kind of running on a short schedule right now so please, please, please. Let me know what you guys think.
Many of us wish to change something about ourselves- our hair, our looks, personality. For me, I wish I knew I wanted to be an engineer a lot earlier in life. I wish I didn't to spend most of my life wondering what I should do or who I should be. However, I wasn't exposed to what engineering was until my junior year in high school. Even by then it took me a while to realize I liked engineering. While I know I can never go back in time, I experienced something much more valuable than the need to alter my past. I had the chance to give to others the opportunity that I didn't have.
Over the summer I volunteered with the Iridescent Science program as a teacher. The program focuses on introducing engineering topics to junior high school students with the hope the students would develop an early interest in engineering. Using my knowledge of engineering, I worked to develop and recreate a lesson plan focused on wind load and its mechanical impact on structures.
At first I didn't expect my volunteering experience to be hard; it is along the lines of my field so I should know what to do it, right? Far from it, the work turned out to be a lot more challenging and demanding than I ever thought. One of the hardest things to do was to concisely explain abstract concepts like bending moment without losing the essence of the concept. Instead of being the student who leisurely ushered themselves to class I got shoved into the shoes of the professor. While engineering is my major, by the end of my first week of the program, I didn't think I could effectively teach it. Now I know how challenging teaching actually is. However, the more involved I got with the students, the more my resolve began to wear off. After a while I understood what the students wanted most out of all of this: to learn about these hard topics but to also have fun.
By the time the lesson was due for presentation I was nervous. A classroom full of 15 students and their parents could not be any more intimidating. Yet, I took a breath, said a big hello, and jumped right it. Soon it just flowed. I wanted the lesson to be fun, inspiring, and creative -and it was. As I watched the students work on their designs I saw the impact the lesson had on them. They were not only knowledgeable through their questions but showed an adeptness and curiosity. When their designs didn't work they enthusiastically ran back to their seats ready try again. While I failed to realize it first, I now appreciate the experiences I have gone through to get to this point as an undergraduate engineering student. This experience has definitely reminded me why I choose engineering in the first place. And maybe-just maybe- my lessons inspired someone in that class to become an engineer too.
Many of us wish to change something about ourselves- our hair, our looks, personality. For me, I wish I knew I wanted to be an engineer a lot earlier in life. I wish I didn't to spend most of my life wondering what I should do or who I should be. However, I wasn't exposed to what engineering was until my junior year in high school. Even by then it took me a while to realize I liked engineering. While I know I can never go back in time, I experienced something much more valuable than the need to alter my past. I had the chance to give to others the opportunity that I didn't have.
Over the summer I volunteered with the Iridescent Science program as a teacher. The program focuses on introducing engineering topics to junior high school students with the hope the students would develop an early interest in engineering. Using my knowledge of engineering, I worked to develop and recreate a lesson plan focused on wind load and its mechanical impact on structures.
At first I didn't expect my volunteering experience to be hard; it is along the lines of my field so I should know what to do it, right? Far from it, the work turned out to be a lot more challenging and demanding than I ever thought. One of the hardest things to do was to concisely explain abstract concepts like bending moment without losing the essence of the concept. Instead of being the student who leisurely ushered themselves to class I got shoved into the shoes of the professor. While engineering is my major, by the end of my first week of the program, I didn't think I could effectively teach it. Now I know how challenging teaching actually is. However, the more involved I got with the students, the more my resolve began to wear off. After a while I understood what the students wanted most out of all of this: to learn about these hard topics but to also have fun.
By the time the lesson was due for presentation I was nervous. A classroom full of 15 students and their parents could not be any more intimidating. Yet, I took a breath, said a big hello, and jumped right it. Soon it just flowed. I wanted the lesson to be fun, inspiring, and creative -and it was. As I watched the students work on their designs I saw the impact the lesson had on them. They were not only knowledgeable through their questions but showed an adeptness and curiosity. When their designs didn't work they enthusiastically ran back to their seats ready try again. While I failed to realize it first, I now appreciate the experiences I have gone through to get to this point as an undergraduate engineering student. This experience has definitely reminded me why I choose engineering in the first place. And maybe-just maybe- my lessons inspired someone in that class to become an engineer too.