First couple of days

I enjoyed seeing the vast open farmlands as Heliya, Ayman, and I made our way from the airport to the beautiful campus of Iowa State University. Compared to my small college where there’s a bunch of trees, squirrels, and sometimes even foxes and deer roaming around, the campus here feels like a whole city. When I met the other interns, mentors, and faculty members and learned more about the program, I knew I was about to experience a fun and memorable summer. They are all very nice and welcoming people and the sense of deep exploration and discovery involved with research feels exciting. Just from hearing Stephen and Eliot as they provided more insight about the program, I found myself opening my mind more to thinking critically about situations and the seemingly endless possibilities of questions one can ask when approaching them. I enjoyed all the group activities we’ve been doing. Sharing and combining my ideas with Rebekah when designing our food app and struggling to maintain upright our tall spaghetti tower with Curtis and Kristi was really fun. Hearing more about people’s background and learning new facts about Iowa during the group dinners was also pretty cool, and though I don’t know how to play volleyball at all, I still had a great time just being with everyone. I’ve been working on getting myself more involved socially the past school year by always visiting my professors, attending talks/workshops, doing volunteer work, and saying hi to those I recognize, but this is next level. I think I’m doing fine though, and I hope I’ll be able to continue pushing myself in speaking up a little bit more. With everyone being so supportive, I’m excited to learn and even struggle as we head into the realm of research where we will explore ideas and discover together what works and doesn’t work and why.