Personal Growth
Strengths
This semester’s interactions with team and community members highlighted strengths and weaknesses about myself that I had not previously examined. In terms of strengths, I noticed that I am rather quiet when working in a team and that I prefer to follow everyone’s decisions. This time, I stepped outside of my comfort zone because I am fluent in Chinese and our community members only speak Chinese. As a result, I took full responsibility for communication with the community member. Throughout the semester, I kept in close contact with our community members and kept the group members up to date. I discovered that I was a really effective communicator. The translation is not tough for me because of my bilingual advantages. But, at the same time, I was shocked by the amount of translation work involved in my part.
This is a very precise opportunity for me, and I am grateful for it. I can make effective use of my abilities and contribute significantly to teamwork.
Weaknesses
In terms of weaknesses, I think my hands-on ability is not strong enough to help our team members, because this is actually my first semester in ima courses, and it is also the first time I have been exposed to Frabucation Lab, 3D printers, CNC machines, everything is new for me They are all too new and I have never used them, so I need to ask for help every time I want to use them. I understand that this may be a burden for others, but I am grateful to Andy for helping out there every time.
Civic Engagement
Working on this semester-long project with the same group for a real-life application taught me how to emphasize strong communication within my group and with a member of our community. Open communication with my team was essential to ensure that everyone was on the same page and working toward the same goal. We were able to set clear objectives each time we met and collaborate to find efficient answers to the various difficulties we encountered. We were able to address different perspectives and prevent misunderstandings thanks to open communication, which resulted in a very easy collaboration.
It was critical to have open communication with our community members in order to create something that he could genuinely use. Mr. Zhao first agreed when we asked if we might drill through the roof to install our gutter. As a result, we proceeded to build L-shaped hangers based on this concept. However, when we checked a second time to ensure that drilling was allowed, Mr. Zhao recommended alternative means of installation that would not be permanent fasteners. This adjustment was a turning point in our design process, requiring us to go over other possibilities that Mr. Zhao preferred. Considering real-world constraints and concerns was critical in developing a product that could address real-world challenges, making the ultimate outcome of our project much more relevant.
Academic Learning
Working with the community on environmental problems was a good fit since learning about plastic trash and its negative impacts goes a long way when we can apply it in the real world. It is not enough to simply read about plastic pollution; we must apply this information to effect genuine change in the way society views plastic, beginning with our own neighborhood. Involving the community in our projects should have opened their eyes to new methods to repurpose plastic, so that our education also taught them. Showing them our extensive process in constructing these rebuilt projects can alter their impression of the worth of plastic trash, making them less likely to discard things so carelessly. The more individuals who participate in the discussion on environmental waste, the more we can raise awareness of our collective influence and start making tiny adjustments in our behaviors.