I spent the last six weeks reading extensively, exploring online archives, and working with my mentor to complete the research portion of the Laidlaw Scholars Fellowship. During this time, I not only expanded my knowledge on my research focus but also on myself. With much time to manage on my own, I honed in on my organizational skills to hold myself accountable daily. The more I read and researched, the more my original research question changed. I followed what interested me and what would be most productive to research in such a short time frame. I had to be flexible and adaptable, willing to pivot at any given moment.
As I progressed, I learned what worked best for me and what didn’t, including not comparing myself to the progress of others in my cohort. I began turning my research into written sections in the last two weeks of the program, which is the one thing I wish I had started earlier, as I learned it was the best way for me to digest my research topic. Throughout the entire program, my mentor remained an extremely supportive and useful tool to my research, especially because her academic focus is parallel to mine. She gave me extremely useful books and articles to read and helped me broaden my mind and ideas into spaces I hadn’t even considered. I am close to finishing an almost complete draft of my research paper, which needs to be edited and examined by my mentor. I haven’t begun the poster, but I imagine it won’t be too difficult after the paper is completed. As I return home for the summer, I hope to create a timeline with deadlines for myself to follow to make sure everything is completed by September first. I look forward to seeing my finished project as well as everyone else's in my cohort!