And presenting my sidekick, Sr. Laboratory Engineer Matt!

Today was Palmyra-Macedon's 8-9-10 Career Day, and what made this event different for me was that I got to share the stage with my husband (and fellow Imaging Scientist) Matt! The format of the day was to have professionals present in groupings of similar careers. Imaging Science is so unique, however, that there wasn't really going to be anyone for me to share the spotlight with - which would have been okay, actually, but I thought it might be fun and more interesting if I upped the ante a little. I asked Matt whether he would be willing to go and talk about his job as a Sr. Lab Engineer at the UR Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and although he was a little nervous, he agreed. (I knew he'd do just fine, though - he talks about LLE all the time!)

I made us a Powerpoint presentation that we polished up last night but we also brought along the FLIR to add in a little interactive component (boy was it nice to have someone there to help me carry equipment!). We were given access to the classroom computer which allowed us to present our Powerpoint using the Smartboard, but we brought a separate projector for the FLIR (which was good thinking, because we wouldn't have been able to connect it up to the classroom projector). I wish I had remembered from my past presentations at Pal-Mac that their outlets are a little lacking (ah, yes, now I remember - I had several surge strips daisy chained together last time - sshhhhh), but we made do with what we had.

Our Powerpoint was basically an overview of Imaging Science, with our intertwined stories of how we got into it and what our experiences have been, what our subsequent careers are, and concluding with a brief demo of the FLIR. It was going to be tricky though, because the sessions were only 40 minutes, and that's a lot of material to cover. I was especially unsure what to expect since I was sharing presenting duties for the first time, and Matt admits he doesn't have a lot of practice. Still, I knew that no matter what, we'd be fine.

It's a good thing I went in with such confidence, because what do you know but our presentation froze half way through the first session. I was more glad than ever that we bothered to lug in and set up the FLIR, because while Matt fixed the classroom computer I started the demo. Although in the end it meant that our presentation was interrupted, and we didn't get to finish it, it was useful for me to see how the overall flow was impacted by breaking up the presentation with the FLIR. Despite our awkward flubs, the students were good sports and were well engaged (especially with the FLIR, of course). We did get the presentation back up and running, but like I said, we didn't have time to go over the remainder of it in as much detail as we had intended.

For session two, we sped up our delivery of the Powerpoint to make up for time constraints. Even so, we definitely hit our groove after having gotten the first one out of the way. Our presentation had a nice back-and-forth with the two of us, and told a nice story (if I do say so myself). Matt did a really great job presenting and I was proud to share with him. However, I think it was a disadvantage to put the FLIR off until the end. Just as the students were loosening up with us, our time was suddenly over. It even worked out perfectly that the student I picked to go in front of the camera because he was wearing glasses, was also wearing a knit cap, which threw the other students off on a red herring. Ha-HA! Although we got through all of our presentation and were able to spend a few minutes with the camera, ultimately we ran out of time.

It's nice that we only had two sessions, because even after that I am totally exhausted. Though, more opportunities would have been welcome too, especially since Matt and I were getting our routine down. Overall, I think it went really well. The students were all really well behaved (even without other adult supervision present! Impressive!), attentive, and engaged. I even had a number of them come up to me after it was time to leave to make sure they got brochures to take home. In the end, I'm very happy with how the event went, and I would definitely do it again (and hopefully convince Matt to join me again, too).

I would change the flow of the presentation, though - I would probably change the order to be ImSci overview, career info, FLIR demo, and then the rest of our backstories. I had thought about doing it that way (especially because I normally put the demo in the middle, for loosening-up reasons stated previously), but because of the career-focus (whereas my presentations are usually more science-lesson oriented) I decided to do something a little different. Now I know better, but even so I think things went really well and I'm glad I tried it the way I did. Here's hoping we get to do this again in the future so I can put my lessons learned to good use!

I wish I had a corresponding image for today - especially because Matt was up there with me - but unfortunately we were too busy (either presenting, or fixing the computer) and there weren't teachers in the room with us, so we didn't get any pictures :-(

I'm [not really] ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille

You may recall that last quarter I was invited to present for the Imaging Science Fundamentals class. Well, I must have done a pretty decent job, because I was invited to do it again this quarter! Unfortunately, I have been a little ill for a few days, so I was concerned that I would have to bail - but I came in to work anyways and luckily I pulled through. (I've actually been running a fever, which would have been cool to see with the thermal camera - but my Advil hadn't worn off enough I guess, because I didn't appear to be burning up - boo.)

This being the last day before winter break, my audience was pretty light - many students only have one class on Fridays, and when it's an elective, they'll choose to blow off early to go home for break. I expected this to be the case, though, so my feelings weren't hurt. Even so, the presentation went well despite the small audience and overall desperate anticipation of leaving for two weeks off from school. Embarrassingly enough, video was captured of the presentation so that students who weren't present could view it online at their leisure - which means you can, too. I have to admit, I haven't watched very much of it - I love presenting, but when I see myself played back, I think I'm such a dweeb and wonder why anyone would listen to the stupid random things I say. Plus, everyone knows the camera adds at least 15 lbs. So, if you watch it, let me know if I do anything super embarrassing, okay? Then maybe I can convince someone to nonchalantly edit it out...

HF-L 'n me, we're like peas 'n carrots

Today I meet with a prospective student that was actually in one of the classes I presented to at HF-L just about a month ago. He was actually so taken by my presentation that he had e-mailed me THAT DAY before school even let out. Originally he was asking about the intern program, but unfortunately since he is a senior he is ineligible. So instead I offered for him to come and sit in on the freshmen class, which he enthusiastically accepted! 

First I met with him for a bit to learn more about his interests and gauge whether Imaging Science would be a good fit for him - which it definitely seems like it would be, and I think he would be an asset to the program. We has great to get to know and it was fun just to chat with him. Best part is, he was very enthusiastic about RIT - in fact, it sounded like he may have already applied. So today was perhaps just a formality? Either way, I'm glad he stopped in because I enjoyed meeting with him. After a while I dropped him off to the freshmen class, where I've heard he contributed and really got into the project. Hopefully we'll see him here as a freshman in the fall!

And, apparently my charm was really on that day at HF-L - I've been told there is at least one other student from those classes applying to Imaging Science, woo hoo! He was even one of the more quiet kids, who I actually made come up and do silly things for the camera, much to his embarrassment  Sometimes that makes kids really hate me, but it just goes to show that sometimes even the slightest interaction can have a huge positive impact. 

Feels good to get out the ol' green laser pointer again.

This year I have been finding it very difficult to get into classrooms to give presentations about Imaging Science. I think there are a number of factors playing into this: it is a big testing year, plus teachers are being held to increasingly higher standards with evaluations based on student performance. The pressure is on to make every minute of class time count, so who has time to allow for guest speakers? It is my opinion that this is not what is necessarily best for students and their futures, but who am I to say - obviously I have my own reasons for wanting this to be different. Luckily, there are still some big-picture teachers out there who recognize the value in exposing students to different kinds of colleges and careers, so that they can find the appropriate road to success after their time in the K-12 school system is complete.

Our friend Bob (who you may remember from all his invaluable help with the summer interns) invited me to speak to multiple sections of applied, regents, and AP physics students yesterday - all in all, around 125 students! The flip side of being able to see so many classes in one day is that Monday classes are short - only around 40 minutes. So my normal presentation had to be cut down to only include general ImSci information, the thermal camera demo and discussion of applications, and my story of how I became an Imaging Scientist. That's still a ton of information to squeeze into 40 minutes, but I got it to work and came in right on time with every class. Like a boss.

Apparently this student is rather reluctant to come out of her shell normally, so her willing participation in the FLIR demo was a really positive sign. 

Overall I had a great time. The students were very well behaved yet playful, and really got into the thermal camera demos. They exhibited exceptional critical thinking and problem solving, and as usual mouths gaped open when I talked about career placement and starting salaries (which is good - shows they were listening even during the less interactive parts). Before I got back to the office I already had an e-mail from an interested student, and I have since heard that additional students have asked for my contact info. Apparently, everyone is still talking about it, which is awesome. I'm proud to have made such an impression, and grateful for the opportunity to have done so! Bob is convinced that we'll see some applications out of this, either to the intern program or to RIT overall - let's hope he's right ;-)

It's kind of like being an aunt/uncle, where you get to experience all the joys of having kids, without the actual life sentence of being a parent.

Yesterday afternoon I was invited to do a demo in one of the Imaging Science Fundamentals classes. Usually Joe is the one to do this, but this time around he asked if I wanted to give it a try; and I thought, why not?

Imaging Science Fundamentals is a general overview class that satisfies requirements in other colleges (outside College of Science) for a class + lab credit. So, the makeup of the class is mostly art, business, and IT majors who just need to put in their time and get their credit over with. It turns out that most of them are 3rd and 4th year students who put it off until now... And it's a big class, too - around 70 students! So this was a pretty different audience for me, considering I'm used to middle/high school kids and my main purpose is to encourage interest in science and/or recruit. 

On one hand, I felt more pressure - this is a college course, plus I'm being watched by a professor (who has a PhD from Cornell, I might add!); but on the other hand, I felt less pressure because the purpose was simply to teach, with no expectation that I needed to recruit these students in order to be perceived as successful. The fact that there was a very high chance that the students couldn't care less about what I had to say contributed to both sides of the equation - maybe I could say whatever I wanted, but maybe I'd have a really tough audience (which would be a real challenge considering how interactive I make my presentations).

Well, as it turned out, all my fears were unfounded - PHEW. I did my normal schtick with the FLIR, with the surrounding story of the Mars rovers (which thankfully is relevant again now that Curiosity is out there exploring). Actually this great news story JUST came out about "snow" on Mars, which they were able to identify using spectrometers, so I was able to weave that in nicely as well. The students were very active and engaged, and actually laughed at my stupid jokes and mannerisms, so that was cool. They answered many of my questions, and asked many of their own; and a variety of students contributed thoughtful and meaningful insight. A couple students even stayed after class was over to chat. Overall, I think it went really, really well.

When I was in college I always thought I'd want to be a college professor some day. Then I realized I would have to get all sorts of advanced degrees, and I wasn't so sure anymore (there are many reasons behind this; please don't get the impression that I am lazy or unmotivated). Then I discovered there were years of being a post-doc before you were really a viable candidate for becoming a professor even at the lowest entry level. THEN I found out all that actually goes into being a professor at a university like RIT, like writing grants (bleah) and dealing with a lot of competitiveness, and I was sure that being a professor was something I did NOT want anymore. Which is too bad, because I really enjoy "teaching", and I love the atmosphere in college when [most] everyone is excited to learn and takes class seriously... and today's experience only served to reinforce that. But, I guess that's why I appreciate my job so much and constantly refer to it as the best job in the world - because I do get many opportunities to do what I love and am passionate about.

Step by step, day by day, a fresh start over, a different hand to play

I just got back from an event called the STEP/CSTEP Day of Service at Edison Tech High School (STEP stands for Science and Technology Entry Program, which is for high school students; add on a "C" and it's a program for college students). The purpose of the day was to expose students to a variety of STEM fields through demos and hands-on activities. Edison is split up into multiple schools, and my audience consisted of students from the Business and Imaging & Information Technology school. I had 35 minutes with each of 3 groups which varied in size from about 12-30 students (that's a rough estimate, I didn't actually count). First I told the students a little about myself and about Imaging Science, and then we got into demos with the thermal camera:

So... what temperature should an ice cube be???

This girl came into class complaining about feeling sick and having a fever. Here: scientific PROOF!

I usually post pictures of the garbage bag trick; this time, check out my glass trick...

SPOOKY HAND

I had a really positive time and was quite impressed with the students I interacted with today. There were a number of bright young minds that I hope will pursue an education and/or career in some STEM field (though let's be honest, really I hope to have piqued their interest specifically in Imaging Science!). There are many challenges for Rochester City School students, but there are also so so SO many opportunities for them, which I hope I helped open their eyes to today (like the Rochester City Scholars program which allows city high school students with an annual household income <$60k go to RIT tuition-free). I also strongly encouraged them all to continue with science and math courses throughout high school, because they are so important for getting into college. I hope that I helped these students feel motivated and inspired to work hard and be successful, because I got the impression from many of them that they have great potential.

Brostache, Fu Manchu, Handlebar... Mustaches are definitely making a comeback.

I spent both last Friday and today presenting to students at Palmyra Macedon High School! On Friday I presented to a chemistry class and a math applications class; and today I presented to three chemistry classes (plus some other math students who were allowed to sit in if they wished). This amounted to close to 90 students overall or so, of various grade levels but mostly sophomores and juniors. Pal Mac has block scheduling, which is AWESOME because it gives us so much time to really get into it! So, I started off with a retrospective of Imaging over the past 100 or so years for some background, and then segued into the Mars Rover related multispectral imaging talk. This, of course, included a demonstration with the FLIR thermal camera....

Home Alone?

After going through some applications of thermal imaging, more educational examples of multi/hyperspectral imaging, and solving the Mars blueberries mystery, I shared my own story of how I became an Imaging Scientist. This naturally includes all kinds of information about our summer internship program, and it seems that there were quite a few interested students! Many of them even came and spoke with me after class for more information, though some of them were sophomores so they'll have to wait another year before they are qualified.

One of the greatest things about block scheduling is that it leaves us with time at the end when the students can get their picture taken in front of the camera and have it printed out for them to keep (with an Imaging Science sticker on the back, of course; which also went over so well, there were even students asking for additional platypus stickers!). These students were very excited and really got into having their thermal images taken, even using props and ice in their pictures:

Uh-oh, looks like I may have a new BEST MUSTACHE EVER winner. Check out those handlebars!

A couple of my favorite pictures from the day, now proudly displayed on my office bulletin board.

And, it wasn't just the students getting excited over getting their pictures taken - I took a group photo of the whole science department with the FLIR, and they said they're going to use it for this year's yearbook! Even one of the teachers used ice to draw on a mustache. I forgot to print out a copy, so I'm hoping they'll email one to me so I can post it here.

All in all, it has been a fantastic couple of days. The students at Pal Mac really impressed me with their welcoming attitudes and willingness to participate. There were a number of sharp students who were really on the ball with questions and answers, and many more who you could see had their interest sparked. I hope to be able to continue to partner with Pal Mac in the future, because it is always a very positive experience when I go out there. Here's hoping I inspired some kids to pursue a future in science!

Just what I needed today

Today I received a surprise big envelope in the mail. Inside was a book of thank you notes from one of the classes at MLK Elementary in Utica! 

The letters are all hand written following traditional formalities - how often do you see that anymore? They are very heart warming, and many of them have cute mistakes or silly statements.

I hope Meraly is just referring to the big spark, not that she actually got shocked!!

See? I told you they loved it when I crossed my eyes.

There are 23 of them in all, and they are a hoot. I love it! Thank you, Mrs. Karam's class!!!

And now, the epic conclusion.

Remember how I predicted there would be a few bumps along the way? Yeah...

So before we got started, I hadn't received confirmation on whether tools had been acquired... So I was pretty nervous that we weren't going to be able to proceed. As I waited for all 5 of the classrooms to sign in to the webinar, I chatted with the teachers already present...

  (cue initial panic that the activity may have to be postponed)

  Ms. Kelly's Class: So we are not going to do it today?

  Bethany: It depends -

  Ms. Kelly's Class: We have our cameras and our students ready

  Bethany: Whether we can proceed depends upon whether you have all been set up with all of the tools necessary to open up the cameras

  Ms. Kelly's Class: ...and a tool to open the cameras..Is there anything else we need?

  Bethany: Oh!

PHEW! We then confirmed what the tools were and that they were appropriate (one teacher's chat of, "I have 2 flat heads on my desk. Was wondering what they were for." was my favorite part of this discussion); and then after experiencing some unfortunate time-eating technical difficulties with the webcams, we were able to get underway! Hooray! 

So after going through a 10 minute or so discussion about different types of cameras, what they are used for, and what they all have in common, we moved into the camera disassembly activity. (Any of you loyal blog followers may remember camera disassembly from the Urban League Summer Camp kids.) This was a bit difficult logistically, as there were 5 classrooms of varying sizes, and because of the technical difficulties experienced earlier with the webcams I could not see the classrooms to see how far along they were following my directions. We therefore had to communicate via the chat window so I would know when to go ahead. Some of the bigger classes had to ask to slow down... so while we all waited for them to catch up, I felt kind of awkward just sitting here staring at a webcam, with no idea what was going on at the other end. I started making silly faces, which apparently went over really well, because I started getting requests to do it again. So, I think I handled the slightly-less-than-ideal situation well enough and was still able to keep the kids entertained during the slow parts.

As usual, the big spark and pop from discharging the capacitor was a huge hit - the chat window started blowing up with, "They are loving this!!", "Wow!", and, "How fun!". I only wish we could have had all the webcams going, because that is my favorite part to watch!

As the activity wrapped up, each of the classrooms came back on their webcams and of the students stood up and cheered! I tried to grab a screen shot of this, though I was a little bit late in getting it so some of the classrooms were already taking down their webcams (and the ones who were still cheering were all blurry in their extreme excitement):

Pay no attention to the goofiness of the powerpoint slide. That was the only one that the formatting got messed up on, I swear.

So that barely represents the huge reaction I got... Perhaps it is better summed up by the chat window:

  karam:Thank you so much!!  We really enjoyed this!
  Heather:Thank You!!!!
  Ms. Kelly's Class:Thank you!
  Perra:Thank you!!!
  Perra:Very exciting!

Or, by the conversation I had afterward with the guy whose office is adjacent to mine, who thought I was watching Sesame Street because there was like 2 minutes straight of children loudly cheering which was clearly audible in his office (and we both had our doors closed).

All in all, the activity went really well overall and was a lot of fun. Even though there were technical difficulties, there was a lot to learn from those and I would expect things to go much cleaner next time. (And, I'd remember to send tools ahead of time...) The excited reaction of the kids at the end made it all worth it!

Aaaaaand... Scene! Until next season, THE END.

It's November Sweeps time, so here's my own cliffhanger.

Today I will be trying something that I've never done before: an online webinar. Although it's been done by other folks in CIS before, this is my first time moderating and presenting on my own, and it is also a first for my audience on the other end. So I expect a few bumps along the way... But that makes for an exciting story, right? Anyways, in the interest of not having one big long blog post, I'm going to break this up into parts (hence why I'm starting before I've even done the activity yet).

My audience is a group of 4th and 5th grade classrooms (five in total, of 15-20 students each) at the Martin Luther King Elementary School in Utica, NY. I have visited this school for the past two years, but this year it was not feasible to make the trek so instead we decided to do something remotely. This also posed the advantage that it would be a new presentation and activity for the students, as last year we did high speed video and the year before we did thermal imaging. So, this time around I will present all about cameras and then lead the students through a step-by-step camera disassembly activity.

I ordered and sent out the one-time-use cameras ahead of time, and also did a dry run of connecting with the school via the Adobe Connect webinar software a couple days ago. So, everything seemed to be in order - until last night as I was brushing my teeth before bed, I realized I had overlooked something very important - TOOLS! It seems obvious now how important they are, but in the whole scheme of organizing and ordering things, it was very easy to overlook the actual tools needed to do the disassembly. (In my defense, this was my first time organizing this activity remotely, but others who have done it remotely before had it slip their minds too - so, I'm not alone. Really!) And so came the frantic 11PM e-mail to the school principal, which also led into frantic phone calls this morning. As of yet, I'm not sure whether we might have to reschedule.

So for now, CLIFFHANGER: Will the tools get acquired on time??!? Will we be able to go forward as planned?! Find out in our next installment. (I know you're on the edge of your seats.) (Well, I actually am.)

By the way, ripped up jeans look really cool in LWIR

Today I visited Port Byron High School, which is about an hour and a half east of Rochester. I presented to a chemistry class, an open period mixture of chemistry and physics students, a physics class, and then a careers in science class - around 50 students overall. The school was very nice and some of the students were really great. I particularly had fun with the physics class, who were very interactive and intelligent. Often times students will play guessing games when I ask questions, but those students really knew what they were talking about and applied good critical thinking skills. It was no surprise to learn both the class valedictorian and salutatorian were there. The careers in science class was fun too, because there were a number of kids in there who were really engaged and you could tell were interested in pursing science after high school (fingers crossed for Imaging Science!). I had a great time in Port Byron and am really appreciative of their invitation to visit! Thank you!

Talkin' it up, on the ImagSci talk sho-ow
Talkin' 'bout Mars Rovers... Talkin' 'bout, shiny gold medallions (well not those so much, really)

Surprise! YOU'RE ON THERMAL CAMERA

Uh-oh, we have a new contender for best ice fu manchu - Watch out, Utica

Well you knew this was coming - the classic kid-in-a-garbage-bag trick

Ah, but we don't normally get pictures of the glass pane trick! Where'd he go...

Ooooo, foil - shiny shiny, even in thermal IR. Oddly enough, this is the first time anyone has ever suggested trying aluminum foil.

And remember, SCIENCE RULES!

Last Friday, June 10 was Science Fun Day at Quest Elementary School! Science Fun Day is a day dedicated to learning science in a hands-on and interesting way. Students traveled around the school building, the nearby creek and outdoor classroom to learn about science. Among the opportunities were: demonstrations about wildlife, the science behind a rollercoaster, steam engines, buoyancy, chemistry, making chewing gum, forces and motion, reducing friction, air powered rockets, egg drops, water testing, paper making, recycling, states of matter and scores of other ideas - AND, my [biased] personal favorite, getting to interact with a thermal camera! These demonstrations were led by local science professionals, parents whose profession involve science, high school students, teachers, Quest students, and (of course) yours truly. This was a new event for CIS to participate in; I was introduced to it through a personal friend who is a teacher at Quest who invited me to present (yay!).

I presented 5 times for 35 minutes each to groups of around 15 5th and 6th graders. It is a lot of fun to interact with kids that age! I am however admittedly not as experienced presenting to students at that level, so it is a learning experience for me as well as I get more knowledgeable about what subjects they are familiar with and which they are not - and also what they are and aren't comfortable with doing. For example, I had no fewer than 2 volunteers that REALLY could not stand to hold onto an ice cube - something I've never encountered before and which definitely took me by surprise (and made me feel bad).

Nevertheless the experiments in front of the FLIR were definitely highly enjoyed (as were the stickers, as always!). One of the big hits was a new addition to my bag of tricks, which included pouring hot water into a tin cup, ice cold water into another, and then combining them into a third. Even after the water is poured out, the cups retain their temperature. It was definitely neat to witness. At the end of the sessions I invited the students to have their pictures taken with the FLIR and printed out on a photo they could keep. (Unfortunately, the first group didn't have a chance to do this, since the introduction session ran over by 15 minutes and session 2 was cut short.)

All in all, what a fun day and great way to get kids interested in SCIENCE! Many thanks to Quest for including me as part of their day.

It's ALIVE!

Today I presented to a group of Midlakes Middle School 8th graders. Since so many of them already saw me back in January, I decided I would need to switch things up a bit. As it turns out, the Freshmen were supposed to be performing their first live demonstration of their PTM dome for the IS&T (Imaging Science and Technology) student chapter meeting today. BUT, there was a scheduling issue - a luncheon was scheduled until right up until IS&T time in the usual meeting spot, and the freshmen were going to need a good amount of time to get everything set up and test it to make sure it was all working properly. Well, since I already had the Carlson Auditorium booked for my presentation, all we had to do was add some extra time on both ends of my reservation and we could present the dome twice - once for Midlakes, and once for IS&T! Genius.

So here's the thing about the dome: It literally was not operational until last night. So this was kind of a huge deal to get this thing working this morning in front of an audience! It was also no small feat to get the entire device down into the auditorium - it barely fits through doors, is too large to fit on a cart, and is pretty delicate. But, everything went pretty smoothly, save for a few small hiccups. Luckily, everything was operational by the time the students started filling in to the auditorium - aaaaand we're off!

I started off the presentation by telling my usual "about me" story, this time interspersed with a few videos, including: What is Imaging Science?; The Freshmen Imaging Project; History of PTMs; and What are PTMs. From there was a natural segue over to Joe & the Freshmen to briefly discuss what they were about to do, and get the dome fired up. It was awesome!!! There was a webcam showing what was going on inside the dome while lights flashed and the camera shutter opened and closed. After all 23 lights and images fired (yeah!) the data was all assembled. This step was not without some minor setbacks, but they were all easily overcome. Luckily, Joe has really good entertainment skills with the kids - asking questions, poking fun, and encouraging applause. And, what do you know - the whole thing worked!!!! Once the finished PTM was displayed and animated, the crowd rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation. (Okay, Joe told them to - but still!) It was a major accomplishment and very thrilling to see the dome actually operating. The 8th graders may not have quite realized the magnitude of this accomplishment, but nonetheless I think they enjoyed the presentation (and probably also appreciated the fact that we really were doing it on the fly).

I'll have some pictures from today's event posted next week! GO FRESHMEN!

It's a Small World, After All (now try getting that tune out of your head)

Today I participated in a career panel at Greece Arcadia High School. This was very exciting to me because for the first time, a college/career center that I had visited, that otherwise we had no prior relationship with, contacted me to do an event! Up until now, pretty much all of the events I've done came about because we had done them before, or had a prior connection to the organizers, or I had requested to be included. So I was very excited and honored to have been reached out to out of the blue.

The audience consisted of about 200 10th grade students, to which I showed the "What is Imaging Science?" video and then described in a little more detail the career opportunities available in Imaging Science. I also described my own story and the internship program. I don't know that we've gotten many (any?) intern applicants from any of the Greece schools before, so hopefully we'll get some next year.

The other professionals in the panel represented financial advising, physical therapy, Wegmans HR, and nursing. 

At the end of the presentations, a student who recognized me came up to say hi. Turned it out was my cousin's husband's nephew whom I had met last summer at a family party! I also learned that the daughter of the teaching assistant who invited me to participate actually went to the same high school as I did, and graduated the year after me. Small world.

Those folks over in G-C really have their stuff together

Last night after the Greece NTO Day, I also participated in the Gates Chili Evening of Career Exploration. What an event! The event was HUGE, with a refreshments table, a jazz band, and National Honor Society student helpers all over the place. My presentation was during the first half of the night in one of the science classrooms. I decided to take along the FLIR to play with at the end since I had already had it earlier that day, though there ended up not really being enough time. Even so, the presentation went well and although I didn't draw a large crowd, my audience seemed to be made up of some great people. I had some really nice conversations with one gentleman and his 8th grade daughter, who were very nice and already quite knowledgeable on imaging science subjects; so I hope they keep in touch and come out for a tour of RIT some day. It also turns out that I presented to the husband and son of a coworker from over in the College of Science Dean's office, which was a funny coincidence. All in all, another great event - one that was probably the most impressive and well organized career night I've ever been a part of. (It doesn't hurt that Gates Chili has a beautiful high school, whoa!) Oh, and, bonus! They gave me a coffee mug as a thank you:

Splat Stan not included.

Thanks, Gates Chili! I hope I can participate again next year!

Interview Basics

Yesterday I visited my alma mater, Rush Henrietta, to give a special presentation about Imaging Science, our summer high school internship, and some interview basics. This is such a useful presentation to high school students because, even though it is focused on our internship selection process, it contains vital information that would come in handy under any interview situation. You'd be surprised how many high school students show up for their interview in jeans and a t-shirt, chewing gum, 10 minutes late! While the presentation was not largely attended, the students who did come seemed like a great group - they were interactive, interested, and had even heard about Imaging Science before. I look forward to seeing them succeed at their interviews... Here's hoping I'll be seeing more of them this summer!

Interested in having a similar presentation done at your school? Contact me! choate @ cis.rit.edu (remove spaces)

1/11/11 !!1!!111!!!!11!!!

So a couple of days ago we witnessed 1/11/11 - sweet. However as 1:11 PM passed me by I was just beginning to wrap up a day long marathon session of outreach presentations at Midlakes Middle School. My hectic schedule for the day went a little like this:

Period 1- (7:33- 8:20)  2 classes

          2- (8:23- 9:06)  1

          3- (9:09- 9:52)  2

          4- (9:55- 10:38) 1

          6-7 (11:14- 11:57) 1

          7-8 (11:27- 12:10) 1

          8-9 (12:00-12:43) 1

          10  (12:46-1:29) 2 classes

Pretty intense, right? By the time attendance was taken and the classes were assembled, I had about half an hour to present, which is not very much time when you're trying to: A. Describe what imaging science is; B. Include a lesson on the EM spectrum; C. Perform a technical demonstration; D. Describe what it's like to be an Imaging Science student; and E. Explain career options in the imaging science field. Although that may seem like too much to talk about, it can really hurt the overall presentation to lose any one of those components. Luckily, I can talk fast ;-)

The presentations overall went very well, with many willing student participants throughout the presentations and demonstrations with the FLIR thermal camera. Most students even chose to take postcards with them. The feedback I have received from teachers and Midlakes' college & career counselor has been extremely positive:

"Wow what a great job..... Thanks so much for sharing your enthusiasm and interest with us....over and over again.. Wonderful job..... thank you!"

"The presentation was fabulous. We are just about start electromagnetic waves and energy and your presentation was the best introduction.  It is so good for kids to see real folks, in real jobs, talking about science.  Thank you again."

Presenting to middle school students can be a lot of fun, although their education levels and participation levels can really run the gamut at those ages. But I really appreciate the flexibility that middle school curriculums allow, since teachers do not have to be so strict in their scheduling or use every spare minute to "teach to the test", as they say. It's also good to get in to middle school classrooms so that young students can really see how incredibly important it is to take math and science classes in high school, even when it is no longer required to graduate.

One immediate positive outcome from this visit was that even more awareness was spread of our high school intern program, and there are already some high school juniors planning on applying. Another takeaway from this experience is that we are again planning to host a group of Midlakes High School students in the spring like last year.

Below, check out some pictures taken during the presentations.