Wednesday, August 7, 2024
By:
It’s the end of the summer, which means that to my delight; pumpkin spice is hitting the shelves, 99 degree days are becoming more rare, afternoon thunderstorms are rolling in everyday, I’m starting to plan my Halloween costume (Spock?), and the end of my internship with SPS is here. The feeling of accomplishment alongside others is one of my favorite human things.
Humans are adorable. We all get together in close proximity to each other and go “Yay! You did a thing!” and hit the palms of our hands together (clapping) to show approval and celebration. Everybody shows their teeth a lot (smiling), and then eventually farewells are in order for every celebration. I am really impressed by all of the amazing work my peers did this summer, especially how passionate they were in their final products.
Saying goodbye to DC was bittersweet. I am happy to return to my dry, high desert and mountains; but I will definitely miss the higher standard of fashion, peak of cultural diversity, and beautiful, enormous architecture and monuments. DC is like the Rome of the U.S. all the way down to the humidity (which I will not miss). I feel really fortunate to have been able to spend a summer in this unique city, first in the family to even see it!
I still have some work to finish up with my project from the summer: a series of blog posts and an interactive timeline. Thankfully, my mentors are willing to keep working with me to finish up before the fall semester begins! Thanks to this project, I feel so much more equipped to continue my research at CU Denver in industrial energy materials innovation, with a focus on accessibility for vulnerable regions to climate change. I feel lucky that I got to spend an entire summer doing the background research in science history and policy for my thesis. I think that the work I did this summer with SPS would be a good fit for the 2025 AAAS conference in Boston, MA.
The work doesn’t end with the SPS internship. I have so much to do this fall: pass Quantum Mechanics, apply for graduate school, get ready to buy my first house. I think, at least, I can take some much needed downtime first.
Can you tell I’m ranting because I’m really bad at goodbyes?
(insert sudden sign-off here),
Piper Malczewski