Module 2

The struggle in the hunt for an internship was a truly grueling experience. It all started in May of 2022 when I visited one of my mentors, Mrs. Esch, to talk about what to do for my internship. We had already determined what my topic of interest was, so we just needed to find a way to secure me into an internship. She suggested that I look into a civil engineering company called Segars, so I emailed them. 2 weeks later, I get no response, so I decide to email them again; Another 2 weeks and I received no response again. During those two weeks, I also made the attempt to contact other civil engineering firms via email, but I also got no response from them either. It was July at this point and I still had not a single company respond to me. This is the time when my parents suggested I start calling the companies and I hate taking calls over the phone. Anyways, I started calling away; I called Draper Aden Associates, Timmons Group LLC, Segars Engineering, and Collins Engineering. Draper Aden Associates’ hiring manager was not in-house, so I couldn’t get in contact with them, along with Collins Engineering. As for Timmons Group LLC, when I called them, their hiring manager was originally not in-house either, but as I was washing my car, I received a call (and what terrible timing too!) from the hiring manager who said that they weren’t receiving any more interns. She was nice enough though to give me her contact information if I needed her and I also got great advice for advancing my desired future career. Finally, I called Segars, in hopes they would respond to calls rather than emails. They did and they told me that they would get back to me… which they never did. At this point, I was very afraid I wouldn’t be able to secure and finish my internship over the summer. I coped with the situation by pushing on, trying my hardest to branch out and use any resource I had. I visited BRVGS’s internship contact list and started calling the numbers placed there. Soon, I found Setty and Associates and gained an internship through them. Through this experience, I learned that in times of work and project searches, one needs to be persistent, open to different forms of communication, and a little broader-scoped in their search.

So, my interview came around without me realizing it. I know it sounds weird, but hear me out; on one of the days I went in for my internship, one of the parts of the itinerary for the day was a discussion with one of Joe D’Alù’s coworkers, who goes by Ganesh. At first, he asked me questions about my project and school life- typing to better understand the scope of my academic perseverance right now. He became very interested in my project when I explained to him my research question. While no questions were necessarily prepared, questions gradually rose during our conversation. He provided me with insight into both sustainable building techniques and also eco-friendly options for building design. One of the most notable sustainable building techniques we discussed was the scale of the base of a building, and also a building’s shape, leveling, and size. As for eco-friendly options, we talked about green walls, which are walls covered in greenery to provide more purified, oxygen-rich air. We also discussed building strength against wind drag, an important aspect of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. So, even while this was not a scheduled, guided interview with prepared questions, it was still very effective in gaining insight into possible ways to increase both architectural stability sustainability and also the incorporation of natural elements into urban developments. This discussion-styled interview really provided me with helpful feedback on my experience with the project, along with how to boost the quality of my research paper. I really respect the opportunity I had to talk with Ganesh and I also had the pleasure of receiving feedback on my research about air curtains (a project done during my internship). He provided excellent insight into aspects of engineering I did not consider. As for how the conversation kept going, I guess some can say that the questions gradually came naturally, and the topics became more and more interesting!

After reading “4 Ways Your College Classes Will Be Different From Your High School Classes,” I was somewhat mind blown. There were multiple factors listed in the article about things to do in college classes that I did not think about. One of such was bookstores; while I believe colleges look into the tuition costs as a matter of acceptance AND books, I never fully comprehended how many books we were talking about. Also, this article was obviously older because it said high schoolers do not often use computers, but here I am, using a computer right now for this journal. This is the post-Covid-19 life for us students. Also, this article did not quite fit my plan for after high school; I plan on finishing my Associate's Degree at PVCC in one year (provided I pass my AP exams) and then transferring to UVA. Therefore, I should not have to live on campus, one of the deciding factors in my college search. I also found this article to be more of a blog since it uses a lot of jokes and informal language. Building off of the “relationship with the professor” portion of the article, I very much value the experience one can have with their professor. During my time in high school, I cherished my time with my teachers. Not only do they best understand me, but they also can be used for references and also can provide me feedback on how to better myself. I hope to achieve this with my professors in the future. Also, I worry about timing for college and work; another deciding factor in my college search was if I could stay at my job. I worry though how to balance these things out without getting sick or mentally destroyed. To wrap up, something I have been struggling with is determining how much harder college will be than high school. I take plenty of AP and DE classes, along with lots of opportunities for community service and leadership. I do not understand how college can be a whole lot harder than high school right now, just much, much more different. I feel and have been told that the workload will not change, which is something I can handle or even thrive in. I have been warned about the accountability portion of my work. I will have to make sure to take advantage of the calendar option mentioned in the article!

Recently, I feel that I have gotten into a better groove with school work but my Advanced Placement Psychology and Advance Placement Art History classes are planning on usurping that groove, that control of my school work. To be honest, I am a little frustrated with these two classes, as they have had no flexibility in my heavily academic and community-centered situation. Focusing more on the actual BRVGS Senior Capstone project though, I am enjoying the experience! I finished my internship with Joe D’Alù and he sent me off with a warm goodbye. I also got some awesome merch and a good picture with him! He also told me that if I wanted to get into a paid internship or even a possible job with Timmons, a well-respected local civil engineering group, I could just send him a text and he could reference me to one of the department heads there. It was an amazing experience I fully appreciated being a part of. Now I am trying to figure out a way to research while working on my community service project. Thankfully, the community service project can be on my own time, but I am most worried about skills and materials I do not possess right now. I have some contacts that could help, but nothing is concrete. So while I am trying to figure that out, I am also trying to figure out what are the first steps to start my research paper, especially with the interview part of it. I have done a couple of interviews before but I sometimes doubt myself (or more like all of the time, and very heavily). Overall, the timing of this project is starting to get a little tight, but actually, this isn’t because of the class. It’s because of the multiple assignments from Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Survey of English Literature (ENG 245), the need to study for Advanced Placement Government, and the extraneous assignments and notes from AP Psychology and Art History. It is starting to feel like my teachers are working together to hold me back from working on this project (but mostly because of AP Psychology and AP Art History).

I sadly have not written in a while. This is because of Fluvanna’s Homecoming events! There is so much to plan for on my part: the Homecoming Parade, Fluco Powderpuff, high school pep rally… it is a whole lot. This has also gotten a lot better now that things are wrapping up but now I have approached a seemingly wide crossroad in the project: either I can start my research for my paper or I can start on my community service. I do not want to start either though because if I start one, I become way too delved into it. Both will require greater time and patience and somehow I have to make both work together. My community service advisor has told me he wants to wait till it gets a bit colder to start, and the person I was going to originally work with I feel has strayed away from the idea, and now it is no longer comfortable to bring that up with them. As for materials, while I am hoping to get lumber from the woodshop class at Fluvanna County High School, I am also not comfortable with him. Along with that, my AP classes have not gotten any easier and we are nearly halfway through the project! I will have to make my decision soon though about what to start first: community service or research paper? Tomorrow we start research at the UVA Library, so maybe I will be forced to start there, and then, therefore, we could possibly wait till later to finish community service (since it will be colder). On a final unrelated note, I also just finished my second SAT test today, and my goal score is <1400. I feel I did well on the math (compared to last time) but the reading was just as hard. Anyways, let's hope I can make that decision soon: research paper, or community service?