This internship will allow me to learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder, aiding me in my future plans of going into Applied Behavior Analysis. I believe that this internship is slowly helping me conquer my fear of not being as comfortable with research, which is something I've always felt pressured over. I can slowly feel myself becoming more comfortable in social settings, as this is a trait I believe to be extremely important as a future psychologist. Being able to put my foot in the door has helped me become more comfortable in research settings. I hope that my level of comfortability will raise, along with my confidence in the work I conduct. 

     As my confidence is growing in the workplace, I can't help but be excited about my contributions to the projects this site is conducting. Each intern is given a plethora of options when it comes to how they want to contribute. Because of my interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder, I have chosen to contribute to Dr. Fodstad's OAR Funded Autism Research Study. This study is nearing the end of it's research, meaning that I will be responsible for writing the paper and making tables. I am especially interested in this due to the fact that any research experience I've had in the past has been toward the beginning or middle of the research. This is the first opportunity I've gotten to look at the ending stages of conducting studies and I'm excited to learn something new. 

As I have gotten deeper in this study, I believe my skills have began to improve. Working with people who are willing to help me and educate me every step of the way has allowed me to get more comfortable with not only conducting research in general, but also my confidence in communicating in professional settings. I have become less reliant on others and am more confident in trying new things in research settings. 

As I have been working to improve these skills, my attention has switched to a new set of skills I need to improve on. It has gotten increasingly difficult for me to manage all of my responsibilities, which is something I have never struggled with before. I believe this is an important skill to have in the future and plan to continue to improve on my time management skills. I feel that being able to efficiently manage my time is the key to handling any stressful situations I may face in my career. Juggling multiple tasks at once can be difficult, which means that having the skills to manage multiple tasks will make it easier for me in the long run. 

Majoring in Psychology means that many of the topics discussed in class are also discussed in my internship. The analysis of research publications requires the reader to have a fundamental understanding of basic statistics. In the absence of the statistics class I have taken in the fall of 2022, understanding and analyzing articles related to our research would have been a challenge. Additionally, several other aspects of Psychology tie into the workplace as well. Classes like Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychology allow me to have a better understanding of developmental disorders like Autism, allowing me to better understand the overall concept of the study. As an intern, these classes have helped me develop my skills at conducting and understanding research. My confidence in the workplace has grown, along with my communication skills and leadership skills. 

Being that my major focus was conducting qualitative analyses on previous research, I feel that putting together this information ultimately contributed to the brochures we are sending out. Many parents are in a position of desperation and confusion, as it can be extremely difficult to navigate how to better the quality of life of your children. My contributions aided in helping parents of individuals with autism. 

The biggest challenge I've encountered was feeling lost with what is going on. Given that research is an extremely new experience to me, the concept of publications, posters, and experiments, was overwhelming and confusing. Feeling lost about something I initially felt so confident about was something that did not sit well with me. An example of this was when my mentor, Dr. Fodstad, introduced the idea of poster presentations and writing abstracts. Initially, my lack of knowledge and experience on any of these things did not leave me feeling very confident in my skills. All of these concepts were something completely new to me. I combated this challenge by doing my own research. Looking at examples, tutorials, and scholarly articles, allowed me to start getting comfortable with what I was expected to take on. After dipping my toes in the water, I asked my team any remaining questions I had left. They aided me in my journey and helped me get comfortable with my tasks. My biggest challenge had turned into a success. I had become confident and knowledgeable in something in initially felt so anxious about. While I am now confident in my ability to perform these tasks, many other aspects of conducting research are still very new to me. I expect to ask Dr. Fodstad and my teammates many other questions relating to my assigned tasks. This was a great learning experience, as this skill can now be applied to any difficulties I may face in my future career. It is important for me to keep in mind that almost any challenge can be made easier if I put my mind to the task and try to educate myself prior to asking questions. This way, I can build a foundation of the information I am expected to know and can focus my questions on only the parts that I am confused on. Career wise, this will make adapting to challenges much easier. The feeling of being "lost" goes away quicker by getting out of my comfort zone and trying hard. 

My workplace is an extremely friendly and understanding environment. It has set my expectations high on how employees should be treating one another in profesisonal settings. We are extremely understanding toward one another and are always happy to help and answer questions.