Week Fifteen

WEEK FIFTEEN

WHEW! Let me tell ya, this week was a WHIRLWIND-but in the best way possible. The first week back from Spring Break is usually pretty busy, but nothing compares to the hustle and bustle of this week...and it all started with the SAT. After surviving Monday (and fully online school which gave me some big ol' flashbacks) I spent the night cramming in some unnecessary studying to make myself feel better. Then, the big day had arrived. Tuesday, April 13th, the SAT. Not that this blog post is all about the SAT, but I have to say, it was kind of a huge relief to finish that test (and surprise essay) and realize that I never have to think about Khan Academy prep ever again! Hallelujah! Anyways, let's cut to the chase. Friday morning: Han's Big Interview. Was I ready for this once-in-a-lifetime experience? Yes. Was I sweating? Also yes. To set the scene, it was like 9:25 and I logged into the mysterious Zoom link and he wasn't there yet, so I sat in my professional attire in my bedroom just running through every possible negative scenario that could happen during this meeting, and then it happened, the Zoom doorbell rang, and I pulled myself together and said what any good interviewee would say...hI iM hAnNaH!...and the rest was history. We talked about A LOT in that beautiful 45 minute interview, but to summarize, from this point on, my research won't include data collection from MSU, but rather focus on expanding my research at Williamston. Wowza, bet you didn't see THAT coming! Well, actually since Mr. Rasmus is the really the only one reading this then, um, you probably did know. But that's besides the point! I can explain! So, Dr. Flennaugh (very nice guy by the way-I was dying inside for the entire interview because I was like no way I'm talking to a legit professor right now AHH SO COOL) was very honest and transparent with me and he deducted that, due to the truncated timeline I am working with to collect data, coupled with the fact that MSU is rounding out the end of their academic year, he said that I probably would not get very far in collecting data from other professors. I get it, and while it was a bummer to realize that I wasn't going to rally a university to participate in my research, he gave me SO much additional feedback on how I can build up my research within Williamston. I would try and recollect every glimmering piece of advice he gave me, but I don't think I could remember them all so I'll just detail what my project is going to entail in the next week (or two if necessary, but I'm going to work my tail off so let's hope this week). My vision, starting tomorrow, is that I plan on sending out a follow-up email to wrangle up a group of 5 teachers to collect a qualitative data set from. This would include essentially an anonymous Google Form "interview" of questions I have yet to come up with but will relate in some way to racial topics within the realm of education. Dr. Flennaugh recommended I include this in my research because of how powerful words are in studies like mine. While data may make sense to me, to other people, such as the listeners at the MSA Showcase, this data may just be associated with a random cluster of numbers, and that is not my intent! I want my research to make an impact in our community! To aid me in creating this follow up survey, Dr. Flennaugh sent me three short publications to read by authors he is very fond of. These articles are pictured below and I cannot wait to dive right into them! And that, is finally it. Overall, a FANTASTIC week full of research revelations, and not to mention, I got my COVID vaccine! Talk about being a part of science! 

Thanks for tuning in!

Stay groovy,

Han

The legendary weekly to-do list.

My newest icon: Dr. Flennaugh. 

Just another set of research bedtime stories. Can't wait to read these!


Getting that Fauci Ouchie! Science is everywhere!

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