I am spreading my wings professionally and socially. I have met so many new people and learned so much. I have been working on my galaxy project still but trying to balance it with tours of the East Coast. I went to Philadelphia for a concert with the KONGOS and Strumbellas, building life long relationships with people from all different scientific fields. I have gone above and beyond what I thought I would accomplish via networking this summer. I went to Yorktown Heights to visit IBM and learn about their condensed matter physics. The photo below shows one of the condensed matter labs.

We toured Princeton and saw Einstein’s house. I was able to see the Physics and Astrophysics buildings on the campus. Below are photos of me at Princeton. The three in the photo in front of Einstein’s house are physics majors from other universities, also participating in the Research Experience for Undergraduates this summer at Rutgers. I left the campus with goals of being a graduate student there in the fall of 2017.

For the 4th of July, we all went to the beach to unwind. It is safe to say I am making lifetime friendships. It is wonderful to see what happens when you make 40 scientists live, work, and play together for a summer. We are all from different fields, yet we all get along tremendously and have spent the summer talking about life and science.

I will end this post on yet another high note. I have been offered a Teaching Assistant for the Fall Semester ASTR 362: Observational Astronomy course with my research advisor at UM. I will be happily helping to shape 13 minds. I will get to teach them Python, observing, and how to produce a great scientific paper. This was my favorite course my Sophomore year at the University, and now to get to teach it makes me beyond happy. I only have a few more weeks at my REU, and I have a feeling I will be leaving it with a longing to come back to the East Coast and to see my new found friends again.