ALST600 Final Reflections

The one thing I’d say about myself as a undergrad student is that I’m bad at math. As Peter said to me recently, we all get gifts in life, but not all of them. Math definitely isn’t one of my gifts. I wouldn’t have made it through any of my undergrad math courses were it not for the tutors, math specialists, and professors who believed in me. I also wouldn’t have gotten through the iBook assignment were it not for the patience and encouragement of Team Southcentral: Reuben, Mason, Meghan, Shaun, and Sophia. When we started this project, I didn’t know which region I wanted to research. I simply stood in the hallway until every region looked like it was spoken for and I put my name on the list that had only five names. I don’t think I could’ve picked a better team. I appreciated Reuben’s patience, Mason’s humor, Meghan’s generosity, Shaun’s technical expertise, and Sophia plays the viola beautifully.

The most valuable lesson I learned is that, when doing research, there are some ways of proceeding that are more efficient than others. I learned by watching how my team members approached their research. Besides being bad at math, I feel like I lack in imagination sometimes. I felt like I was undertaking a daunting task, and my initial approach was to panic, thinking I needed to check out a bunch of books. How do I do this?, I thought, but was afraid to ask anyone. Again, from Peter, at some point you just have to stop panicking and do it. Slowly, I came to realize that I wasn’t alone, that Team Southcentral was in this together, and that my part our iBook introduction was absolutely doable. I think the final result in our collective effort demonstrates everyone’s commitment to being the best educator they can be.

Thank you to Peter for his sage advice, and to Team Southcentral, for helping me expand my imagination. By that I mean that I know I can do something like this again. The panic is gone.