Sunday, August 4, 2024
By:
It’s hard to believe that, as I write this final blog, my internship is already over. When I first accepted my offer and started thinking about the summer, ten weeks felt like forever. In reality, the summer flew by, and ten weeks were gone before I knew it! This summer was busy, fun, exciting, unexpected, joyful, and over far too soon.
The last week of the internship was sad and exciting at the same time. On the one hand, there were so many exciting things going on! I saw friends from school, finished my presentation, and had exciting activities planned with the rest of the interns (or “The Physicists,” which is how I’ve referred to our cohort all summer). On the other hand, each day brought us closer to the final hurrah and eventual goodbyes. It was definitely a bittersweet week.
As I mentioned in my last blog, my friend Ella was staying with me until Wednesday, so on Monday I took her to my gym before work. We had a great time lifting and climbing together, and then I went to ACP to wrap up some projects and work on my presentation. That night, my friend Evan, Ella, and I took Brynn to meet up with some of our friends from Vanderbilt for tacos and happy hour. We got caught in the rain on the way there, but had a wonderful time catching up with each other!
On Tuesday, I went to my last 6:30am yoga class with Suzy. Tragedy. I adored my early morning yoga and I miss her already. Then Ella and I went to Tatte to grab a coffee and do some work. I spent the morning finishing up my presentation slides, which I presented in a meeting with the other APS interns that afternoon. It was great to have a practice run of my presentation because I went through the whole thing WAY to fast. My first run through only took me five minutes! That night, Ella and I met up with our friend Ainsley to grab dinner on the wharf. After dinner, we took a walk along the water and discovered a Ben & Jerry’s popup where they were giving out free dairy-free ice cream. It was SO tasty! We ate our ice cream and walked along the water – it was absolutely delightful.
On Wednesday, Ella and I went to the gym again before scurrying home so she could head to the airport. Then I headed back to the gym because there was a climb that I was determined to conquer before leaving DC. It was a super fun climb where I had to start horizontal to the ground (think hanging from a short ceiling) then climb around a ledge and up to the top. It was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever climbed, and I kept getting stuck one hold away from the top. I went back with the mission to climb it and, with the help of some newfound climbing friends, I did! I left exhausted but incredibly proud of myself! That night, my friend Evan and I went to meet up with my brother Quinn and his girlfriend Maddie to get dinner with her parents. They made us slow cooked pork and corn-on-the-cob. It was delicious! After dinner, Quinn, Maddie, Evan, and I went to Jeni’s for ice cream. It was an incredibly tasty night.
On Thursday, we all trooped over to ACP for practice presentations. It was great to run through my presentation again, and to hear some of the other intern’s presentations as well. I got great feedback from Mikayla and Kayla, and left super excited for the next day. Afterwards, Jenna and I went to Trader Joe’s to grab some goodies for our potluck that night. Then, I spent the afternoon packing. All the Physicists gathered in Kai and Maia’s room for our last potluck that night, which was very silly. It was clear we were all at the end of our food reserves, because the food choices were a little bizarre. There were chili dogs, quesadillas, eggs, chicken breast, bread, an abundance of chips and salsa, and a surplus of pickles. It was nice to have all of us in the same room (plus my friend Evan, who at this point was basically like a 17th intern) one more time before our presentations. We ate, talked, laughed, and reminisced about all the fun times we had this summer. Evan said goodbye to the Physicists (so sad) and we eventually parted ways to rest up before our big day on Friday.
Friday was so exciting! We all headed over to ACP bright and early, dressed in our finest, for breakfast before our presentations. My presentation was second to last, so I had quite a while to wait. I thoroughly enjoyed cheering on my fellow interns and learning more about what they had worked on over the summer. Then, finally, it was time for my presentation. I was definitely more than a little nervous, but I got through it just fine! I was also excited about the question that I was asked, which was about the rate of increase of undergraduate physics students across the world, because I was very prepared to answer it. It also gave me the chance to share a little more of the research I had done that summer that I hadn’t been able to fit into my talk. I am very proud of both the work I did this summer, and the presentation I gave about it! After we had all presented, Mikayla and Kayla surprised us by giving each of us a book they picked out specifically for us. They wrote personalized notes in them and everything. It was so thoughtful! After a break for lunch, we all signed each other's books and started to say our goodbyes. It was sad, but also sweet. Even though it is sad to think that was the last time that group of people will all spend time together in the context of this program, as we said our goodbyes I couldn’t help but feel grateful to have been a part of such a special group. That night, I got dinner with some of the other interns at Tonic, and then we hung out until we got tired. We said some more goodbyes, and then I went to bed for my last sleep in Shenkman Hall.
On Saturday, I woke up early to go on a run, and then went back to Shenkman to finish up some packing. I also said goodbye to Brynn which was absolutely tragic. She was the most fabulous roommate I could have asked for, and I miss her dearly already. Then I met my dad (who drove down to DC to pick me up) at Tatte for a coffee! We sat down and caught up for a while before heading back to pack up the car. Once my dorm was painfully empty, we headed to go pick up my brother from Maddie’s house (where he was staying) and began the drive home.
Now I’m home and getting ready to begin my senior year at Vanderbilt. I’m excited to be back at school with all my friends, but I definitely miss the friends I made over the summer. The SPS internship was a unique and wonderful experience, and I am so grateful to have been a part of it. I met so many incredible people from all across the world and in so many different areas of physics. I learned so much about myself and the field I am preparing to enter, and I gained experience working in curriculum development, educational outreach, and so much more. I got the chance to explore DC and try so many fun new things, and I know I have gained lifelong friends. As I said before, endings are bittersweet. I miss my friends from the summer and the routine I grew to love, but I’m also excited to see what comes next. And I know that, no matter what comes next for me, I’ll always look back on this summer fondly!
Amanda Maeglin