RESEARCH SHOWCASE

The week of January 16 to January 22 was truly hectic, but I would categorize it as the most accomplished week so far in my Independent Study and Mentorship journey. This week tested my knowledge on cardiothoracic surgery and gave me a chance to exhibit professionalism and educate the Dallas community of everything that I learned during the first semester. These tasks were achieved in one event: the annual Frisco ISD Independent Study and Mentorship Research Showcase. During the Research Showcase, I introduced my topic, mentor and original work to those in attendance, and also showed the audience everything that I had learned so far about my topic by answering any questions they had about cardiothoracic surgery. A personal accomplishment this week that I earned was speaking confidently to complete strangers and avoiding awkwardness. In the beginning of my ISM journey, one of my goals was to gain self confidence and learn to speak professionally and in a more poised manner, and I achieved that goal. Another accomplishment is my attitude. I feel that through this program, I have gained a better sense of who I want to be in the future and I have also tweaked my personality to fit that image. For example, last year I used to be slightly carefree and distracted, and already in the first semester many of my teachers from last year have seen the growth in me as I have become a much more mature, respectful, and most prominently, responsible student. Hearing these compliments from my previous teachers has definitely given me greater motivation to continue striving for success not only in this program, but in all my other classes and endeavors as well. In the upcoming weeks, I hope to write an astounding speech including my original work, continue to research my field at a greater depth, and start going on mentor visits.