Monday, June 22, 2020
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Wait, what did you say??? It can't be week 3!! Where has the time gone? I feel like it was just yesterday when this crazy summer started. Will anything ever be the same? This summer has been exhilarating. If you had asked me how my internship would work in a virtual environment, I would have called you insane. How can we interact and provide beneficial progress without being in the same location? Well, the summer of COVID-19 and BLM will forever change many work environments and the way we look at our future.
This week has been a whirlwind. I spent most of my week compiling information about various physics departments, undergraduate programs to benefit underrepresented minorities, and graduate programs that serve underrepresented minorities. Only the start of what I need, but I can see where the information may help in the future to reach out to Physics URMs and encourage them in their pursuit of a Ph.D.
I had the opportunity to communicate with several friends and even some strangers. The information has been very eye-opening and provided a focus as to where I should place my attention. More to come on this next week.
Wednesday night, we had a great interaction with many of the other interns over zoom. While most of the evening was spent with icebreaker type questions, I feel that it was an excellent opportunity to get to know my fellow interns better. That is one dynamic of the summer internship that I am definitely missing, the living and relying on each other in a strange environment. I can tell from the diversity of my fellow interns that it would have been a magnificent relationship building and networking opportunity. I hope that our interactions via Zoom allow us to form bonds of friendship that will last long into the future.
As I procrastinated and did not get my blog post done on time this week, I will cut it a bit short. However, look forward to next week as it should be much more informative.
Joseph Dees