What? So What? .......

Unfortunately I had to miss the build a bike community event so in this block I’m going to talk about a different community event that I was a part of. I volunteered at Give Kids a Smile at the U of M School of Dentistry.

I was responsible of directing people to their rooms and also educate little children of basic oral health and teach them how to brush and floss. I was surprised of how educated the children were even though some of them where only 4 years old.

The experience was great. Most of the kids that I talked to were able to teach me knew things that I didn’t know like the origin of the word dentistry and its meaning in Latin. This experience helped me handle kids better and be able to explain things in a different way so they can understand.

What, So What? Now what?

At the community service event, everyone was friendly and lively. People wanted to help out on the bike and all were distraught when something went wrong. Once we got the bike built correctly, everyone was relieved and it was an accomplishment.

I thought the experience would be just building bikes, not doing social team building exercises. I also did not expect so much difficulty in assembling the bike, as many problems occurred when we built ours. However, our team was able to fix the problems that we had encountered through teamwork (like holding one piece while the other piece needed to be put in place..)

Some students were more mechanically adept than others, which allowed them to fix certain types of problems. I think this reflects on the collaborative nature of research. Although, one can usually accomplish a goal, a collaborated effort yields better reliability and speed.

What, So What? Now What?

What?
Something that surprised me during the community service event was that my team was very enthusiastic and had a lot of fun doing the challenges and getting to know each other.

So What?
During the event I learned how to build a bike, and that it was quite simple. I came into the event kind of dreading it but I actually had fun and met interesting people. One guy in my group was a professional yo-yo performer and showed off his tricks to us and it was really cool. I wish we had more time to get to know each other and talk about our lives/research. I met people from all over the US and in different programs which was nice since I already know a lot of people in my program.

Now What?
I learned that science students have more in common than just science. I know that might sound obvious, but a lot of times in a professional setting people only like to talk about research and conversation can run stale quickly when you spend everyday with the same group of people. If I could do a group activity again, it would be a trip to somewhere fun like the botanical gardens!

What, So What, Now What?

The community service event was an exercise in networking and multi-tasking. Everyone came together for a service event, but the object wasn't just to make kids bikes. Instead, it was a way to spend a fun afternoon meeting new people while giving back to the community. The experience was not what I expected, because I thought we were just there to build a bike. I wasn't expecting to play games and spend a lot of time talking to people I'd never met, but it was a great experience. 

One thing I learned is that the experience is as good as you make it. There were some groups that decided the day would be boring and they didn't care about the challenges, so that was what happened. Sure, the challenges were kind of cheesy, but they were just a fun way to pass time and get to know each other. The groups that decided to get into the activities and land that chicken into the hoop had a much better time, and even made some new friends. 

It was also great practice in learning how to talk about science, because there were people there from a range of disciplines. What we had in common is that we were all excited about our research, and that passion is something everyone can talk about. It was also a way to learn more about what people were interested in, and how they decided to get into that field. It can easily be applied to research events, because everyone wants to talk about their research. It's a great way to start a conversation, and you might find something in common with another member of the lab.

I wouldn't do anything differently, because I had a lot of fun doing the cheesy activities and meeting new people. If anything, I might have gotten the contact info for more people than I did, but that's it! 

What, So What?, Now What?

Just kidding, considering that when we had to introduce ourselves with the first activity I found that everyone that was in my group, except one person, was not a morning person!  However, the activities that we did helped break the ice quickly. Also trying to achieve on common goal, to build the bike, made us work better and find ways to efficiently execute our goals. The hardest one to get done was the rubber duck in the hoops but it was the most fun! After the event many people were talking more then they were in the morning when I got there. Maybe they aren’t morning people either...

I found that the activities would be impossible to complete if everyone did not work together. It brought a group of people that did not know each other and united them in one cause to help children get pretty cool bikes! To be honest when I woke up in the morning I was not a happy camper, but after the event and seeing the kids riding there bikes made it well worth it. 

Looking back at this even it ties very well with the work that is done every day in my lab. Although the projects that we work on are very different we are all trying to achieve a common goal, improving the treatments for cancer paitents. Collaborations like the one we did, at this past community service, also put great minds together towards a common purpose. What one mind can achieve cant compare to what many can do.  

What, So What?, Now What?

During the community service even I observed great teamwork to help accomplish something special for kids that really needed it. I observed creativity to accomplish the tasks that were assigned and I saw that the kids and their families really loved what we did for them as shown by their emotions. I didn't expect there to be so many team building activities as I thought it was a community service event, but I really the like how there was a social aspect combined with helping others. It made the event fun and interesting and I met some new people. I learned some cool things about my team members through the bingo and purposeful socializing activities. I didn't really learn any new things, but I like the creativity aspect because I like thinking creatively. I can use teamwork in my lab and meeting new people as teamwork helps accomplish things more smoothly and meeting new people will allow me to develop connections that could help me in my life. If I were to do this again I would meet more people instead of mostly hanging out with my friends.

What, So What, Now What?

At the community service event, I noticed people forming instant connections with some of their teammates, and even other research fellows. It was very surprising to find that building a bike actually built stronger relationships.

After much trial and error, our team finally learned the proper way to hurl a rubber chicken through a hula-hoop! That'll be a huge resumé booster! Besides that, I learned that different perspectives are needed to gain a better understanding of many team oriented tasks. Yes, I think it would have been easier to assemble the bike alone, but then none of us would have gotten such a well hidden opportunity to learn from one another.

I can't really apply my chicken sling shot skills to my research, but I can definitely take more time to learn from and work with other lab mates.

What? So What? Now What?

So I did not attend the community service event (I had permission to be excused).  Instead, I got to spend that Sunday sitting through a driver's class.  I got a ticket and had to pay the price...well at least pay the price to not have points taken off of my license: aka 5 hours of drivers ed.  I really didn't learn too much, as most of the knowledge taught was a repeat of what I learned before taking my drivers test.  We pretty much just sat there while a guy periodically interrupted an educational movie to recite the appropriate questions from the company script.  I did learn that in the city of Troy, MI they are particularly keen on pulling people over for texting and driving.  I also learned about Michigan's super drunk law.  It basically says that if you are pulled over and blow a .17 or higher you are automatically fined $20,000, your license is suspended for 6 months, you will have to participate in the color system (aka call a hotline every morning at like 6am and on the lucky days your color's call, you must drive to the court house and breathalize), and you will most likely have a breathalizer-starter for the ignition in your car...apparently the judge's daughter for this county was killed by a drunk driver so she has no patience for drinking and driving (not that I would ever do such a thing anyway because it's just plain stupid).  My experience was pretty much exactly what I expected, although I was pleasantly surprised by the instructor; he was an entertaining guy.  I didn't really learn hardly anything from the other group members except a few random things that anger people why they drive.  Pretty much nothing learned in that class pertains to lab.  If anything, it helped condition my patience sitting through boring/unwanted activities.  If I could do it all over again...I may take the points...not really, I wouldn't have done anything differently, because it's hard just sit and listen in any other way.

That's one small bike for the kids, one giant leap for community service

First thing: GoT!!!!! Good riddance you (you know who I am talking about)

Second thing: OITNB (Orange is the New Black): If you haven't watched this series yet, I implore you to skip all sort of productive work this Saturday/Sunday and watch.

Last weekend we had the great opportunity to build bicycles for our community. Everyone showed up to this event with smiles on their faces and eagerness in their eyes. Looking around the Sports Coliseum, a great group of people showed up to support their community. It is a great sight to see such a large group of young individuals striving to better the community. We all spent a year focusing on our studies, so to come together to have some fun and contribute to the lives of others is an experience not often experienced.

I have to say I have never had a more interactive and proactive community outreach experience in my life. It was great to interact with others who you probably have no connection with at all. The bottom line between us all is that we are young researchers who enjoy helping others.

A great thing to take from volunteering is that you can utilize the team building relationships and communication skills to come up with new ideas in your research.

Lets make a bike!

Hello Everyone,
It's Amelia again, well now since we are friends you can call me Mill.  About two weeks ago I participated in the UROP's community service event. Man was it fun! We had the opportunity to build bikes for some amazing kids. We also had the chance to meet some new extraordinary people.  Go Team Six!

At the event I observed many people making new friends. I also observed a chicken getting tossed across the room.( insider)

I learned many new things like expect the unexpected. I had no idea that we would be playing games while building bikes. Genius! Work and Play, best combination ever! One of my team mates spoke spanish, she taught us how to say a few words like "hamburguesa."

I will apply the act of friendship in my lab.  Strangers are just friends you have not met yet. If I could do  this event again, I would do it All .

What, So What?, Now What?

What I observed during the community service event was a room of young adults enjoying themselves while helping a cause that is bigger than all of us.

I did not learn any new skills or clarify interests in particular. The experience as a whole was much more game oriented and simplified than I was expecting it to be. I enjoyed the team building activities and did not really dislike any part of the experience. I learned from my group members that I was not the only one that was clueless going into the event and that there, that plenty of people do not know much about bicycles, and that there are a plethora of research fellowships for students of all ages present on campus this summer doing great things.

After having this experience, I will be able to take a comfort of ignorance back to my research, because not everyone knows exactly what they are doing in every field, and there are kind, patient people willing to help you out. If I were to do the group activities again, I would split everyone into even smaller groups so that everyone might have a chance to contribute to the bike.

What? So What? Now What?

What?
At the service event, I observed a lot of people getting to know each other, meeting for the first time, and coming together to do service for the kids at Mott's. The people I met were from all over the country and all over the globe. It was really exciting to see all the different people coming together to achieve a similar. Our research is from many different disciplines, but this activity brought us together to learn from each other and grow off each other's strengths.
So what?
I honestly thought we were going to be building more bikes and that team building was not going to be as large of a component of the day. I did, however, enjoy working with everyone to be able to build the one bike and learn a lot about everyone in the process. I would not consider myself a very mechanical person, but my perspective on the problem solving aspect of the bike was very useful in putting the bike together. From my group members, I learned about where they all came from and how to bring a group of very different people to come together to achieve a single goal. I like being able to work with others to perform all the tasks.
Now what?
From this experience, I plan to take what I learned about cooperation and teamwork and bring it into my lab. My lab requires a lot of communication from each member to complete a task. The service activity helped fine tune this skill. If I could change the group activities, I would make some more intellectually stimulating, such as solving puzzles and the like.

What, So What?, Now What?

What? 

During the community service event, I observed many different people from all different kinds of backgrounds come together to serve the community in building a bike for kids. It was really amazing to see such a diverse crowd of people brought together by their love for research. Everyone seemed to be really having fun and making new friends during the event. It was a great way for people to network with other college students from all different kinds of places. Watching everyone laugh and enjoy themselves while serving the community was very enlightening, and seeing the joy on the kids' faces who received the bikes was extremely heartwarming. 

So What?

I did not really learn any new skills or clarify and new interests. I was surprised at the format of the event. I thought that it would be just a bunch of students working as fast as they could to build as many bikes as they could to give to the kids. Instead, the format of games-for-parts was completely different and much more enjoyable than the event that I was expecting. I enjoyed interacting with the other students on a more relaxed level, playing games and conversing rather than just straight up building bikes. I just appreciated the level of diversity of interests from all my group members, and got an appreciation for all the different fields of research that exist.

Now What?

The best way to apply what I learned from the event is to make the best out of every opportunity by interacting with the people around each opportunity. For research, I guess the way I could do this is to focus more on the interactions with the other researchers in my lab and exchange ideas more often. If I could do group activities again, I would not change anything.

What, So What?, Now What?

During the community service event that took place last Sunday, we were divided into teams and participated in teambuilding activities in order to receive bike parts to build our bike. I observed in my group that some people took on leadership roles, with other people following along. While our group strategized the best ways to complete our tasks, I noticed that a few people seemed interested only in creating and finding difficulties with the other team members' suggestions. I was reminded of something that one of my teachers and mentors used to repeat often: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." I felt that this was relevant because solving a problem in a group setting is only productive when all the members are trying to achieve the same goals and avoid holding each other back. 

The format of the event surprised me because I didn't realize that we would be completing teambuilding activities in addition to building bikes. I thought that this was a good way to meet other people. However, I also thought that if we had maybe set aside a half an hour or 45 minutes at the beginning for teambuilding activities and spent the rest of the time building the bikes we could have been more efficient. I learned about my group members' backgrounds and research projects through talking with them during the teambuilding activities. 

Working in a research lab requires a lot of teamwork, and our lab has learned that recently. Our lab manager recently left so all of us have had to pick up the slack, and also clean up after ourselves more thoroughly since we can no longer rely on someone else to call waste pick-up or autoclave water and pipet tips. Adjusting to this change has required a lot of communication and some leadership as various members step up and take responsibility for certain tasks. Just like in the teambuilding activities at the community service event, communication, teamwork, and leadership are key to working productively in a lab environment. If I could redo the group activities, I would want to be involved in building the  bike because several of the members took that job over and I would have liked to learn how to assemble a bike. 

community service reflection

What?

I did not attend the community service event because I was out of town. So… I guess I’ll talk about my other community service experiences.

Last summer I volunteered with the Detroit Partnership and did some farming project.

So What?

I didn’t really learn any new skills, all I did was pull weeds. It was different than what I expected because I thought I would just be picking berries or tomatoes or something.

Now What?

Pulling weeds really did not contribute to any skills I will use researching the assembly of MHC class I molecules.

What? So what? Now What?

During the community service event, I was placed with a group of students also in research groups. We did community building activities together. For every activity we completed, we received a bike part that we used to put together a bike. We learned how to work together in a group, in both our activities and in putting the bike together. I learned how the different parts of a bicycle comes together, and I also learned about new and interesting things about the rest of my team members. I liked that we worked together because we were aiming for a common goal: to build a bike. It reminded me of how people at work normally would work together, like at a research job. The experience was different from what I expected. I expected to build a bike from scratch, first of all, and I didn't expect that our groups would be smaller. Smaller groups allowed for more interaction among all of us. If I could do the group activity again, I would have helped out with constructing the bicycle more, since I was also partially involved with the chicken toss.

Who am I?!

Hey Everyone!!

My Name Is Fatou Ndaw I will be a Junior this fall. I am 21 and I grew up in the Ann Arbor area. I hope to declare my major in either biology or CMB... I hope to apply to medical school after I spend a year volunteering in a clinic in Senegal. My dream is to become a pediatric surgeon. I love working with children!

 

 I love reading, working out, and watching wayyyyyy to much tv, like Game of Thrones and Orange is the New Black . I am obsessed with the Lord of the Rings, probably memorize the words to all the movies yikes, and Harry potter :). 

Random fact: I used to pole volt  in High School.

One thing that I am very proud of is the Trails Edge Camp that I attend! It is a camp for ventilator dependent children. An exciting week that allows these children to feel normal and  to do things that they would not be able to do like tree climbing, horse back riding and swimming! This past June was my 4th year being partnered with my cousin who is a quadriplegic, at this wonderful camp.

Take a look at our awesome camp selfie!! 

What, So What?, Now What?

What?
At the community service event I observed people having a lot of fun while being part of something greater than themselves. It was really cool to see so many people from different backgrounds and interests coming together to do silly activities and have fun with them. Everyone in my group was super engaged and determined to be the first to finish. Although we weren't, we still had a ton of fun rolling balls and flinging rubber chickens. Finally, it was really neat to see the kids receive their bikes we made for them. The kid who got our bike rode around in a circle for 20 minutes straight laughing and having the time of his life. 

So What?
I don't know if I necessarily learned a new skill other than how to fling a rubber chicken using a parachute but I did enjoy improving my ability to communicate and work as a team. Teamwork will be an essential part of my future career and is a necessary skill to have in order to work effectively so getting as much practice as I can now will help me tremendously in years to come. The experience was different from what I expected in that it was a lot more engaging and fun. Building a bike for Mott kids would have been pretty cool in itself, but throw in silly challenges and Jimmy John's and that's just awesome! One of the best parts of the event was being able to meet my teammates and learn about them. I didn't realize how many student researchers weren't from UofM so it was cool to ask how different schools in different parts of the country compared to here. 

Now What?
I think the most applicable skill I can take back to my lab is people skills. Being able to talk with people and work with people is one of the most important skills one can have and every opportunity to do so improves those skills. If I could do the group activities again I wouldn't do anything different because those were excellent!

What? So What? Now What?

During the community service event, my fellow group members and I took on several challenges at once: We were required to get to know each other quickly and work well together; we were required to complete several team-building exercises quickly and efficiently; and we were required to assemble a bicycle from its aggregate parts.

In the course of completing the community service event, I gained working knowledge of bicycle maintenance, something that both applies to my life as a college student and appeals to my interests as a mechanical engineering student. While I expected our time to be more wholly directed toward the community service task to which were specifically assigned, the time we spent getting to know each other as a team proved very valuable. If we had alternatively been set immediately to work on the bicycle, we likely would have squabbled more and had too many people trying to complete single tasks, etc. My teammates provided an excellent example of maintaining a positive attitude in times of stress, as evidenced by our collective response to mistakes made throughout the bicycle assembly process. We had to rectify several mistakes before our bicycle was complete – the handlebars were initially installed backward, the brakes needed to be tightened multiple times, etc. – but each time we discovered a new job that had to be redone, every group member stayed positive. That was a powerful lesson that I will remember as I continue my research.

To that end, I can apply our group’s team-oriented approach to interaction as I continue work in my research lab. That should make my research a more enjoyable and enriching experience. I don’t think I would change anything if I could do the group activities again. My group worked well together right from the start, and we were one of the first to completely assemble our bicycle.  If there would be any difference at all in my own conduct, it would only be due to my now increased knowledge of bicycle maintenance, not due to any change required in how I interacted with the rest of my group.

What? So What? Now What?

During the community service event I noticed a lot of team bonding and interactions between students from different research fellowships. It was interesting to meet and learn about what other students on campus are doing for the summer, and what types of research they are interested in. It was also cool to meet students and work together on building leadership and team bonding skills while doing the team activities and building the bike.

Because my team ran into some problems with the brakes on our bike while building, I learned more about how brakes on bikes work and how to fix them. Other than that I enhanced my leadership skills and my ability to work in a team. I expected the event to be more oriented on the community service aspect, rather than the team aspect. While I am glad we bonded as teams and had that opportunity, I wish we would have taken more time on the community service part. Our team was smaller than some others in our area, but still, we could not have everyone really involved in working on the bike, and therefore we probably could have built two bikes and had more people involved. I also think it would have been nice to have more interaction with the kid we were building the bike for, maybe have him help us putting the bike together when there was something that could have been done.

I think what is most important to bring back to my lab is the collaboration aspect. We made it through most of the team building exercises pretty quickly, which was because we collaborated well. People step up and took leadership positions, but no one dominated that role. Ideas were shared freely and that helped us in succeeding. In a lab setting, collaboration will lead to success. In my lab there are quite a few people whose work is similar and by sharing ideas everyone benefits.

Community Service Reflection: What? So What? Now What?

Last Sunday, UROP students joined other U of M summer groups to participate it team-building activities and assemble bikes for children who would appreciate them. 

After splitting into groups, my team dove into our activities. We quickly met everyone, mastered the dot-crossing game thanks to someone’s whirlpool-motion idea, and finished our group bingo, but getting a ball down a PVC track was challenging – we struggled with keeping the ball from “jumping” out of the track when it hit an unexpected curve or joint. Eventually, by experimenting with various balls, keeping our pipes at a slight angle, and positioning the lower pipe under the upper one, we got five balls into the can. With only the rubber chicken launch to go, we quickly moved on to putting together the bike.

Our bike was for a 12-year-old boy who arrived with his mother while we were still putting the bike together. Some struggles with the brake system kept us working on the bike longer than we would have liked, but seeing the boy’s eyes light up as he saw a member of our group test drive the bike to make sure the brakes worked made me glad my team put in the extra effort. The bike’s new owner was happily pedaling his bike to his car to put it away before he got lunch.

Our kid was not alone – two children, probably brother and sister, were riding their new bikes for what must have been a full half hour. When the boy's mother called him over to get something to eat, the boy grabbed Cheetos and his stuffed animal, but still kept riding his bike.

In groups, I am normally very vocal about my opinion during any and all decisions. However, during the UROP volunteering session, I stepped back - I’d already done some of our group challenges with other groups and was interested to see how a different minds would approach them. My group faced new difficulties – while we were more challenged by the PVC-ball course, we passed other challenges easily due to new solutions. Instead of my typical role, I became more of a “rule keeper,” making sure that we always stayed within the guidelines for each challenge. I think it’s really important to be able to  fill any available position to help your team, so while my position wasn't my typical role, I’m glad I found a way to be useful for my team.

Apart from the satisfaction of helping the kids, I took two things away from our team building/volunteering workshop. First, it’s important to be accountable for what you do – I wouldn’t have been nearly as pleased with my team if we'd stretched the rules to get past a task quicker, and I’m really glad we spent extra time making sure our bike’s brake system was safe for its new owner. Second, I need to remember that sometimes people are just as important as the task at hand – learning to work with new groups of people and finding the best way to utilize everyone’s talent is always a tricky process, but it’s an important skill. While it may be easy to proceed in whatever way you think of first, difficulties are passed easier when everyone’s skills are used. I plan to use both of these concepts as I continue my research – I’ll work hard to produce quality work and to use my know-how in the most useful way.

What, So What, Now What?

What?
The community service event was an interesting experience for several reasons. I noticed that the groups were structured in such a way that there was little to no overlap in research interests between members. This was a benefit, as it allowed us to meet people outside of our programs/research areas.

So What?
I am glad that there was an intentionality to the creation of our groups. I think the idea that we were all there for the benefit of others gave the team building exercises a sense of purpose and direction, which sometimes lacks in other team building events I have done.
My experience at the community service event was different than I expected in that I thought more of our time would be spent building bikes, although I enjoyed the team building exercises.
Aside from learning about everyone's interests, my group members took differing approaches to the different tasks. I was able to observe these differing approaches and incorporated some into my strategies for accomplishing the tasks.

Now What?
I think that the group work and team building exercises were valuable and something I can take back to my lab. Focusing on shared goals and clearly defining those goals was successful at the event and will transfer well to a lab setting. This approach could be applied by redefining goals at each lab meeting.
If I could do the group events again, I think that I would pay more attention to what the purpose of each of the individual activities was (communication, awareness, networking, etc).

What, So What?, Now What?

I enjoyed seeing everyone working together to build bikes for the children and, in the process, getting to know each other. I observed that just working in a group without getting to know each other first is definitely not as effective as working in a group where everyone took the time first to learn more about each other.

Because I am a mechanical engineer, putting together a bicycle was a great experience. I enjoy teamwork, because you get to work with different people. Because everyone has different strong points, the team as a whole benefits. I thought that we would have to do more work, but instead it was a more relaxed pace. We got to know our fellow workers a bit better. This was great, but I also wish we could have done more service. I enjoyed being able to hand the finished bike over and see the happiness on the kid's face. If we could have made more bikes, that would have been great. I learned from my team members that the combined effort of everyone in the team is a lot more effective than only one person's work. I enjoyed getting to know more people and hear about their research and interests.

This can be applied in any research lab, because everyone working on that project is working towards the same goal, even if they aren't doing the same exact thing as you. If I could do the group activities again, I would probably want to split up the tasks a bit more, so that we would be able to work more effectively.

What, So What? , Now What?

I quite enjoyed the volunteer experience that we participated in. It was nice to see so many people ready to do work just for the look of happiness on a child's face at the end of the day. During the event I saw a multitude of people having fun and still working towards that goal, which filled me with pride for this summer program. Each activity during the event expanded on our groups ability to perform as a group and I think the event as a whole strengthened my teamwork skills. I expected this event to be rote work and the fact that I truly enjoyed myself was a pleasant surprise. I only wishes that we had been able to make more during the event. Perhaps the most exciting point of the event, for me, was learning that our group contained the 4th, and hopefully this August the 1st, best Yoyo-er in the world. That was truly an honor. Taking away from this activity, I think I am much more ready to work alongside my fellow researchers, aspiring to a similar goal to mine.

Who Am I!

Hey Everyone!!

My Name Is Fatou Ndaw I will be a Junior this fall. I am 21 and I grew up in the Ann Arbor area. I hope to declare my major in either biology or CMB... I hope to apply to medical school after I spend a year volunteering in a clinic in Senegal. My dream is to become a pediatric surgeon. I love working with children!

 I love reading, working out, and watching wayyyyyy to much tv, like Game of Thrones and Orange is the New Black . I am obsessed with the Lord of the Rings, probably memorize the words to all the movies yikes, and Harry potter :). Random fact: I used to pole volt and run the hurdles in High School.

One thing that I am very proud of is the Trails Edge Camp that I attend! It is a camp for ventilator dependent children. An exciting week that allows these children to feel normal and  to do things that they would not be able to do like tree climbing, horse back riding and swimming! This past June was my 4 year being partnered with my cousin who is a quadriplegic, at this wonderful camp.