This past year feels like it has flown by, and I am excited to share my experiences!

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The summer prior to my sophomore year (Summer 2024), I took part in the Protege program, which

I have explained in one of my honors experiences. I really enjoyed this experience and getting to know new people who work in the CARDIO Lab.

       Last fall I attended classes including statics and particle dynamics, manufacturing processes, calculus three, materials selection in design, and physics two (both lecture and lab). During the semester I attended a materials science and technology (MS&T) Conference in Pittsburg, PA where I presented my research from the Protege program.

Then in the spring I worked at GE Appliances in Louisville, KY. I was a technology co-op working in

refrigeration on projects involving different aspects of project management and design, and throughout the rotation I was training for a half marathon. I learned a lot about communicating with others and coordinating projects. I also met a number of other co-ops, and I got into hiking.

A month before my rotation ended, my assignment leader had to take leave for the remainder of

my rotation. Though I was assigned someone new, they did not have as much knowledge about the projects my previous supervisor was working on. This meant that I was more or less running the projects on my own, and I even picked up a new project to design a cheaper monogram premium door bin. This experience taught me a great deal about communication with others and I learned to communicate more effectively.

As for my running journey, I ran the Louisville triple crown which involved a 5k one weekend, a

10k two weekends later, and then a 10 mile after another two weekends. I also ran a 10k portion of the derby festival marathon relay, which I was happy to have done with some of my fellow GEA employees. The week after the derby festival marathon, I ran my first half marathon, the flying pig, with one of my close friends, and we both managed to finish the race in under two hours. I met so many new friends at over co-op and I am excited to be back at GE Appliances in the fall.

I believe that I have grown a lot this year with my social skills and project management. Before this

year I did not have the best foundation for talking with others but over co-op I learned the true importance of meeting/talking with people daily to discuss progress and goals for projects. My assignment leader helped teach me this and I hope that I may continue to improve my personal skills and my communication with other teams in the fall. I think that doing so will allow me to accomplish even more on my own without having to be supervised or ask questions all the time.

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