Cumulative Reflection

The first lecture I ever attended at Iowa State University (ISU), my professor told us that
engineering is not about knowing every technical detail, but instead about critical thinking and
continuous learning. This set the tone for the duration of my undergraduate degree and has been
reinforced through the application of technical skills to problem solving. ISU has offered continuous
opportunities for problem-solving experience through hands-on, group projects. Lab components of
courses have helped me connect technical details in lecture to how real-world systems work. In the
course Embedded Systems, we interacted with an infrared sensor and had to account for signal noise in
the detection of objects. This connection between theory and reality is another core aspect of
engineering and I feel well prepared for that in my career.

My time at ISU has taught me skills outside of my degree as well. Through group projects, I
learned communications skills and patterns of development that helped keep projects on-track and
allowed me to cultivate positive relationships with my peers. We learned that tools like GitLab are only
as powerful as your ability to communicate with your team. Learning how to use Git alongside
developing software helped us establish multiple skills at once. I often took a leadership role and helped
manage the planning of our projects. I checked on members to see if they needed support and created
development deadlines for us. Another skill that I acquired was how to consider ethics in problem
solving. In class, we examined real-world ethical dilemmas in an engineering context. An example of
which was the legal debate surrounding the admission of audio data from Amazon Echo devices as
evidence in court trials. We discussed our thoughts in groups and had an open dialogue about them.
Having these discussions expanded my understanding of the issue by hearing perspectives I had not
considered.

Another skill I developed was the ability to seek solutions beyond what I learned in lecture.
Learning how to use a new programming library helped me exceed the expectations of a project to
create a solution I was proud of. To gain familiarity with concepts outside lecture, I learned how to do
effective research on various technical skills. For brief technical questions, I have found that forum sites
are excellent resources. It is important not to rely upon or blindly trust advice from these sites, but they
can be a valuable starting point. For something requiring more depth, conversing with my peers and
professors was the best way to work through a problem-solving block. Sometimes having open debates
about the best way to solve a problem made both sides realize a third option would be better.

However, not all my experiences were in the classroom. In the summer of 2022, I participated in
a Research for Undergraduates (REU) experience that progressed to an undergraduate research position
during the subsequent fall semester. Through the REU, I engaged with a python simulator and gained
experience with being introduced to a large software system without having had any involvement in its
development. In turn, I learned how to read the code of others more effectively. Being a member of the
REU also pushed me to add a layer of research inquiry to my thought process. When I looked over the
results of my experiments, I noticed odd, verified trends. I then began to ask questions about the deeper
meaning of those results and what further questions they prompted. At this time, I also started reading
research papers and journal articles to understand how what I was working on fit into the larger body of
understanding on the subject. This prompted more questions and also answered some of the inquiries I
already had. Being able to effectively read journal articles has been very beneficial. Most of all, the
experience has encouraged me to continually educate myself through the acquisition of new skills and
expansion of my knowledge base.

Moreover, my work as a Cyclone Aide (New Student Programs ambassador) and a Resident
Assistant, taught me that there is more to learning than absorbing technical information. In these roles, I
have learned a great deal about topics like mental health, diversity, and community development. Having
come from a relatively small town, I had a limited view of the world. Since coming to ISU, I have seized
the opportunity to challenge my perceptions. Consequently, I have grown as a person and member of
society as a result. Learning in this way has also increased my ability to place my critical thinking in the
context of the real world and helped me to understand how actions might have a greater impact than
they seem.

Reflecting on my involvement at ISU, it is clear that COVID-19 has had a detrimental effect on my
collegiate experience. The pandemic and the resulting restrictions make it difficult to say what things I
would have changed in regards to my extracurricular activities. If I could go back, I might have tried to
expand my involvement earlier than I did. When restrictions were mostly lifted in the summer of 2021, I
did rapidly increase my involvement. I was initiated and became involved in Tau Beta Pi, continued my
membership in Eta Kappa Nu, became a chair of the IEEE student chapter, and took on my other
previously mentioned campus positions. These all helped me grow as an engineer outside an academic
setting. I feel that even though the pandemic may have limited my extracurricular development. I seized
the opportunities provided by ISU afterwards.

All this together has taught me that even though my undergraduate degree is nearing
completion, my learning will never end. I want and need to continually educate myself on skills, ethics,
and societal issues. As a part of my career, I will naturally continue to improve my communication and
technical skills. However, to foster a problem solving mindset, I will need to seek knowledge and
experiences outside the requirements of my career. This can be done through the pursuit of new
certifications or even through attending seminars on effective communication. ISU has prepared me to
pursue lifelong learning both in and out of the classroom.