For the past two summers I worked as a Research Assistant on Wright Patt Air Force Base in a Physical Chemistry lab. I really liked the work there, especially because so the Physical Chemistry that the lab worked with had to deal a lot with quantum mechanics. Every single day I learned something new about the way the universe worked that just absolutely blew my mind. Quantum Mechanics and all of the mystical ways that it works, even if its not really magic, does seem pretty magical. That is why I really wanted to go to a seminar about Quantum Mechanics even if I am currently choosing to study computer science. This is especially true because I knew that this seminar would touch on Quantum Computing, which is actually super interesting to me and could even be something that I am looking into working with in the future. Only time will tell.

I met one of my friends, Cassie, as pictured, a physics major who I knew understood a few things about Quantum Mechanics herself, to go to the seminar with. We went to a seminar called “Quantum Information Seminar Series and Optical Science Seminar – Quantum Weirdness and Quantum Technology.” The speaker’s name was Bill Plink, from the University of Dayton, which just happens to be my hometown so that was a cool connection as well. He made a great analogy for Quantum Mechanics in that it is two connected wizard boxes and that they are able to somehow “communicate” with each other instantly. His analogy was detailed, but I feel that even someone who doesn’t understand anything about quantum mechanics could follow pretty clearly, even if the connection to the real world quantum mechanics to be a little tricky. Never the less, it was a very interesting seminar that gave a good overview of quantum mechanics and was able to also touch on the possible applications of the science. For example, he spoke in detail about how quantum communication could be used to perfectly encrypt information and not allow anybody else to access it. A technology that is actually in the making and one that I believe will be a reality someday. He also spoke about quantum computing and how it can solve some of the worlds biggest questions hundreds of thousands of years faster than any classical computer we have today. Now this might all seem like crazy technology that will never be a reality, but one of the main points of his talk is how this technology is not nearly as far away as it sounds. I was more surprised that the seminar didn’t go into more detail about quantum mechanics though. I thought that since it was given to professors, grad students and undergrads, that it would include more higher level ideas that would go way over my head. But actually, it was a great talk for somebody like me, who knows a few things about the field, but is not an active member in it. Overall, the seminar was a pretty good experience and I did have fun going. Plus I got to see my good friend there too so that made it even better!

Every year the Ohio State University College of Engineering hosts a Career Expo/Fair for the students to connect to employers and create networks. I knew that I wanted to attend and start growing my network, but I was incredibly unprepared. While I’ve held multiple jobs and have gone through application processes, I have never attended a career fair and had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even have a current resume and had little experience with creating a quality resume. This is where I remembered a lecture from my survey class into the many career services that are offered by the university. The Arts and Sciences Center for Career Success offers many different ways to help with writing a resume including an extensive general guide, template, as well as a guide specifically for freshmen. These were very valuable in creating my first draft of my resume. But the Center for Career Success did not only offer guides, they will also review your resume for free by simply walking into their office during the appropriate hours. I was able to walk into Denny Hall and see a Peer Carrer Coach to get my resume reviewed. She first read my resume and quickly made some formatting corrections and told me to change some grammar. This was very helpful by itself, but then she talked to me about my past and goals for the future. I read over my resume to her and told her some of the details of each section. I later told her about what I was using the resume for and what type of internships I was looking for. This is when she told me where I should add more detail and information about certain topics, and where to remove some. She was able to tailor my resume to the Career Fair and the employers there. Those corrections were incredibly valuable in creating a resume that is relevant to the employers. In addition, going over my resume piece by piece with her gave me some experience with quickly explaining the content on my resume and allowed her to give me more pointers on how to highlight content better. I became much more confident with the looming career fair both in having a quality resume to show employers and in my ability to communicate what I can offer. When walking into the Carrer Expo at the Union, I was still incredibly nervous talking to employers, but I could not imagine how bad my nerves would be without the help from the Center for Career Services. I am pretty happy with how the expo turned out, especially as a freshman. I landed an interview with a company and gained even more experience with my first technical interview. I have now realized what I need to work on and what skills to develop in the future. This would not be possible without the Engineering Career Expo and everything that they offered to connect me with employers and have actual experience with the process of interviewing and getting jobs in the real world.