Blog 23: 2014 Interview

1.  Who did you interview and what house are they in?
I interviewed Vanessa Machuca from west house.

2.  What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?
I am faced with multiple options, most of which have something to do with biology. One option is that I find a mentor at the Aquarium of the Pacific where I have volunteered for two years now, I believe. Another is that I conduct summer research at the Oak Crest Institute of Science having to do with water quality and such. I recently read an article about the effect of pharmaceutical residue on biofilms and am hoping that, if I am accepted to the aforementioned research program, I can investigate this a bit more and perhaps extract an EQ from it... If all else fails, I have my love of art to fall back. There are a few cool art programs at the Pasadena College of Art and Design, and UCLA. I plan to major in biology in college and have considered a minor in some sort of art.

3.  What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?
I probably will conduct some research and perhaps find a mentor in Manjula Gunuwardana at Oak Crest of one of the graduate students who work there. I will definitely complete six hours at the Aquarium anyway, since I volunteer for three hours each month. There are multiple people there who work do as a mentor and would gladly accept me as a shadow - aquarists, veterinarians, seal and sea lion trainers, etc. As for my plan B of sorts, I met this cool artist at Norton Simon a few months ago who could be my mentor or could refer to somebody.

4.  What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?
I will be playing close attention to each senior's EQ, get an idea for how specific mine should be. I hope to see seniors passionate about their subject, itching to let juniors dip into its glory, hope to be inspired, and motivated. Watching these presentations will clear the cloak of mystery and fear that has obscured my idea of senior project since I first learned of its existence.

5.  What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project)?
1st question: How did you decide on your final EQ?
My response: I decided on my final EQ after specifying my topic. I went from child psychology to suicidal youth, and that was because of my mentorship. Finding a good mentorship is hard to do, but worthwhile in the end. It can definitely be the most helpful tool during senior year.
2nd question: What do you think the trick is to actually having fun with senior project rather than seeing it as an obligation?
My response: In order to have fun with the senior project, pick something you love. You're going to be spending 9 months researching and surrounding your academic life around it, you want it to be something you actually enjoy. Don't pick something just because it seems easy. I promise that you will regret it.

At the end, I gave her some words of encouragement. 

Hey, you seem to have some kind of idea of what you want to do next year, which is fantastic. Don't let senior year intimidate you or anything. You can do it. Have a nice rest of junior year!