Report on Academic Showcase

Christina Czabaranek
Jennifer Gloede
Noelle Tom-Wigfield

Christina Czabaranek
Email address: cczab@umd.edu
Affiliation: Earth, Life, and Times (ELT) Scholars Program, Math Major
Title of Project: Communicating Science: Ellicott Mills Middle School

Decscription of Project: Christina tutored middle schoolers in math. She tutored during the kids` study hall time, which was greatly appreciated by their teacher, who found it difficult to get many of the students interested in math.

What were the main benefits you received from doing the project?: She was able to inspire kids to actually want to do math. Spending time with children was very rewarding and helped her develop her own communication skills by taking part in a lot of one on one time.

What were the main pitfalls or obstacles during the development and/or undertaking of the project?: At first, the kids had pretty bad attitudes about doing math. It was hard to get them engaged in the material and then keep them interested. Also, because she tutored them right after Christmas vacation, the didn't remember much of their material.

Jennifer Gloede
Email address: jgloede@umd.edu
Affiliation: Earth, Life, and Times (ELT) Scholars Program, Archaeology Major
Title of Project: Processing Artifacts from Texas, Maryland

Decscription of Project: Jennifer helped in processing artifacts from Texas, MD. She spent 50 hours cleaning various artifacts which mostly included bottles, coins, nails, etc.

What were the main benefits you received from doing the project?: The main benefit of the project for her was establishing a new contact - the professor she worked for. She got more experience in the field and now has someone she can refer to if she ever needs help.

What were the main pitfalls or obstacles during the development and/or undertaking of the project?: The work was extremely monotonous and tiring.

Noelle Tom-Wigfield
Email address: noelletw@umd.edu
Affiliation: Earth, Life, and Time (ELT) Scholars Program, Environmental Science and Policy (Wildlife Ecology and Management) Major
Title of Project: A World Without Backbones: Smithsonian National Zoo Invertebrates Exhibit

Decscription of Project: Noelle worked along with other volunteers and researchers in taking care of the animals in this exhibit. Some of her duties include checking tank temperatures, feeding, cleaning tanks, etc. She also participated in doing various tasks around the rest of the zoo like plant maintenance.

What were the main benefits you received from doing the project?: There was a lot of trust involved in this project, so she felt like her role was actually important. She developed a new love for these types of animals and is now more interested in them. She was also able to learn a lot and gain a new reference.

What were the main pitfalls or obstacles during the development and/or undertaking of the project?: The work was sometimes difficult and confusing and the work space was very small which was hard to acclimate to.

Last modified: 10 May 2010