Hello everyone!
My name is Victoria Walke, and I am a Senior Physics major at Angelo State University. When I first started college, I did not know how students got into undergraduate research; it seemed like something reserved for only upperclassmen and students with high GPAs (such as a 4.0). I also remember feeling like I wasn’t smart enough to try. However, over time, I realized that getting started is much easier than I had expected.
So far, I have been lucky to work on a few research projects. For example, I joined an existing project called HERA (High-altitude Engineering for Research in Astrophysics) during my Junior year, and I wish I had joined sooner. HERA is an international collaboration of students from all over the world. They launch space weather balloons into the atmosphere during planned coordinated launch days in separate teams. Attached to each balloon is a payload, a container filled with various scientific instruments or specific cargo needed to complete the objective. Then all the teams share the data they collected after retrieving their payloads. What I didn’t realize before I joined my school’s team was that this is something that anyone could join, and I quickly realized that you are not expected to know anything in your undergrad when conducting research. In fact, sometimes you can be helping with something that is a whole different field of science if you want to!
One of the biggest things I have learned throughout my time in school is that you don’t have to wait until you’re “ready” to get involved. In fact, most people start before feeling like they’re ready, and that is just part of the process. The hardest step for anything is just getting started.
This blog is designed with freshmen in science majors in mind because I am a science major. But my hope is that no matter where you are on your journey, you find this blog useful.
VickyInResearch 