As the semester draws to a close (kind of, there’s still so much to do!) I find myself naturally beginning to reflect on the adventure that has been this class. Sure, we’ve been at it for three months now, but it still feels like we’ve just begun! Personally, I’ve found it to be an incredible growth opportunity, which has challenged me, as I was hoping, in ways that my other classes haven’t. It’s been a joy to get to know my group members this year. To figure out their work styles, their strengths, their weaknesses. How they like to communicate, and be communicated with. But at the same time, that’s the most difficult part. We see so frequently this stereotype of the socially awkward engineer, who doesn’t know how to interact with people. And as an introvert who generally prefers my own company over the company of others, I took great solace in that. I’m not a social butterfly, but I’m definitely more competent than that. So I’m good, right?

Nope! Much to my surprise working on a team was hard! (Big shocker there, I know.) I came into the semester expecting to feel like a generally effective member of society, and alas, I felt instead like I was just flailing about, hoping that some of that flailing might be constructive. As an environmental engineer, my major probably lines up with the project better than the rest of the group, but I still felt grossly underprepared. Eventually, my flailing did become more coherent, and my team and I very, very, very slowly began to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Now, someone might even guess that we work together, wild! On any given day, I either love IPPD or hate it, but regardless, it’s stretching me in ways that are uncomfortable, and I know that that’s what’s going to make me a better engineer and a better-formed human.