1. What have you learned so far in your work in the Makerspace?
That it is not as easy as you would think when it comes to working alone. The tasks given can pile and quickly become overwhelming for you if you happen to ever so slightly loosen your grip on the handle. An example of this would be working on a presentation solo but still having individual tasks to complete. It is important to remember that teammates are essential to your project and provide the security needed to move forward with your project with little to no setbacks. After learning the importance of having teammates, I am extremely grateful for having hard working teammates today who always step up to the plate for me and deliver quality work.
2. Based on what you have done so far, what do you think is your greatest strength and why?
I would say that my greatest strength is my ability to think on the fly and come up with unique and cohesive solutions. Such as when we were presented with the Vacant lot project and we needed to come up with different concepts than the rest. This ability of mine where I come up with these unique, on the fly, solutions has allowed me to quickly and efficiently remedy problems that have come up. Of course, this strength of mine can become a weakness because if I solely rely on it, it could turn to me making up excuses. So I always try to make sure I’m fully focused and putting my all into my task.
3. What skill would you like to develop over the remainder of the program?
I want to develop stronger communication skills and come off as professional but in a natural sense. Too often I go overboard with my “professionalism” and I can’t seem to turn it off and not sound robotic at times, it has led to awkward dialogue such as during a presentation, when I’m presenting and it takes me a little longer to get to the point due to my wordiness . Another reason why I need to be more direct is I have gone from presenting on my own to presenting with 4 other individuals. It has been a struggle getting us all in sync and not sounding robotic or diverging from the topic, but as we’ve been practicing we’ve been steadily improving.
4. How has it been collaborating with your peers on-line?
We’ve been working on it, but we still need to improve on this part. Inside of work, I don’t really communicate much with my team outside of my close friend Sonia, who is also in the program. Other than Emely reaching out to me on Remind, a communication tool provided by one of our supervisors, Mr. Rodriguez, my other team members don’t reach out until we’re well into a meeting or we have to present at the end of the session. As we continue to practice and prepare for presentations, I see us coalescing more and more.
5. How has the feedback you have received from mentors affected your thoughts about your projects?
Yes, the feedback from my mentors has helped me exponentially, especially when it came to my thought process. For example I was constantly reminded by Mr. Codio that I will most definitely be working with different types of personalities in the future and I must be able to handle them. I am now more comfortable working with peers with whom I would otherwise not communicate and have broadened my project perspective. This will help me in the future when I have a job and have to rely on others for the sake of completing my tasks.
6. What are you looking forward to for the rest of the program?
I’m mostly looking forward to how I’m going to translate my ideas and concepts into reality. Answering questions such as what materials we’re going to need, how much these materials are going to cost, how much space would we need, and is our vision actually possible? While these questions are going to work me to no end, the feeling of satisfaction and pride I will get when I see my idea come to full fruition will be immense.
7. Is there anything you would like to add?
I also look forward to maybe physically creating something such as a diorama or display. A diorama or display would be greatly appreciated by many as it would show them a preview of what we envision. With the times that we are currently in, I find this may prove to not be possible but nevertheless I hope we can find time to accomplish this as it would also give us the satisfaction of showcasing our work to the fullest extent.