Friday, August 1, 2014
By:
My last week at Goddard and AIP was a very good review of what I'd done all summer. I reviewed my slides and my work (also in Latex) in order to create a poster for the NASA intern poster session. My project was very well suited to my skills and the time period allotted. I learned lots of new things, met lots of new people, and got to have some really unique DC experiences. In my final week, I went out to lunch with my labmates and said farewell to my mentor and colleagues.
I printed and hung my poster Wednesday afternoon for the poster session the following day. After a few hours of standing in front of my poster telling anyone who would ask about my research, I headed to lunch with the Eta Carina crew to celebrate the end of our time at Goddard. Thursday night, we met with a few graduate fellows and other professionals on Capitol Hill working on science policy for an informal networking event.
Friday and Saturday were full of goodbyes and mixed feelings: glad to be heading back home after a long, intense summer, but regretting leaving new friends, connections, and genuinely positive work environments behind. I'm truly grateful to SPS and AIP for this experience, as it has prepared me for future research and has exposed me to physics in all its forms, not just the scientist in a lab. My work renewed my passion for experimental physics and the skills I've learned this summer will empower me throughout my career.
Kirsten Randle