Lots of Introductions

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Sunday, June 30, 2019

By:

Amber Sammons

This week was full of introductions and new experiences for everyone. Monday was the first day that I met my official mentor, Mark Hannum, in person. We had been part of group Zoom meetings, but I was finally able to meet him face-to-face. The timing of his first day was hectic. It was the first day of the New Faculty Workshop that is hosted at the American Center for Physics, so the majority of the week was us trying to all of us getting on the same page, while half of the office is missing. We were able to do it though, and we got a lot accomplished in spite of the hecticness involved in the projects going on. We were really focusing up on getting everything ready for the arrival of the policy fellows next Friday and making sure that all of our arrangements are finalized. I’ve participated in several workshops over my career as a student and researcher, but I never really considered how much goes into them until I was helping to organize them myself. I’ll be sure to remember to thank the organizers personally at all of my future workshops.

 

Aside from getting caught up together on everything related to work and AAPT, Mark and I also had a chance to get to know a little bit more about each other. He taught in D.C. public schools for around nine years, worked at the National Science Foundation for a while, and worked at Thomas Jefferson High School before taking on this position. I was really interested in hearing about all that he’s done and what has gotten him to this position in AAPT. I feel like when I’m studying to be a teacher, nobody ever tells you that there are other job opportunities you can use your abilities for outside of the walls of a school, and seeing and hearing about people who have found those opportunities is really encouraging for me. It was also amazing to hear about all that he has done at Thomas Jefferson, and what a unique teaching environment it is. It’s a school meant for those who excel in STEM fields, so it makes sense that it has some things that most schools wouldn’t, but it’s still wild to hear about it. They have a research journal published yearly with articles by students on topics they’ve researched. One of his students in his neuroscience coursewas published in a recent issue, and I attempted to read the article, but I didn’t understand enough of it to make sense of everything in it! I’m excited to get to know Mark better and continue working with him on all of these projects. I’m really interested in learning more about how it was teaching in Washington D.C.

 

Mark wasn’t the only introduction I made this week. I also met Lillian McDermott at the New Faculty Workshop, and I might have had to take a moment to quell my excitement. From my involvement in physics education research, I’ve come to know her as the “Mother of PER,” and so getting to meet her and talk to her for a while was just beyond my imagination. My family and best friend also came in this weekend, and I was able to introduce them to all of my mentors at AAPT, as well as a lot of the other interns. Now, when I give them my regular updates on all the wonderful things I’ve been doing, they’ll be able to put names to most of the faces. 

Amber Sammons