Interview Project

The goal of this project is to connect with the university, and to learn about what life is like towards the end of university life.  In order to do this, three interviews were conducted.  The first interview was with an upperclassman at the university, in this case, John Coffey.  John is a senior in the Chemical Engineering major and a resident advisor in Park-Stradley Hall.  The next interview was with a graduate student.  This graduate student is David Palzer, a teaching assistant for the computer science and engineering 1223 class.  David is working on his third masters degree.  Finally, the third interview was James Cogdell, a mathematics professor and researcher here at The Ohio State University focusing in number theory.

A variety of methods were used to find the subjects of the interviews.  The upperclassman was chosen as he is easily accessible, and he has taken a path through Ohio State similar to the one that I wish to pursue, including becoming a resident advisor.  The graduate student I found through my computer science class, and he was chosen due to his extensive experience with graduate education, specifically in Computer Science.  Lastly, I found professor Cogdell through his research, specifically a few papers that he wrote last year about L-Functions and number theory, a branch of mathematics that is extremely interesting to me.

For the upperclassman interview, the questions were focused on developing discussion about how to get involved on campus, how to find a niche and passion that can carry into a career, how to become and be a successful resident advisor, and how to be successful in classes.  Getting involved on campus has not been too difficult for me so far, as I found a spot on the club rowing team early on, but John’s advice was helpful nonetheless.  He explained how he got involved through connections that he had made in high school, and by locating clubs and organizations on campus that are similar to the ones he enjoyed in high school.  He also explained just how important this is, in fact, he said the most influential class he has taken is Men’s Glee Club because the singing keeps him grounded, and acts as a stress reliever.  Slowly, I am noticing this in my rowing.  The days where I do not have rowing are the days when I feel the most stressed and overworked.  The physical activity, mental strain, and camaraderie are extremely important in keeping my sanity.  I also learned that study habits are too different from person to person for his to be helpful for me, but he had some good suggestions.

The interview with David, the graduate student, was perhaps the most useful.  Our conversation mostly covered what research is like for Computer Science and how to make the most out of graduate school.  Especially because of the route I want to take, a Mathematics major and Computer Science minor in undergraduate with a Masters in Computer Science, I found his insights extremely useful, and he actually sold me on that path, explaining why it would be useful for me.  David already has two Master’s Degrees from Washington University and Western Washington University, so he is well acquainted with graduate education.  He explained that majoring in Mathematics is beneficial for a Computer Science Masters, as it will allow me to easily focus in something like cryptography or algorithms. Both of these topics interest me greatly, so his explanation was helpful.  David also told me that he believes all graduate education should be free as the salary difference between undergraduate education and a Master’s Degree is only $10,000, much less than the education costs.  He recommended either trying to get a fellowship, or becoming a research assistant or teacher’s assistant.  Finally, we discussed undergraduate research and how important it will be moving forward.  It will provide a good base when applying to graduate school, and as I will do research in graduate school, the experience will be incredibly important.

Prior to the final interview, I had to find and read a few of Professor Cogdell’s essays.  To do this, I looked at the mathematics department page, and found a current professor that does research in number theory, my favorite branch of mathematics.  Then, I used the University’s library webpage to locate a database where I could find a few of his papers, and searched his research on there.  Then, I skimmed the titles, picked out two, and read their respective introductions, conclusions, and abstracts.  Research articles can be extremely useful, but for freshmen in college, they are also very difficult to understand and read effectively.  While the articles are almost certainly factual and true, the articles can be nearly impossible to read for undergraduate students due to their complexity.  Especially in mathematics and computer science, if the reader is not a graduate student, or very far along in their studies, it becomes difficult to understand anything.

The final interview was with James Cogdell, a mathematics professor.  This interview was focused more on the articles that I read, and not so much on undergraduate research.  I learned a great deal about L-Functions and their history, and I learned even more about how research in mathematics is conducted. Typically, this research involves researchers linking older concepts and building off of them; oftentimes developing entirely new concepts to link old ideas.  The only thing I learned about undergraduate research was who I could contact to get involved, and that professor Cogdell does not use any undergraduate assistants.  

Overall, this assignment was a positive experience.  Through it, I developed a more solid plan to go through college and graduate school, and learned how to connect with different resources at the university.  While it was not easy, I feel as though it was an important experience, and it helped me develop my knowledge of the university, and how to utilize it for my career.

Volunteering with COSI

cosi

There are many opportunities to conduct STEM-based service outreach at The Ohio State University and in the Columbus area.  I participated in a volunteer project at the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus.  COSI is a science center dedicated to teaching the public (especially children) about science.  As I grew up in the Columbus area, my love of science and math was reinforced by the incredible visits and field trips I made to COSI when I was younger. Due to these experiences, getting the opportunity to volunteer at COSI was incredible;it allowed me to spread my love of STEM to children the same way that others did for me.  While at COSI, I roamed the halls with gyroscopes, gumdrops, and a stool with a piece of rubber, performing experiments for the visitors.  The gyroscopes were used to teach the visitors about Newton’s three laws of motion, the gumdrops were used to teach the visitors about perception and the senses, and the stool and piece of rubber were used to teach the visitors about air pressure.  After performing the experiments, I answered questions for as long as the children had more to ask.

STEM education is the future of modern society.  Jobs will continue to exist in other fields, but as we become more technologically advanced, STEM will continue to grow exponentially.  For this reason, places like COSI are imperative to the future of our country.  As I was teaching the visitors about Newton’s laws of motion, the power of air pressure, and the complexity of the senses, it was clear that most children just need a spark to jump start their imaginations.  Easily the most satisfying part of the experience was seeing the wonder build as they asked questions, thought of new ideas, and sought to discover more.  While I reached as many children as I could throughout the day, I also know that many young people do not have access to resources like COSI.  Those are the children that it is most important to reach.  If given the initial chance, incredible opportunities could open up for them in the STEM fields.

One of the most difficult problems with STEM education is funding.  Despite the thousands of schools and charter schools across the United States, many are underfunded and fail to affect their students in a lasting way.  With other fields, this is not as much of an issue because with a library card, students can reach into any part of history, English, or literature that they want, but STEM requires more than books.  Without hands-on experiences with STEM, understanding the concepts is difficult, and gaining interest is nearly impossible.  For this reason, volunteering in STEM education is one of the most important and rewarding ways to spend free time.  Without volunteers, people living in low income areas do not get exposed to STEM fields, limiting the scope of their imagination and talent.

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

professional picture (not really)

My name is Benjamin Coffey and I am pursuing a mathematics major with a computer science minor as a part of the STEM Exploration and Engagement Scholars.  I have an extremely analytical and logical mind, but I also enjoy things like reading, writing, and athletics.  Education has always been an important part of my life, but I have also made a point to expand my knowledge base through involvement in scouting, sports, creativity, and service.

As a boy scout, I completed my Life Scout and held leadership roles including patrol leader, service coordinator and Quartermaster.  I was the Crew Leader for our 79 mile canoe trip in the border waters of Canada, and the Environmental Guide for our 89 mile hiking trip in the mountains of Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.  Both of these trips taught me how to think on the fly, how to lead a group of people that were in a stressful, hard environment, and how to persevere no matter how tough the job gets.  My career as a scout however wasn’t a very smooth one as scoutmasters came and went, and none of them seemed to understand the concept of a boy led troop.  I went to National Youth Leadership Training during the summer of my freshman year of high school, and what I learned there was that a troop can run without the parents and the scout leaders taking over.  I learned that my scout troop had been doing things the wrong way the whole time.  This was incredibly frustrating, but I found myself fighting to get the experience that scouting is supposed to be, not what the parents made it.  I was continually building my leadership skills, asking to plan camping trips, leading meetings, and getting involved as much as possible.  Eventually the stress of not being able to lead the troop like I thought I should have been allowed to, and the introduction of rowing to my life pushed me out of the troop when I was only one step away from obtaining my Eagle Scout.

I have played sports throughout my young life and from year to year the sports I played varied greatly.  I have played baseball, basketball, soccer, and football, but none of these compares to my love of rowing.  Rowing is one of the most difficult yet rewarding things I have ever done.  It requires incredible amounts of dedication and effort, hours and hours of practice with each and every stroke being better than the last.  Practices in high school were 2 hours 6 days a week while high school practice lengths vary based on the season.  I have struggled with the sport, especially when it is too cold to row on the water and we are stuck on indoor rowing machines.  The sport is toughest then as the rower is able to watch exactly how fast they are going and decide whether or not they can go faster.  The thing that this taught me was that no matter how much it hurt, it was always possible to go faster, to put in a little extra time and a little extra effort and drop some time.  Even after 4 years in the sport, I am much better with this.  It used to be that my mind would stop me before my body would, but I believe that I have reached a point where my body fails before my mind, allowing me to put literally every ounce of energy I have into each stroke, making myself as fast as I can be.

Some of my favorite things to do in my free time when I’m not volunteering at a local church, studying, or rowing, are playing chess, the game clue, or video games.  These things all appeal to my logical mind and I love the puzzles involved, yet they are not the only way I spend my time.  I also love to write.  Writing and reading are some of the greatest stress relievers out there.  Just opening a book and looking into a new world or creating the world myself allow me to siphon off the jumbled thoughts in my mind and clear my head a bit.  I have even written a book, though I have not published it yet.  This book was a product of my International Baccalaureate education.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma program is one of the most strenuous academic routes in high school.  The program enforces an education with a global perspective with an emphasis on how to gain and use knowledge, not just how to memorize some words on a page.  During the program I wrote a college level research paper in every subject, including two in physics and my personal favorite, a paper on the concepts behind and a geometric proof of the Banach-Tarski Paradox.  As a class we focused on open discussion about the topics we were learning in class, enhancing the knowledge that the teacher gave us and reinforcing it with our own ideas and discoveries.  The program taught me not just how to collaborate with others, but how to question and debate what we seemingly already know.  I learned how to express my thoughts and ideas intelligently both on paper, in speech, and in practical conversation without falling into a trap of fallacies.  The process was not simple however as I learned early on, time management skills became paramount and working ahead was necessary to keep up.  Despite the struggles, the knowledge that I gained and how the program molded me into an intelligent learner are extremely important to who I am becoming.  Parts of the program that may have seemed superfluous at the time have become some of my feature characteristics.  The creativity aspect increased the time I spend writing and drawing and the action aspect manufactured a love of staying fit and active in me, enhancing my passion for rowing.

Writing, reading, games, scouting, sports, and above all school have made me who I am, and the skills I have learned from them are numerous.  Between rowing, scouting,  service, free time activities, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma that is now hanging in my room, I have become an intelligent, dedicated hard-worker with an already broad range of experiences.