I want to linger
A little longer, little
longer here with you
Aw jeez, where to start. I guess I’ll go with the prompts:
I think overall the event went well. My presentation to start went nicely, that one really had me nervous. Not that I felt more weight about that work or anything, it was just first and that always makes me nervous. But I thought that presentation went well. The rest of the talks were great as well. I thought that the 341 presentation about the class was nice. My folks were tuned in so it was cool for Kim to explain to them what the class was. It’s been tough to really convey what it is and why it’s special, so hearing it from Kim was nice for them I think. I thought our presentation accomplished what it wanted to in five minutes. The support from the faculty was great the entire time. The encouragement in the chat was really enjoyable, both in Zoom and our group chat in slack.
It was surreal when it wrapped up. It feels like the culmination of an entire year, after 337 and now 341. I thought it was really nicely put together by those who put the meeting together. It was lots of fun and overall successful in my opinion. I thought James Young had an interesting question. I find it hard though to answer questions from faculty. It is nice to know that we are being listen two and our work being thought about when we are presenting it, but when the question is asked I sometimes feel like a give a lackluster answer not deserving of the question which makes me feel a little bad. But other than that I think i understood what James was asking and we gave the best answer we could. After rehearsing with Cassidy so many times prior to the meeting I think I was on autopilot. I got what I wanted to get across and we didn’t go over time (I think), so that was a success.
What I learned in this course I think has provided me with information, and savvy, and know-how, and life experience, and so many other things that I would not have otherwise. Going to Arizona and KPNO speaks for itself, what an incredible once in a lifetime thing I could do and i think that trip has inspired me when it comes to the kinds of paths my career can take in this field. Being in that control room and doing that work really solidified that this is what I want to do with my life. The reading for the trip and our discussion about it gave me a little context about where we were going but also a little insight on the bureaucratical side of our field, which is super valuable in my opinion. (Also watching arrival at 2am on the top of a mountain looking at space was a visceral experience, and something I will cherish forever)
After coming back I think doing the work with our data was done really organically. I felt that if you were organized and prepared for the next step week in week out it made making progress that much easier and very natural. At least in my experience. I think working on low-mass stars was a nice escape from my galaxy work with Alex, and was nice to diversify my astronomy dictionary and toolbox in a lot of ways. Working with Cassidy was great. I remember our first year being in the same astro seminar, and ending our careers with each other on this project was a nice touch.
This class has been nothing but a positive experience for me. It has given me so much, from skills I will use down the road in my career to snacks in class at 9 at night (Thank you, Kim) I just wish I could have given something back.
Thank you, Kim and Sarah, for everything. Without the two of you this class would not have been what it was. What you have provided for me in this course, I will take with me onward. And I will try my very best to be a good disciple of what the both of you have taught me. I appreciate ya’ll, and I with that I give you my best regards. Farewell.
Signing off,
Owen H.
Owen H. ASTRO-341 Research Blog 