In Preparation for my Senior Comp
A part of my graduation requirements in the chemistry program, I will be giving a presentation to the department (as well as any public that choose to attend) on my research at Nazareth. Many of you may already know that I have been doing biodiesel research for Dr. Hartmann for quite some time, and the specific project I have been focusing on has lasted for the past year and will continue into my senior year.
The research course that sets the guidelines for my work requires that I give several presentations and reports varying in degree of depth. I have also completed a course focused on grant writing in which I wrote a mock grant proposal and defense presentation for my research. As a result, I have had a lot of practice over the past year presenting on my research.
During my second week of my fellowship, Dr. Balaz asked me to give a 20-40 minute presentation on my research at Nazareth to him and his graduate students. I said yes, but began to feel nervous almost immediately. This would be my first time presenting my research to group of people who are not familiar with what I am doing and also have much more expertise in chemistry than I do. There are a lot of advantages to this situation, because Dr. Balaz and his students are a set of fresh eyes and ears that can point areas of improvement or what was good. I was still afraid of opening my work up to harsh criticism. I understand that the criticism is not about me as a person, rather the work that could be better. However, as a student it is difficult to be told I fail on producing quality work after putting in so much effort. I probably hate failure as much as the next student.
When the day of my presentation came, I got up early, dressed business casual and headed off to the conference room. There was a small delay in my presentation because neither I nor anybody in the department had the adapter needed to plug the projector into my Mac Book. Apparently just about every model of Mac has a different type/fit of a projector port, and the adapters are not cheap.
During the presentation, I made eye connection with each person in the room and spoke clearly. Every person in Dr. Balaz’s lab speaks English as a second language, even though they all speak very well, it is easy for my to slip up on some words and cause confusion. At the end they all had good things to point out, recommendations for slides that were confusing, and minor formatting considerations. Dr. Balaz said my introduction was “fantastic” and I made my goals and objectives very clear. The group told me I did a good job and Dr. Balaz said I’m a very smart student (he has since made this comment multiple times when I surprise him with my knowledge about concepts like anisotropy).
I have several people to thank for success in presenting my research. When I first entered college, I had a lot of trouble presenting in front of groups and would feel intense stage fright to the point of my knees buckling and almost tossing my cookies. The only way this fear and feeling ever went away was through practice. Several of my courses required me to present multiple times through out a semester and some focused on critiquing my skills. Both of the courses (Chemistry Seminars) I have taken with Dr. Alicia Carroll have been focused scientific writing for journal articles and grants and presenting on my research. My research courses, advised by Drs. Carroll, Hartmann and Knoerzer also required presentations in front of peers and faculty.
The experiences in these courses offered a lot advice and insight about many aspects of a presentation. For example, the presentations in my research courses allowed for great peer review of my work and insight into what type of questions to expect. Dr. Carroll has been especially helpful, because even though her tough critiques seemed discouraging at times, it is the only way I progressed.
I have to thank Dr. Richard Hartmann for allowing me to do research for him and all of his advisement along the way. He has helped me greatly in finding what area of chemistry is my passion. He was also the person to recommend the University of Wyoming REU to me!
We will all miss Dr. Timm Knoerzer this next year. It is strange to think what Organic Chemistry lab is going to be with out him! I have to thank him for all of his advice and suggestions he offered during my presentations and whenever I dropped by his office, and not to forget all the skills he taught during lab. There was a time in my undergraduate career that I wasn’t sure if I could continue on due to tragedy in my family. Dr. Timm stepped up and helped me get back on track in my academics, encouraged me, and ensured me that I’m a great student. Dr. Carroll also played a large role in helping me during this hard time.
If I could offer any advice to undergraduate students in any of the science programs at Nazareth, it would be to participate early and often in research and take courses (if possible) with Dr. Alicia Carroll. Yes – she will give a tough critique, but it is honest and straightforward. You may be aware that the seminars she offers are only worth 1 or 2 credits, which doesn’t seem to represent the amount of work you will do, but its worth it. At this stage in your career, you need a professor like her to push you.
Thank you all for reading along, and I’m sorry for the delay in posts. I promise I have more coming!
