ENMANUEL CANAS

How would you describe your EP to someone who has never heard of it before?

My EP was BlueStamp Engineering. The program took place over three weeks, the first of which was spent going over some basic topics of engineering and completing some simple tasks (breadboard wiring, arduino board coding, etc). The two weeks that followed were dedicated to completing my final project (a robot arm) and finishing my portfolio website. The first week was pretty easy, although there were times when I had to guess what the instructions meant since they referenced some things I didn’t really know about. The second and third week were a fair bit harder since my project malfunctioned a lot and troubleshooting was difficult. Furthermore, working on my portfolio website wasn’t very fun or challenging, just tedious.

What is a typical day like during your EP?

My typical day went as follows: I woke up at around 9. I’d log onto Zoom at around 9:30 after eating breakfast. The equivalent of SEO’s instructors and PM for BlueStamp would then have the equivalent of OC for BlueStamp where we would play an icebreaker game. At around 10:30 I’d enter a breakout room composed of myself and two other students with my instructor. Depending on the day, the instructor would lead us in completing the task for the day or leave us to work on our final project/portfolio website. We’d have a ten minute break at around 11:30 before continuing whatever we were doing. At around 12:30 we’d log off for the day. Optional office hours were then held from 7:00 - 9:00, most of which I didn’t attend.

What was the biggest challenge of your EP?

The biggest challenge of my EP was trying to keep my frustration in check. While working on my final project, a lot of the small pieces would slip out of my hands, the instructions would be really unclear, and the arm would malfunction. In other words, there were a lot of issues that angered me severely. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges of my EP was trying to stay calm and find the will to keep working.

What was the biggest reward of your EP?

The biggest reward of my EP was presenting my final project on the last day. I felt pretty satisfied while presenting my project to everyone who attended because it made me look back and feel kind of proud of myself for getting through the whole project. I was also just glad that it was over since the whole process was pretty frustrating.

What do you wish you had known before you went on your EP?

I wish I had known just how frustrating and taxing my EP would be before I had applied for it. I knew that it was going to be difficult before applying, but I didn’t really grasp that it was the kind of difficulty that discourages you from proceeding. In other words, I didn’t realize that I was going to want to quit because of how tedious the process was. Perseverance was key for success.

What advice do you have for future SEO scholars who are considering your EP?

One thing that I would tell future scholars considering this program is that they should keep in mind that it takes place over Zoom, meaning that they won’t find the same level of engagement as an in-person program. Future scholars should anticipate a pretty low-level of engagement and community since a lot of the program is individual work. Apart from that, I would also advise future scholars to really consider if they are the type of person that quits in the face of adversity. BlueStamp is the kind of program that is tedious and difficult to complete, so it requires a lot of perseverance for small recompense. For example, it might take hours of troubleshooting just to get your project functioning again after a malfunction that wasn’t your fault. If scholars are excited and intrigued by this level of difficulty then I would tell them to apply without hesitation.

Do you have more questions? Email Enmanuel at enmanuelc@seoscholars.org.