This past summer I worked as an instructional assistant in Calvert County Public School’s Middle Summer School program. This was held at Windy Hill Middle School in Calvert County Maryland.
I found this job by looking on LinkedIn for job postings in Calvert County. I was drawn to this job because I graduated from the Calvert County School District the year before, had vast experience working with children and preteens by coaching soccer for six years, and had good academic standing at the University of Maryland. Some advice I would give to future SGC Scholars on identifying a practicum site would be to not be afraid to deviate from what you think would align with your career goals. My major is aerospace engineering, and I imagined that I would get an internship working for an aerospace company, which as a freshman can be difficult. That’s when I widened my search and found the instructional assistant position.
At the site I assisted teachers with instructional tasks, worked one on one with students, and monitored safety protocols. This took the form of supplying materials to students, answering content related questions, walking students through problem solving processes, and ensuring they were paying attention to lessons.
As an aspiring engineer, fully understanding math and science principles is crucial to my success. This experience allowed me to reinforce the foundations of these principles. I also had to discover different ways of explaining topics that aligned with each student’s learning style. This led me to take unique points of view when tackling problems, which I can apply to my work both academically and professionally.
From working as an instructional assistant, I have a newfound appreciation for those in educational roles. Knowing scientific content is one thing but knowing how to explain it to someone who has never seen it before is a separate challenge. Not only do you need to be an expert in the subject, but you have to put yourself in the shoes of the student and approach the content as if you have never seen it before. You should never assume that they know something and should try to phrase everything in simplified terms. Since you should be an expert on the subject, this can be immensely difficult.
This experience has opened me to the possibility of teaching as a professor instead of entering the aerospace industry. I have already decided that I want to further my education by getting my master’s degree after graduating with my bachelor’s degree and have contemplated taking it a step farther and getting my doctorate degree. Now that I know I enjoy breaking down and explaining scientific and mathematic principles and that teaching can be quite rewarding, I have for the moment decided to work toward a doctorate degree after graduation. By doing this I would have the option of working as a professor or entering the aerospace industry.
Since I have decided to pursue a doctorate degree for the moment, I will need to have the necessary credentials to be accepted into graduate school. This includes keeping my grade point average as high as possible, which I had already planned to do, gaining relative research experience, and making connections with faculty members in the aerospace department. Since I am a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as a member of Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics, I will make sure to attend networking events held by these organizations on campus to build connections with the faculty that attend. I will also monitor undergraduate research position openings in the aerospace department so that I can obtain relevant laboratory experience. If towards the end of my bachelor’s degree, I decide not to pursue a doctorate degree, the connections and experience will also help prepare me for my master’s degree.