High School Design Showcase Presentation

HSDS Landscape Architecture

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) 2024 Convention is a 4-day conference with various workshops, presentations of research, and socials for the purpose of networking with professional athletic trainers. This convention is an amazing opportunity for athletic training students to meet and build connections with certified athletic trainers of varying years of experience.

One thing I understood about myself while completing my STEP Signature Project was my ability to make connections and network with people I’ve never met before. Due to my involvements in other organizations and the skills I’ve brought with me from those experiences, I was able to foster meaningful connections with many talented professionals in the career field that I aspire to be a part of. I left the convention feeling abundantly confident in the networking I did and the resources I now have access to because of these interactions. This convention allowed me to practice these skills so that I feel more comfortable attending future career-related events as a professional.

One event during my STEP Signature Project that led to the change that I discussed in the previous paragraph was the NATA Expo. The Expo was an opportunity for all participants to walk around and observe the different companies that had tables with Athletic Training related items. During the Expo, I met the Chair and Program Manager of the Kinesiology and Online Master of Public Health Program at Morehouse School of Medicine in addition to other Athletic Directors and Athletic Trainers from other states. These connections could likely lead to a job opportunity for me once I become certified because they foresee openings in some of their positions by next year.

Another event during my STEP Signature Project that led to the change that I discussed earlier was the Minority Women in Sports Medicine (MWISM) Social. This outing gave me the opportunity to not only meet other minority women that are athletic trainers, but also minority women in other sports medicine related career fields. This social was so transformational for me since I met a Soror (another member of my sorority) who just recently graduated from Physical Therapy School which is the program I want to pursue in graduate school. We were able to build a connection due to this event and she’s already helped me with aspects of my graduate school applications.

A final event during my STEP Project that led to the change that I discussed was the EDAC Town Hall. This was a premier networking event for Athletic Trainers and Athletic Training students who have a passion for diversity and cultural competency. During this town hall, I was able to watch and meet different trailblazers in the athletic training field and I found resources to help me prepare for my Board of Certification Exam that I will take next year. This was yet another opportunity for me to meet other healthcare professionals that could assist me in my journey to becoming a certified athletic trainer and physical therapist.

This transformation is significant to my life because it provided me with the basic knowledge of how to make connections in a career-related setting. The skills I learned from this convention will allow me to excel not only in my future professional goals but in life. It’s important to possess the ability in fostering relationships with other people no matter what career you go into or where you end up. It’s impossible to collaborate with others without the presence of communication and this convention helped me enhance those skills so that I can build necessary relationships to help me succeed in my career.

My STEP signature project was a trip to San Francisco to attend Figma’s Config conference. Figma is an industry standard software for user interface design and bridges the gap between designers and developers. The conference offered many talks from leaders in the industry and activities to network and learn more about design software. 

I experienced a major shift in the way I viewed the design and tech industries. Before this conference, I had a narrow view of what it would actually look like to work in either industry, with a gray area in between that seemed very unclear to me. I hadn’t had too much experience in the actual design field outside of school, so I had no idea what to expect. Config really gave me a good idea of jobs I could potentially aim for as well as expanded my potential options for where I want to position myself in the industry. Originally I thought my only options were working in teams for apps spending months deciding where a button should go or freelancing and doing brand design, but I realized there is a lot more creativity and expansion in the design industry especially when it comes to tech.

Something that really stood out to me from the conference was Josh Wardle’s talk on how he created the hit internet game Wordle. He detailed his process of developing the game for his partner and how that focus on someone else gave the game the wholesome feel it has today. He went over a lot of the things that typically you are not supposed to do when making a game or experience that he did when making Wordle. In this instance, breaking the rules made him more successful and kept him true to himself. This led to some dismantling of my cynicism on the future of technology and social media and motivated me to find a solution where I originally felt like there was none.

I really enjoyed Andy Allen’s talk “Serious Play”, as well as the Humane team’s discussion on the future of AI. These talks both challenged my assumptions about the future of technology and the role of AI in our lives. Allen is a software engineer at !Boring Software, a company that makes everyday utility apps more fun. They approach their development by asking how they can turn a tool into a savory experience for a user, employing game design strategies to achieve this goal. According to Andy, it is important to give users rich experiences when they use your software. Typically my perspective has been that software should be as little of a distraction as possible in order to let users return to their real lives. Another opinion that was brought up was the Humane team’s talk about their AI Pin. The AI Pin is a piece of wearable tech that brings a laser display to your hand only when you call on it. Humane founder Imran Chaudhri explained that he wanted to eliminate the barrier between the user and the world around them that usually accompanies wearable technology. He argued that AI and wearables are inevitably going to become prevalent in the near future so we should go about developing them in a less overwhelming and all-consuming way. This also challenged me in the ways I think about artificial intelligence and the idea of always being plugged into technology. Although I don’t necessarily fully support the AI Pin, I was also glad to gain a new perspective to such a hot topic.

Overall an aspect of the conference that pushed me a lot was the fact that I went alone. A lot of the time in academia it is easy to lean on your classmates and teachers to stay in your comfort zone, but that wasn’t an option for me at Config. I wanted to get as much as I possibly could from the conference, so I kept myself on time for every talk, took notes, and introduced myself to the people around me. I got the opportunity to meet so many cool people who showed me innovative products and software. I also got to take away some nuggets of advice for working in design and development. As one of 37 students at a conference of 10-15k professionals, I feel like I got a very unique perspective and tried to soak up as much information as I could. Pushing myself to do this on my own really helped me branch out and get out of my comfort zone; I’m glad I did it this way. It kept me focused on what I could take out of each talk and interaction.

This conference was really important not only for my career development but also my perspective on my skills and learning. I realized I need to expand my mind much more and think outside the box when it comes to design. Since leaving San Francisco, I have started the habit of coming up with one innovative idea a day so I can develop the ones I think are worthwhile when I have the time. This practice will help me be less serious when problem solving and think more creatively. A key takeaway from most of the speakers at Config was that they approached design like play, and that is how they come up with such bright and innovative ideas. It seems cliche, but it is really easy to just follow rules and regulations in academia without leaving room for play, and it takes experiences outside the classroom to find this sense of enjoyment in your career.

1. For four weeks in early summer, I took an online course via Zoom to become certified in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from the International TEFL Academy. Over the course of these weeks, I attended daily courses during the week where I learned about the practical and theoretical elements of teaching English to non-native speakers, learning a lot about the various teaching, cultural, academic, and technical knowledge necessary for this field. Throughout the course, I also taught a few lessons to real ESL learners to practice my teaching after observing some other lessons to get me prepared. I also completed various assignments throughout the course that gauged my understanding of the material but also that mimicked tasks I may have to complete in the field, such as dealing with schools and new students. 

2. I would definitely say my experience in this course was transformative. By working with my instructors, classmates from all different walks of life, and my students, I was able to broaden my worldview throughout this course. Hearing from my peers in class, they often shared their many life experiences that brought them to pursue this course, and I gleaned a little more insight into the world through each person. I also obtained a greater appreciation for viewing all the different potential ways people can go at solving or breaking down a problem based on their previous life and professional experiences. Working with my students also provided me with a greater sense of understanding of the world and different people. I worked with adults of all ages from all over the world, and I was able to learn something about all of them through the ways they interacted with my lessons and through the anecdotes they shared. Lastly, this course also changed my self perception. Before now, I had always considered being a teacher/professor in some capacity, but I had worries about my teaching abilities and how I’d like it. By working with my course instructors and teaching my lessons throughout the course though, I came to find a new passion in teaching, looking forward to engaging with my students and the material in every lesson. This really built my confidence in what I was doing and allowed me to explore this new potential career path in a safe, supportive environment.

3. The people I worked with throughout this course truly shaped this experience for me. My classmates helped me by creating a sense of camaraderie between all of us, allowing myself to be at ease and really focus on the material of the class. We were also able to all support each other by sharing experiences we were going through together and sharing our own unique background knowledge and approaches to things to help all of us develop a more rich understanding of the material, ourselves, and the world. My instructors in the course were also phenomenal and supportive, always being available and answering questions. They allowed me enough room to make mistakes and helped me become comfortable in this new role for myself. The students I taught were also amazing in this course. By being so attentive and receptive to what I was trying to teach, they made me motivated to do my best, but they were also incredibly generous and understanding when I was still working some things out as I learned how to teach. All of this support throughout the course allowed me to confidently take on what was being expected of me, and I feel a better person with a better understanding of myself for having completed it.

4. This course was very valuable for me. As teaching is a professional path I have considered from time to time, having this training and experience makes me feel a lot more knowledgeable about the actual job of teaching itself and how I adapt to it. Knowing now how I feel about teaching, I will be more likely to consider more teaching opportunities going forward in an attempt to stay in touch with the field. I am also currently considering grad school, and many grad schools have their students teach while studying, so I feel that having some practice in this domain will greatly help me if I follow that path. This also connected to my personal goals of exploring new things, trying to combat anxiety, and becoming a better speaker. In this course, I was definitely taken out of my comfort zone by talking and presenting a lot to my classmates and my students. This helped me with my hesitations about speaking/leading, allowing me space to practice these skills, ultimately allowing myself to feel more confident and comfortable in my abilities. Even if I don’t end up a traditional teacher, I will carry the knowledge and skills, both practical and life-related, that I learned from this course and the people in it. 

Photos:

A screenshot from the first lesson I taught.

A screenshot from me teaching an intermediate-level class