I would say that not much has changed in the way that I conduct research, but my understanding has shifted slightly. For example, I have learned about purpose, problem, and significance statements, and why they matter. I have learned about the use of a translational abstract, and how taking a few sentences to explain your work to a general audience is a worthwhile venture. In terms of the workshops, I think that the one about interviews was very interesting, and, while there aren’t a whole lot of interviews in my field, I do think that it will influence my interviewing style if they arise.

                As for specific events and interactions, I would say that the workshops were quite helpful in this respect, especially some of the group discussions after the meetings. I enjoyed participating in the discussions after the regular meetings as well.

                I would say that the most valuable experience in the Brackenridge, at least for me, were the workshops. For example, I am planning on going to graduate school in the future, so the workshop about “Applying to Graduate School” proved to be very valuable. As I already mentioned, the workshop about conducting interviews raised some very good points, and certainly contained information that I would use in any future interviews. Finally, the workshops about writing abstracts and writing personal statements were also very interesting, and I think that they both will be very useful throughout my career. Overall, I would say that the workshops were the most valuable part of the Brackenridge experience.

                As I’ll mention in my presentation, there is some work that I will not be able to complete by the end of the Brackenridge program. This will obviously be next on the agenda for me. After that, I plan on continuing in through Pitt’s computer engineering undergraduate curriculum, and hopefully doing more research with my professor. As I have mentioned before, I then plan on going to graduate school, be it at Pitt or some other university.  

                Overall, the Brackenridge has been a wonderful and thought-provoking experience for me, and one that I will look back on fondly. I appreciate the fact that, despite the limitations due to COVID-19, we were still able to have all of the regular meetings, workshops, and panel discussions. I also think  it was a good decision to make the so-called “Elevator Pitch” virtual. I hope I will have excellent experiences similar to this in the future.