Week 10: Monday, July 24 – Friday, July 28

We made it! After 9 crazy weeks, we made it to the end! This week I spent most of my time tying up lose ends and wrapping up deliverables. I recreated our video (you can watch the new and improved version here), finalized and printed our poster (you can see the final version here), and created a Press Release summarizing the work we did this summer (which you can view here). We also spent time preparing for our Poster Session – practicing our elevator pitches reminded us of week 1 when we last did those, and showed just how far we have come with our projects.

For our last Wednesday workshop, we heard from two individuals who had completed their PhDs but had gone to work in Industry rather than academia. They had interesting stories, and I enjoyed getting to hear about their experiences and learn more about some of the doors that getting a graduate degree can open up in the workforce.

As the REU ends, I have a few days off before I move into my fall dorm and jump right back into it! I am so excited to have the opportunity to continue working with Tom this year, and we have big plans for papers and research. We plan on submitting multiple papers to a variety of conferences – WISH, CHI, DIS, and more. It should be a fun year, and I am excited to keep exploring the world of Discordant Chronic Comorbidities. In terms of my long term plan, this experience helped me to realize that I do enjoy research, and it is something I might consider doing in the future. I plan on applying to both industry positions and REUs next summer, with the ideal position being a industry research internship, most likely in the field of robotics or smart technology development. In a super long term view, while I don’t know if I will get my PhD I know that I want to get my Masters, and a Phd very well may be in my future.

I want to thank Tom, Patrick, and James for being amazing mentors this summer. I learned so much in such a short period of time, and I enjoyed every moment of it. I can’t wait to see where I will apply the skills I learned in the future, and where my research will take me.

Until next time,

Gabrielle Cantor