Roth Regatta
This was the week of Roth Regatta! For the first time in my college career, I helped construct a boat made of cardboard and duct tape, raced it and felt both triumphant and downtrodden for the experience. It is a funny sensation, making a boat like device to wade through the dark, mysterious abyss that is known as Roth Pond, and racing other individuals whose main goal is just to stay afloat. Yet, it was still immensely satisfying to be able to come together with my coworkers and friends outside of the work environment to collaborate on one project together.
Initially, I was a bit skeptical about the whole process; we were running late with making the boat on time, we did not have enough volunteers, there was no design chosen yet and so much more. Yet, somehow a boat large enough to fit 4 guys and colorful enough to pass for decent in the aesthetics department was built by TLT. The process was definitely a bonding experience among us interns, as we were allocated to dedicate time to boat building, and half of us were part of the racing team. I myself was a pusher, something I don’t think I would ever volunteer for if it wasn’t for TLT. I felt a strong sense of pride and respect for my work and my coworkers as we completed the boat, hauled it to the start line of Roth Pond, and pushed it off into the waters to see it set sail. I’ve gotten a better sense of my workmates, and that is something invaluable.
Unfortunately, we did not make it past heat 2 of the race, but the satisfaction of knowing that all the duct taping I put to securing the boat from getting wet, was worth it as it actually had proper buoyancy! That credit goes to Jon Chu, the engineer behind our awesome boat. This was a fun activity to engage in, despite all the stressful exams I had during the time of boat making.
Shadowing
Shadowing has been moving along quite well. Unfortunately, I realized too late that the hours I chose were very quiet with little to no activity. Regardless, my time in Main is always spent with the Senior Consultants offering me advice on being a Senior Consultant and the actual expectations in terms of work load. My main activity occurs in TLL, where there would be the occasional phone call or email. Helen, especially, has never failed to let me play the part of Senior Consultant, of which I am always grateful given that the semester is technically over.