(Left to right: Lauren, Wendy, Linda, Haize)

Core Competency: Social Responsibility 

My self advocacy skills are still developing. Not just in a social setting, but in an academic setting as well.

My perseverance could use a bit of work. A teacher once told me that I have a habit of “psyching myself out.” I think that my anxiousness impedes my perseverance sometimes, because I worry too much in general, over everything.

Collaboration Reflection

We created a blueprint for a planting robot, that minimalizes the usual effects of gardening; back pain, fatigue, muscle soreness… The goal was to make planting an easier activity for farmers, and people alike. The original goal was to make gardening a more enjoyable activity for everyone, regardless of age or profession. Our original goal suggested something that was not what we were looking for, so we changed it.

The collaboration as a whole gets a C+ from me. It wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the greatest. I’ll admit that some of it was my fault, and that I could have done better socially (speaking up, being more leader-like)

Experience Debrief

What did I like?

I was able to utilize my experience with electricity, which was a major plus. It made calculations, measurements, and research very easy to do.

What did I learn?

One thing that really stuck with me is that I need to become more patient with certain people. I also learned that I need to speak louder.

What did I dislike?

I really didn’t like the lack of participation from half of the group. In my opinion, that was the thing that slowed us down quite a bit. At times it felt like it was me and one other person doing the work. The dynamics that occurred between us heavily influenced our motivation, in both a positive and negative way.

One thing that I was really unhappy with was how the project was introduced. If I had more time to think about it, I would have made better decisions. I am naturally an anxious person, so the time-crunch that was put on the project sometimes was not entirely helpful. Overall, I would give this project a 6 out of 10.

What advice would I give to my group?

For half of my team members, I think that there was a huge language barrier. For me, it was extremely difficult to understand them at times. What made it worse is that they didn’t try to participate (from my point of view) very much. For one of them, staying on task was an issue. I would ask that they try to actively involve themselves, regardless of language competency or not. I would tell them that they have no reason to feel embarrassed or upset about their English skills, so long as they try to make themselves heard.

What would I do differently?  

If I were given a second chance at this, I think that I would like to work by myself. I’ve always found that is where some of my best work comes from. I would have liked to have more time to think of ideas, and conduct trials.