Adventure 16: The final post

As cheesy and cliche as it is, I want to use this last blog post as an opportunity to reflect on my capstone experience this semester.

Understandably so, I was a little nervous about what this semester would entail. Don't get me wrong, I was certainly excited. I had only heard good things from capstone vets that it's an incredible experience, the lecture discussions are lively and engaging, the work is like nothing we've done before. But I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.

Upon starting doing work for our individual teams, I was really looking forward to working with my group and everyone involved. I had this idea in my head of what it would be like, keeping an open-mind and staying flexible. When we started getting assigned individual assignments, I couldn't help but feel sad that I wasn't able to work directly with my group mates. We were all busy trying to do what was asked of us, which left little time or room to interact and work with one another. We decided to change things up so we could be in more direct contact with each other, and that certainly helped.

While I enjoyed having the opportunity to work with programs and software I was unfamiliar with, and pushing myself to tackle the assignments we were given, I took away much more than sharpening and developing those skills from this whole experience.

I learned the importance of communication amongst all members of a team; the leader, the supervisor, the ones cranking out the work. Proper communication ensures that everyone is on the same page. It establishes trust.

I learned to speak up when something doesn't seem right. I've always had a hard time doing so. I'm pretty shy by nature, and I always fear that I'll sound stupid or that I'll bother the person I'm confronting. But after multiple experiences of feeling like something wasn't going right, or that I wasn't being treated fairly, I knew I had to stand up for myself. I knew nothing was going to change if I didn't, and that no one could voice my opinion for me.

I learned what it means to be a team player. It means having someone's back when they're struggling. It means making sure everyone is in the loop. It means doing whatever you have to do to ensure that things function smoothly, whether that means helping someone with their assignment, or sending group texts at all hours of the morning/night.

I learned about respect. I found that once my group members and I started working together more frequently and forming a tighter bond, our respect for one another grew. We respected each other's opinions, their ideas, the work they were doing. I learned about respecting myself in the sense that I won't let anyone make me feel inferior or take advantage of my shy and reserved nature. I learned that while it's important to show respect to your higher-ups, the dynamic of the team simply cannot function at its best if the respect isn't reciprocated.

I'm pleased with my capstone experience. All I wanted from it was to walk away having learned something and having developed and sharpened my skills, and I did. I had the opportunity to work with students that I hadn't worked closely with before. I'm walking away from my capstone feeling excited to see how I can put what I learned to use.