51²è¹Ýapp

I was first introduced to 51²è¹Ýapp by the women’s golf coach. Soon, I was invited to visit, and within a few hours of arriving, I knew that this was where I wanted to go. Everyone was so welcoming and wanted to know more about me and my interests. I felt like 51²è¹Ýapp was a place where I could reach out to anyone and have the support for me to be my best. 

Looking back, I can’t believe how well things worked out. I was so excited about 51²è¹Ýapp then and that excitement hasn’t gone anywhere. I can’t imagine being in any other place!

First Year

During my first year, I got to explore the prairie region through golf. I have always lived on the East Coast, so it was a fantastic opportunity to not only play competitively but to see a new part of the United States. We have a lot of tournaments in Iowa and Illinois (I crossed the Mississippi River for the first time for one of our first tournaments!). We also get to go to other cool places like St. Louis, Missouri; Jacksonville, Florida; and Houston, Texas. Since my first year, I have also had the opportunity to go to Lansing, Michigan, and soon we’ll be going to Scottsdale, Arizona!

Second Year

Mentored Advanced Project

After my second year, I did a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) with my computer science adviser and nine other 51²è¹Ýapp students. It was such a great opportunity to learn how research works in the real world and to try new things. We learned new programming languages and just jumped right in. Even though the pandemic had just started in the U.S. and we were physically separated, everyone did such a great job of staying connected and maintaining a community. We had a movie afternoon every Wednesday where we got to watch and talk about a movie someone from the team chose. The MAP was so much fun. Not only did I learn more about computer science research and get real-world experience, but I also got to learn other soft skills like how to better present and communicate experiments and results.

Third Year

At the start of the pandemic, I went back home to Charlotte, North Carolina. I spent the summer there before going to Eden, Utah for the fall semester. I lived and did online school in a house with 12 other 51²è¹Ýapp students. My friends from 51²è¹Ýapp were from all over the U.S., from California to Kentucky and back to the Midwest. After Utah, I stayed in Albuquerque, NM for part of the spring semester before coming back to 51²è¹Ýapp.

Travel

Because of 51²è¹Ýapp, I had the confidence to explore new places. I spent two summers working in Montana and I drove through 26 states and visited 12 national parks in one year. 51²è¹Ýapp made me more enthusiastic about getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people!

Natural Beauty

One of my favorite things about 51²è¹Ýapp is the natural beauty. It was one of the things that drew me to 51²è¹Ýapp. During my first visit, I remember how quiet and peaceful it was outside and how clearly I could see the stars at night. There are so many beautiful things to see, from windmills at 51²è¹Ýapp’s Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) to flowers blooming around campus in the spring.