I will start off by saying I am inundated but not overwhelmed. Besieged, yes. Bombarded even. This point in my fellowship is akin to removing water from a crack in the hull of a sea bound vessel with a teacup. That’s my own visual but you get the point. However, if the attrition carries forward, then the deluge will certainly be untenable.

The summer is intended to be a relaxing time for the educator brood but I have managed to not take a nap all summer. Working outdoors is my main hobby. Actually besides being a teacher, gardening and landscape architecture are my true passions. I truly enjoy transforming landscapes. When I bought my current home 2 years ago the first thing I did was dig a garden in the backyard. No time for hanging up pictures!

Three weekends ago I worked relentlessly to finish my patio project that I was supposed to finish last summer. At that time I was starting my internship and we had so much information thrown at us. Trust me, it was like taking a nuclear physics course in one week. I saw atoms (when was the last time I saw an atom? Hmm never). I witnessed the Focused Ion Beam at work, which is basically an electron sandblaster. Seriously, this instrument could engrave a grain of rice and you wouldn’t even know it. The obvious question for me to ask was do they get clandestine requests for their services? The answer yes, highly classified though.

I am also working on putting together a summer camp for the nonprofit organization I founded in 2011 S.M.A.R.T. (Science, Math, and Research, Technology) Concepts Inc. This is the fifth summer that I have conducted a 1 week camp filled with STEM themed workshops. I haven’t done as much with S.M.A.R.T. Concepts as I have in the past. I used to run a weekly STEM club at the Stanford Warren Library in central Durham. However, this year I have some ideas how I can really take the organization to another level through my Kenan fellowship.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing but there is land on the horizon and from there the journey will continue. In the meantime, I need to focus on staying the course. I am really looking forward to what is upcoming. It gives me chills thinking about where this journey will take me. In the meantime, there are lesson plans to be done, ideas to be conjured and at some point a nap to be taken.