Chloe Diehl's First Week Update: Young Scholar PATHS-UP

  My First Week

    Recently, I have joined Rice University's Young Scholar PATHS-UP Program. Though I was excited to be apart of the program, I was not prepared for what I was about to learn and experience. I was mainly introduced to the more natural world of science. Thus, I had no prior knowledge of computer science. Despite that, I still had fun and learned a lot considering it was only my first week

    Though the first week was mainly an orientation into the course as well as an introduction into circuit boards, we have been working on different projects like the following: making pulse oximeters and accelerometers for a smart watch, making virtual PCB boards, and building many different functions on Spark Fun's Arduino boards (photos of the different projects are shown below).

    The process while working on the projects were definitely a struggle for me especially since I had no prior exposure to any computer science course. I experienced my Arduino boards not performing the commands I wanted them to do even though I followed the guides step by step. I had trouble transferring my schematic to a PCB layout because I had trouble with the wire connections. I also endured lags on my computer that caused me to restart my process while making my accelerometer. The struggles were definitely frustrating, however, with my growth mindset, I was able to pull through and successfully most of the projects. For instance, I was able to make a fully functioning pulse oximeter and accelerometer, display an organized schematic, create functions on the Arduino board as well as replicate it onto Tinker CAD.

    Overall, I enjoyed my experience and learned a lot despite my unfortunate struggles. Thanks to the mentors I had, I was able to push through the set backs and create something I wouldn't expect myself to make. 

    Hopefully next week, I will learn more new things and expand on the new abilities I just acquired.