Now that my blog account is working, I can finally talk about my week! But from here on out it will be a daily update!

Tuesday 5/28

Flying in from Chicago to Ames was quite nerve wracking. There was so much that I was anticipating for the next few weeks from moving from a large city to a university town to wondering whether what I currently know will be of any use to the program. Once I met Abby Boytos and Andrew Zaman I felt at ease knowing that they would be our advisors. They’re really inspiring because they are graduate psychology students consistently looking to hone their craft but at the same time were humble and fun to hang out with. It made me consider becoming a grad student at Iowa State too!

Meeting Stephen Gilbert and Eliot Winer at the welcome dinner was an amazing experience. It was such a lovely welcome at Stephen’s home and to meet his two sons. Eliot and Stephen explained the research process and their expectations of us this summer. This further helped me settle in with ease knowing I’d be working alongside awesome professors at Iowa State.

Wednesday 5/29

Today we had breakfast at Howe Hall where we’d be doing most of our group work. I was surprised at how far the campus looked from our apartments on the map but the walk to campus was so lovely. We passed horses in their stables, saw baby bunnies grazing, and chipmunks dashing from one tree to another. It only took around 10 minutes to and from the school.

We went to get our student ID cards sorted and they needed a current ID card from us. I pulled out my drivers licence all proud only to find that it was expired since January 2019. That was a bummer.

Having lunch at the Union Drive Marketplace was so cool. I was spoilt for choice but because it was a buffet, I got to have a bit of everything! Soft serve on demand was the cherry on top! Knowing I have access to this isn’t good for my waistline….

Thursday 5/30

I came in extra early to get my ID card sorted out. Felt much better getting that done. We got to meet our faculty members and mentor. Susan VanderPlas is full of energy and Ganesh Krishnan is hilarious! When they explained more about the bullet scans and what they’re expecting of us, I became even more motivated to get started. We have yet to meet our other faculty mentor Heike Hofmann but looking I’m forward to it!

We had a lecture on what good research is about and it finally gave me a somewhat aha moment. Hopefully applying these concepts is as easy as understanding them.

Friday 5/31

In the morning we took the Myers Briggs assessment. My personality type is INTP which means I’m a “Logician”. Apparently I share the same personality type with the likes of Albert Einstein, Blaise Pascal and Isaac Newton. Please god let this be true.

The assessment was more about understanding our teamwork traits and to only take the results of this assessment with a grain of salt. If we utilise our strengths and explain our weaknesses to our teammates, it’d help with the flow of teamwork.

I’m so grateful to have my first VR experience at VRAC’s C6 because it is the world’s highest resolution, fully immersive virtual environment! It made me think of all the possibilities related to this technology and how to create impactful, ethical programs.

Saturday 6/1

I got a free bike from helping Val organise her bike shop! I hadn’t ridden a bike in ten years and was nervous because we were to ride our bikes back to our apartments which is 2 miles away. But because I was with Nina, Tiger and Roselyn, I felt brave enough to ride with them. I haven’t begun my research but riding my bike with such an awesome team was already an accomplishment in itself. My butt hurts though.