03 May 2022
CERCA '22
The Celebration of Excellence in Research + Creative Activity (CERCA) was just this past Thursday, and it was the best experience I have had so far in presenting my research. I was lucky to have several people stop by my poster, and I was able to develop and lock in my research pitch. The room the poster presenters were put in was pretty crowded by the time the event had started. The smaller size of the room, and the number of people in it, meant that you had to speak up to be heard by those visiting your poster. This led to me losing my voice rather quickly, though I considered it a good problem to have. A number of my professors, both past and present, were able to stop by and the conversations with them were one of my two highlights from the event. The other highlight was being able to talk to the other students in both Criminal Justice and Political Science. I was truly impressed with the work the other students had done, and I feel like I came away from the event knowing more than I had going in. There were certainly lessons learned, and given another opportunity to present there would be some minor changes I would make to my poster to aid in the delivery of the research. Overall I genuinely enjoyed CERCA and thought it was a great event to help undergraduate students develop their presentation skills.
The Final Semester & New Beginnings
I recently finished my last major project in college, and all I have left now are a few minor assignments and my final exams. The last project I had was for my moot court class, and it had me author an appellate brief and then take part in oral arguments. While this project may have been one of the most difficult I have undertaken in college, it made it all the more rewarding when it was finished. Perhaps the best part about this assignment was the oral argument portion. I had not taken any mock trial classes, nor been on any debate teams, which meant the experience of arguing a case before a judge (my professor) was a completely alien experience. Though the feeling wasn’t as strong, the time leading up to the argument felt oddly familiar, as if I was getting ready to take part in a wrestling match or football game. The work I did for this assignment was certainly something I could see myself doing in the future, and it helped me visualize what it might be like to be an attorney.
Graduation is only eighteen days away and not long after I will be starting on the next adventure. While I was hoping for some time to relax following graduation, the day after I am moving to Oshkosh, and from there to the South. In terms of my inter-service transfer, I do not know when I will be leaving for training, however, I do know that tomorrow, Wednesday the 4th, I turn my gear back into the Army. I am only turning the gear in because my transfer to the Air Force has been approved by my Commander. The news that the transfer was approved has me both ecstatic and nervous. I know what comes next will likely be the most difficult thing that I have ever done. Despite the nerves, I cannot wait to start down this path and continue to serve in a new career.