Being a Senior has felt really odd. I simultaneously feel I should be doing more and less. To try to combat this feeling, I’ve tried to take advantage of many college opportunities this year. I attended a Women in Construction and Engineering Leadership Seminar in Omaha this fall where I listened to women in the industry and met many other girls with similar interests. I’ve never been in a room with so many female engineers, and it was such a supportive and comfortable environment. I also visited the L200 Link Light Rail extension to Lynnwood. I got the chance to learn about passenger rail transportation (which is very uncharted territory for me) and spend the whole day meeting more people in my major and learning about them. After a year and a half online, these in-person experiences exploring my future career possibilities have been even more fun. I’ve started feeling much more connected to my field and the people I will be working with.
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After my internship, I did not feel finished with the project. I knew I was not done learning, so I am currently working part-time at the convention center again. My responsibilities have changed, and I worked for a while on miscellaneous metals which is a completely new scope for me. I found that I really enjoy more responsibility and consistent projects. I love being on this project, and it makes me a little nervous when I transition into full-time and be moved to a different location. I’ve gotten to know the people I work with, and I feel like I am actually starting to understand what's happening (at least 55% of the time.) I am holding onto the hope that all my learning this year will help me smoothly settle into full-time. I guess this is left: to be determined.
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I've been thinking about structures and construction for 3 years now. I decided to take temporary structures (construction) during the summer, and all structures classes in autumn. I really struggled in my structures classes, especially steel design and reinforced concrete design. Steel design seemed difficult for no reason since we used the manual for many things and just needed to know which situation it was. Reinforced concrete was incredibly difficult to conceptualize. This quarter was a struggle since office hours for reinforced concrete were during my work hours so I would wake up at 5:30am, then work from 7am-3pm and then go to office hours 3:30pm-7pm. It was a huge adjustment, but I was able to do it. Part of the way through the quarter though, I decided I did not want to continue in structures. I enjoyed learning about the different factors that go into a design, but I did not enjoy the long calculations and the constant rework. However, in construction, I enjoy the work, collaboration, ever-changing environment. I will be working in construction in the beginning of my career; if I decide to go back to structures, that is ok with me, but for now, I want to be in operations and not design.
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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: HONORS PEER MENTOR
During my senior year, I was the mentor to an amazing freshman in the Honors program, Summer. She is a smart, amazing, kind person with great passion and interest in the field she is pursuing, even though she originally saw herself in a different major. Through the course of being her mentor, Summer and I discussed what it is like being a civil engineering student and what the career opportunities would be for her. She initially resonated with this, but later discovered she had a stronger interest in HCDE. When she told me this new information, I was sad, but then I saw it as an opportunity to work with her to find connections that could help her even more. I was able to tell her about my friends in the major and share their experiences and then connect her with them directly. This helped me realize that mentees and mentors are not supposed to be the same, but the mentor is supposed to offer experiences, resources, and knowledge to the mentee so they can make their own decisions and decide their own path. It’s been a pleasure being Summer’s mentor and I couldn’t imagine someone else I’d rather be matched with. I know she will do very well at UW and move onto projects she is very passionate about. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my experiences with someone who was interested in learning from them, and I know it helped her to hear from someone that has spent a significant amount of time getting to know this university and the people in it. I will definitely be keeping in touch. |
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING REFLECTION: HONORS PEER MENTOR
After leaving my position as an RA, I thought I was done with that type of relationship. However, I am glad I was wrong and joined the Honors Peer Mentor Program. I enjoyed the 1:1 conversations with residents in the past, so it is perfect that I can continue it this year. I think this experience was especially impactful this year because I am a graduating senior and have been thinking extensively about my last 4 years. Being able to share these experiences with my mentee, Summer, has helped me reflect on my best and worst parts of college. It also gives Summer a broad view of what college at UW might be like for her. I’m glad that someone else can benefit from hearing about my experiences and use this information to find their path at UW.
That brings me into the first lesson from mentoring, your mentee is not a clone. At first, Summer was interested in civil engineering and it really seemed like she had a passion for it. I was so excited to discuss future classes, professors, clubs, and projects. I was so happy we were so similar; but we were not as similar as I thought because a couple weeks later, she told me she wanted to study Human Centered Design and Engineering. Initially, I was a bit sad to have lost that connection, but I know I became a better mentor for it. It made me think of other ways to connect with her and challenged me to ask more questions since I am not knowledgeable about the major. I also offered to connect her with my friends that graduated from HCDE and the jobs they are working now. I am very excited to see where Summer goes with her degree; I know it will be amazing.
As I begin to enter the professional world, I’ve been looking for mentors to teach me to navigate this new adventure. I’ve always found that things are much easier when you can talk to someone about their path, get some perspective, and hear about more options. I wanted to be able to provide this for someone too, since the more mentors in the world just helps more people. I thought if I became a mentor, I would be able to contribute and not just take. I obviously need help figuring out my post-college endeavors, but I did make lots of difficult decisions and learned about myself in the process (whether I liked it or not). I initially hoped to be able to give someone else some more reassurance that they are following the right path because it is their own. Throughout my 4 years, I struggled immensely with feelings of not being good enough and I wanted to try to change that cycle that I think many freshmen face when they start college. I am very happy I was able to give Summer some of the resources she needed to help still these unsettling feelings and focus on her own growth.
I believe I was able to help Summer feel more comfortable in her first year at UW, but she also showed me new ways. It was also really helpful for me to witness my own mentee take their own steps to find their major and interests. I’ve been able to learn a lot from Summer as well in the way she surveyed her original interests and worked to include them in her new plan for her major. For a long time, it has been difficult for me to stray from my original plan or goal. I am not very good at reassessing the situation and making the choice to alter it; however, Summer was great at it. Within a quarter she decided she liked civil, but she found the same great qualities from civil in HCDE and HDCE would also give her some extra room in her schedule for other things. I was extremely proud of Summer for being able to make this decision, and seeing her be so confident was a great lesson for me. I still am not sure what my long term goals are, but I feel more sure that I will be able to choose when it comes up and to advocate for myself. Just last week, I was at a work function and I was networking with one of the women with the highest positions in my office. I think these smaller lessons of confidence from people like Summer are helping me push myself to follow my interests rather than being passive about what I already am working on.
I am incredibly grateful for being a peer mentor in a relationship that both my mentee and I learned a lot from. As I prepare to leave UW, I am very scared to go into a world where I am going to feel like starting fresh. However, after seeing Summer begin navigating UW with diligence, confidence, and maturity, I am feeling slightly more ok now that I am reminded knowing it can and will be done. I hope that I am able to find a mentor, and when I have more experience, I am able to mentor someone in the professional realm and continue this essential cycle.
After leaving my position as an RA, I thought I was done with that type of relationship. However, I am glad I was wrong and joined the Honors Peer Mentor Program. I enjoyed the 1:1 conversations with residents in the past, so it is perfect that I can continue it this year. I think this experience was especially impactful this year because I am a graduating senior and have been thinking extensively about my last 4 years. Being able to share these experiences with my mentee, Summer, has helped me reflect on my best and worst parts of college. It also gives Summer a broad view of what college at UW might be like for her. I’m glad that someone else can benefit from hearing about my experiences and use this information to find their path at UW.
That brings me into the first lesson from mentoring, your mentee is not a clone. At first, Summer was interested in civil engineering and it really seemed like she had a passion for it. I was so excited to discuss future classes, professors, clubs, and projects. I was so happy we were so similar; but we were not as similar as I thought because a couple weeks later, she told me she wanted to study Human Centered Design and Engineering. Initially, I was a bit sad to have lost that connection, but I know I became a better mentor for it. It made me think of other ways to connect with her and challenged me to ask more questions since I am not knowledgeable about the major. I also offered to connect her with my friends that graduated from HCDE and the jobs they are working now. I am very excited to see where Summer goes with her degree; I know it will be amazing.
As I begin to enter the professional world, I’ve been looking for mentors to teach me to navigate this new adventure. I’ve always found that things are much easier when you can talk to someone about their path, get some perspective, and hear about more options. I wanted to be able to provide this for someone too, since the more mentors in the world just helps more people. I thought if I became a mentor, I would be able to contribute and not just take. I obviously need help figuring out my post-college endeavors, but I did make lots of difficult decisions and learned about myself in the process (whether I liked it or not). I initially hoped to be able to give someone else some more reassurance that they are following the right path because it is their own. Throughout my 4 years, I struggled immensely with feelings of not being good enough and I wanted to try to change that cycle that I think many freshmen face when they start college. I am very happy I was able to give Summer some of the resources she needed to help still these unsettling feelings and focus on her own growth.
I believe I was able to help Summer feel more comfortable in her first year at UW, but she also showed me new ways. It was also really helpful for me to witness my own mentee take their own steps to find their major and interests. I’ve been able to learn a lot from Summer as well in the way she surveyed her original interests and worked to include them in her new plan for her major. For a long time, it has been difficult for me to stray from my original plan or goal. I am not very good at reassessing the situation and making the choice to alter it; however, Summer was great at it. Within a quarter she decided she liked civil, but she found the same great qualities from civil in HCDE and HDCE would also give her some extra room in her schedule for other things. I was extremely proud of Summer for being able to make this decision, and seeing her be so confident was a great lesson for me. I still am not sure what my long term goals are, but I feel more sure that I will be able to choose when it comes up and to advocate for myself. Just last week, I was at a work function and I was networking with one of the women with the highest positions in my office. I think these smaller lessons of confidence from people like Summer are helping me push myself to follow my interests rather than being passive about what I already am working on.
I am incredibly grateful for being a peer mentor in a relationship that both my mentee and I learned a lot from. As I prepare to leave UW, I am very scared to go into a world where I am going to feel like starting fresh. However, after seeing Summer begin navigating UW with diligence, confidence, and maturity, I am feeling slightly more ok now that I am reminded knowing it can and will be done. I hope that I am able to find a mentor, and when I have more experience, I am able to mentor someone in the professional realm and continue this essential cycle.