Week 7: Making Out of this World Connections

Friday, July 24, 2015

By:

Shauna LeFebvre

Hello from the American Center for Physics!  I am back at the SPS offices after a wonderful two weeks working with the middle school science teachers at NIST.  On Monday we took a tour of the Capital with Drew and Elias.  It was a lot of fun to see the center of US politics!  We also learned a bunch about science policy.  We even got to see some of the committee rooms Drew and Elias work in.

Tuesday was my first real day back at the office.  Hannah and I have been busy editing most for most of this week.  The manual is in its final stages, and we couldn’t be happier with our progress!  Especially since next week is Hannah’s last week and we have to concentrate on our final presentation.

Most of the excitement that happened this week was on Thursday.  Hannah, Veronica, Teresa, and I went to the STEM Fair and Reception the Hill.  It was sponsored by Women’s Policy, Inc. with Pers. Kristi Noem and Doris O. Matsui and Reps. Susan Brooks and Lois Frankel.  I had so much fun at the event!  We were able to meet with leaders of companies like Samsung, BP, and Cisco as well as representatives from the Department of Energy and NASA, among others.  We met Dava Newman, the Deputy Administrator of NASA and Cady Coleman.  Cady is an astronaut at NASA that has currently logged 180 days in space over five different missions.  It was AMAZING to meet so many women in high ranking positions.  In a field that has been historically male dominated, it is refreshing to see that we are starting to role models that we can relate to a little bit more.  I also got to see how many pathways are open to me after graduation, even if I don’t want to think about how quickly that is coming up.

We ended the week by starting to get the supplies for the SOCKs that will be sent out to SPS chapters across the country.  I also want to apologize to IKEA and Wal-Mart for clearing them out of straws and plastic cups and any inconvenience this causes their other customers.  But we have a duty to physics outreach that we need to fulfill!  Until next time!     

Shauna LeFebvre