Honestly, this program is so much more than I expected. As Jasmine said, it provides us with experiences and skills that we would have to obtain through several diverse internships. And on top of that, a wonderful community of people who aren't just colleagues but friends. I appreciate how Laidlaw is cultivating our character at the same time, emphasising the importance of journaling and gratitude.
Academically wise, I have been fortunate enough to be put into a group that I had a genuine research interest (role and importance of developing character in educational curriculums to improve life outcomes). Being given a reading list, we split up the readings.Yet I still found myself reading the other papers in my free time out of curiosity. As a STEM student choosing to study a History and Philosophy of Science next year, I was concerned for my lack of essay writing skills, critical thinking and articulation. I thought I'd have to practice the skill of reading articles outside of my time at Laidlaw. But Laidlaw has provided so many powerful workshops such as critical thinking and choosing sources. As I am researching character development, I automatically had to read on philosophy and psychology, immediately fostering these skills within my internship.
Additionally, I always desired to work in an interdisciplinary team that wasn't just within the sciences (eg. chemistry, maths) but across fields. My team consists of Chitalu, Albert, Deep and Cameron who study history, geography, biology and materials science. I truly am beginning to see the value in working in such teams. Chitalu is amazing at quickly reading multiple articles, synthesisng that information and being highly critical. I am beginning to learn from how she interprets sources and critically analyses them, and I hope to continue to develop this skill too! Albert is a key member of the team, especially in our data collection stage. Studying geography, he has had a whole paper on data collection methods which proved to be incredibly useful in suggesting techniques that I didn't know existed (eg. semi-structured interviews). Deep, Cameron, and I provide a technical and rigorous outlook on the structuring and planning of our research paper. I am so glad to be working with such fantastic people.
I love how we are also all friends! On the first night I had a wonderful walk with Merit and a trip to Turf Tavern with a few other scholars. The next day for Mahnoor's birthday we all celebrated with a big picnic in John's gardens which was so lovely to have everyone care about each other in this way. Everyone has such big hearts!
Finally I'd like to express gratitude to Ruby-Anne and the rest of the team for making it such a wonderful experience: they are always pampering us. From making sure snacks, food and coffee is always available (bringing ice lollies when the heat wave was at its peak!), arranging a lobby of taxis to take us to Iffley, providing transportation to the Ley's festival... This feels like the best holiday rather than any work or internship.
Although the next 5 weeks will be intense, I know I will have so much fun and they will fly by. This time in Laidlaw is already shaping my outlook on the future.