that make you feel all alone

And the ones that bring forth songs.

These weary blues are a way to cope.

These blues are also a way to bring us hope.

So yea “I Too” Share the Blues of Langston Hughes.

May his words continue to be my muse.

Experiential Learning from an Alpine Summer

My summer spent in Colorado has been more educational, nourishing, and vision casting than I ever anticipated. I began this journey shortly after completing one of the toughest seasons of my life. Approaching the tail end of my Spring 2019 semester, I found myself over-extended, anxious, and completely burnt out on both school and life in general. Before things got out of hand later in the semester, I made the decision to set aside this summer to chase my childhood dream of adventure guiding in the mid-western United States. This decision was tough because it required me to sacrifice potential career building opportunities, time with family/friends, financial stability, and comfort. I put all of this on the altar in exchange for an opportunity to grow and center myself. Part of this procedure was dedicated to finding out whether or not I would pursue a postgraduate degree in law. Over the prior 6 months to my arrival in Colorado, much of my time was honed in on studying for the LSAT and navigating the impending application/admissions process. Afraid of living a vain life-chasing a dream that wasn’t my own, I took this soul searching opportunity seriously. I am grateful that I did.
Looking back on my proposal, I can say with confidence that I have completed each and every goal I sought to complete. This summer allowed me to step outside of my life in Central Arkansas and explore who I am, what I want to do, and where I want to be.  I found out that I do not want to continue a pursuit in law school. Having this realization has lifted a large burden from me and has given me hope again. In addition, I have made connections in life and business that may prove to be very beneficial in my next season of life. This journey as a whole, combined with the structure of an experiential course, has allowed me to process these thoughts, experiences, and lessons learned through daily journaling and a final project tailor made to achieve my individual goals. As detailed through my final project, this summer I have learned the invaluable lessons of
1. Chasing the dream, not the dollar.
2. The importance of deep relationships.
3. The value of shaking hands and creating a business network.
4. Addressing my weakness whilst striving for personal growth.
5. Building friendships through hardship.
6. Prioritization.
7. The nature of humanity- Adults are simply grown kids.
8. Etc.
Through evaluation, I honestly don’t think that I would attempt to change anything regarding my goals, project, or pursuit of this experience. I believe that I needed the space and time to center myself this summer. I needed to experience something new and pursue my own dream and desires. By carving out this space and time I believe I was able to authentically learn real life lessons that I only could have by living my own adventure. I am very grateful for the opportunity to utilize this summer to grow while also fulfilling the requirements for an Honors course. The structure of the course forced me to process my daily experiences and display the lessons that I have gleaned. Though tough to stick to at times, this structure was helpful in facilitating growth. Many of these lessons are now in a written form that are easy to share with others in my life. There is no doubt that this season has been one for the books and one that I will cherish the rest of my life. Thanks again for this opportunity Schedler Honors College!

No Kangaroos In Austria

UCA in Austria is an impactful opportunity wrapped in a faculty-led study abroad experience during the summer. Students from the Health Science majors tend to participate; however, as an explorative psychology major, I decided that getting involved in the physical health field and hearing about addiction studies from Dr. Lisa Ray would be a worthy addition to my summer. Rather than formal classes held daily in the Austro-American Institute for Education (a haven for free internet, tap water, and travel information for students), we held informal, on-the-go classes in a variety of settings around the city. One of these classes was a guided, historical tour led by an old friend of our faculty leader, Dr. Demers. However, there were also impromptu classes developed from unintentional situations in which we get lost in the city at night and tried to communicate with mainly German speakers to locate our house frau. Out of the five students who embarked on this Austrian journey, none of us spoke enough German to effectively communicate.

Five students for a faculty-led program doesn’t sound like enough to keep the trip going, and it wasn’t enough if the program had been inflexible. But we learned to adapt by eliminating the larger, more expensive trips and seeing the world through a local’s eyes rather than a tourist’s. And this was the best way to learn. Despite language barriers, I made several kids smile, whether through throwing them in the backyard pool, handing them a piece of paper and pen to overcome boredom on public transportation, or pretending to douse myself in perfume as they watched their Mutter shop. In Vienna (Austria), Zagreb (Croatia), and Ostrava (Czech), I experienced the endorphin boost of helping struggling elders on and off public transportation. I received a personal tour of the city of Ostrava by Matthew, a student who will be attending UCA in the Spring of 2020. Two young men from Michigan recognized me from my ROTC bag on different days. This serendipitous meeting resulted in several days in which Dr. Demers and I excitedly showed off favorite spots around Vienna to the two Michiganians.

All these connections I formed, whether permanently or just for that one, delicate moment, matter. Each city contained unique moments. A tour through the salt mine in Hallstatt was the coolest tour I’ve been on in my life, for reasons which I shan’t spoil in a blogpost. Riding a bike around Salzburg’s city and greenery refreshed my soul. In the city of Dorfgastein, a ride up a ski lift into the tip of earth’s atmosphere was not as cold to my bare and unprepared legs I had imagined; though sledding down a short incline on my cheap raincoat was a chilly decision. Ordering an abundance of meals from my favorite restaurant in Ostrava was likely not a wise choice; however, the justification was that it was from a healthy superfood joint. I’ll never forget getting a basket full of Croatian peaches for what equals 1 U.S. dollar and distributing more than half to those who were homeless and begging.

The program itself consisted of a diverse curriculum throughout three weeks. This included learning how to navigate Vienna’s transportation, tours of the city and museums, performing community service, and admiring castles. Touring the United Nations headquarters in Vienna was informative and inspirational. A lady named Nina, who was homeless, directed us around the city and shared the hope of the eradication of homelessness in Austria. Touring Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination/concentration camps and taking day trips to nearby cities were also vastly educational. Each of these places and events came with a unique story I will forever love to share with those wide-eyed in the wonder of the traveling life.

The trip itself inspired me to travel even more. It gave me the confidence to explore countries where English is not so prevalent, the strength to work out issues with plans (#faultytransportation) or people, and the hope in the humanity around us. Seeing hope in humanity would seem rather implausible considering I witnessed an abundance of Holocaust history, but the past doesn’t define us; it is how we react to it that shapes our future. Living in Vienna has taught me that a future abroad through a career or personal connections is one where I need to be.