SUMMER 2023 ALUMNI
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ARIBA NUHA
How would you describe your EP to someone who has never heard of it before?
My EP was the Cooper Union Summer STEM Racecar Research. It was mainly a learning experience and it gave an exposure to a college campus and how at Cooper Union, you get to know your professors really well. In my class at racecar research, our goal was to design and build certain tasks needed for the motorsports car. My group was assigned to create a new steering wheel.
What is a typical day like during your EP?
A typical day would look like a gathering/discussion together with your class from 9AM and then every group goes in their separate ways to research their assigned parts for the car. Lunch is from 12-1. After lunch, each group starts to build their own projects until 3PM. Students were allowed to stay after 3 with the supervision from the teachers assistants to finish any hands-on work that needed to be done.
What was the biggest challenge of your EP?
The biggest challenge for me was CAD (computer-aided design). Before we made our steering wheel, we had to design it on onshape.com and I'm really bad at designing on computers. However after a lot of help from my TA and my group I got the hang of it.
What was the biggest reward of your EP?
The biggest reward was after our first carbon fiber layup for the steering wheel failed, we changed a lot of certain things and designs so that the second layup doesn't sink in like our first attempt. OUr second layup came out really nice as how we expected it to be.
What do you wish you had known before you went on your EP?
I wish I knew more about cars so I can engage in conversations with my peers about it but over the summer I did learn a lot.
What advice do you have for future SEO scholars who are considering your EP?
My EP was very hands-on and required lots of critical thinking and designing. If that's what you are looking for then they should totally apply. It was so fun being able to create things using carbon fiber and it also taught me to be patient.
CELINE AKYEN
How would you describe your EP to someone who has never heard of it before?
My EP was a summer STEM program at The Cooper Union. I was enrolled in the course Data for New York City: Critical Infrastructure Resilience, which was focused on Civil Engineering. We studied and practiced methods of data collection and how we can apply what we collect to real world situations. We learned the basics of the coding language Python, and the functions of an app building platform by the name of Thunkable. All the Summer STEM students worked to complete a final project related to their class on the final day and presented their ideas to parents and other Summer STEM students.
What is a typical day like during your EP?
Class started at 9 AM, but students could enter classrooms at 8:30. I always arrived well before 8:30, and before class would start we would rotate between independently playing the NYT spelling bee, listening to music or watching movies. When class would start, we’d play a wake-up game decided by our professor or one of our TAs, which would last 20-40 minutes. During the last 3 weeks of the program, time after the wake up game would be spent working in the computer lab in teams towards our final project. Lunch was from 12-1 PM, but my class broke for lunch 15 minutes earlier and returned from lunch at 1 PM. We would continue working with our groups on the final project until 2:45, where we would dismiss from the day 15 minutes early. As a STEM scholar, I would remain in the building on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 PM and engage in college preparatory activities. This is very specific to the class I was enrolled in, and I am certain that someone outside of Data For New York had a drastically different experience over the summer.
What was the biggest challenge of your EP?
Working within the limitations of Thunkable. Thunkable, despite being a drag and drop code, was not an easy platform to get accustomed to. There were plenty of things my team and I hoped to accomplish that we couldn’t due to the nature of Thunkable, and plenty of things that seemed impossible that we had to work really hard to figure out how to make possible through Thunkable. Thunkable has many flaws and was the most draining part of the final project for my team and other classmates, but the result turned out incredible and all the hard work paid off.
What was the biggest reward of your EP?
The greatest reward from my EP was presenting my group's final project on the last day and watching my fellow classmates present theirs. I could see the result of all the work we put into our projects. It felt rewarding to present the project my group and I were proud of. Presenting on the auditorium stage with a microphone was very nerve racking, but I appreciated the opportunity.
What advice do you have for future SEO scholars who are considering your EP?
Be prepared to have fun but also to work! I can speak for my class when I say the environment is not serious all the time, but you are expected to learn new skills necessary to complete the curriculum for your class. If you want to pursue a career in engineering, this course will give you a good idea of what that will be like in college. Be open to new things and also use this as an opportunity to connect with other people.
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