March 21, 2024 to March 23, 2024
Stephenville, TX
Meeting host: By:Fabian Alfredo Gonzalez Rodriguez
SPS Chapter:
Date of Meeting: March 21st, 2024
By: Fabian Alfredo Gonzalez Rodriguez
On the 21st of March 2024, students from all around Zone 13 of SPS came to Tarleton State University to attend the Physics Conference happening from the 21st to the 23rd. It was a very enriching experience for the students, as they got a chance to meet with peers all over Texas that share their same passions in Physics. As the President of the Tarleton State Chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), it was my job to host the SPS Social that was happening in the start date from 7:00-9:00PM. Students from LeToreau University, Texas Lutheran University, University of Texas El Paso, University of Texas Dallas, University of Pittsburgh, Texas Christian University and, of course, Tarleton State University attended the meeting in order to make new connections with students and talk about different summer opportunities that they have experienced.
The SPS Social was hosted in the Lamar Johnson Science Building, where the room that was hosted had all the water, drinks and food the students were going to enjoy for the evening. It started on a real positive note, with students introducing each other, sharing their passions in the field of Physics, and what they wished to specialize in. As an expectation, the assumption we made was that the students would soon start enjoying the game “UNO”, which we bought for its popularity and with the target demographic. At first, this was the case, with the students opening the newly bought game, and thinking about starting a session while enjoying some great food. However, what was not expected is that, rather than starting the first round of the game, the students from Texas Lutheran University started working on Thermodynamics homework that was due on the following day. This came as a surprise that, at first glance, made no sense, since there is little reason to work on homework in a social event where the point was to get off our minds from our assignments for the pleasant hours. However, this turned out to be a great bonding experience for the students, who all started to demonstrate their teamwork in tackling this problem that they were working on. As president of the Tarleton Chapter of SPS, this pleased me greatly, since it is always a joy to work with other students on Physics problems, and it is an experience that I do not have readily available in my home institution. This was a fantastic bonding experience for students that loved the subject equally, and this passion was shared amongst peers. Furthermore, after the problem was (mostly) solved, we shared different opportunities that could were available for different students of different demographics for Summer of 2025.
This experience was enriching for students who perhaps didn’t have this experience back at their home institution and came with a few learning experiences for future events. Mainly, research correctly the main target demographic when hosting an event of the like, so rather than buying more board games, we bought markers for the students that wanted to work on their homework. Furthermore, expect the diligent students to work on their due diligence together, since that is one of the best bonding experiences that many students have in social events. This demonstrated the great passion that like-minded students share in their field of interests, and many of these moments are great opportunities for students to make new lasting connections.
