I have been so busy that it has become extremely hard for me to blog. Dear blog, I would just like to say, I deeply apologize for abandoning you💖
Anywayyy
Last Thursday was my birthday and it was a very interesting one. I woke up early just so I could pamper myself. I showered, exfoliated my skin, moisturized my face, and did my hair and makeup💄. I felt ready to conquer the world as a 20-year-old🏆. On the way out the door, I saw some flowers, a cupcake, and a card left by the interns💗. I read the card and literally almost cried. It was the most heartfelt gift I received in a while.
On Saturday me, Eli, Grace, and Emma went to Adventure Land🎢. When I first got there I felt really queasy🤢. The last time I been to an amusement park was when I was about 11. I was anxious to see how the rides would affect me mentally and physically. I rode one rollercoaster and was still queasy so I decided to take things slow and skip the next one.
After the two rollercoasters we rode, we went to the waterpark section. This is where we spent the majority of our time. The water rides were the most fun for me🤽🏾♀️. The wave pool and lazy river were also pretty nice🌊. At 6:30 pm we went to watch a comedy magic show which was a bit cheesy😂, but in a good way👍🏾. I really enjoyed the comedian’s boisterous personality.
Sundays can often be very refreshing for me. I get to wind down, organize my thoughts, and get a little “me” time. I washed and did my hair, caught up on some of my favorite shows📺, washed clothes, cleaned up a bit, and cooked🍳. I really enjoy cooking and had a taste for shrimp tacos. I ordered some groceries and got right to it, preparing my meal. This was a very productive and fulfilling Sunday for me😁🌮.
Today we had an Etiquette Lunch with Steward Burger. This lunch was in the innovation center, up on the 3rd floor. When we got off the elevator, there were two servers dressed in all black and a lady who seemed to be their boss. Walking into the room where we would be eating, I immediately thought, ” How fancy”. It was a sheet of paper on the table with a list of notes discussing how to eat during a formal event. I felt a bit like I was in a royal court. It reminded me of eating at the dinner table with my family as a child. My mother and father expected me and my siblings to eat a particular way. My father taught us how to eat using utensils, and my mother hated it when me and my brothers would put our elbows on the table.
Personally, I prefer a good ole event with finger food and soda. Eating is often a pleasure to me, and I enjoy being able to eat as I please. I also love seeing others enjoy their meal without fear of if they are being judged. I have come to terms that everyone does not have this preference. There will be times will I have to attend business and formal meetings with people who may check to see if I have the ability to eat with etiquette. Therefore, I found the lunch with Steward Burger extremely important and valuable. I feel this is something most people do not get to experience, which makes me even more appreciative to be able to experience it.
College of Engineer – Thursday – 07/14/2022
On Thursday, we had a Luncheon Lecture given by professor Cody Fleming. He explained to us his educational journey and a bit of what type of research he conducts. Eli’s parents catered for this event. The food was really good. I had never had brisket before, but I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it. There was also pork, cheesy hash browns, and baked beans. After lunch, the University Admissions Interface (UAI) team went to meet Connie. When we got to the College of Engineer building, the outside had a very roman structure. The inside of the building seemed to be very new and modern; it was not at all what I expected. I was amazed when we got to the conference room where Connie was. The room looked very professional. The seats were brown and made of leather. I was very nervous because I felt like I was speaking with such a powerful person. When we got to talk to Connie, she was very down-to-earth and enthusiastic. She was able to tell stories in such an inspirational way. I really enjoyed seeing her and professor Zarecor discuss the issues that were the most important to them. The conversations fascinated me the most because they discussed ways to improve the lives of others.
Today I woke up, came to VRAC, and started some of my daily tasks. I usually start my day by looking at the Spire calendar. I look to see when I have scheduled events, meetings, and office hours. I had about an hour to get some of my daily tasks completed.
JB Conference Room – Tuesday- 07/12/2022
At 10am, the University Admissions Interface group met with Ezequiel, Anasilvia, and professor Zarecor. I never really know what to expect from these meetings, but they always have valuable resources and insight for us to gather. In this meeting, we discussed how posters typically look and how to prepare for our meeting with Connie Hargrave on Thursday.
After the meeting, me, Farhan, and Grace scheduled a group meeting at 2pm to start working on the abstract of our poster. We also had to prepare for a presentation coming up, meetings with very important people, and the construction of our prototype.
Triangle Room – Tuesday- 07/12/2022
When me, Farhan, and Grace met at 2, we discussed all the different things we have to prepare for. This was quite stressful but I knew we would get the job done. We started working on our abstract and ran into so many difficulties. To solve these issues, we had to collab, negotiation, and compromise. During this entire day, I kept the song Free Mind, by Tems on replay to help put my mind at ease.
Yesterday, at the close of business, the interns were asked to come up with 3 T-shirts for the T-shirts we will be given👚. While I am a very creative person, I often need a lot of time to develop something creative that I would like to present. On top of that, I had homework for my University Admission Interface group to complete and am preparing for the MCAs. Gladly, the date for the MCA presentation was pushed back from Friday to Monday. In my University Admission Interface group, we had the task of creating individual paper prototypes. These prototypes were to describe how a specific feature in our project would look. Today we presented to each other how we envisioned the feature would look in our paper prototype. Seeing the different povs between Me, Grace, and Farhan’s prototype was very interesting. Grace’s and Farhan’s projects were quite similar, while mine was a bit more distinct. While the illustration of Grace’s and Farhan’s projects was similar, many of their projects’ small details differed. We all bring different things to the table and can see things from each person’s point of view👍🏾. I am interested in talking to Ezequiel and Professor Zarecor to see how they imagine the feature will look on our site. Until then, we will continue to work with Anasilvia, combining our ideas to create one huge paper prototype👍🏾.
JB Conference Room – Thursday -07/07/2022
Today we had a luncheon lecture in which Jon Kelly presented. He talked to us about his research in psychology and HCI. I was very excited to see a presentation given by someone with a psychology background. 5 minutes into his presentation, I realized that his interest in psychology differed greatly from mine😂. He even said in his presentation that most people interested in psychology tend to be interested in counseling and clinical work, which I am very interested in🙂🫂. Professor Kelly, on the other hand, was more interested in cognition psychology, space cognition, VR, and space perception🧠. These backgrounds are what led him to Iowa State University and VRAC👨🏻💻. He gave a very nice and open-ended presentation. I found it interesting that his wife is a social psychology professor. I took a Social psychology class last semester that was by far the best class I have ever taken 🌠
Tuesday evening, I attended a Pilates Class with Grace and Emma. It was very nice. It wasn’t very intense. It was just a light exercise to warm up our muscles and stretch. I had planned on staying at the gym for a while after to run on the treadmills and wind down with my music. While in the Pilates class, an announcement was made on the intercom📢. It said the gym would close at 7 due to a storm approaching Ames⛈️. Everyone had been talking about the storm at VRAC since about 3 pm. When the intercom came on, I changed my plans and decided to leave the gym early. I wanted to make it home before the storm because I didn’t have an umbrella and didn’t want to get stuck in the rain. I was sad to leave the gym early because I wanted a nice intense workout but also dreaded the thought of getting caught in the rain⚠️. Me, Grace, Eli, Meriem, and Emma left the gym at about 6:20/ 6:25 and ran to catch the next bus to Freddy Court. We made it by gracious of the bus driver. On the way to the dorms, Grace and Eli talked to us about the Ames alarm that goes off to alert people to stay inside during a bad storm📢. Meriem and I were very shocked by this because they don’t have these alarms in the DMV. As we rode to the dorms, you could see in the sky that it was about to rain. At about 7:30 pm, I saw the rain come down as I watched through the living room window. It didn’t thunderstorm or anything, just intense rain for about 30-40 minutes. Then it stopped. And that was it for the very bad storm we expected to get.
Friley Windows – Wednesday-07/06/2022
Today Charles, Thomas, Alli, and Farhan ate lunch at Friley Windows. We had very interesting conversations about poverty, research opportunities, the interesting mindset of Alli Brophy, and cupcakes. Alli is a very fascinating and mysterious individual👤👀. I enjoy talking to her and seeing things from her perspective. She is also very career-driven and intelligent. She is someone I would typically be friends with. At Friley’s, Thomas talked to us about the cupcake shop he worked at. He showed us very interesting photos of the cupcakes from his previous jobs. The icing-to-cake ratio was unlike any cupcake I’ve ever seen before. Thomas is also someone I would typically be friends with. I love his rebel mindset and artistic personality😈🎨. Today I plan on going to the gym to get that intense workout I was looking to get yesterday. Hopeful everything goes as planned. It’s a little cloudy outside, but no storm warnings… AND… I have an umbrella 🙂
I had the most amazing day the other day. Eli’s family had a cookout and invited all of the interns. We got to know his family a little, ate, and took pictures. It was a good time for all of us to laugh and get to know each other better. My favorite part was riding in the back of Eli’s father’s truck as we searched for the corn fields. We took pictures in the corn field and headed back to Freddy court to get ready to be picked up by Imtiajul.
Jack Trice Stadium- Saturday – 07/03/2022
We got back to Freddy court just in time for Imtiajul to pick us up. Imtiajul took us to see fireworks this evening. Eli took his father’s truck, and Imtiajul drove his van. When we got to our destination, the parking lot was slightly full. Grace laid her blankets down in the back of Eli’s father’s truck, and we all sat in the truck waiting for the fireworks to go off. While we waited for the fireworks, we ate banana bread. Emma cooked the banana bread herself. She also brought another loaf of banana bread that had chocolate in it. I tried her original banana bread, it was very good. It was soft and tasted similar to Otis Spunkmeyer’s banana muffins.
VRAC -Tuesday- 07/05/2022
Today I am having a very interesting day. I got about 3 hours of sleep last night, but I have so much energy. The only conclusion I have made so far is… maybe I’m an alien👽.
Anyways, today I had a very interesting meeting with my University Admissions group. I feel that we are starting to go more in-depth with this project. We are starting to narrow down our ideas to start working on paper prototypes. I am really enjoying the direction our project is headed and would love to see what we will come up with by the end of the week.
Monday morning, Jack gave us more presentations about XR in our deeper dive. He showed us how XR is used in many different ways. It can be used for entertainment purposes🎞️, educational purposes👩🏾🏫, medical purposes❤️🩹, and so much more. He gave us a bit of inspiration and topics to piggyback off of for our XR project. I had no idea what I wanted to create in an XR setting.
JB Conference Room – Tuesday -06/28/2022
On Tuesday, in my University Admissions Interface group, we got to sit down with Anasilvia, Ezequiel, and Professor Zarecor. It was the first meeting we had in a while in which we all were together. It was very interesting hearing all these different ideas bounce off the wall as we discussed what we imagined our interface would look like. I am very intrigued to see how all our ideas will come together to develop this interface🖼️. I am honored to be working with such creative and knowledgeable people.
What it feels like attending the meetings with my University Admissions Interface team😂
VRAC – Wednesday – 06/30/2022
Wednesday morning, I was extremely excited to get to VRAC. I had thought endlessly about what I would do for my XR project. Initially, I wanted to do a mediating room. A room where people could go, ease their minds, and relax. Thomas gave me the idea to do a color-coated room in which rooms would be colored based on the user’s emotions. The user could go to a red room if they were angry and wanted to release anger😡, a blue room would be used to help users if they were sad😿, etc. This was an amazing idea that I loved, but I felt like a chef who was missing a specific ingredient to make their food go from average to spectacular👩🏾🍳. While thinking about this project and all I could do with it, I thought of a green room. This would be a room where users could go to overcome their fears🤢. These rooms could go in many different directions. It was a bit overwhelming. I had to focus specifically on what I wanted to do with my project. We only have a week and a half to complete it, and I had to be realistic about what I could do. The only experience I have with these programs is from the presentations given when I arrived. It is a bit intimidating, but I am ready to put in the time and effort it takes to be able to present something I am proud of🙂.
VRAC – Wednesday – 06/30/2022
Thinking of a green room had me thinking about helping people with social anxiety and stage fright. I also loved the idea of incorporating music into my project. To me, the most important aspects were interaction and enjoyment 👎🏾👤👍🏾. On Wednesday, I came into VRAC and immediately started creating my visions. I started with a stage for my green room scene. When thinking of a stage scene and how the user can interact with that, I thought of games such as Just Dance💃🏾 and Guitar Hero🎸 . And that’s when it hit me. I finally decided what I wanted to do for my MCA (Major Course Activity) // XR project. I decided that I wanted to create a game that performers can use to get over their stage freight, people with social anxiety can use to grow accustomed to social settings, and general users can use for fun. This would be a game where users would have a huge, very realistic crowd and be on stage playing the drums. When playing the drums, users would have to drum to a specific beat as the music played. I found this to be the most enjoyable, interactive, and helpful to users. I have a long way to go, lol, but I am excited about the foundation of my project🙂.
Not quite what I was going for but due to limited time, it will have to do😂
Friday morning, Jack gave the XR group a few presentations explaining the history and importance of XR. It was very helpful as I knew little about how XR systems came about. On Wednesday, he gave us the task of looking up an article related to VR that interested us. On Friday, we got to present these articles to our group. My article discussed how VR could be used to help people during their darkest and most vulnerable times. It went on to discuss how the FDA recently approved the VR system, EaseVRx. EaseVRx is an eight-week program that uses VR to teach individuals breathing techniques and coping mechanisms useful for them to manage their chronic lower back pain. Charles’ article discussed the satisfaction rate individuals with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had while playing games using a VR system. Thomas’ article discussed how VR systems can be used to create a safe space for individuals with anxiety and depression. It was very interesting to see how all of our articles were closely related to psychology, which I found very exciting.
Approved by the FDA Nov.16, 2021 – Ease VRx
RVAC- Friday- 06/24/2022
Later that day, Jack let out check out some of the VR/AR equipment in RVAC. I found the Oculus extremely fun to use. I got to play a few cool games on it, I watched a small section of a Youtube video, and it even had a rollercoaster game I was able to view. The rollercoaster game had to be stopped immediately after a few seconds because I had gotten motion sickness from it, but I still found this system to be very fun and exciting. They typically run from about $300, which isn’t too bad. I might even get one myself : )
Mainstreet Ames – Saturday – 06/25/2022
On Saturday morning, Imtiajul took all interns to the Farmer’s Market on Mainstreet. People had tents and tables set up outside selling food, seasonings, sweets, soap, perfumes, and more. Meriem was very kind and brought mini donuts from a donut truck for us to try. The donuts were very sweet and soft.
Bored out of my mind, I decided to find a show to watch on Hulu. I came across the show Lie to Me. The show caught my attention because the cover image showed a man whose fists were balled up and bloody. His fist was held up to the camera and read the words “Trth Hrtz” written on them. I originally thought it was a horror show in which the main character was a psychopath, like the show Dexter. The show’s synopsis stated that it was actually a show about a man who solves criminal cases based on his ability to know when people lie. He determines whether or not a person is lying by reading their micro-expressions. The synopsis instantly pulled me in, and the show was even better than I expected. This show had me thinking about the accuracy of lie detector tests and the effectiveness of reading micro-expressions to determine if someone is lying. I found a lot of research that actually refuted most of the information in Lie to Me. But I found it interesting that the show was based on famous psychologist Paul Ekman. Ekman has published a ton of articles discussing emotions and facial expressions. I look forward to reading them one day.
Today I had a very refreshing morning. I woke up, showered, cooked breakfast, and biked to RVAC. On the way, I saw Emma and Farhan biking with some of the Forensic Science REU interns. Today was the day we were to take photos with Paul. Yesterday evening, we came up with a few amazing themes for the photos. I am not very photo genetic, so I was not looking forward to photos. When Paul came and we started our photos, I actually had a blast. Our first theme was an easter egg hunt theme in which we were eggs hiding and peeking out of things in the RVAC room. The second theme was a chaotic panorama. Our third session involved us having to take photos professionally. I had so much fun taking all of these pictures. It was definitely one of the highlights of my week.
RVAC – Thursday (Noon)- 06/23/2022
We had a luncheon lecture today with Stephen Gilbert. He talked to us about the importance of HCI and how ergonomics, linguistics, and anthropology contribute to HCI. Stephen also discussed the importance of choosing an advisor as a graduate student. A lot of the advice I am receiving here about graduate school is very helpful to me. Before this program, I knew very little about what grad school actually was, and now I am being introduced to it and a little about the inner workings of being a grad student. For lunch, Lynn and Sarah cooked us breakfast. It was honestly my favorite luncheon meal so far. I am very grateful for them. I can see mom vibes in both of them, which is very helpful to me being so far away from home.
Anasilvia took me and my Universal Admissions Interface Group downtown for a bit today. It was very refreshing. Downtown Ames was quite busy. We went to a game shop, an ice cream shop, and to the public library. At the game shop, a very beautiful cat reminded me much of my cat. I have to admit it made me a little homesick. When we went to the ice cream shop, the first thing I noticed was the scenery. I admired their elegant, gold theme. It was very beautiful, and the ice cream was amazing.
What a Theme !Chocolaterie Stam📍 Oh how I miss my cat…btw… this isn’t my catThem : Hey Shae , Wya? Me : ^Flap your wings and FlyMain Street , Ames 📍
On Monday, we were introduced to Solidworks. This was a very fascinating tool to use. Unlike C++, Solidworks involves more artistic and visual work. It is used so that designers can make their visions come alive and use their engineering skills to develop models and prototypes. I am a person who loves art and being able to express myself artistically. I was very excited to learn about Solidworks and was intrigued to see how valuable this resource was to our mentors. My initial thoughts of what we would be doing while using Solidworks didn’t quite match what we did. I thought we were going to be designing objects of our own, but we did have requirements and deadlines to meet, so it did make the experience a bit challenging. Overall, I believe with more practice, I can become a Solidworks pro… one day long near now, lol👩🏾💻.
Student Innovation Center / Howe Hall Auditorium – Tuesday – 06/14/2022
The Martian… on the Big Scene🎬
My University Admission Interface Group met with some of the study participants in our project to discuss their basic needs and struggles. Times like these are what I find to be the most valuable and fulfilling because I love to advocate for and empower others. I can’t go into much detail about what occurred, but this was definitely one of the highlights of my week :)🫂👧👨🏾. Later that day, as one of our extracurricular activities, we watched a movie in the Auditorium of Howe Hall. We watched The Martian. I had never seen this movie before, but it was quite interesting. It was about a man stuck on mars who had to figure out a way to live long enough for NASA to be able to come to get him. He was very smart, light on his feet, and humorous. He faced many struggles but, in the end, survived and made it back to planet Earth. This movie may have bumped down one of my favorite movies on my Top 10 list🎥🎞️
VRAC- Wednesday – 06/15/2022
Barbie House🏘️
On Wednesday, we were introduced to Blender. Blender is a tool similar to Solidworks, but I believe it is mostly used for creative purposes, whereas Solidworks is used for more educational purposes. Blender has been my favorite tool to use so far. In Blender, we were tasked to create a home that is intriguing to us. I created a Barbie Dreamhouse. It was so very beautiful🎨👩🎨
State Gym – Thursday – 06/16/2022
On Thursday, Lale took us to a Pilates Class in the gym. Unlike Yoga, I enjoyed this activity a lot. Particularly because of the upbeat music. I left feeling proud of myself and inspired to complete more physical activities🤸🏾♀️.
State Gym – Friday – 06/17/2022
First Day Gym Streak🔥
I woke up on a mission. I desperately wanted to fulfill my goal of becoming more physically active. I woke up and decided that today would be the first day of my gym streak. I woke up and packed gym clothes in my bookbag. I got dressed, left out, and saw my bike outside of the building I left. Something clicked in my mind. I looked down at my shoes… Crocs. Of course I had on crocs. I was planning on catching the bus initially. To change my behavior habits, I had to change my mindset. I wanted to be more physically active, so I believed biking to VRAC would align more with my goals than catching the bus. In a split second, I made the decision. I wanted better for myself and had to take action as soon as possible. Change your shoes and bike to VRAC. I thought it… I did it🚵🏾♀️.
