Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. (350 Words)
Three nerds from the Bay Area armed with weapons made of sweat, grease, and knowledge squared off against the great behemoth that is astrophysics. Yes, this did happen (metaphorically); in summer 2016, I was accepted into the Science Internship Program (SIP) at UC Santa Cruz. I thought the program would be simple enough: a professor and two-intern team would complete a research project together. Yet, the freedom that came with this opportunity would demand all my faculties in leadership and scientific knowledge.
Our project involved analyzing the star populations within an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy. The project itself was fascinating; however, it was dauntingly complicated to carry out in just ten weeks. To make matters more challenging, my partner had no background in astrophysics, and some of the concepts were new to me as well.
For the first two weeks, I pored over astronomical journals, textbooks, and lectures, finding out the intricacies of the project and the math behind the processes. Yet, learning about a project is far from conducting it, something I knew only too well from my years of experience in science fairs. I arrived early in the morning to work every day and left after my mentor, Dr. Aaron Romanowsky, and partner did.
I realized that the only way we could complete our project in a timely manner was if I took a leadership role and set project milestones and deliverables for myself and my partner. I learnt Python programming in a few days and began collecting the necessary data and scheduled weekly meetings with our mentor to ensure we were on the right track.
Thanks to our team effort and successful execution of project milestones, the SIP program was a great success. I again took a leadership role and submitted our project to the Siemens Championship as well as a poster for the 229th American Astronomical Society conference. Although the SIP program deviated from my original expectations, through leadership and perseverance we succeeded in the program and beyond.