Friday, July 6, 2018
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This week, aside from finishing up the excel sheets finally, I’ve been working really hard to create an OSA Discover blog post for LGBT in STEM day (July 5th). The rainbow has become the symbol for the LGBT community and happens to be an optical phenomenon resulting from light interacting with water droplets in the air. I won’t say much more here but if you’re interested in learning more about the history and science behind the rainbow check out my post! It was actually really fun to work on this project and I’m pretty proud of how it came out. I also made the graphics myself which was really enjoyable to work on. I’m trying to work more on my writing since I feel like it is one of my weaknesses and these posts have been a good opportunity for that. I’ve also been working on a post about diversity and inclusion and how to help make your professional environment more inclusive. I plan to release that one on Monday. Afterwards I want to finish refining the text for the optics for kids career site and hopefully start getting some of that content put up.
I’ve been continuing trying to expand my network and take advantage of being in DC. I went to have coffee this week with the senior director of OSA and we talked a lot about his experience in graduate school, how it affected him and his personal life and his advice for me as an undergraduate student getting ready for grad school. He actually went to school for engineering and policy instead of physics like I plan to but I’ve found that it is good to hear everyone’s experiences even if they aren’t in your desired field. You can hear about jobs and fields you never knew existed and they may even be something you’re interested in. Life advice is always great to hear regardless of what the person is doing with their life and just by talking to someone about what you want to do you open yourself to the possibility of a connection. David even gave me a few contacts and names of people in physics I may want to try to connect with. Never stop trying to form new connections with people and collect perspectives every chance you get, you never know what experiences people have had and when they may be relevant to you.
It's crazy to me that we're about halfway through this internship now. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I wonder if anyone else is starting to feel anxiety thinking about it ending. I worry that I won't get everything I want done and that my ambitions are too much but I won't let those fears swallow me. I think I always have done best under pressure, and this isn't much different. I have a few more projects I'm hoping to finish up before the summer ends so it's time to really grind now.
Brigette Smith