This summer, I completed my STEP project– a guided computer build. I was responsible for creating a parts list, ordering the parts, and building the computer. In addition to this, I was part of a group of four or five people who met with a cybersecurity professional on a regular basis. He served as our guide and touch-point to the rest of the tech and computer-building world.
In doing this project, I feel like I was given the chance to approach a new problem (building a computer from scratch with a limited budget) from a different perspective than I usually would. When doing this project, I focused a lot on how I was engaging with creating. Ordinarily, I feel like I don’t put a lot of stock in what I think I know. Through this project, I have developed a new understanding of my approach to larger projects, as well as my approach to new things. I feel like I now can look at an entire project from start to finish, and see what steps I will have to take, before even making the first action. This has given me a chance to practice more foresight in my projects, when I usually get tunnel vision and get stuck in what I am doing in the moment. Most importantly, though, I had the chance to build my own confidence in myself.
I think the biggest thing that led to this transformation was the required process of my computer build. Because I wasn’t able to just go off and do, I had to spend a lot more time waiting, and thinking. For example, after I created my parts list, I sent it over to my supervisor to be approved. But I then spent a week or so waiting for the approval to come, so I looked more into what I was doing, and ended up revising it slightly. So by the time my advisor got back to me with approval, I had a totally new parts list that I felt even more confident in than before.
Being forced to step away from the project gave me a chance to clear my head and approach it with fresh eyes regularly. I think that if I had done this build on my own, I would have gone with the first parts list I came up with, bought everything right away, and ended up regretting it. By compiling my parts list over the course of two months, I gave myself time to learn more about what I was doing, gain a better understanding of what I wanted out of the project, and know when deals often happened, getting me better prices for parts.
I also believe that working with two people in particular really helped me grow with this project. The first was my advisor, who made sure I genuinely understood what everything was for, and what I needed to be doing. The second was my partner, who sat next to me while I actually built the computer. He has built multiple computers before, and I was very worried going into the build that I wouldn’t trust myself, and would end up asking him to build it. He made sure that absolutely didn’t let that happen. The only time he touched anything was when I needed a third or fourth hand. He made me feel so confident, and just sat back and let me tell him what I was doing. This showed me that I really did know what I was doing, and that I could continue to put more trust in myself from here on out.
I didn’t quite realize the impact this project had on me until I started classes this year. At first, I thought it was just the problem solving that I improved in. But at the start of the semester, I have found myself feeling more confident, engaging in class more, and even talking to more people. I genuinely think that these are because of my experience over the summer. I proved to myself that I *do* belong in engineering, and that I *do* know what I’m talking about. I feel so much more confident after this build, and I genuinely can’t express how life changing that confidence is.
